This week's crypto story to take the world's media by storm appears to be the pig/dog monster currently haunting northern Namibia. The descriptions are of:
"a mostly white animal with a doglike head and a body similar to that of a giant warthog, with a broad, round, nearly hairless back and shoulders. The creature is typically spotted attacking domestic animals, such as dogs and goats."
It actually sounds a little like Prudence, except for the attacking goats bit, and the fact that she has never (as far as I am aware) been to Namibia. It will be interesting to see if this story ever develops or whether it just fizzles out as so many of these crypto-9 minute wonders seem to.
Whst is mildly disturbing is that it is already being described as 'The African Chupacabras' and the Mother Nature Network writes:
"Descriptions of the animal sound like some sort of genetic experiment gone awry. Locals have expressed confidence that the animal is unlike anything they've ever seen before. Many of them now suspect something nefarious is going on."
Two links to this story (at random):
Bizarre 'dog-headed pig monster' terrorizes villagers in Africa
Mother Nature Network
By Bryan NelsonTue,
Feb 28 2012 at 3:56 AM EST
In a story eerily similar to that of Latin America's "chupacabra" sightings, residents in northern Namibia ...
Mysterious 'Dog-Headed Pig Monster' Terrorizes Africa
In 1995 and 1996, some Puerto Ricans armed themselves against the vampire beast el chupacabra; last year, Malaysian residents patrolled the streets ...
Friday, March 02, 2012
I bought this figurine over 30 years ago and have been puzzling over it since.
It's about four-inches tall and has "China" written on the bottom, but that's all I'm sure about. The bristly hair, or possibly eyebrows, are green, it has round eyes, an aquiline nose, toothy grin, and bushy beard. The little indentation to the left is a simple oval ear (like a calf) and it has what looks like a dog's body with a green tail.
I haven't seen anything else like it in Chinese art and suspect that it's either a creature from folklore or a caricature of big-nosed European devils.
If a bloggo reader can identify it a decades old mystery will be solved.
On this day in 2005 adventurer Steve Fossett became the first man to fly around the planet without stopping or refuelling.
And now the news:
Monster fleas sucked the blood of Jurassic dinosau...
Otter found in Fort William seafood restaurant
Conservation dilemma – Kill to save?
Oetzi the Iceman's nuclear genome gives new insigh...
Earthworms to Blame for Decline of Ovenbirds in No...
Monster fury over Nessie hoax claim
Dingoes: How dangerous are they?
Nowhere to Hide: Tigers Threatened by Human Destru...
Female Bonobos Brag During Social-Climbing Sex
Kenya Launches Elephant conservation strategy
Brown bears declared extinct in Austria - Again
Of terrace-hopping creatures & child-eating ogres
His plane, the Virgin Atlantic Global Flyer, arrives in the Smithsonian:
1. Haunted Skies Volume Four by John Hanson and Dawn Holloway (-)
2. Dead of Night by Lee Walker (1)
3. Dark Ness by Tabitca Cope (-)
4. Haunted Skies Volume Three by John Hanson and Dawn Holloway (3)
5. Haunted Skies Volume Two by John Hanson and Dawn Holloway (-)
6. The Great Yokai Encyclopaedia by Richard Freeman (5)
7. Haunted Skies Volume One by John Hanson and Dawn Holloway (4)
8. Green Unpleasant land by Richard Freeman (-)
9. When Bigfoot Attacks by Michael Newton (-)
10. Big Cats loose in Britain by Marcus Matthews (-)
1. The Great Yokai Encyclopaedia by Richard Freeman (3)
2=. Haunted Skies Volume Four by John Hanson and Dawn Holloway (-)
2=. Orang-pendek: Sumatra's forgotten ape by Richard Freeman (4)
4. Strangely Strange but Oddly Normal by Andy Roberts (-)
5. Dinosaurs and other Prehistoric Animals on Stamps by Karl Shuker (-)
6. Predator Deathmatch by Nick Molloy (-)
7=. Big Bird by Ken Gerhard (-)
7=. Haunted Skies Volume Two by John Hanson and Dawn Holloway (-)
7=. The Cryptid Creatures of Florida by Scott Marlowe (-)
10. Extraordinary Animals Revisited by Karl Shuker (8)
Last month's positions in this pinky colour, which I think is called cerise. This was a weird February saleswise: we sold a very wide range of titles, but none of them sold very much except for the new volume of Haunted Pies.
New on the Frontiers of Anthropology:
Something Submitted by a Reader that was a New One on Me:
New on Frontiers of Zoology, Continuing the Bunyip Theme:
And an article on the Reptoid "Frogfoots" Reported Especially in the US Midwest Especially in the 60s and 70s
From Nick Redfern's "There's Something in the Woods...":
- Bigfoot & Littlefoot — Not all hairy humanoids are giant-size...
- The Wild Side of Kent — KentOnline article from Neil Arnold...
- Heuvelmans' On The Track continues to inspire — A cryptozoological classic...
- NSW 'Thylacine' sightings update — More eye-witness reports...
- Turning back extinction clock — 32,000 year old seed grows into a new plant...
- Love is in the air @ Devil's Ark — It's Tasmanian devil breeding season...
- Big Bird: Fossils of World's Tallest Penguin Discovered — New Zealand giant...
- Six-Legged Giant Finds Secret Hideaway — 'Extinct' tree lobster rediscovered...
I’m still working on the next one, but it’s rather complicated so it could take me some time to finish – providing that I find sufficient information during my research for it to be worth writing.
The current one, entitled “Global Bigfoot Names,” covers some of the names that I’ve found are used around the world. I think it’s always useful to know some of the alternative names for Bigfoot, Sasquatch, Yeti etc:
I can’t vouch for the veracity of all of them, so if you need to know more I suggest you use Google, or some other search engine, to find out about them. And I hope that my own research will give you some ideas.
Enjoy, and good hunting!