Forensic Science

Cuero Chupacabras Caught on Dashcam

New footage of a running “Chupacabras” – i.e., in this case, a mystery canid – has been caught on a dashboard camera by the DeWitt County, Texas, sheriff’s department. This occurred near Cuero, Texas, the new “capital” of Chupacabras activity since the “mystery canid” body was found there. Contributed Photo: Phylis Canion The DNA results for Phylis Canion’s find have not been accepted kindly by the local residents. Here is a silent YouTube version from the local television station KENS 5. The link to the tape, with audio, playing on CNN.com today is here. There is also a new documentary [...]

Mystery Cat DNA: It’s A Wild Puma

Kansas mountain lions are reported as frequently as most other mystery cats seen around the Midwest, of course. Most officials still say these are due to misidentifications. Now there’s proof that one of those sightings was not of a mistaken house cat. Last spring 2008, a …Barber County man was chopping wood when he saw the animal in the grass. He retrieved a firearm from his truck and shot it. KDWP obtained the pelt in March. Biologists collected muscle tissue samples and sent them to a federal research laboratory in Montana. After several months of tests, researchers were able to [...]

Qaqrat Monster Washes Ashore in Alaska

Qaqrat is a word in the Inuit dialect of Cup’ig, Nunivak Island’s native language. It is phonetically pronounced “koo-gat” and translates as “beast-walrus.” One could say that the carcass of a qaqrat has graced itself upon Alaska. Will the fabled “beast-walrus” be the next media darling? After all the news attention to the recent carcass, the Montauk Monster, that washed ashore at a beach in New York, you might expect to hear about more such incidents this summer. A little paper in Seward, Alaska, seems to be the first one to tell of an actual similar unknown. Unfortunately, they have [...]