Forensic Science

Top Ten Creepy Fossil Finds of 2006

Top Ten Creepy Fossil Finds of 2006 by Loren Coleman, coauthor, Creatures of the Other Edge. As often happens with fossil finds, sometimes they are stored away, forgotten, rediscovered, even exhibited, but then all of a sudden, an old find experiences a grand new awareness. The fossil is significant again. Or the fossil might be a recent or actual new find gaining its fifteen minutes of popular media fame, often before the journal articles are written. Such has been the case regarding the following selections, all from extinct species (supposedly). It is a roundup of certainly a unique collection of [...]

Johor Wars: How About All The Tracks?

The Malaysian Natural Resources and Environment Ministry Parliamentary Secretary Datuk Sazmi Miahis is fighting with Johor’s Tourism and Environment Committee Chairman Freddie Long over the “reality” of the “Johor Bigfoot.” The debate has turned ugly in the papers in Malaysia on December 16th. Forgotten in the debate, apparently, are all the footprints, confusing as the picture may be, that have been found, including ones dating back to the 1970s of the Orang Dalam. This track, photographed on November 17, 2006, is the “one” mentioned my Minister Sazmi. But what of the others? See below. According to the New Straits Times, [...]

The Real Lost World Revisited

This image of the movie poster may be clicked to enlarge it. The Real Lost World is set to re-broadcast on December 17th, after having recently premiered. Frankly, I thought the triple-layered treatment (old real expedition re-creations, clips from the movie based on Doyle’s book, and the new expedition) was visibly intriguing and worked well for television. I enjoyed the program, especially with regard to how Dean Harrison’s role as cryptozoologist was used for action, tension, and innovativations in some scenes. One link to The Lost World that I have been fascinated by is the fact the book served as [...]

Clouded Leopards: Two Species

A Clouded Leopard, but which species? (Image: Wikipedia). Hiding in plain sight? It has been discovered, through genetic analysis and other factors, that there is a strong case for the clouded leopard to be divided into two separate species. Presently the clouded leopard is regarded as a monotypic genus with four subspecies. According to the blogsite Big Cat Rescue, there is good reasoning behind the "reclassification and the defining of two distinct species of clouded leopard – Neofelis nebulosa (mainland Asia) and Neofelis diardi (Indonesian archipelago). This case for two clouded leopard species based on genetic distinction that is equivalent [...]

Was It A Shunka Warak’in?

In December 2005, a strange wolf-like animal started killing livestock in McCone, Garfield and Dawson counties, Montana. By March 2006, it had struck six herds of sheep in McCone and Garfield Counties, wounding 71 and killing 36 ewes. The thing had even reached the status of being named; it was called "The Creature of McCone County." News articles appeared throughout the next few months, and it went national with an article in USA Today in May 2006. The number of livestock the "Creature" killed finally reached about 120, by the end of October 2006. Now comes word in a December [...]