Out of Place

Not Feral, Farm-Raised, Just Fred

It turns out that the “giant wild boar” is not exactly Hogzilla II. It’s merely “Fred.” Wire service reports are flashing the news around the world, summarizing the reported truth behind Hogzilla II. It was not a wild boar, and not even a hybrid. It was a farm-raised pig, named Fred, purchased for a canned hunt. That hunt ended on Lost Creek Plantation just four days after it was released into a 60 hectare fenced area, the animal’s former owner said. Phil Blissitt told The Anniston Star that he bought the six-week-old pig in 2004 as a Christmas gift for [...]

Bigger Than Hogzilla!

The story goes, the animal is one very big wild boar shot in Alabama. As Mark Frauenfelder said over at Boing Boing, “It’s an AP story, so I am guessing this astonishing photo is legit.” Jamison Stone, 11 years old, shot the wild boar that weighed in at a “staggering 1,051 pounds and measured 9-feet-4 from the tip of its snout to the base of its tail.” The boy was hunting with his father Mike Stone in east Alabama on May 3, 2007, when he killed Hogzilla II, with a .50- caliber revolver. They chased it for three hours before [...]

Update: Woolfie Versus Maine Mystery Beast

As an update to this morning’s posting of “Maddening Mystery of Maine Mutant Muddled”, here is the photograph of the proposed candidate, “Woolfie,” followed by ones of the Turner carcass, when first found. The above photograph is of Woolfie (courtesy of Mark LaFlamme). The bottom three are of the “Maine Mystery Beast” (courtesy of Michelle O’Donnell). Click on image for full-size version Please click on image for full-size version Click on image for full-size version What do you think? Do they match?

Maddening Mystery of Maine Mutant Muddled

The dead dog near the road was photographed by Michelle O’Donnell, Turner, Maine, August 2006. Click on the image to make it bigger. The Maine Mystery Beast is back. Well, at least, the animal discovered next to Route 4, which was incorrectly labeled as the killer of livestock and pets, is. Mark LaFlamme called yesterday, and interviewed me about the claims of a Florida woman that the dog probably killed by a vehicle barreling down Route 4 was her’s. Anything is possible, but the problem with this whole new sidebar to last summer’s sensational story rests in the matter of [...]

Gorilla Escapes

A 400-pound gorilla escaped from his enclosure and ran amok in a Rotterdam zoo in Netherlands, on Friday, May 18, 2007, biting one woman, dragging her around, and causing panic among dozens of visitors before he was finally subdued, officials and a witness said. The Diergaarde Blijdorp zoo was evacuated and the 11-year-old gorilla, named Bokito, was eventually captured in a restaurant within the park, police spokeswoman Yvette de Rave said. Nature will find a way. For more on this story, click here.

North Pole Seal Caught In Florida

A bearded seal (Erignathus barbatus), normally found much farther north in marine waters, has turned up very far south in a freshwater habitat. Caught Monday, May 7th, the 6-foot-long, 250-pound bearded seal had been seen for several days in Martin County, Florida, according to an Associated Press article, “Arctic Seal Is Captured in Fla. Canal.” “This is the first time we have had a bearded seal show up in Florida,” said Kim Amendola, a spokeswoman for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “Their primary habitat is north of Newfoundland.” These are medium-sized seals, and indeed, live in the Arctic Ocean. [...]

Swimming Maine Mystery Animal

Is the following first new videotape a mystery animal that you can identify? Does the state of video technology tease us into thinking we can get images of cryptids that will assist the advancement of cryptozoology? Is this just a long distance view of a beaver or other known small mammal swimming across a waterway? The first tape is the “mystery animal.” The ones that follow are of two known animals frequently seen swimming in Maine – beavers and moose. At the bottom is the details on the first video. I shot this video on March 31, 2007 in Northern [...]