Thursday, 6 February 2014
Giant Jellyfish Washes Up In Australia
According to Sky News just under three hours ago....
Scientists are working to classify a new species of "whopper" giant jellyfish that has been found on an Australian beach.
Such a jellyfish has been seen in the past, but not one one so large and not one that became beached, said Lisa Gershwin, a scientist with the government's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).
"We know about this specimen but it hasn't been classified yet, it hasn't been named," said the scientist who has been working with jellyfish for 20 years.
"It is so big it took our breath away.
"It's a whopper of an animal but it's not life-threatening, although it does sting."
The unclassified species is related to the lion's mane jellyfish, the largest known species of the marine animal in the world.
Ms Gershwin said there had been a huge jellyfish bloom in Tasmanian waters over the past month.
CSIRO scientists now have enough pictures and samples to begin a proper analysis and give the creature a name.
Despite this, much remains unknown, including how it eats and breeds, and its habitat.
"It's so big but we know nothing about it," said Ms Gershwin. "It highlights again how much we still have to learn about the ocean."
The jellyfish was found by the Lim family on a beach south of the Tasmanian capital Hobart .
Mother Josie said: "It blew our minds away.
"It's not really jellyfish territory here and all we could do was stand back and admire it."
Monday, 20 January 2014
Black Tower Books: Pursuing The Strange & Weird:A Naturalists Viewpoint
Paperback,
A4
249 Pages
Profusely illustrated with photos, drawings and maps -some very rare
Price:
£15.00
Ships in 3–5 business days
2013 UP DATE -From Dead Aquatic
(Humanoid) Creatures, the giant squid and yet undiscovered sea
creatures; submarine and ships crews encountering true leviathans.
This
is a fully expanded section which also refers to the so-called ‘Ningen’
sightings and video footage.
Extinct animals at sea that have been re-discovered.
The subject of Sasquatch and other mystery Hominids around the world is
dealt with including a look at the “Sasquatch-killer”, Justin Smeja. Dr.
Bryan Sykes and his DNA test results for TVs The Bigfoot Files as well
as the controversial Erickson Project and Dr. Melba Ketchum’s
Even more controversial Sasquatch DNA test results.
Also included are two early French UFO entity cases that still baffle.
Ghosts, strange creatures and the Star-Child hoax. All dealt with by the
naturalist and pursuer of the strange and weird
Sunday, 19 January 2014
Black Tower Books: The Truth About Spring-Heeled Jack
Terry Hooper-Scharf
A4
Paperback
53 pages -illustrations/line drawings
Price:
£7.00
Ships in 3–5 business days
Thursday, 12 December 2013
Wednesday, 11 December 2013
Because We All Like A Mystery As Well As Need To Learn More About Our Wildlife
The Red Paper:CANINES vol.1
Terry Hooper
Paperback,
A4
202 Pages
Photos/maps and illustrations
Price:
£10.00
Ships in 3–5 business days
Up-dated 2013 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 40 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 as are other "cryptozoological" mysteries such as the 1905 Badminton sheep-slayer, Mystery Canids of Cavan, Wolves of Epping Forest and more.
Sunday, 8 December 2013
MoD chiefs 'hid evidence' of big cats prowling UK, new book claims
When this Daily Mail newspaper item was first brought to my attention I thought it was a joke. Between 1977-2009 I acted as an exotic wildlife consultant to UK police forces and my "other work" brought me into contact with many military personnel including high ranking RAF officers who were fascinated by these "big cat" sightings. One very senior RAF man once said to me "if one of these things is ever trapped or killed on RAF/MoD land I'll insist you get called in!"
I have, as it happens, spoken to at least three of the Royal Marines who were involved in the 1980s "search" and two have actually had sightings of large cats since leaving the military but point out there was no "shoot-to-kill" re. the cat and there was a lot of "****** crap being reported on what we were supposed to have seen and done."
And now we have this "fantasy" -I am trying not to be too rude. A body kept in a secure vault at RAF Fylingdales? This is pure and utter fantasy and makes no sense and it is a claim that says nothing for any alleged "investigators" credibility.
Here is what RAF Fylingdales is about:
Our tasking from the Ministry of Defence, through Headquarters Air Command, splits into four jobs. Firstly we are charged with continuously providing warning of ballistic missile events to both Her Majesty’s Government (through the UK Missile Warning Centre at RAF High Wycombe) and the United States’ authorities (through the Missile and Space Domain, which is situated in the Cheyenne Mountains in Colorado).
Secondly, the Station’s complementary mission is to support – on a non-interference basis with the warning mission – the United States’ developing Missile Defense System. The Station’s third job – and secondary mission – is to contribute to the Allied Space Surveillance Network, and this enables, fourthly, the Station to support UK forces worldwide through the Satellite Warning Service.
RAF Fylingdales also plays an important part in the community in our part of North Yorkshire. We are a significant employer in the area, providing technical and highly skilled employment opportunities for many local people. Personnel from our Ministry of Defence Police and Guard Service, and Defence Fire and Rescue Service, also provide routine support to the local emergency services in this remote part of the country.
In addition, we also have the privilege and responsibility for managing, protecting and maintaining some 3000 acres of the beautiful North Yorkshire Moors National Park our part of which includes three Sites of Special Scientific Interest, a Special Protection Area and a Special Area of Conservation; these exist to protect some eighty rare species of birds, animals and plants.
hmm...they seem to be hiding the suppression of big cat evidence" (a puma is, in fact, a Medium sized cat and NOT a member of the Big cat family).
Yes, DEFRA (Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if you want it named accurately) is with-holding information. That, and former police colleagues know for a fact. But these claims of cover ups and a carcass at a base are purile, childish nonsense.
So, here is the Mail Online article:
Puma's body 'is being kept in secure vault at RAF base'
By Damien Gayle
Fearsome: A new book claims the carcass of a puma-like animal has been kept hidden at an RAF base
Hundreds of big cat sightings have been recorded over the years, from the Beast of Bodmin Moor to the Surrey Puma, but it is now claimed that evidence of them has been suppressed.
Rick Minter, author of Big Cats: Facing Britain's Wild Predators, claims that the body of a fearsome puma-like animal is being kept hidden in a top security vault at an RAF base.
He likens the alleged cover-up to the U.S. government's veil of secrecy surrounding an alien crash landing in Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947.
In the book, seen by the Sun, he writes: 'It is at RAF Fylingdales that we have Britain's Roswell moment on big cats.
'Retired staff apparently talked about a "body on the table" and a witness outside the base reported a puma-like creature being trundled off in the scoop-arm of a tractor.'
A local paper from the area reported in June 2004 that a large cat 'the length of a sheep' was killed on the Pickering to Whitby road near to the base.
Mark Fraser, who investigates big cat sightings as part of the Big Cats In Britain group, told the Sun such a body was the 'Holy Grail' of his investigations.
'If the MoD have a body, we'd like to know about it,' he told the paper.
A series of photos taken in Cornwall purport to show the Beast of Bodmin Moor.
A big cat sighting near a naval base in Scotland - one of the many fearsome beasts said to be roaming the countryside
And last year, a panther-like creature was photographed near a naval base in Scotland.
Blurred photographs and a succession of intriguing big cat sightings followed, but no creature was ever caught.
The government's Department for Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) insists the claims are unsubstantiated.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)