tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6675085501582441532024-03-19T05:01:12.962+00:00Dial M for MonsterCryptozoology, Folklore and Fortean Weirdness in WalesUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger51125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-667508550158244153.post-86473896399345730352009-06-01T18:31:00.001+01:002009-06-01T18:37:50.426+01:00The Accrington ToadmanCheck out my post aon this strange case at the CFZ blog here:<br /><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:11;"><span><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://forteanzoology.blogspot.com/2009/05/gwilym-games-strange-case-of-mutant.html">http://forteanzoology.blogspot.com/2009/05/gwilym-games-strange-case-of-mutant.html</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-667508550158244153.post-47778214144767800462009-05-22T10:51:00.005+01:002009-05-22T23:46:52.470+01:00Police hunt weirdness with HelicoptersPolice Helicopters are busy in Wales and the marches. While one was used to hunt the Ammanford Wolfman recently and of course there was the massive Cardiff UFO - helicopter chase last year. The latest report from the Marcher county of Gloucestershire is that the Police are using them to hunt a "Lion".<br /><br /><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bristol/8061265.stm">http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bristol/8061265.stm</a><br /><br />Clearly I should have tried to get a police helicopter to hunt the Swansea Crocodile last year :)<br /><br />Link courtsey of the CFZ blog where Tim Mathews notes the similarities between Big Cat hunts and Ufology. Which I guess is true enough regarding enthusiasts though the authorities too seem to take Big Cat reports far more seriously than they do UFOs nowadays.<br /><br /><a href="http://forteanzoology.blogspot.com/2009/05/tim-matthews-are-big-cat-hunters-new.html">TIM MATTHEWS: Are big cat hunters the new UFOlogists?</a><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;" ></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-667508550158244153.post-39127500872512387262009-05-21T16:37:00.004+01:002009-05-22T11:18:58.294+01:00Big Cats in Wales - Academics supportAnother report on Welsh big cats. It is good to see that academic examination of Big cats is still ongoing in Wales and Swansea University is at the forefront. This is a more than usually interesting article on Big Cats.<br /><h2 class="title"><a target="_self" class="usg-AFQjCNHJMPWQggyTqWIa5tT0UZ-ATPgtwA sig2-czD_aG2uYG3AA_8iLOJz8w" href="http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/view/80926/Maul-of-the-wild/">MAUL OF THE WILD</a></h2> <div class="sub-title"><span class="source"></span></div><blockquote><div class="sub-title"><span class="source">Daily Star</span> - <span class="date">May 16, 2009</span></div> By Rick Lyons<br />BIG cats are on the prowl in Britain – and today we reveal West Wales is their favourite hunting ground.<br /><p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">Shocking figures leaked to us show sleepy Aberystwyth has seen more attacks by the beasts than anywhere else.<!--[--> </p><p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; min-height: 14px;"><br /> <!--[--> </p><p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">Black panthers, pumas and lynx are all thought to be roaming free – <span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;">and breeding – in remote</span> rural locations. <!--[--> </p><p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; min-height: 14px;"><br /> <!--[--> </p><p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">And 34 of 39 suspected big cat kills probed by the Government in the last ten years were in the Aberystwyth area.<!--[--> </p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; min-height: 14px;"><br /> <!--[--> </p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">Just last month the <span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;">Veterinary Laboratories</span> Agency – responsible for post-mortems on big cat kills – said a calf attacked there in March had its ribs splintered by a large mammal.<!--[--> </p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; min-height: 14px;"><br /> <!--[--> </p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">Since 1998 the agency has also studied the carcasses of 15 lambs, 19 sheep, a dog and a fox – all thought to have fallen prey to foreign big cats.<!--[--> </p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; min-height: 14px;"><br /> <!--[--> </p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">Most sightings in Wales are attributed to panthers, which are capable of killing animals as big as a horse. <!--[--> </p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; min-height: 14px;"><br /> <!--[--> </p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">Experts think they were released in the 1970s and have now formed breeding populations in sparsely populated areas like rural Wales. <!--[--> </p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; min-height: 14px;"><br /> <!--[--> </p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">Dr Dan Forman, a carnivore biologist from Swansea University, said he had “relatively conclusive”<br /> evidence big cats were out there. <!--[--> </p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; min-height: 14px;"><br /> <!--[--> </p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">And he said they were being helped by the climate and rugged terrain round Aberystwyth. <!--[--> </p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; min-height: 14px;"><br /> <!--[--> </p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">Dan told us: “It’s milder – you don’t get hard frost. <!--[--> </p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; min-height: 14px;"><br /> <!--[--> </p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">“There’s also a lot of food around here and a lot of caves which are in remote locations near abandoned copper mines, gold mines and things like that. They are fantastic refuges for these animals.<!--[--> </p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; min-height: 14px;"><br /> <!--[--> </p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">“There are feral populations of racoons in the United Kingdom, there are feral populations of<br /> wallabies. People don’t believe it but it’s true. <!--[--> </p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; min-height: 14px;"><br /> <!--[--> </p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">“There’s no reason why other predators couldn’t exist in an environment where there’s lots of food, lots of cover and where people <span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;">don’t normally go – like West Wales.” </span> <!--[--> </p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; min-height: 14px;"><br /> <!--[--> </p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">The introduction of the 1976 <span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;">Dangerous Wild Animals Act is being</span> blamed for the rise of the big cats. <!--[--> </p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; min-height: 14px;"><br /> <!--[--> </p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">It required the owners of exotic cats to have licences – prompting many to dump their pets. <!--[--> </p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; min-height: 14px;"><br /> <!--[--> </p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">It is now thought they are all over the United Kingdom and may even have inter-bred, creating new species. <!--[--> </p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; min-height: 14px;"><br /> <!--[--> </p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">Numbers are unknown but there are an average of between three and four sightings every day. <!--[--> </p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; min-height: 14px;"><span style="vertical-align: -2px;"></span><br /> <!--[--> </p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"><span style="vertical-align: -2px;">The National Farmers Union of Wales admits big cats are “a serious issue” for its members, and Danny Bamping, of </span><span style="vertical-align: -2px; letter-spacing: -0.1px;">the British Big Cat Society,</span><span style="vertical-align: -2px;"> said: “People need to realise that these cats are out there.</span> <!--[--> </p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; min-height: 14px;"><span style="vertical-align: -2px;"></span><br /> <!--[--> </p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"><span style="vertical-align: -2px;">“They’re real and they are not in the same category as the Loch Ness Monster.”</span> <!--[--> </p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; min-height: 14px;"><span style="vertical-align: -2px;"></span><br /> <!--[--> </p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"><span style="vertical-align: -2px;">While Swansea Uni’s Dan Forman added: “Three hundred years from now we might have pumas walking around the countryside and people simply accepting it. </span> <!--[--> </p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; min-height: 14px;"><span style="vertical-align: -2px;"></span><br /> <!--[--> </p><span style="vertical-align: -2px;">“These animals integrate themselves into our animal assemblage and they become part of it.”</span></blockquote><br /><br />So the cats are living in abandoned mines no wonder there are so many in Wales.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-667508550158244153.post-14607630616325633862009-05-02T16:20:00.001+01:002009-05-21T16:34:19.592+01:00Wolfman - The OriginI have located earlier reports on the "Wolfman" from the South Wales Guardian which are more down to earth than later reports.<br /> <br /><a href="http://www.southwalesguardian.co.uk/search/4209099.Police___s____Wolfman____vigilante_warning/"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>Police’s ‘Wolfman’ vigilante warning</a> <span>7:00am Wednesday 18 March 2009</span><br /><br /><h5> <a href="http://www.southwalesguardian.co.uk/search/4208984.Guardian_Opinion/">Guardian Opinion</a> <br /> <span>6:30am Wednesday 18 March 2009</span> </h5><a href="http://www.southwalesguardian.co.uk/search/4228767.Police_vow_on____Wolfman___/">Police vow on ‘Wolfman’</a> <br /><span>6:50am Wednesday 25 March 2009<br /><br /><br /></span><h5> </h5>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-667508550158244153.post-29824097082025234672009-04-30T15:13:00.004+01:002009-06-01T18:45:58.485+01:00Wolfman - media hype?It seems much of the Wolfman story is the result of media exaggeration. When I am back in Wales properly I will have to investigate I think. One aspect of the case which is intriguing is the use of a Police helicopter... it seems like a big waste of resources for the actual basis of what the case involved.<br /><h2 class="title"><a target="_self" class="usg-AFQjCNEVpr_eGFplCQCNEz4CvQyiD4tlCQ sig2-F_ONJt1Gr5N0CS1ZiESqSA" href="http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2009/04/30/police-dismiss-wolfman-hunted-reports-91466-23513475/">Police dismiss 'wolfman hunted' reports</a></h2> <div class="sub-title"><span class="source"></span></div><blockquote><div class="sub-title"><span class="source">WalesOnline</span> - <span class="date">Apr 30, 2009</span></div> <div class="snippet"><p>Police dismissed reports today that they were hunting a “wolfman” vagrant over a mini-crimewave as just another “shaggy dog story.”</p> <p>Sightings of a wildman living rough in woodland near Ammanford, were no more than “rumour”, an officer said. Police knowledge of the apparently elusive individual does not even extend to confirmation that he has a beard.</p> <p>Initial reports of the “wolfman” first appeared in the Ammanford-based South Wales Guardian weekly newspaper last month.</p> <p>It pinpointed woodland near the hamlet of Pantyffynnon as the area where a vagrant, dubbed the “wolfman” by local children, was living rough.</p> <p>Residents were also reported as holding him responsible for a spate of doorstep milk disappearances and thefts from cars. The paper has carried several interviews with local officer Sergeant Charles Gabe who confirmed the police did want to speak to him.</p> <p>“We think he catches rabbits and eats berries or whatever else he can get his hands on,” he told the newspaper.</p> <p>He also said the Dyfed Powys Police helicopter, using heat-seeking equipment, had been used to locate him without success on one occasion.</p> <p>He told the newspaper: “But we’re not talking a one-man crimewave here. While I don’t wish to minimise what’s been happening there are more serious things happening in and around Ammanford.”</p> <p>That viewpoint was echoed today by a colleague after the story of a “wolfman” hunt was picked up by at least one national newspaper.</p> <p>“There is no on-going police operation to search for someone that local children have apparently dubbed the ’wolfman,”’ an Ammanford officer said today.</p> <p>“We have had a couple of incidents, going back 12 months, where someone’s fridge freezer was opened and food taken out. Whether it was this person or kids has never been proven. If he is ever found he will be spoken with in connection with this incident but there is certainly no crime wave.”</p> <p>He added: “There is a rumour of a tramp or vagrant living somewhere in the community, and a den he apparently lived in has been found with some remains of food.</p> <p>“Situations like this with people living on the periphery of a community do occur from time to time.</p> <p>“He may or may not have a beard but as for being a wolfman, that’s just a shaggy dog story.</p></div></blockquote><div class="snippet"><p></p><p>Interesting<br /></p><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-667508550158244153.post-75906571618049397092009-04-30T01:07:00.004+01:002009-06-01T18:46:53.690+01:00Wolfman in AmmanfordA few people have sent me links on this rumour<br /><p class="article"> </p><blockquote><p class="article">Local beat Sergeant Charles Gabe said the wolfman has been living in the wild between the villages of Pantyffynnon and Penybanc for up for <b>FOUR</b> years — but only turned to crime in the last couple. </p><p class="article"> He said he appeared to live largely off the land in makeshift hides and added: "He appears to be quite self-sufficient. He is very rarely seen. </p></blockquote><p class="article"></p><br />The best account is from the bastion of weirdness:<br /><div class="additional-article"><div class="aa-inner"><a href="http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article2402830.ece" target="_self" class="usg-AFQjCNGdcWt1oHII_fQ4XkWZAPhyj5AJ-g sig2-VsgSsZGfywRA0olxjAhVsg"><b>Wolfman</b> lives off the land</a> <span class="source">The Sun</span> </div></div><br />The Telegraph also weighs in:<br /><div class="additional-article"><div class="aa-inner"><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/5242339/Wolfman-survives-wild-in-woods-for-two-years.html" target="_self" class="usg-AFQjCNFCvk5dI3jwaLkXUZxzL1q-uB35gw sig2-GgGwRGXndIZP1wZNemaSHw">'<b>Wolfman</b>' survives wild in woods for two years</a> <span class="source">Telegraph.co.uk<br /><br /></span><h2 class="title"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a target="_self" class="usg-AFQjCNH1Tltm1fckL54TCtUYlkmgYOK86A sig2-bviZbwFPFys4As6JhQ90jw" href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1175075/Police-launch-hunt-Wolfman-mini-crime-wave-lives-rabbits-berries-woods.html">Wolfman behind mini crimewave who lives on rabbits and berries in woods</a></span></h2> <div class="sub-title"><span class="source">Daily Mail</span> - <span class="date">Apr 29, 2009</span></div><br />It adds the info that he lives semi- underground.<br /><p></p><blockquote><p>"Some locals believe 'The Wolfman' - said to be in his 30s and to look 'dishevelled' - also hides in holes in the ground."</p><p>'The Wolfman' lives in the woodland on an area of reclaimed coal slagheaps known locally as 'The Tips'.</p></blockquote><p></p> </div></div><br />It seems to me what we have here is a local hermit or tramp transformed by media magic into the Lon Chaney jnr style Wolfman. Of course film buffs will remember that the original 1941 Universal <span style="font-weight: bold;">Wolfman</span> seen below was Welsh, specifically the American hero named Talbot returns to his roots in Cardiff where he encounters a werewolf, a gypsy Werewolf to be precise.<br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wolf_Man_%281941_film%29" title="The Wolf Man (1941 film)"><i>The Wolf Man</i> (1941 film)</a><br />Sadly the upcoming remake is no longer set in Wales though it does feature Anthony Hopkins.<br /><br /><p><a href="http://www.thesouthern.com/popBS/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/wolfman2.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-362" title="wolfman2" src="http://www.thesouthern.com/popBS/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/wolfman2.jpg" alt="" width="169" height="221" /></a></p><p><br /></p><p>The Wolfman aspect of the story is presuambly just local folklore what is more interesting though is the comparison to old tales of Celtic hermits and the Wildman of medieval times. The Amman valley area is rather interesting so I think a look round at some point would be good though I don't think I need bother with silver bullets.<br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-667508550158244153.post-80829128378566199712009-04-14T17:18:00.003+01:002009-05-21T17:38:56.432+01:00Gwiber - Flying VipersOll Lewsis from the CFZ is a font of information on Welsh cryptozoology. He did an excellent blog post a while back on one of the weirdest of all Welsh cryptids the Gwiber, specifically a sub species the flying snakes or dragonets of South Glamorgan. Gwibers are reported all over Wales in folklore but it was in Penllyn they are reported more recently in Marie Trevelyn's ‘Folklore and Folkstories of Wales’ from 1909:<br /><br /><blockquote>“The woods around Penllyne Castle, Glamorgan, had the reputation of being frequented by winged serpents, and these were the terror of old and young alike. An aged inhabitant of Penllyne, who died a few years ago, said that in his boyhood the winged serpents were described as very beautiful. They were coiled when in repose, and "looked as though they were covered with jewels of all sorts. Some of them had crests sparkling with all the colours of the rainbow." When disturbed, they glided swiftly, "sparkling all over," to their hiding places. When angry, they "flew over people's heads, with outspread wings bright and sometimes with eyes, too, like the feathers in a peacock's tail." He said it was "no old story," invented to "frighten children," but a real fact. His father and uncles had killed some of them, for they were "as bad as foxes for poultry." This old man attributed the extinction of winged serpents to the fact that they were "terrors in the farmyards and coverts.”</blockquote><br /><br />I once went for a look round the area but found no sign of the elusive beasts. The description if them sounded very much like the fire lizards in Anne Macffrey's Dragon rider books I have always thought.<br /><br /><br />Oll goes into some depth on the mystery in his post and he did attempt some interviews. His conclusion the creatures as reported are unlikely to exist.<br /><br /><h3 class="post-title entry-title"> <a href="http://forteanzoology.blogspot.com/2009/03/oll-lewis-penllyn-is-in-my-ears-and-in.html">OLL LEWIS: Penllyn Is In My Ears And In My Eyes</a> </h3> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTFD8cR7vrjz3xfBVrtmOWEiP9mwswLATmlPbHx6hRrCShJceN7qVx4fxK-FWGOgST_6kIT2pjfzqmPBUl0khmww1hW59_IhjbOzJDkB3lmpoYumo_ujRfz_FOOz3Y2M5wGPW3slQnKs0/s1600-h/gwiber+by+GT.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309372663681713458" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; width: 279px; height: 320px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTFD8cR7vrjz3xfBVrtmOWEiP9mwswLATmlPbHx6hRrCShJceN7qVx4fxK-FWGOgST_6kIT2pjfzqmPBUl0khmww1hW59_IhjbOzJDkB3lmpoYumo_ujRfz_FOOz3Y2M5wGPW3slQnKs0/s320/gwiber+by+GT.jpg" border="0" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-667508550158244153.post-75445017363329716392009-04-04T17:13:00.000+01:002009-05-21T17:16:30.272+01:00Meat Eating Squirrels in Wales?Fascinating blog post from a while back from Richard Holland which features a Welsh wild cat and more strangely a carnivorous squirrel.<br /><br /><a href="http://forteanzoology.blogspot.com/2009/03/guest-blogger-richard-holland-wild-cats.html">Squirrel</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-667508550158244153.post-40252623317424520452009-04-02T14:43:00.001+01:002009-05-21T14:48:28.006+01:00Giant Eels?I did a guest blog at the CFZ's excellent online blog. It is on mysterious eels:<br /><br /><a href="http://forteanzoology.blogspot.com/2009/03/guest-blogger-gwilym-james.html">Giant Eels</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-667508550158244153.post-76047862360145715852009-01-10T16:48:00.003+00:002009-05-21T17:01:25.705+01:00Big Cats in Wales - More sightingsThere have always been stacks of Big cat reports in Wales. They are definitely out there as this summary of reports from the Wales on Sunday show.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2009/01/04/shock-number-of-big-cat-sightings-91466-22600358/" class="l" onmousedown="return rwt(this,'','','res','6','AFQjCNHpGTXdyCEuQoBP7WNonPsFZGmWfQ','&sig2=Bvop31v43QuzOWDv2lSyiQ')">WalesOnline - News - <em>Wales</em> News - Shock number of big cat sightings</a><span style="display: inline-block;"></span>4 Jan 2009 <b>...</b> <em>BIG cats</em> are clawing their way into the limelight as Welsh sightings of the “<div class="s"><wbr>purranormal” creatures rocket, <em>Wales</em> on Sunday can reveal.<br /><br />Soon after this there was a shocking report of a mass sheep killing in <a href="http://www.bigcatsinbritain.org/welshnews64.htm">Camarthenshire</a>.<br /><br /></div><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.bigcatsinbritain.org/welshnews.htm" class="l" onmousedown="return rwt(this,'','','res','5','AFQjCNFKosbSgdw1hB-5CcNDDbkVnhGVfA','&sig2=SOW1kNhMnJjXQthE0yE5Rw')">Big cats in Britain - Welsh News</a></span><span style="display: inline-block;"></span>Big cats in Britain provide a good summary of Big cats repoorts in Wales at their site.<br /><cite></cite>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-667508550158244153.post-23027418545586853892008-11-22T23:35:00.000+00:002009-05-22T23:38:10.632+01:00Welsh Cryptid Comic<div class="post hentry uncustomized-post-template"> <a name="6064465068046262572"></a> <h3 class="post-title entry-title"> <a href="http://theredeyed.blogspot.com/2008/10/unbelievable-signing-insomnia-captures.html">Unbelievable Signing - Insomnia Captures The Beast of Bryn Boncath</a></h3><blockquote>A new neighbour has moved in. A man long thought dead has returned. Livestock are missing. There are noises in the night. People are afraid to go into out after dark and sightings of a giant hound, or maybe a big cat are on the increase once again.<br /><br />Suddenly it seems to Ben that what he took to be the tall tales of his grandfather may be more than just stories. It seems that something is stirring in the forests and the mountains around Bryn Boncath. It seems that ancient history is repeating and this time round Ben has an important part to play.<br /><br />Unbelievable is a dark masterpiece that weaves strands of Welsh legend, modern murder mystery and horror with a dash of crytozoology that wonders: What if seeing isn’t always believing, but believing will allow you to see?</blockquote><br /><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-667508550158244153.post-54961154915122032592008-11-02T14:49:00.000+00:002009-05-21T14:54:02.083+01:00Manatee hunt cancelledStuff has got in the way of going on a Manatee hunt. The witness has disappeared into the ether I think she has realised she actually saw a seal!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-667508550158244153.post-57404070359686821992008-08-21T09:23:00.007+01:002009-05-21T14:49:27.607+01:00Manatees - Coming to Western Britain!One thing I have discovered is that whatever the Beast seen in Pembroke Dock is Manatees will be returning to the UK soon.<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.conservationpark.org.uk/">National Wildlife Conservation Park</a> is to be built on the outskirts of Bristol on a 136 acre site and is scheduled to open in 2012. It will feature a total of 12 exhibit areas, some of them inside or under cover, one reportd exhibit is "the Central American Swamp where visitors will walk through lush vegetation and around pools to catch a glimpse of the manatee, a spectacular aquatic mammal never before seen in a UK zoo." Other areas include Congo Tropical Forest, Sumatra Rainforest, and Indian Ocean Coral Reef and it hoped to have bonobos, okapis, Sumatran tigers, giraffes, zebra, orang-utans, Livingstone's fruit bats, gibbons, bears, wolves, cheetahs, black rhino and black tip reef sharks amongst other exotic animals. "In the Sumatra Rainforest exhibit (open in 2012) visitors will be able to step across a chasm caused by a seismic shift, listen to a troop of gibbons calling to each other as they swing through the trees, get close to Sumatran tigers via a transparent tiger tunnel and visit the exhibit's ranger station, built in the style of a Sumatran stilted longhouse, to find out about the Park's conservation project in Sumatra via video links." Another of these areas is British Ancient Woodland which will recreate a lost habitat of ancient Britain boasting once-native species such as brown bears, lynxes and wolves. "This exhibit is set within the Park's existing ancient woodland - home to native trees such as oak, birch, ash and beech as well as flowering plants such as bluebells, snowdrops, orchids, wild garlic, foxgloves and ferns. Visitors will be able to walk along a screened boardwalk in the woods to see these woodland animals at close quarters. At a later phase lynx and wolverine will be added to the exhibit."That sounds of interest.<br /><br />[Note - looking more closely at the website although news reports in March 2008 mentioned a Manatee exhibit there is nothing on the site. Have the manatee been cancelled?]<br /><br />Besides this I am increasingly inclined to think the Pembroke beast can hardly be a Manatee as I indicated before and is more likely to be a seal. Besides the fact it is too far to swim and too cold for Manatees in British waters there is another point as the reported creature is amphibious it can hardly be a manatee they spend their lives in the water.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-667508550158244153.post-74301388381827064872008-08-18T10:15:00.000+01:002008-08-18T10:31:42.515+01:00Milford Monster - Hunted by SonarIt seems that famed Fortean Lionel Fanthorpe personally investigated the Milford Monster in 2003 when it was sighted and talked to 4 witnesses for the BBC and is convinced of their veracity. Fanthorpe said:<br /><br /><blockquote>In 2003, my wife Patricia and I participated in a BBC TV documentary after something large and mysterious appeared in the sea near Pembroke Dock in Wales. We interviewed several reliable eyewitnesses, and then went looking for the beast with skipper Alun Lewis aboard his <span style="font-style: italic;">Cleddau King</span> – an ideal boat for the job, equipped with the latest electronic gear. But whatever had been seen in the dock had fled before we got there.</blockquote>A search was undertaken using a fishing vessel equipped with high tech radar and sonar capability but no trace of the monster was found.<br /><br />Fanthorpe raises an intriguing point given the naval activity in the area it could be some kind of bizarre secret sub.<br /><br />Full details in his book <span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" >Unsolved Mysteries of the Sea</span><span class="addmd"> By Lionel Fanthorpe, Patricia Fanthorpe</span> (2004) 47-51. Apparently Richard Freeman the CFZ's zoologist and monster hunter extraordinary also went to look for the beast as well. I am waiting to get more details from him. This makes the case all the more interesting!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-667508550158244153.post-239716487600537552008-08-16T11:40:00.002+01:002008-08-16T13:03:49.482+01:00The Expedition Map is now onlineI have now plotted all the sightings and the mystery deepens. See how close the Manatee is to where the 2003 Monster was seen.<br /><br />It is about 500m from Connaught Way to Hobbs Point.<br /><br /> If you scroll the map to the SW you will also see the aprox location of 1782 "merman" sighting.<br /><br /><iframe width="425" height="350" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&hl=en&t=h&s=AARTsJrsb6Si2XByF0ihhWihpEYJV9fD9A&msa=0&msid=109454356765198473003.000454907aa4b340d3857&ll=51.661292,-4.999466&spn=0.149076,0.291824&z=11&output=embed"></iframe><br /><small><a href="http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&hl=en&t=h&msa=0&msid=109454356765198473003.000454907aa4b340d3857&ll=51.661292,-4.999466&spn=0.149076,0.291824&z=11&source=embed" style="color:#0000FF;text-align:left">View Larger Map</a></small>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-667508550158244153.post-12641430622313025462008-08-16T08:36:00.007+01:002008-08-16T09:34:53.491+01:00Welsh Manatee Expedition 2008Later this week I am heading to Pembroke Dock on a <a href="http://morfadile.blogspot.com/2008/08/manatee-maids.html">Manatee</a> Hunt. Plus I will discover more about the mysterious Milford Monster - a sea serpent seen in 2003. And will see if any more info on the bizarre beast - the <a href="http://morfadile.blogspot.com/2008/08/pembrokeshire-merman-in-1782-and-2008.html">1782 Castlemartin "merman"</a> can be found. Keep watching this blog for updates.<br /><br />I have talked to Debbie James the reporter who broke the story and she said the story has aroused a lot of interest and they are doing a follow up and the woman who saw the manatee, Carol Morgan, is convinced of her identification. This sounds definitely worth investigating.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-667508550158244153.post-62292780668517535202008-08-14T11:29:00.021+01:002008-08-21T09:23:06.596+01:00A Pembrokeshire Merman in 1782 and the 2008 "Manatee"?<span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" ><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Building on our earlier post</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://morfadile.blogspot.com/2008/08/manatee-maids.html"> Manatee maids in Wales </a></span><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" >looks like there is a history of strange sightings going on the area. In Mrs. Morgan's <i>Tour to Milford Haven</i> in the Year 1791, there is a detailed account of a "merman" observed by Henry Reynolds in 1782 in this area. </span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >This sighting was outside Milford Haven on the southern promontory which creates it </span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >somewhere near Linney Head</span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >, only 7 miles away from the 2008 Manatee sighting in Pembroke Dock . The original report read as follows and makes fascinating reading:<br /></span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><blockquote><p><span style="font-style: italic;">A Tour to Milford Haven, in the Year 1791</span><br />By Mary Morgan (London, 1795) pages 302-6<br /><br />Letter 43<br />Mrs Morgan To Mrs. G .<br />Haverfordwest, Sept. 22. 1791<br /><br />IF you delight in the marvellous, I shall now present you with a tale that is truly so; and yet, from the simple and circumstantial manner in which it was told by the person who believed he saw what is here related, one would almost be tempted to think there was something more than imagination in it. However, I will make no comments upon the matter, but give it you, exactly as I copied it from a paper lent me by a young lady, who was educated under the celebrated Mrs, Moore,[Hannah Moore] and who has acquired a taste for productions of the pen, and likewife for whatever may be deemed curious. Mr. M[organ] enquired of the gentleman who took down the relation from the man's own mouth, a physician of the first respectability, what credit might be given to it. He said, the man was of that integrity of character, and of such simplicity also, that it seemed difficult to believe he should be either able or willing to fabricate this wonderful tale. Farther the doctor was silent, and so am I.<br /><br />Henry Reynolds, of Pennyhold [Pen-y-hold], in the parish of Castlemartin, in the county of Pembroke, a simple farmer, and esteemed by all who knew him to be a truth-telling man, declares the following most extraordinary story to be an abfolute fact, and is willing, in order to satisfy such as will not take his bare word for it, to swear to the truth of the same. He says, he went one morning to the cliffs, that bound his own lands, and form a bay near Linny-stack. From the eastern end of the same, he saw, as he thought, a person bathing very near the western end, but appearing from almost the middle up, above water. He, knowing the water to be deep in that place, was much surprized at it, and went along the cliffs, quite to the western end, to see what it was. As he got towards it, it appeared to him like a person sitting in a tub. At last he got within ten or twelve yards of it, and found it then to be a creature much resembling a youth of sixteen or eighteen years of age, with a very white skin, sitting in an erect posture, having, from somewhat about the middle, its body quite above the water; and directly under the water there was a large brown substance, on which it seemed to float. The wind being perfectly calm, and the water quite clear, he could see distinctly, when the creature moved, that this- substance was part of it. From the bottom there went down a tail much resembling that of a large conger eel. Its tail in deep water was straight downwards, but in shallow water it would turn it on one side. The tail was continually moving in a circular manner. The form of its body and arms was entirely human, but its arms and hands seemed rather short and thick in proportion to its body. The form of the head, and all the features of the face, were human also ; but the nose rose high between its eyes, was pretty long, and seemed to terminate very sharp. Its head was white like its body, without hair ; but from its forehead there arose a brownish substance of three or four fingers breadth, which turned up over its head, and went down over its back, and reached quite into the water. This substance did not at all resemble hair, but was thin, flat, and compact, not much unlike a ribbon. It did not adhere to the back part of its head, or neck, or back ; for the creature lifted it up from its neck, and washed under it. It washed frequently under its arms, and about its body.<br /><br />It swam about the bay, and particularly round a little rock, which Reynolds was within ten or twelve yards of. He said about an hour looking at it. It was so near him that he could perceive its motion through the water was very rapid; and that, when it turned, it put one hand into the water, and moved itself round very quickly. It never dipped under the water all the time he was looking at it. It looked attentively at him, and the cliffs and seemed to take great notice of the birds flying over its head. Its looks were wild and fierce ; but it made no noise, nor did it grin, or any way distort its face. When he left it, it was above an hundred yards from him; and when he returned with some others to look at it, it was gone. This account was taken down by Doctor George P - - - at Prickers-ton, from the man's own mouth, in presence of many people, about the latter end of December 1782.<br /></p></blockquote><p>Chambers <span style="font-weight: bold;">Book of Days</span> 1869 repeats this account<a href="http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thebookofdays.com%2Fmonths%2Fnov%2F24.htm&ei=XQ6kSOpJkdZAwonshwE&usg=AFQjCNH81m6OeQtg2rQDpAL9vcartfx5qw&sig2=mdRvA4TbSEdfWzy2tcvNow" class="l" onmousedown="return rwt(this,'','','res','1','AFQjCNH81m6OeQtg2rQDpAL9vcartfx5qw','&sig2=mdRvA4TbSEdfWzy2tcvNow')"> in its entry for November 24th</a><span class="m"><span dir="ltr"> </span></span><em></em><span style="font-weight: normal;">while discussing Mermaids in the UK and suggests:</span><br /></p><blockquote>We hear nothing further of this merman or merboy; but on looking at the roundabout evidence of the story, we find it to he thus A paper containing the account was lent to Mrs. Morgan; the paper had been written by a young lady, pupil of Mrs. Moore, from an oral account given to her by that lady; Mrs. Moore had heard it from Dr. George Phillips; and he had heard it from Henry Reynolds himself from all of which statements we may infer that there were abundant means for converting some peculiar kind of fish into a merman without imputing intentional dishonesty to any one.</blockquote>The account is far more reliable than suggested here as Mr Morgan checked back with the Doctor. The account written by Mrs Morgan is an exact copy of what Renyolds said. It looks like Renyolds saw something odd and whatever it was or one of its relatives came back over 200 years later.<p></p></span><p style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The description sounds much like a manatee to some degree with its light grey colour and snub nose. But what about the weird sounding stuff going down its back from near its nose?? At first I thought perhaps this is a description of a bearded seal, an Arctic species which can have white fur. More likely to be this than a Manatee perhaps considering the climate, as Manatees a very sensitive to cold, and that such seals are regularly seen in the UK today. As it seems he sighted the beast in December that rules out a Manatee save for the mysterious</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=5&url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FSteller%27s_Sea_Cow&ei=l6ymSOnYLqiU0wS4mZyJAQ&usg=AFQjCNEoBI6zk00sqQNo4pAfeFP7ORVC7Q&sig2=5XxlenT3QP94O8a7NdlHYQ" class="l" onmousedown="return rwt(this,'','','res','5','AFQjCNEoBI6zk00sqQNo4pAfeFP7ORVC7Q','&sig2=5XxlenT3QP94O8a7NdlHYQ')"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>Steller's <em>Sea Cow</em></a><br />which was found in the far north Berring sea thousands of miles away from the UK. It was already probably extinct at this point thanks to sailors. <b><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"><span style=""><br /></span></span></b></span></p><p style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"><span style="">British Marine Life Study Society - </span></span></b></span><span style="font-size:100%;">"</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 102);font-size:100%;" ><span style="">Bearded Seals are a non-migratory Arctic species that feed on molluscs including clams. There has now been at least a dozen records from the Shetland Isles and one record of this seal off Ireland and one off Hartlepool in north-east England"</span></span></p><p style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Bearded Seal seen in Scotland<br /></span></p><span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.glaucus.org.uk/BeardedSeal-RF.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://www.glaucus.org.uk/BeardedSeal-RF.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></span><p style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">In fact the society report one this year:<br /></span></p><blockquote style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">3 March - May 2008 onwards<br /><br />A <a href="http://www.glaucus.org.uk/News2008Spring.htm">Bearded Seal</a>, Erignathus barbatus, was spotted at Loch na Keal on the Isle of Mull, a large island in the Inner Hebrides, western Scotland. The healthy seal had hauled itself up on to some dry rocks when it was first seen. Subsequently, it has been unpredictable in its movements. The Bearded Seal was first seen by David Woodhouse (Mull Wildlife Expeditions) on 3 March 2008.</span></blockquote><p style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-size:100%;" >But there is another possibility. </span><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-size:100%;" >The hooded seal another Arctic species </span><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-size:100%;" >in which males have a bizarre inflatable 'hood' on their heads, close to the nose. Reynolds says of the thing on the seal's head "</span><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-size:100%;" >but from its forehead there arose a brownish substance of three or four fingers breadth, which turned up over its head, and went down over its back, and reached quite into the water. </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);">This substance did not at all resemble hair, but was thin, flat, and compact, not much unlike a ribbon."</span><br /></span></p><p style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.dkimages.com/discover/previews/1053/25004236.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://www.dkimages.com/discover/previews/1053/25004236.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a></span></p><p style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Could this be a description of a hooded seal?? It certainly sounds very odd indeed. Unlss it was bits of seaweed.<br /></span></p><p style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Once again the <span style="font-weight: bold;">British Marine Life Study Society</span> reveals an interesting fact:<br /><br /></span></p><blockquote style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">29 July 2001<br />A Hooded Seal, Cystophora cristata, was washed on a Little Haven beach, </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >Pembrokeshire</span><span style="font-size:100%;">, south west Wales and found a home at the Seal Hospital at Milford Haven. The seal was healthy apart from a small cut on one flipper. The Hooded Seal is an Arctic species and even discoveries off the coast of Scotland, including the Orkney and Shetland Isles are rare. It moults around Greenland and the Denmark Strait (between Iceland and Greenland).<br />Report by Tony Pearce (via UK Wildlife)"</span></blockquote><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Seeing they have been in seen in Pembrokeshire before could the 2008 report by Carol Morgan be of a hooded seal rather than a Manatee? It seems more likely.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Interesting to note that a Walrus is not impossible in the southern British Isles as well. British Marine Life Study Society again:</span><br /></span><blockquote style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">April 1999 - A Walrus, Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus was seen hauled out on rocks in County Mayo, Ireland for six hours. Lying within 100 metres of the busy coastal road and spotted as a "rock that moved", the resting walrus finally disappeared at dusk. There have been several walrus sightings at sea off County Donegal in recent winters, and a couple of walruses were reported to have been seen by surfers in Killala Bay in December. A dead walrus was found in County Kerry in January 1995.<br />The Walrus is an Arctic species and is rarely seen even off Scotland and the Shetland Isles.</span></blockquote><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >Talking of old mermaid sightings if we look at the logbook of Henry Hudson on 15 June, 1608 near the Novaya Zemlya islands we can make a interesting comparison to the Welsh reports.<o:p></o:p></span> <p style="font-style: italic; text-align: justify;font-family:arial;" class="MsoBodyTextIndent3"><span style="font-size:100%;"><blockquote>This morning one of our companie looking over boord saw a mermaid, and called up some of the companie to see her, one come up, and by that time shee was close to the ship’s side, looking earnestly upon the men: a little after, a Sea came and overturned her: From Navill upwards, her back and breasts were like a woman’s her body as big as one of us; her skin very white; and long haire hanging downe they saw her tayle, which was like the tayle of a porposse and speckled like a Macrel.</blockquote></span></p> <span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >The Novaya Zemlya islands are off the north coast of Russia in the Arctic ocean, too cold for a sea cow. So could this sighting be a Walrus or Bearded seal then? Note its colour as well. </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">One noted mermaid was seen a number of times in Newark Bay in Deerness, Orkney in the 1890s. One account said:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-style: italic; text-align: justify;font-family:arial;" class="MsoBodyTextIndent3"><span style="font-size:100%;"><blockquote>It is about six to seven feet in length, has a little black head, with neck, a snow-white body and two arms, and in swimming it just appears like a human being. At times it will appear to be siding on a sunken rock, and will wave and work its hands.</blockquote></span></p><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >So it seems to me these older accounts are of arctic mammals not Manatees considering where they are seen too cold for Manatee. The fact they are considerably larger than common seals and a different colour and appearance would lead to a different identification. That is unless there is a secret species of Northern Manatee similar to the Stella Sea Cow which could endure cold or something even weirder. Or they are real mermaids!<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">It is interesting to note that there is also the legend of the ‘Ceffyl Dwr’ or water horse in Pembroke as in the rest of Wales similar to the Scottish Kelpie. I have hunted for this beast myself in the Gower in places it was once seen without success. This special horse would appear to unwary travellers who would be tempted to mount it, only to be carried into the sea and drowned. Could this legend be based on distant accounts of Manatees or unusual arctic seals which do look a bit horsey? Legends of Waterhorses are also found inland in rivers and lakes. Fossil records of Manatees have been found in Europe anyway.</span><br /></span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><p style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Manatees swimming<br /></span> </p> <blockquote><span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 15px ! important;" title="Block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-03587023127953174 visible ontop" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/p7txP9MOCqs&hl=en&fs=1"></a><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 15px ! important;" title="Block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-03587023127953174 visible ontop" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/p7txP9MOCqs&hl=en&fs=1"></a><div style="padding-left: 0px; display: none;" ontop="true"></div><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 15px ! important;" title="Block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-03587023127953174 visible ontop" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/p7txP9MOCqs&hl=en&fs=1"></a><div style="padding-left: 0px; display: none;" ontop="true"></div><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 15px ! important;" title="Block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-03587023127953174 visible ontop" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/p7txP9MOCqs&hl=en&fs=1"></a><div style="padding-left: 0px; display: none;" ontop="true"></div><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 15px ! important;" title="Block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-03587023127953174 visible ontop" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/p7txP9MOCqs&hl=en&fs=1"></a><div style="padding-left: 0px; display: none;" ontop="true"></div><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 15px ! important;" title="Block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-02282915849082866 visible ontop" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/p7txP9MOCqs&hl=en&fs=1"></a><div style="padding-left: 0px; display: none;" ontop="true"></div><object style="font-family: arial;" height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/p7txP9MOCqs&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/p7txP9MOCqs&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br /></span><p><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><br /></span></p></blockquote><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-667508550158244153.post-47871845603684744172008-08-13T14:51:00.000+01:002008-08-14T02:54:35.160+01:00UK Crocodile rescue stories<a href="http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/editors-choice/2008/08/13/exclusive-rescued-alligator-ditches-english-partner-for-fellow-scot-86908-20695117/" id="s-LgLvg6sGO7My4nRio5bnLA:u-AFQjCNGGXLISeg6Oz8PWrj_XC5SFZTBY6Q:r-1_0">Exclusive: Rescued alligator ditches English partner for fellow Scot</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#6f6f6f;">Glasgow Daily Record, UK 13th aug<br /><br /></span></span><p></p><blockquote><p>TWO alligators rescued in Scotland have fallen for each other - after one of them ditched his "English" partner.</p> <p> Crocs named Jimmy Choo and Alice have become inseparable at a sanctuary in Spain.</p> <p> And their keepers hope the pair, recovered from Edinburgh and Galashiels, Selkirkshire, may even produce some offspring.</p> <p> Jimmy had been close to a caiman rescued in London before Alice arrived at Crocodile Park in Torremolinos.</p> <p> Doreen Graham, of the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said: "The two Scots are great pals and, with luck, they might mate."</p> <p> Jimmy was sent to Crocodile Park after Anthony Quinn, 37, tried to sell him to undercover animal detectives in an Edinburgh car park.</p> <p> Quinn admitted keeping it in a Leith flat without a licence. He was fined s200 and banned from keeping animals for five years.</p> <p> Alice was seized by inspectors in Galashiels last month.</p></blockquote><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-667508550158244153.post-48237255560606941752008-08-12T11:01:00.017+01:002008-08-20T23:30:47.192+01:00Manatee maids in Wales - Connected to Milford Monster?A bunch of strange of watery beasts have popped up in Wales in the last few weeks.<br /><a href="http://news.google.co.uk/news/url?sa=t&ct=:ePkh8BM9E2IF2mHAQsAWoKIMA1aoPdkAnjEHCQ/0-0&fp=48a353ce2e0a4534&ei=VoOjSLeLEIiIQuPe0OEG&url=http%3A//www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2008/08/10/manatee-spotted-off-coast-of-wales-91466-21504767/&cid=1235493799&sig2=h4JxvBRCw-vMDHK7OuplPg&usg=AFQjCNGjXwz8hTP0l5FEX5Fl1u12ukfpAg" id="s-h4JxvBRCw-vMDHK7OuplPg:u-AFQjCNGjXwz8hTP0l5FEX5Fl1u12ukfpAg:r-0_1235493799"><b></b></a><blockquote><a href="http://news.google.co.uk/news/url?sa=t&ct=:ePkh8BM9E2IF2mHAQsAWoKIMA1aoPdkAnjEHCQ/0-0&fp=48a353ce2e0a4534&ei=VoOjSLeLEIiIQuPe0OEG&url=http%3A//www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2008/08/10/manatee-spotted-off-coast-of-wales-91466-21504767/&cid=1235493799&sig2=h4JxvBRCw-vMDHK7OuplPg&usg=AFQjCNGjXwz8hTP0l5FEX5Fl1u12ukfpAg" id="s-h4JxvBRCw-vMDHK7OuplPg:u-AFQjCNGjXwz8hTP0l5FEX5Fl1u12ukfpAg:r-0_1235493799"><b>Manatee</b> spotted off coast of Wales</a><br /><span style=""><span style="color: rgb(111, 111, 111);">WalesOnline, United Kingdom -</span> <nobr>10 Aug 2008</nobr></span><br /><span style="">Marine experts last night said it could be a first for the UK – and comes after a 7ft Blue Marlin was washed up on a <b>Pembrokeshire</b> beach this week.</span></blockquote><span style="">The original report was on the Western Telegraph (Wed Aug 6th, page13) but is reproduced here.<br /><br /></span><blockquote>Marine experts say the possible sighting of a manatee in Pembrokeshire waters is further evidence of climate change. The creature was spotted by Carol Morgan who has a bird’s eye view of Hobbs Point, Pembroke Dock, from her home at 5 Connaught Way.<br /><br />She was preparing her lunchbox early one morning when she saw an unusual shape in the water. At first she thought it was a very large plastic container covered in green algae. But when it moved she reached for a telescope to get a closer look.<br /><br />“I caught sight of its face and it looked like a pot-bellied pig,” said Carol, who works at Pembroke Leisure Centre.<br /><br />“It then pulled itself onto the slipway and seemed to be foraging for something. After a short while it sauntered into the water and that was the last I saw of it.”<br />She only became aware of the actual size of the creature when she saw a couple walking a dog on the slipway a few moments later.<br /><br />“It was several times larger than that dog, more like the size of a small cow,” said Carol.<br /><br />Manatees, or sea cows as they are also known, are largely restricted to tropical waters with the nearest populations to the UK found off west Africa and the Caribbean. Pembrokeshire-based marine biologist, Francis Bunker, says it is possible that the manatee was carried here on the Gulf Stream currents. “We do after all get tropical sea beans and the occasional coconut washed up as well as sea turtles from the Caribbean, so why not a manatee? If it is a manatee I think it could be a first for UK waters.”<br /><br />To his knowledge there are none in captivity in the UK which could have escaped.<br />Bathers need have no worries about venturing in the sea, as manatees are strictly herbivorous, feeding mainly on seagrasses.</blockquote><span style=""><br />Interesting it was seen off Hobbs Point given the name's connection with goblin like creatures as </span> <span>Loren Coleman points out<span style="text-decoration: underline;"> </span></span><span><a href="http://www.cryptomundo.com/cryptozoo-news/hobbs-hob/" target="_blank">Hobgoblin at Hobbs Point</a> at Cryptomundo. </span><br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manatee"><em>Manatee</em></a>'s grow up to 15 feet long and weigh 3500 pounds and are found in West Africa as well as the Southern United States, South America and across Southern Asia. There is a long-standing cryptozoological theory that Manatee are believed to have inspired some of the stories of Mermaids. In 1493, when Columbus's ships were taking on fresh water at the island known as Hispaniola, he recorded in his journal that his men "saw three sirenas (mermaids) who rose very high from the sea, but they were not as beautiful as they are painted." It is generally agreed that the creatures that Columbus and many other similar reports saw were manatees. There are a lot of Welsh legends concerning mermaids all round the Welsh coast which in Welsh are called <b><a name="morgens"><b>Morgens </b></a></b><a name="morgens">or <i>Plant Rhys Ddwfn</i></a>. If the Welsh legends were inspired by any creature it would be a seal one would think. <a name="morgens"></a>Some Welsh mermaid stories mention magic sealskin caps which give mermaids their powers and there is some similarity to the Gaelic tradition of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selkie">Selkie</a>. A number of the Welsh stories concern fishermen marrying mermaids they catch at sea who later abandon their husbands, after he insults or beats them to return to the sea, their husbands being cursed by them. Or fishermen being tricked into the water and drowning the usual sort of tale.<br /><br />So one presumes this beast in Pembroke Dock is either a Manatee a long way from home or perhaps more likely a misidentified seal - but there is another local candidate.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">THE MILFORD MONSTER</span></span><br /><br />In 2003 a sea serpent was seen once in Pembroke Dock close by the location of the Manatee sighting within the famous natural harbour which is also called Milford Haven, which is huge 10 miles by 2 miles. I wondered if the two sightings were connected but the description of the creature sounds very different. The Milford monster was described as massive and serpentine. But I believe it has been suggested that misidentification of Manatees may be involved in some some sea-serpent sightings as well as in Mermaid sightings. Here is an extract from the 2003 report.<br /><br /><h2 class="r"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/page.cfm?objectid=12729380&method=full&siteid=50082" target="_top" class="l" onmousedown="return clk(this.href,'','','cres','17','')">Reward out for `Milford Monster' spotted by pub's lunch customers <b>...</b></a></span></h2> Mar 13 2003 The Western Mail - The National Newspaper Of Wales<p></p><blockquote> <p>The lunchtime customers at the small waterfront pub had never seen anything like it. They were enjoying a quiet drink when suddenly they saw a mysterious serpent-like creature in the water outside<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">It was dark and snake-like and roughly the length of four to five cars.</span></p> <p>If it was Nessie she was a long way from home, as the mysterious creature of the deep was spotted in the Milford Haven waterway, just yards away from the busy Irish ferry terminal.</p> <p>Now the sighting has become the talk of Pembroke Dock and the pub's landlord is offering a £150 reward to anyone who can catch the monster alive. David Crewe of the historic Ship-wright pub, said, "There was definitely something out there.</p> <p>"It could be anything. I just want to find out what it is."</p> <p>The mysterious creature was spotted first by barmaid Lesley John in the deep channel of the waterway, close to where Irish ferry boats turn around before heading for Pembroke Dock ferry terminal.</p> <p>"I was pulling a pint for one of the lads and I was watching the ferry, you know how it leaves a white trail as it goes?"</p> <p>"Then I saw what looked like a <span style="font-weight: bold;">big black fin</span>. I carried on pulling the pint and it was still there. I said to the lads `What the hell is that?' "</p> <p>The customers went outside to investigate and also saw something strange.</p> <p>"From a distance it appeared to have a snake-like head," said Peter Thomas. "And you could see a commotion in the water, a lot of splashing, about 10 metres away.</p> <p>"It was a rather odd thing. I do a lot of boating on the waterway and I have never seen anything like that. It was something really strange. But you can only say what you saw."</p></blockquote><p></p><br />Milford Haven was also a key area in the massive number of UFO reports in the Welsh Triangle incidents of the 70s. One theory claimed there was a secret alien underwater base off the Pembrokeshire coast. So it could be an Alien Manatee :) Meanwhile another few unusual fishy guests came along recently in the area.<br /><span style=";font-family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:85%;" ></span><h5><a href="http://www.westerntelegraph.co.uk/news/3578982.Magnificent_marlin_washed_up_in_Pembs/"></a></h5><blockquote><h5><a href="http://www.westerntelegraph.co.uk/news/3578982.Magnificent_marlin_washed_up_in_Pembs/">Magnificent marlin washed up in Pembs</a></h5>Aug 7th - A giant fish washed up on a Pembrokeshire beach yesterday (Wednesday)is thought to be the first of its species ever seen in British waters.<br />Weighing in at around 450 pounds and over seven feet long, the magnificent Blue Marlin was found in the surf on Saundersfoot's Glen Beach on Wednesday by commercial fisherman Gavin Davies. <p> "I saw something in the water the previous evening, but it wasn't until I was walking the dog at 5.30am that I realised it was a marlin," said Gavin. "It was an amazing specimen." He and fellow fishermen Neil Lewis, Mel Matthews, Neil Thomas and Ruru Norbury pulled the marlin onto the beach with a Land Rover, before lifting it on the vehicle and contacting South Wales Sea Fisheries officer Mark Hamblin to verify their fishy find. </p> <p> "I was gobsmacked," admitted Mark. "I would have loved to have caught that with a rod and line!" </p> <p> The marlin, usually found offshore in deep blue tropical or temperate waters, is known to migrate towards the Atlantic, but apparently never as far afield as the UK.<br />"We are wondering if it could have been attacked by dolphins out at sea, and just drifted in," said Gavin, who fishes for Neil Thomas on board the Evan George. </p> <p> "We're currently seeing dolphins by the hundred when we are out in Carmarthen Bay, and they are known to be extremely aggressive to other fish."</p><p><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Less rare but still intersting is another fish found in Wals this summer:</span><br /><br />"3rd July 2008 A Broad-billed Swordfish, Xiphias gladius, was discovered washed up dead on Barry Island beach, Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales. It was carefully examined by Dr Peter Howlett, (Curator of Lower Vertebrates, National Museum, Wales) who confirmed the identification and found it to be a young specimen 2.24 metres long and between 60 and 80 kg in weight. It had been dead only a few days, but it had been scavenged by other creatures and it was not possible to determine the cause of its death. "<br /></p></blockquote>It has been a strange year for welsh weirdness with the Swansea croc, the UFO wave and the Ghost slug being covered widely too.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-667508550158244153.post-69718065620591374532008-08-08T02:38:00.004+01:002008-08-16T10:21:02.040+01:00Giant eels in the lakeObviously no new sightings of the croc so I have not been updating this blog though I have been down to look around since but no sign of the elusive bast. I still think it existed but like the many other sightings in Cannock or Devon the creature responsible is now dead and missing. Unless it was misidentified.<br /><br />I did meet someone with more curious info on Pluck Lake that their father who was a fisherman had fished in Pluck Lake and seen some unusually large eels there. Pluck lake gets wilder by the minute. I don't think this can explain the sighting though. The man who saw it was just too close.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-667508550158244153.post-32983946393264993482008-07-16T08:58:00.000+01:002008-08-16T09:00:43.671+01:00Ghost Slug haunting WalesVery strange sounding Welsh creature:<br /><blockquote><h2 class="r"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.bbc.co.uk%2F1%2Fhi%2F7498195.stm&ei=A4ijSLWrBp3aQoqEtZMB&usg=AFQjCNF6JqKs9rR4hgNN9bJQ1cnee_pxow&sig2=w1It8L6-L9pSLj9IH74Gbg" class="l" onmousedown="return rwt(this,'','','res','1','AFQjCNF6JqKs9rR4hgNN9bJQ1cnee_pxow','&sig2=w1It8L6-L9pSLj9IH74Gbg')">BBC NEWS | Wales | South East Wales | Worm-eating <em>slug</em> found in garden</a></span></h2>10 Jul 2008 <b>...</b> A "<em>ghost</em>" <em>slug</em> found in a garden in Cardiff has been declared a new species by specialists at the National Museum of Wales and Cardiff.<br /><h2 class="r"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=4&url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FGhost_slug&ei=A4ijSLWrBp3aQoqEtZMB&usg=AFQjCNFwZOTi_K4UzDETJUyQqDLuHWTSDw&sig2=Fsi7igLnt-yiOh6zYLQjqQ" class="l" onmousedown="return rwt(this,'','','res','4','AFQjCNFwZOTi_K4UzDETJUyQqDLuHWTSDw','&sig2=Fsi7igLnt-yiOh6zYLQjqQ')"><em>Ghost slug</em> - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</a></span></h2></blockquote>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-667508550158244153.post-46934493777646989892008-07-09T01:38:00.002+01:002008-08-14T02:29:10.222+01:00Alien spotted in Mumbles<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/shared/contentbinaries/publish/2715561.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/shared/contentbinaries/publish/2715561.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Well the Crocodile may have disappeared but Swansea has a new<a href="http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=161389&command=displayContent&sourceNode=161372&contentPK=21033526"> monster</a>.<br /><br /><span id="main1"></span><blockquote><span id="main1"> Talk of aliens in South Wales just will not go away - and now Wayne Grove believes he has photographic evidence of their existence.<br /><br />Mr Grove claims he took this picture while working for a small gardening firm around Mumbles, West Cross and Mayals.<br /><br />He said: "At approximately 10.19am on Thursday, July 3, I was working in Overland Road in Mumbles where the gardens back onto the woods.<br /><br />"I heard a rustling sound coming from the trees. When I looked I was expecting to see a dog! But to my horror I saw what I can only describe as something from another planet!<br /><br />"From what I could see it was naked, with a large head and black eyes. My heart was pounding so hard the adrenalin was pumping. I took a photo of what i saw and zoomed in.<br /><br />"I really don't know what I saw but I am frightened! Please try and get someone to investigate it."</span></blockquote><a name="continueNews" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-decoration: none;"></a>Obviously a fake. This is all fall out from the spate of UFO sightings in Wales in June.<br /><br />This news report has more.<br /><br /><br /><br />But it looks like the wav of sightings has inspired much coverage.<br /><h2 class="r"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2008/06/29/welsh-ufo-sighting-to-feature-on-us-show-91466-21167972/" target="_top" class="l" onmousedown="return clk(this.href,'','','cres','1','')">Welsh <em>UFO</em> sighting to feature on US show - WalesOnline</a></span></h2>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-667508550158244153.post-997450885173343832008-05-22T01:06:00.003+01:002008-08-14T02:47:10.806+01:00Current Crazy Croc Encounter - Out of place Alligators in the states<h2 class="dot" id="post-6172"><br /></h2><h2 class="dot" id="post-6172"><a href="http://www.cryptomundo.com/cryptozoo-news/hickory-croc/" rel="bookmark" title="Read: Current Crazy Croc Encounter"></a></h2><blockquote><h2 class="dot" id="post-6172"><a href="http://www.cryptomundo.com/cryptozoo-news/hickory-croc/" rel="bookmark" title="Read: Current Crazy Croc Encounter">Current Crazy Croc Encounter</a></h2> <!--begin excerpt/post--> <p><img id="image6171" src="http://www.cryptomundo.com/wp-content/uploads/8326097_bg1.thumbnail.jpg" alt="hickory gator" class="left border" /> What is that thing in Hickory Lake?</p>Chad Arment has passed along updates on a 2 to 3 ft long crocodilian being sighted and photographed in Hickory Lake, North Carolina. Seen for a week now (since Mother’s Day, May 11, 2008), it remains uncaught.</blockquote><br /><p>Another link at CrytoMundo was to a story about a new species of ancient croc found as a fossil which was in the news in late March:<br /></p><p><a href="http://www.cryptomundo.com/cryptozoo-news/brazil-croc/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: New Prehistoric Crocodilian">New Prehistoric Crocodilian</a></p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-667508550158244153.post-25791916490767851472008-05-21T15:33:00.001+01:002008-05-22T01:05:37.359+01:00Crazy croc Syndrome!It is interesting to note there is a term for what has happened.<br /><br />The appearance of alligators and crocodiles in areas far from their native habitat is known in Forteana as the crazy croc syndrome or the crazy crocs. It is a problem which goes back many years see here:<br /><h2 class="r"><span><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://forteanhistoricalarchive.blogspot.com/2007/04/out-of-place-alligators.html" class="l" onmousedown="return rwt(this,'','','res','1','AFQjCNFqgBJLIP1Oqk3g7sbKhwNTMInoRA','&sig2=EiHzJw4mqaHo_OpPLl2Xdg')"><b>Fortean</b> Historical Archive: Out Of Place Alligators</a></span></span></h2>Another clutch of incidents was in 2005:<br /><blockquote>2005 has been a bumper year for crazy croc incidents, with reports from areas as diverse as South Seattle, Wash., Rehoboth, Mass. and Charleston, West Virginia... (Editor's Comment: We've had isolated crazy croc sightings in the USA before. Fortean researcher Loren Coleman has documented hundreds of them dating back to the early 1930s. But, to my knowledge, this is the first sustained crazy croc flap we've ever had, with sightings every week.) <span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=2&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ufoinfo.com%2Froundup%2Fv10%2Frnd1034.shtml&ei=yNQZSIzOIozUwQGL8ujuCw&usg=AFQjCNHhS1aRJYYeKOxhyn0_E69lcJBUkQ&sig2=dgewUP4ArebUyVxy0DOjJA" class="l" onmousedown="return rwt(this,'','','res','2','AFQjCNHhS1aRJYYeKOxhyn0_E69lcJBUkQ','&sig2=dgewUP4ArebUyVxy0DOjJA')"></a></span></blockquote><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=2&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ufoinfo.com%2Froundup%2Fv10%2Frnd1034.shtml&ei=yNQZSIzOIozUwQGL8ujuCw&usg=AFQjCNHhS1aRJYYeKOxhyn0_E69lcJBUkQ&sig2=dgewUP4ArebUyVxy0DOjJA" class="l" onmousedown="return rwt(this,'','','res','2','AFQjCNHhS1aRJYYeKOxhyn0_E69lcJBUkQ','&sig2=dgewUP4ArebUyVxy0DOjJA')">Source</a></span><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><br /><br /></span><blockquote> <p>Another incident in 2005 was in Cyprus - "Wildlife workers in Cyprus are trying to verify reports that crocodiles may be on the loose at a popular tourist nature spot after they became too dangerous for their owner to handle."</p> <p>"The reptiles are believed to have been smuggled in to the eastern Mediterranean island, where crocodiles do not breed and the closest nature cousin is the innocuous chameleon."</p> <p>This is the fourth report in three weeks about out-of-place crocodiles or alligators turning up in areas far from their natural habitat. </p> </blockquote> <h2 class="r"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=6&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.unknownmagazine.com%2Froundup24.htm&ei=yNQZSIzOIozUwQGL8ujuCw&usg=AFQjCNHzKqtWSlViKOhaYaOVIz2T573sqg&sig2=4Xjr9R17ga4x3KxV6KuK8g" class="l" onmousedown="return rwt(this,'','','res','6','AFQjCNHzKqtWSlViKOhaYaOVIz2T573sqg','&sig2=4Xjr9R17ga4x3KxV6KuK8g')">Chris Fleming's Unknown Magazine</a></span></h2> <span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><br />Another interesting sighting was an Alligator in Maine in September 2000 a pretty unseasonable time one would have thought:<br /></span><h4></h4><blockquote><h4>OUT-OF-PLACE ALLIGATOR SNAPS AT A MAN IN KENNEBUNKPORT, MAINE</h4> <p> One of the weirdest Fortean phenomena is the "Crazy Croc syndrome," the sudden and unexplained appearance of alligators in places far from their natural habitat. </p><p> Just such an incident occurred last week in Kennebunkport, Maine (population 1,200), a seaside resort town on Route 9 located about 26 miles (40 kilometers) south of Portland. </p><p>(Editor's Note: The Bush family mansion, summer home of former President George Herbert Walker Bush, and his son, Gov. George W. Bush, the current Republican Party candidate for USA president, is located on Walker's Point in Kennebunkport.)</p></blockquote><p> </p><p></p><blockquote><p>(Editor's Comment: Cue spooky organ music...) "An alligator that nipped at a man's trousers was likely someone's pet that was set free, police said." </p><p> "William Sartry shot the 31-inch-reptile dead. He said the alligator approached him while he was walking around a pond in his back yard." </p><p> "'You're going to think I'm nuts,' Sarty told a police dispatcher when he reported the incident." (See USA Today for September 20, 2000, "Maine," page 6A.) from<br /></p><h2 class="r"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=4&url=http%3A%2F%2Funitas.lunarpages.com%2F%7Eufoinfo2%2Froundup%2Fv05%2Frnd05_39.shtml&ei=yNQZSIzOIozUwQGL8ujuCw&usg=AFQjCNGGXJrilMnCwRnbdIXMiLZ58X6U-A&sig2=vI9IEt1UNCxtBl8Daz3OlA" class="l" onmousedown="return rwt(this,'','','res','4','AFQjCNGGXJrilMnCwRnbdIXMiLZ58X6U-A','&sig2=vI9IEt1UNCxtBl8Daz3OlA')">Source</a></span></h2></blockquote><p> </p><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-667508550158244153.post-29789273777569207142008-05-21T01:16:00.000+01:002008-05-22T01:20:29.540+01:00Charles Fort on Mystery Croc Reports<p>As always Charles Fort was the first to notice Crazy Croc Syndrome in his book LO!:<br /></p><p></p><blockquote><p>Maybe, in September, 1929, somebody lost an alligator. According to some of our data upon the insecurities of human mentality, there isn't anything that can't be lost by somebody. A look at <i>Losts and Founds</i> -- but especially <i>Losts</i> -- confirms this notion. <i>New York American,</i> Sept. 19, 1929 -- an alligator, 31 inches long, killed in the Hackensack Meadows, N.J., by Carl Weise, 14 Peerless Place, North Bergen, N.J. But my attention is attracted by another "mysterious appearance" of an alligator, about the same time. <i>New York Sun,</i> Sept. 23, 1929 -- an alligator, 28 inches long, found by Ralph Miles, in a small creek, near Wolcott, N.Y. </p> <p>In the <i>Gentleman's Magazine,</i> Aug., 1866, somebody tells of a young crocodile, which, about ten years before, had been killed on a farm, at Over-Norton, Oxfordshire, England. </p> <p>In the November issue of this magazine, C. Parr, a well-known writer upon antiquarian subjects, says that, thirty years before, near Chipping Norton, another young crocodile had been killed.<sup><a href="http://www.resologist.net/lo107.htm#N_6_">(6)</a></sup> According to Mr. Parr, still another young crocodile had been seen, at Over-Norton. In the <i>Field,</i> Aug. 23, 1862, is an account of a fourth young crocodile that had been seen, near Over-Norton.<sup><a href="http://www.resologist.net/lo107.htm#N_7_">(7)</a></sup> </p> <p>It looks as if, for about thirty years, there had been a translatory current, especially selective of young crocodiles, between somewhere, say in Egypt, and an appearing-point near Over-Norton. If, by design and functioning, in the distribution of life in an organism, or in one organic existence, we mean anything so misdirected as a teleportation of young crocodiles to a point in a land where they would be out of adaptation, we evidently mean not so very intelligent design and functioning. Possibly, or most likely. It seems to me that an existence that is capable of sending young butchers to medical schools, and young boilermakers to studios, would be capable of sending young crocodiles to Over-Norton, Oxfordshire, England.</p></blockquote><p></p>Fort thinks telportation (a word he invented) might be involved. It is interesting that so many Crocs should have been seen in the 1860s in one area.<br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0