Monsters and Myths

Scientists in the US who have examined hairs claimed to belong to a yeti in India say that in fact they belong to a species of Himalayan goat.

They say that DNA tests on the hairs - obtained from the north-east Indian state of Meghalaya - show that they are from a goat known as a Himalayan Goral.

The rough-haired creature has a grey-brown coat and is between 95-130cm (37-51in) in length.

It was not previously thought to roam so far south of its known habitat.

Those who believe in the existence of the little known Indian version of the legendary yeti - or abominable snow man - say it is an ape-like creature called mande barung - or forest man.

The BBC was given the hairs by passionate yeti believer Dipu Marak, who retrieved them from a site in dense jungle after the mande barung was allegedly seen by a forester for three days in a row in 2003.

‘Interesting result’

“We always knew that the link between the sightings of the Indian yeti and the finding of the hairs was purely circumstantial,” said ape expert Ian Redmond who carried out a preliminary series of tests on the hairs earlier this year which proved inconclusive.

“Nevertheless, the DNA test is an interesting result because the reported location where this sample was collected is way south of the published distribution maps of the Goral species, which is said to live between 1,000 to 4,000 metres up in the Himalayas.

“Perhaps we have a more modest discovery - extending the known range of the goral rather than confirming the existence of the lowland yeti,” he said.

Mr Marak said that the hairs could have provided compelling evidence of the existence of a black and grey ape-like animal which stands about 3m (nearly 10ft) tall.

“While these results are discouraging, it does not affect my firm conviction that there is a yeti-like creature out there,” he said. “It has been seen too often for it to be dismissed as nothing more than a myth.”

‘Startling resemblance’

In recent years different witnesses in the West, South and East Garo hills of Meghalaya say that they have seen the creature, which Mr Marak estimates to weighs about 300kg (660lb) and is herbivorous, surviving on fruit, roots and tree bark.

Scientists said that initial microscopic tests on the hairs were “potentially very exciting” as they bore a “startling resemblance” to similar suspected yeti hairs collected by Everest conqueror Sir Edmund Hillary.

After the microscope tests, the hairs were sent to a lab in the US for DNA analysis. By a “process of elimination” the hairs from India were compared with hairs from other animals known to live in the area around the Garo hills.

The first series of tests were carried out at Oxford Brookes University in central England with award-winning primatologist Anna Nekaris and microscopy expert Jon Wells from the university’s anthropology department.

Using some of the most sophisticated microscopes in Britain, the hairs were magnified up to 200 times and then compared with a database of other hairs provided to Mr Redmond from Oxford’s Natural History Museum and the primatology department at Oxford Brookes University.

After the tests were completed, Mr Redmond - who is also a senior consultant for the UN’s Great Ape Survival Project - and Ms Nekaris were able to rule out the “obvious candidates” to whom the hairs might belong.

However the hairs were then sent to the US for further tests where the link with the goral goat was established.

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7666900.stm

Unbelievably, the bids on the actual Bigfoot hoax costume, (without the pig, cow and opossum body parts) in the same small freezer that the Georgia boys used, has gone over $101,000. The whole thing is being auctioned off by Joshua Warren on eBay and, obviously, the reserve has been met. The auction will go higher, as this is with over two days to go.

I interviewed Warren about this auction, by phone earlier in the week, and determined that Matt Whitton, Ric Dyer, and Tom Biscardi will not be involved in getting any of the money. However, if Warren does sell it above $50,000, then the criminal and/or civil actions against Whitton and Dyer will be dropped by the Indiana individual who originally fronted the money. Whatever is leftover above $50,000, apparently, will be used by Joshua Warren to fund his “hoax investigation museum.” Warren’s background has been in hauntings, ghosts, Bermuda Triangle cruises, and paranormal conferences. He has not ventured into any cryptozoological realm before this auction.

Warren was able to get former cop Whitton and former alleged AWOL soldier Dyer to agree to go to the location of the trickster Bigfoot body and confirm to the final eBay buyer (during the transfer of the fake and finances) that this is the actual hoaxed costume and freezer. Then all charges against them will be dropped.

The eBay hoax auction has gotten quite a bit of Fox News attention lately. As that news service points out, this is not the first time someone’s made money from an eBay auction related to the hoax. The original costume artist in California sold a duplicate head for $600 in late August.

Of course, for $450 or $499 (depending on the quote and the site), you can simply buy the entire complete and same costume Dyer and Whitton used, minus the eBay auction, entrails, paperwork, freezer and personal appearance.

What do you think, a casino is bidding on the hoax Bigfoot body for a display?

I find it quite upsetting, at some level, that this much money exists out there for a fake, and yet legitimate Bigfoot research, Sasquatch museums, and Bigfoot studies have to get by on shoestring budgets.

cryptomundo.com/cryptozoo-news/bf-ebay2/

I saw this article and couldnt help but post it for the readers here ,  as i found it quite entertaining !

WORRIED bookmakers have stopped taking bets on aliens showing up on Earth.

It follows a flurry of bets amid internet buzz that a massive intergalactic spaceship will appear tomorrow.

Videos and messages on YouTube, blogs and UFO websites are buzzing with predictions that a vessel from the alien Federation Of Light will be visible in our skies for three days.

It may all sound more oddball than odds-on - but bookies William Hill are taking it seriously enough to temporarily suspend betting on proof of the existence of intelligent alien life being confirmed by PM Gordon Brown.

It follows a rush of bets, including one punter who wanted to place a s3000 bet at odds of 1000-1.

Hill spokesman Rupert Adams said: “This is the first time an internet phenomenon has affected our business.

“We now have seven-figure liabilities if the ship does appear. We have decided to duck any more big bets until the 14th has passed, hopefully without incident.”

The rumour is believed to have been started by “channeler” Blossom Goodchild, who claimed to have received a psychic tip-off.

The stories have spread, along with a warning it would “cause panic among the masses”.

One message claims: “They have carefully selected this time to show up and are doing it out of goodwill because of the great evils behind this world.

“It is time to become free from wars, pestilence, famine, poverty, sickness, disease, rich and poor and all the world sufferings.”

No time was given for the spaceship’s arrival.

dailyrecord.co.uk/news/editors-choice/2008/10/13/

bookies-suspend-bets-on-alien-landing-86908-20798802/

A fearsome mutant fish has started killing people after feeding on human corpses, scientists fear. They reckon that a huge type of catfish, called a goonch, may have developed a taste for flesh in an Indian river where bodies are dumped after funerals. Locals have believed for years that a mysterious monster lurks in the water. But they think it has moved on from scavenging to snatching unwary bathers who venture into the Great Kali, which flows along the India-Nepal border. The extraordinary creature has been investigated by biologist Jeremy Wade for a TV documentary to be shown on Five.

He said: “The locals have told me of a theory that this monster has grown extra large on a diet of partially burnt corpses. It has perhaps got this taste for flesh by feasting on remains of funeral pyres. There will be a few freak individuals that grow bigger than the other ones and if you throw in extra food, they will grow even bigger.” Jeremy discounted theories that crocodiles could be responsible for the carnage before turning his attention to goonches – among the world’s biggest freshwater fish. He caught one which tipped the scales at 161lb and was nearly 6ft long – a world record weight and far bigger than any landed before. He said: “If that got hold of you, there’d be no getting away.

An 18-year-old Nepali disappeared in the river last year, dragged down by something described as like an “elongated pig”. But the first victim of a goonch attack was thought to have been a 17-year-old Nepalese boy. He was killed in April 1988 as he cooled himself in the river. Witnesses said he was suddenly pulled below the surface. Three months later a young boy was dragged underwater as his father watched helplessly.

thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/weird/article1784470.ece

Video reports are noting that Siberian hunters have found several alleged Snowman footprints. These tracks are said to have the step length of about 6 feet or 2 meters.

I’ve discussed “Siberian Neandertals” a year ago, in October 2007, here. The notion there are unknown hairy hominoids in Siberia is well-established.

The various reports go by different names. They are called Mecheny, Mirygdy, Chuchunaa, Mulen, or Wildmen, and some Soviet Snowmen Commission scientists and a few Chinese in the last century have studied them. The Chuchunaa, the sometimes-raggedly-clothed, eastern version of the Mirygdy, are sighted in Eastern Siberia.

cryptomundo.com/cryptozoo-news/siberia-ftprt/

Paul Dale Roberts: What are these hairy bi-pedal creatures like the Bigfoot of Northern California, Sasquatch of Canada, Yeti of Nepal/Tibet, Yeren of Mainland China, Orang Pendek of Indonesia and the Yowie of Australia doing stomping around in the forests of our worlds? How come we can’t ever catch one? As a paranormal investigator/part-time cryptozoologist, I have set up two Bigfoot Scouting Missions during my lifetime. One in Mount Shasta and the other one in Covelo. Sightings of Bigfoot have been seen in both locations. People who have encountered Bigfoot say that the creature smells foul.

The very first Bigfoot story I ever heard, was when I lived in San Bruno. Next to San Bruno is Daly City. At the Daly City Chinese Cemetery, graves have been robbed, because the Chinese will place money and jewelry into the graves of their loved ones. There are stories of orbs that will hover over certain graves. These stories are mere tidbits to the one story that has been told all over the bay area. The story goes that a couple drove into the cemetery to make out. The boyfriend saw a glowing blue light and went to investigate. His girlfriend claimed that the blue light was actually a UFO and her boyfriend was abducted on the spot. In a frantic, she drove out of the cemetery and a large hairy bi-pedal creature jumped from the overhead gate onto the hood of her car. She later testified it was a Bigfoot. This is supposed to have happened in the early 60s. My question is what was a Bigfoot doing in a populated city like Daly City? What makes the story somewhat interesting is that the Bigfoot is associated with a UFO. Some witnesses claim to have seen the occupants of UFOs working alongside Bigfoot type of creatures.

If this is true, then this would make Bigfoot a paranormal creature. Perhaps this is why we can’t capture a Bigfoot. Perhaps Bigfoot is an interdimensional creature that is able to walk into our reality and build a Bigfoot nest, rest up a little bit and go back into it’s other dimensional realm. How can a creature so large and probably very hungry exist in our world without us ever capturing one, unless it is interdimensional?

During our investigations on Mount Shasta and Covelo, we heard that the indigenous people of these areas have all claimed to have seen wildmen in their woods. But, what is also interesting is that UFOs are seen all around Mount Shasta and Covelo. Some Ufologists feel that there is a UFO underground base within the confines of this majestic peak.

One of the main things we try to do to communicate with Bigfoot is hitting wood-upon-wood, in a series of loud knocks. If we hit wood upon wood 3 times, we would expect 3 knocks coming out of the woods. This would indicate an intelligent response back. Wood-on-wood communication is a way the Bigfoot is known to communicate. There was only one time in Covelo, I hit the tree 3 times with a solid piece of wood and received one knock back. This was inconclusive. I hit the tree 3 more times with my solid piece of wood and the response I got back was 3 rocks hitting the water of the creek 3 times. Bigfoot are also known to throw rocks, so I found that quite interesting, because the three rocks hit the water right after I hit the tree three times. In Mount Shasta we thought we heard a loud screeching sound from the woods, using a Listen Up sound enhancer. We did not find any footprints, so the Plaster of Paris that I bought went to waste.

Some scientists feel that if the Bigfoot or the Yeren of Mainland China actually exists, then it could be Gigantopithecus that came from China. Gigantopithecus may have crossed over the Bering land bridge that once existed and populated areas of Canada and the United States.

I actually believe that Bigfoot and all of his cousins do exist in this world. The creature must be of the paranormal realm, because we would have captured him a long time ago. For a long time the mountain gorilla was elusive to man and in 1902, man discovered that this great ape roamed the Congo. With as many people that populate this Earth, I would believe that Bigfoot or Yeti would have been discovered by now.

Mark Sandoff with two of his friends were camping out in an area of Eureka in 1984. They had a nice campfire burning and telling jokes. Then small pebbles were being thrown at them. The pebbles would hit their heads, shoulders, back and chest area. They instantly thought they were the target of other campers that were being mischievous and stood up to confront their attackers. But, what they saw surprised them. From the shadows of the tree, with a dim light from the campfire lighting up the surrounding area, they saw a huge hairy creature. As they looked into the face of the creature, it almost looked human. The creature was grimacing. The stare lasted for a few minutes and finally the Bigfoot creature turned around and walked away.

Mark and his friends put out the fire and moved to another campsite. They immediately came to the conclusion that they were not welcomed in this area.

It appears that Bigfoot and his many cousins will always be amongst us. I, for one am glad we cannot capture a Bigfoot, because if we could, we would analyze, dissect Bigfoot. We would cage him up for all to see. Yes, Bigfoot, stay elusive. May you never be found.

unexplained-mysteries.com/column.php?id=137503

The Bigfoot Hoax that landed two Georgia men in hot water has one last chance to bail them out of financial problems. The original body, and freezer, have now been put on eBay, and money earned will help settle financial conflicts and pay for a new Hoax Research Center, devoted to studying these kinds of cases to prevent them from happening in the future. The Center’s founder says widespread Halloween props give more people opportunities to fake paranormal phenomena. He thinks it’s notable since major news outlets stopped covering Obama and McCain to cut away to a live announcement regarding the “find” on August 15.

The Hoax Research Center is operated by Joshua P. Warren, a well-known author, TV and radio personality who specializes in paranormal research. “There’s no doubt about it,” he said, “this hoax has damaged the field of legitimate bigfoot research for a long time. Now we’re trying to extract something positive from the situation–studying what happened and contributing to an organization to ensure it never happens again.”

For years, Warren has produced contests to fake (but not hoax) UFOs, and claims the results have helped UFO experts rule out fakes when analyzing footage. “It can be a double-edged sword,” he explained. “We can be accused of inspiring fakes, but I think it’s like a vaccine. A small shot of what we’re avoiding overall helps us prevent a bigger problem.”

The original body, known as the “RickMat” creature is being offered, along with cooperation of the fakers, Matt Whitton and Rick Dyer, to restore it to its original condition and speak about how and why the hoax was perpetrated. The buyer of the body is expected to enjoy a great deal of publicity, as this weird story has been covered internationally by CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and Newsweek; and TIME Magazine even gave Rick Dyer a quote of the week when he told cynical reporters they would eat their words. “What does this tell us about our society?” Warren asks. “The hoaxers never intended to sell the body, but it’s a last resort, and an opportunity for money earned to partially redeem this deception.”

The museum-quality display is currently on eBay.

naturalplane.blogspot.com/2008/10/press-release-georgia-bigfoot-hoax-body.html

Thirty years ago Safe Air pilot Bill Startup saw something out the window of his Argosy freight plane that has baffled UFO sceptics and believers to this day.

Now, the famous Kaikoura UFO sightings of 1978 are to be repeated in a replicated flight in December, with Mr Startup and other crew and passengers in the plane.

Marlborough-based film maker Paul Davidson, who owns the same Argosy at the centre of the mystery – the Merchant Enterprise – said a charter flight had been arranged to follow the same path at exactly the same time on December 30.

Mr Davidson said the sightings were unique because not only were they witnessed by the two pilots, but they were also filmed by a professional news cameraman on board the flight.

Two separate radar systems tracked the mysterious lights off the Kaikoura Coast at the same time as the sightings and previous witnesses had also reported strange lights in the area.

Various theories have been put forward to explain the lights including atmospheric disturbance and distorted lights from the ground, but those aboard have no doubt what they saw.

Mr Startup, who still lives in Blenheim, said there were “lots of funny things happening” that night. He wrote a book based on his observations.

Cameraman David Crockett and journalist Quentin Fogarty were aboard the Merchant Enterprise specifically to try to see for themselves the strange lights that others had reported.

Mr Fogarty also wrote a book on the subject.

Mr Davidson said it was the first time a UFO had been seen simultaneously by trained observers, tracked by radar and filmed by a professional cameraman.

He said the flight later this year would take off from Blenheim Airport and head to Wellington, as the Merchant Enterprise had done.

It would leave Wellington Airport at 11.50pm and head for Christchurch where they first encountered the strange lights over Kaikoura.

All of those on the original flight had been invited and there would be seats available for those wanting to relive the UFO experience.

The replica flight was one of a number of events taking place to mark the “Kaikoura UFO Anniversary” in Blenheim from 28-31 December.

Also planned is a UFO Symposium at the Marlborough Research Centre, tours of the Argosy aircraft involved and the premiere of “Kaikoura – The Light Inside of Me”, a contemporary musical inspired by the events of 1978.

stuff.co.nz/4721269a11.html

JONESBORO, Ga. (AP) — The police officer who cried Bigfoot wants his job back.

Former Clayton County Officer Matthew Whitton has filed an appeal of his August termination.

Chief Jeff Turner says he fired Whitton because the officer ruined his credibility when he and Rick Dyer sought media attention, saying they found the body of the legendary man-ape.

The men held a press conference with Searching for Bigfoot Inc. director Tom Biscardi and showed photos and DNA results to make their claim.

Biscardi paid the men for access to the body being kept in a freezer at a secret location. Ice melted to reveal a rubber costume stuffed with animal entrails.

Legal observers say court cases in which Whitton was going to be a key witness will likely be dismissed because of the issue of his credibility.

13wmaz.com/article/20081010/NEWS02/81010011/1005/NEWS01

A BRITISH expert says a UFO crashed in the States in 1947 and there is “no doubt aliens were here”.

Philip Mantle – editor of UFO Data Magazine – is unveiling his findings at an international conference this month.
But he has given the Daily Star exclusive details.

He investigated the site in New Mexico and has been analysing rock, earth and vegetation.
The area is surrounded by charred trees and bushes and a mysterious blue bubbly substance dribbles down rocks.
A top US scientist says high levels of radiation point to a ship landing there in the 1940s.
In his extensive report, physician Dr Ronald Rau said: “Would I tag it a UFO? Probably.”

The area in the Nogal Canyon is close to to the well-known Socorro desert site where experts say another object appeared to have landed in 1964.

Philip explained: “A good friend of mine Ed Gerhman first found the site and I flew over as soon as I could.
“It was a real find and as soon as I arrived there I knew what a special and peculiar place it was. There is nothing around it for around 70 miles, it is literally in the middle of nowhere.

“Us Brits really have beaten the Americans at their own game and it is really great that we have done that. It really is revolutionary for the UFO world.”

Philip has been swamped with TV offers and will reveal the full findings at a conference in Leeds.
Former MOD official Nick Pope said: “This looks to be a potentially very interesting and significant development.”
The UFO Data Annual Conference will be held on October 25 and 26.

dailystar.co.uk/news/view/53830/The-truth-is-out-there-says-Phil/