Media accounts of the sighting of a rare, white killer whale off Alaska’s Aleutian Islands is causing waves of excitement among researchers and whale enthusiasts. The whale, photographed by scientists on a U.S. scientific vessel, is a large, healthy male, said John Durban, research biologist with the Fisheries Science Center in Seattle. There have been two recent sightings of white whales and scientists are scrambling to figure out if this is the same orca.
Giant Salamanders Are Big
Recently, the Chinese media published an intriguing photograph of a giant salamander, which truly gives a good idea of how big they are. Some reports of the giant salamanders of Japan and China have been recorded in the 5 to 6 feet range. The Japanese giant salamander (Andrias japonicus), for example, reaches up to 4 ft 9 in (1.44 m), feeds on fish, and crustaceans – and has been known to live for more than 50 years in captivity. The Chinese giant salamander (Andrias davidianus) can reach a length of 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m), perhaps even bigger. The [...]
Otter Unknown Kappa
Brent Swancer, from Japan, is my guest contributor for today. He introduces us to a known animal with a foggy cryptic presence today and its links to an extremely well-known Japanese cryptid: The Japanese River Otter (Lutra nippon) is a nocturnal predator, endemic to Japan, which reaches 26 to 30 inches long at maturity. Inhabiting mostly midstream and downstream regions, it was once found abundantly throughout Japan. The numbers of Lutra nippon decreased rapidly beginning around the Maiji and Taisho eras due to hunting for its fur and liver (which was used as a medication for tuberculosis) and further continued [...]
Iriomote Cat
Mystery Man passes on a close-up photograph of the mounted Iriomote cat, previously discussed here. It, indeed, is a beautiful example of one of the classic animals of discovery within cryptozoology.
First California Wolverine Since 1922
A wolverine has been captured on camera by an Oregon State student. A wolverine has been spotted in the Sierra Nevada mountains for the first time since 1922. According to CBS5: A research project aimed at martens has turned up a bigger prize: a picture of a wolverine, an elusive animal scientists feared may have been driven out of the Sierra Nevada long ago by human activity. The discovery could affect land-use decisions if the wolverine is declared an endangered species, a step the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering, although the animals typically live at high elevations where [...]
Evolution of Yeti
Even the Los Angeles Times is getting in step with the significance of cryptozoology. They have deemed, of all the programs being broadcast tonight, the following as their “Wednesday Highlight”: YETI OR NOT? The Abominable Snowman is sought on the season premiere of “Destination Truth,” at 10 p.m. on Sci Fi. This seems like an appropriate time, therefore, to bring up the issue of the “Evolution of Yeti” within popular culture. I’ll leave for another time a more formal discussion of the biological evolution of Yeti, and their place in the biological scheme of things. But how about the reflection [...]
Hobbits At Harvard
The discovery that Homo floresiensis survived until so very recently, in geological terms, makes it more likely that stories of other mythical, human-like creatures such as Yetis are founded on grains of truth….Now, cryptozoology, the study of such fabulous creatures, can come in from the cold.Henry Gee, editor of Nature, “Flores, God and Cryptozoology,” 2004 editorial. This Thursday, March 6, 2008, at 5:30 pm, an intriguing lecture will occur regarding Homo floresiensis. I was first alerted to this forthcoming talk by my son, Malcolm, who is enrolled in Dr. Javier Urcid’s “Human Origins” course at Brandeis University. I have written [...]
Loren: On the Road Again
March does not bring Spring easily and without a fight to the state of Maine. It calls forth my wanderlust, as talks pop up and investigative traveling for me to the South is on the horizon. Trips call me away from the 100-plus-inches worth of snow in Portland, and out of the cobwebs of February. In two newspapers in the state today, separate articles have been published of my forthcoming talks and treks. The Maine Sunday Telegram contains a good interview in conjunction with my Wednesday noontime, March 5th appearance at the Portland Public Library. It also gives a hint [...]
Scare Fest Appearance
It has just been announced that I will be a presenter at The Scare Fest, the biggest Horror and Paranormal Convention in the Southeast USA. The event is three horror-filled-days on September 12, 13, and 14, 2008. I am intrigued to learn that this gathering will take place in the heart of Fayette County, Kentucky! The Scare Fest will be held at the Lexington Convention Center in Lexington, Kentucky, one of the largest convention centers in the state. I’ll have to explore the twilight language significance of the Fayette Factor while I am there. Here’s some more info from the [...]
Dark Matters
Life is not all about Yetis, of course. As I have mentioned in the past, I have another blog that deals routinely with my research and consulting on the copycat effect, school shootings, and suicide clusters, often with a sidetrip into twilight language. As you can imagine, I have had to put some time and some words over there lately. I could tell something was on the horizon, and then the Northern Illinois University shootings occurred. For those interested in these topics, I have recently written several essays on the current events: Dates & Dark Matters NIU Blame Game NIU [...]
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