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Sunday 27 November 2011

A Very Unexpected Surprise!

THANK YOU to all those who have visited this site since it was set up on Saturday -1000!!!



Now I'll have to keep posting!

Anomalous Photographs. July, 2010

The following photographs were taken on a hot sunny day in July 2010.  The location was Purdown, Lockleaze, Bristol, from which you can see most of the City.  The photographer and his partner were not the only ones present -so was I!

The photographer (DMH) shouted "I can't believe what I just saw -I think I got it on the camera!"  He then pointed out where the objects had come from and took a photograph.

I had been distracted at the time but I can make it clear that absolutely NO FAKERY was involved.

I waited to see whether the images showed anything and soon received this one:
 







And then I got an excited call about a figure in the window of the building the objects had shot from.  Look at the second window where you can see what appears to be a "Grey" type entity.



I can swear on any number of Bibles that these are NOT faked.  They show exactly what was seen at the time and the witness CAN be trusted. Had I not been distracted with my own suddenly malfunctioning camera (a few hundred yards away) I might have seen or photographed the same things.




ANOMALOUS OBSERVATIONAL PHENOMENA: The Red Paper:Foxes, Jackals, Wolves and Mystery C...

ANOMALOUS OBSERVATIONAL PHENOMENA: The Red Paper:Foxes, Jackals, Wolves and Mystery C...: 202 pages illustrated with maps, photographs Price: £10.00 Ships in 3–5 business days ...

The Red Paper:Foxes, Jackals, Wolves and Mystery Canids In The UK



The Red Paper:CANINES vol.1 
 
 202 pages
illustrated with maps, photographs
Price:£10.00
Ships in 3–5 business days 
 
 
Up-dated 2011 edition includes section on sarcoptic mange in foxes and treatment plus a list of wildlife sanctuaries and rescue centres in the UK. 
 
By the 1700s the British fox was on the verge of extinction and about to follow the bear and wolf having been hunted for sport for centuries. 
 
The answer was to import thousands of foxes per year for sport. But foxes kept dying out so jackals were tried. Some were caught, some escaped. Even wolves and coyote were released for hunting. 
 
The summation of over 30 years research reveals the damnable lie of "pest control" hunting but also reveals the cruelty the animals were subject to and how private menageries as well as travelling shows helped provide the British and Irish countryside with some incredible events. 
 
The Girt Dog of Ennerdale is also dealt with in detail. 
 
should be of interest to Cryptozoologists


http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/the-red-papercanines-vol1/18605332?productTrackingContext=author_spotlight_338105_

The U-Boat And The Sea Monster


 The following is taken from Some More Things Strange & Sinister




    It is claimed that,in April,1918,the British patrol vessel Coreopsis,out of Belfast, came across the German UB-85 submarine,on the surface and non-mobile.  The crew apparently abandoned the submarine and were all taken prisoner.  Obviously,the first thing the Royal Navy officers wanted to know was why the crew had not fled or offered any fight.

    Captain Gunther Krech’s explanation;they had been attacked by a sea serpent.

    Krech is reported to have told how the UB-85  had surfaced to recharge its batteries and to allow the crew to have a smoke. It was while doing this that a huge sea serpent climbed aboard. To say the least,the crew was rather startled and began to discharge their firearms at the monster.   This had little effect on the creature other than to anger it and it then bit down on the forward gun –causing  the sub to list side to side. 



    Captain Krech feared that his vessel would take on water through the open hatch and sink.  So the crew continued to fire away and this eventually caused  the serpent to slink back into the depths.

    According to Krech:

                     "This beast had large eyes, set in a horny sort of skull. It
                     had a small head, but with teeth that could be seen
                     glistening in the moonlight."


    Krech’s rank was Kapitän Leutenant and,yes,there was indeed a UB-85 but there seems to be a lot of confusion so I’ll explain. The SM U-85,was a Type Mittel U submarine launched in 1916 and that served in the First World War until sunk on 12 March 1917.  That clear?  Good.  Now,there was an SM UB-85 –a   Type UB III submarine launched in 1917 and sunk on 30 April 1918.  Krech’s submarine was the latter.

    However,there was no monster.  Official German sites dealing with the First World War and submarines tell the same story as the official log of the Coreopsis:

               "(UB-85) Hit by gunfire of Coreopsis while attempting to dive.
               Resurfaced and abandoned by her crew at 5447N 0523W"

    So,the crew were taken off the submarine which was then sunk.  And let’s not get confused with  the submarine U-85 (1941) which was a Type VIIB submarine that served in the Second World War until sunk on 14 April 1942.

    No sea monster.






Above:a photograph widely used on the internet and in one magazine as being of the UB-85.  Two problems:[1] This is not a World War One type submarine.  [2] The submarine is flying the Swastika flag –making this clearly a Second World War photograph!  The source of this confusion may be a specific site that had “no photographs of the U-85 or the monster  so this photograph takes its place”.  You have to love the internet for such hilarious stupidity!


    And in 1934,Popular Mechanics [1] published a lengthy article on sea serpents and retold the incident involving  Captain [Baron] George Gunther von Forstner and his submarine the U-28.  In the article Baron von Forstner tells how on the 30th July,1915, in the North sea,he had just torpedoed a British freighter [Iberian –THS].   It was a sad and regular occurrence during the Great War.  But what von Forstner reported then happened was not.

    As the Iberian began to sink it exploded just below the surface.  This explosion caused a plume of debris to fly high up into the air –including  a creature that resembled a 60-foot-long crocodilian. According to sources,according to von Forstner the creature had  "…four limbs resembling large webbed feet, a long, pointed tail and a head which also tapered to a point." 

    As it shot up into the air the creature wriggled and twisted as if in pain before hitting the water and sinking out of sight.  No photographs were taken though von Forstner and six other crew observed the creature.  One source claims that all the men “agreed upon a drawing and entry in the log book”.  The source also wonders whether the explosion had killed a “living mososaur?”.


 File:German submarine SM U-28.jpg
Above:In the background the U-28 during World War One,commanded by von Forstner.



    I think the writer meant a member of the Mosasauridae.  It has been said that there were certain discreprancies in von Forstner’s story some 18 years later.  This is natural and you can find discreprancies after a week,a month or even days –it is a recognised problem with observers to events and one of the reasons why you contact any witness as soon as possible after an event.  Nothing untoward [2 & 3].

    In the 1980s I was told that von Forstner had drawn the image described and that he stuck to his account the rest of his life.  There are current attempts to contact the von Forstner family to see whether any first hand record survives.  So,one fake submarine attacked by monster story and one….?



References.

1.    “Is There A Sea Serpent?”,Popular Mechanics,September,1934,pp.398-401
       and 118A

2.    Eberhart,George M.,Mysterious Creatures:A Guide ToCryptozoology,
        pp.320-321. ABC Clio,2002

3.    Magin,Ulrich,”Forstner Sea Serpent Sighting A Possible Hoax?”,Strange
       Magazine no.2,p.4,1988


My thanks to the many WW I historians and specialists in submarine history whose help was invaluable –THS

ANOMALOUS OBSERVATIONAL PHENOMENA: What’s Tall,Hairy And Vanishes…….?

ANOMALOUS OBSERVATIONAL PHENOMENA: What’s Tall,Hairy And Vanishes…….?: The following is taken from SOME THINGS STRANGE & SINISTER http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/some-things-strange-sinister/149589...

What’s Tall,Hairy And Vanishes…….?


 The following is taken from SOME THINGS STRANGE & SINISTER


    Anyone who has ever read the classic book Strange Creatures From Time & Space, by John Keel [1], will have learned a little about the Indian version of the wildman.  In fact,there are any number of books on the subject of what are called Hairy Hominids in the trade –or if you prefer, the Yeti, Sasquatch, Almasti, Kaepre and so on [2-6]. 

    To many the subject is a little unsettling; we know of chimpanzees,orang-utans, gorillas and their intelligence, not to mention almost human-like features.  But these are seen as “below” Man and are, gorilla excepted, smaller than us.  No real threat.  Gorillas are the “gentle giants”, lying around eating fruit and leaves all day and hundreds visit gorilla territories with guides each year.  Chimps have tea-parties and make jolly funny tea commercials!  The orang-utan is just magnificent and, sadly, highly endangered.

    But, when you talk about more primitive man-like creatures with huge barrel chests, enormous strength and a height of 2-3 metres [8-10ft] it’s a whole different story!

    The theory that the Sasquatch/Bigfoot, as well as other Hairy Hominids might be relic populations of Gigantopithecus [Gigantopithecus blacki] has been accepted by many researchers though there are those who say Bigfoot is the “Missing Link” between Ape and Man –this so called “Missing Link” was rejected by science long ago, though a number of primitive species of early man have been discovered over the years.  Besides, say the detractors,”if” Bigfoot is a gigantopithecus why have no bones been found yet?  The detractor using that argument is a detractor who either does not know what he/she is talking about or knows he has no counter-argument and is bluffing hoping their position or title will pull the bluff off!

    For centuries the Chinese have sold ‘dragon-teeth’ and bones that are ground up and used in “medicines” –these teeth and bones are usually purchased at markets or from dealers and are, in fact, ancient fossils. It was while looking through an Hong Kong apothecary shop in 1935 that G. H. R. von Koenigswald discovered a rather famous tooth.  In the sixty years since then some three jaw-bones and over a thousand teeth have been recovered, again, from apothecary shops but also in situ at archaeological digs.

    Scientists have managed to produce a “look” for gigantopithecus as well as discover more about it.  For instance, at Tham Khuyen, Viet Nam, the remains were found of a competitor for what has been proposed as a major food source for gigantopithecus, bamboo –the giant panda [extinct in Viet Nam].  In the same area, as well as the Hubei and Sechuan provinces of China, gigantopithecus remains occur alongside those of homo erectus. Teeth of gigantopithecus have been found in Wuming, China, and dated to around 400,000 B.C. –homo erectus was in Asia at that time and, it is thought, may have contributed to the ‘extinction’ of gigantopithecus there. 

    Interestingly enough, Hubei and Sechuan are two of the areas from which sightings of Hairy Hominids are made. Some areas of China where these reports come from are so wild that they are still not even partially explored.

    But what did gigantopithecus look like?  According to some,gigantopithecus stood 3 metres [10ft] tall and weighed approximately  2500 kilos [1,200lbs] –the appearance, varying depending on who is doing the reconstruction, from gorilla-like to very Bigfoot-like [when shown a selection of images some witnesses immediately point to the image of gigantopithecus].  With so few bones to go on,scientists have to start with reconstructing the head first since it is the most substantial item they have.

        Evolution-wise,gigantopithecus and the orang-utan are on the same line –they have a common ancestor known as Sivapithecus.  But a tree-living creature of that weight would be very unlikely so the model chosen for reconstruction was a combination of the largest primate known,the gorilla,and the extinct giant baboon Theropithecus oswaldi.   Bill Munn, a Hollywood “monster maker”, built an impressive model –but a model representing the largest gigantopithecus.

    The other version is of a 2.7m [9ft],1,200 kilo [600 lbs] giant gorilla.  Although the model constructed by Munn, with expert guidance, is impressive some feel it looks more dramatic than a gorilla almost 3 metres in height.  Believe me, a 3 metre gorilla standing upright would look impressive!

    When it comes down to it the appearance of gigantopithecus is scientific guessology –the best that can be done until a full skeleton or, perhaps leg or hip bone turn up.  But that it would be impressive is beyond doubt.

    Whether Sasquatch or the Almasti or even fei-wei are gigantopithecus relics we can only,again,guess at.  There is something called “scientific proof”,this usually entails the body of an animal.  Back in the late 1970s to 1980s,I corresponded with Russian Hominologist, Dimitri Bayanov, who produced a great deal of pioneering evidence on the “Soviet Wildman”, as people in the West called it.  

    John Green is another veteran Hominologist whose work has not just included gathering reports but mapping sightings, looking at possible diets and much more on the American Bigfoot.  In the late 1970s a rather heated debate centred around these gentleman and the question of “scientific proof”.

    John Green had suggested, in the pages of Pursuit, the journal of the Society for the Investigation of The Unexplained [SITU], that if the chance ever presented itself to a hunter, whether Yeti, Almasti or Bigfoot, the creature should be shot dead.  The reasoning was that a body would provide science with the ultimate proof and something for scientists to cut up and study .  The whole idea was upsetting to Bayanov who, quite rightly pointed out that, if these were endangered the individual shot might be the last breeding male or female and with a single bullet a very rare species might might become extinct [7].



    Luckily, a number of hunters, in the U.S., Russia and China, have looked into the faces and eyes of  these hominids and not fired.  The reason given being that the hominids were “so human” that they all felt they would be committing murder.  Those with the sole intention of gaining fame and wealth  through killing a hominid have been very unlucky –thankfully.   In Canada and certain U. S. states, the Sasquatch/Bigfoot is now offered legal protection “in case”.

    These hominids, as proven by Green, Bayanov, John Napier and Rene Dahinden, are true “gentle giants”, and will try to avoid human contact where-ever possible, though they have shown curiousity at times.  When you think of a 3 metre tall hominid then that is quite a break for those encountering them. 
    
    There are those,on the fringes,who claim that Bigfoot is killer.  Terry Albright,a Bigfoot investigator,believes that President Teddy Roosevelt, on a hunting trip, scared a Bigfoot into someone elses camp –their mutilated bodies found the next day.

    Albright also claimed in a TV documentary,In Search Of Mythical Monsters,that the Pentagon,the U. S. military headquarters,knows the truth and should reveal it to the American public.   It is more likely that a bear killed the trappers in the “Roosevelt Incident” –the President, himself, never saw Bigfoot.

    Claims of captured or dead Hairy Hominids do exist but have never been proven.  Opinions vary, rather as over the question of whether the Patterson and Gimlin film footage of  Bluff Creek, California, 1967: they are either genuine accounts or fake –as far as the film is concerned, the late eminent Hominologist, Grover Krantz, accepted it as genuine, as did Ivan T. Sanderson and the “Father of Cryptozoology”, Prof. Bernard Heuvelman.

    In the early 1900s British troops are alleged to have shot an hominid near Jelep-la Pass, India.  The body was shipped off but then all traces are lost.

    In Assam, India, during Autumn, 1954, head-hunters allegedly killed and ate a hominid, the bones and fur shipped off to a monastery at which point all traces vanish [8].

    In the late 1970s I had the opportunity to mount a paper-chase hunt after two hominids—the Mande Burung - or forest man – or a close relation.  According to a news item in the Indian Express [9 & 10]:-



                “A pair of  ‘strange humanoid’ creatures are reported
                to have been captured by tribal people in the Khamti
                Forest,Arunachal Pradesh.   Mr. R. Das,Superintendent
                of  Police,of Dibrugargh District,Upper Assam,said that
                the height of the creatures [one male/one female] was
                estimated at ten feet.

                “Mr. Das said that the administration was making the
                necessary arrangements to send the creatures to Tazu
                District H.Q. of Tirap,in Urizon Territory.”


    A captured pair of hominids.  As the Flying Saucer Review had reprinted the news item, I wondered whether that meant they had someone in India who could follow the matter up?  I telephoned the then editor, Charles Bowen, and asked –“No. FSR had no one in India”.  Had, I enquired, anyone else been in touch showing an interest in the report?  “No”, I was told. 

    I could either file away the report, as I had my fingers burnt before by an Indian Express item [11].  However, what if  this was a genuine incident?  I would never have forgiven myself.  So, I asked Mr. Jal N. D. Tata, who reported on UFO incidents in India, whether he might be willing to follow the matter up?I wrote to the Indian police H.Q.s mentioned.

    In early September, 1978, I received a response from Mr. Tata who had made various enquiries to try to locate Superintendent Das, but,apparently, he had been posted to another area.  The idea of Mr. Tata visiting the policeman prove unfeasible; the journey would take many days involving trains, boats and even ox-cart.  It didn’t look like I was going to have much success.

    In March, 1979, I was busily going over paperwork on local UFO reports.  As usual, I had poured myself another over-sized mug of coffee and began to type up a report when there was a knock on the door.  I opened the front door to find a smartly dressed Indian gentleman and, parked to his rear, a highly polished car with Diplomatic Plates.  I wondered what I’d done wrong now?  An outstretched hand proferred a small, square manilla envelope.

    “I am to deliver this to you,Sir,” said my visitor after I affirmed I was Terry Hooper.  The man then turned, got back into the car and was driven off.  I shrugged –I was used to odd things happening by then.  Returning to my office I opened up the envelope and found a letter dated 21st October,1978.  It read:-

“Government Of Arunachal Pradesh,


Sir,
  Information as asked for vide above are not available
at this office since the area seems under the jurisdiction
of the Superintendent of Police,Lohit District,P.O. Tezu,
Arunachal Pradesh.

  You are requested to communicate the matter to the
Superintendent of Police,Lohit District,Tezu who may per-
haps enlighten you on the subject.

                                       Yours Faithfully
                                    [signed] S. S. Sirohi
                        District Superintendent Of Police
                          Tirap District,Khonsa. “

 
    Well, that seemed straight forward enough.  So, a letter was sent off to Lohit District H.Q. on 13th March, 1979.  Then I followed this up with another in June….another in September and then I quit.

    There is only so far you can go before your head hits a solid wall.

    Mr.Tata and I had proven that there was a real Inspector Das.  But had the incident taken place?  Could two 3 metre tall hominids have been captured and taken away somewhere without a single journalist [even in India] hearing a word about it?  In 2004 I tried another follow-up but drew the usual blank.

    Only one man probably knows the truth –Inspector Das.  We can, however, make a good guess and come up with three possibilities:-

[1]   There was no such incident –it was a journalistic fabrication or hoax.

[2]   Two wild humans were captured and handed over to a hospital or whatever:
        Just in case this is what happened I’m following the theory up.

[3]   Two genuine,3 metre tall hominids were captured.


    I’ll go for [1] with [2] being an outside possibility.  However, the idea that such hominids might be captured and held secretly by the military is sheer bovine excrement.  Just what would the military do with large hominids?  The mind boggles at such claims.  Had this been a genuine incident I think the world would have been made are within days or weeks and top experts flown to India from the U.S., Europe or China.

    But then, The Sun [London] ran an article well worth reprinting here,and my thanks to them for permission to do so:


       “DNA tests could reveal 'yeti'

       By STAFF REPORTER

       “The yeti's existence could finally be confirmed as scientists wait for
       the results of a DNA test on a hair claimed to be from the beast.
       Initial tests showed the sample - brought back from the Indian jungle
       by BBC journalist Alastair Lawson - had human and ape-like characteristics.

       “British ape expert Ian Redmond said: "Under the microscope, they
       look slightly human, slightly like an orang-utan and slightly like the hairs
       brought back by Edmund Hillary.

       "These hairs remain an enigma. They could be a new species, but the
       DNA tests will hopefully tell us more."

       “Sir Edmund brought back similar hairs in the 1950s from his Everest
       expedition.

       “The hairs were found in the Meghalaya state of India after a forest
       worker claimed to have spotted the creature over three days in 2003.

       “Believers reckon the hair comes from a three-metre Indian version of
       the yeti - also known as the abominable snowman.

       “Dr Redmond and scientists from Oxford Brookes compared the hairs
       of an Asiatic black bear, yaks, orang-utangs and gorillas.

       “The biologist said: "The hairs are complete with the cuticle, and between
       3.3cm and 4.4cm long and thick and wiry and curved.

       "At one point we thought they looked like they came from a wild boar.
       That was quite a tense moment, but when we got a sample from the
       museum it turned out they were quite different."

       “He added: "My concern is that if we do find something unusual, it will
       be from a very small population of animals and I would want to talk to
       the State Government and Indian Government so they are not inundated
       with people trying to catch one for a museum."


    This reference to human and ape-like characteristics is interesting as similar results came from hairs found in Nepal in the 1990s that were tested.  And, again, from the United States when hairs were obtained by a team working in association with the TV series Monster Quest.

    It is interesting, though, that the two allegedly captured hominids were in Arunachal Pradesh because, in 2004, the Arunachal macaque [Macaca munzala ] was discovered in the mountains of the Arunachal Pradesh. It lives at high altitudes, between 2000 meters and 3500 meters, making it one of the highest-dwelling primates.  But they are not 3 metres tall.  However, if one primate can be discovered..?

    Personally, I would have thought to best thing would be to go by local knowledge and set up as many camera traps as possible for a year in known hominid active areas. The idea of putting up one or two camera traps for a short period in a specific area is akin to those who go ghost hunting or hold “UFO sky-watches”; two to three hours then leave.  Pointless.

    But those two hominids said to have been captured in India will always have me wondering:true or false?