Monsters and Myths

The “Association of Maritime Research” is calling for witnesses to come forward pertaining to sightings of a mysterious creature in the English Channel off the coast of Dover. A reward is being offered for information leading to proof of the creature’s existence.

“On 20th April 2009 Thierry and Sophie were enjoying a walk at the Boulogne Harbour. They are both passionate about boats and sea-life and intended filming the variety of boats sailing out of the harbour. As Thierry was filming, his eye glued to the lens, he suddenly became aware of a large shape which appeared on the horizon. Intrigued, he zoomed the camera in to focus more clearly and saw a huge, dark, rapidly moving object, which disappeared within a matter of seconds. Something of an amateur expert about the sea and marine life, he knew this was not simply the outline of a whale or any similar creature and was convinced that he had sighted some phenomenon as yet unseen by man. He decided to contact the AMR who are pursuing further investigations.

Now they need your help. The AMR are appealing for witnesses to come forward and help them find the Channel Creature, or similar sea monsters. Anyone who gives evidence leading directly to proof of the creature’s existence will receive a reward. “

Source: channelcreature.com

The mystery of the “Waveney Monster” - an enormous beast more than 10 foot long and weighing more than a tonne - has been recalled by a former coypu trapper.

Noel Rochford, who was a member of Coypu Control, was able to explain the background to a “monster” hunt more than 25 years ago.

He and fellow trapper, Colin Denny, of Beccles, had seen the “monster” a couple of years earlier.

When officials at the Ministry of Agriculture refused to take their sighting seriously, they decided to ask the public for help to identify the mysterious creature.

It became such a sensation that Broads holiday company Hoseasons offered a £10,000 prize or reward to any member of the public, who could get a close-up photograph of the creature.

And so, the hunt for the “Waveney Monster” started in earnest in March 1984, said Mr Rochford, of Burgh St Peter, near Beccles.

He had seen a large creature, possibly 10ft in length, with rough, thick fur and big eyes, come out of the water with “almost a loud snort” near the cut on the river at Burgh St Peter.

“When I told the ministry, officials just laughed and said: ‘It’s another of your jokes.’ But I’d seen it a couple of years earlier,” said Mr Rochford, who worked for the ministry’s eradication programme for almost nine years until the task was officially completed.

He was persuaded by the EDP’s photographer to look for the creature. Together with Mr Denny, they “posed” for the pictures in the coypu control craft. But Mr Rochford remains absolutely convinced that he saw a large creature. “Colin and I both saw it when we down the river towards Haddiscoe and the Burgh marshes,” he added.

“It wasn’t a seal. This thing weighed a tonne or maybe more. It was a huge thing and when the head came out of the water, it was a bit frightening. It had brackish fur like a coypu and a big shaped head. It was enormous,” said Mr Rochford, who was holding the tiller.

“It certainly wasn’t a coypu or a larger relative,” said Mr Rochford. The last wild coypu was trapped on the Ouse, near St Neots, in April 1988 - three years ahead of schedule.

Coypu escaped from a farm at East Carleton Manor in 1937 where they were being bred for their fur. They rapidly became a major threat to river and flood defences and finally, in 1981 the Ministry of Agriculture was given £2.5m for a 10-year eradication programme.

Source: edp24

A part of the greater Cincinnati area, Loveland, Ohio today has a population of around 11,600 people. But some folks there might say that population count should include a weird two-legged creature with a face resembling a frog or lizard.
It was on cold, clear night 37 years ago this week that a police officer encountered what would become known as the Loveland Lizard.

On the night of March 3, 1972, a police officer was patrolling the streets of Loveland when he saw something lying in the middle of the road. To the officer, it looked like some kind of animal that had been hit by a car.
The officer got out of his patrol car to check it out. He intended to drag the poor animal over to the shoulder of the road until the local game warden could be called out and pick up the carcass. As he opened his car, the door made a noise that caused the creature to suddenly rise up. The officer suddenly realized that this was no deer or dog that had been hit by a car.

He later described it as a human-like creature with the face of a frog or lizard. It was about 4 feet tall and had a green leathery skin. The creature got up and took a crouched position, like that of a defensive lineman, and stared back at the officer. Its eyes were illuminated from the lights of the patrol car, according to a Web site.

Then, the creature began to hobble over to the nearby guardrail. It lifted its leg over the guardrail and while doing so, kept its lizard eyes fixed on the startled officer. As the creature went over the guardrail and down an embankment, the policeman fired a shot at it but missed. In no time, it was clean out of sight. Investigators believe it disappeared into the nearby Little Miami River.

Later that month, a farmer in Loveland also claimed to have seen the mysterious creature. Folks there remembered that these were not the first sightings of the Loveland Lizard.

The first claimed sighting happened in May 1955. At that time, a businessman said he saw three or four frog-faced creatures squatting under a bridge near Loveland. He described them as having wrinkles instead of hair on their heads and standing about 3 feet tall. He also said they had lopsided chests and wide mouths without lips, like frogs or toads. The businessman said they also left behind a strong smell of alfalfa and almonds, according to a Web site.

And just nine years ago, a tourist in Loveland happened to encounter the weird creature. In 2000, a person visiting Loveland on vacation reported seeing the Loveland Lizard on the way to his hotel. He described it as a 4-foot-tall creature that seemed to be part human and part lizard or frog. He said it had scaly skin, webbed hands and feet and was holding a wand-like stick.

The tourist tried to take a photo of the creature but he mistakenly shot off the flash from his camera, which scared it off. He then tried to call the local animal control officer but he couldn’t give them a full description and location because his cellphone’s battery went dead, according to a Web site.

mcdowellnews.com/content/2009/mar/04/mike-conleys-tales-weird-land-love—and-lizardmen