Jana Peterson, Duluth News Tribune
It was a little over a year ago when the Siltanen brothers found the footprints. Checking for bear bait on a Monday morning, it wasn't bear tracks they found in the freshly plowed field. In fact, they weren't sure what they found.
"We found about 75 of these footprints," Robert Siltanen said. "My brother had plowed the field Friday and seeded it Sunday. We found the footprints on Monday morning."
Siltanen said the prints measured 4 inches wide and 11½ inches long, with a 42-inch stride from heel to toe.
"There have been (Bigfoot) sightings in the (Kettle River/Automba) area," Siltanen said, adding that he knew of at least three more-recent ones and recalled people in high school talking about Bigfoot sightings. "So we started snooping around, and we called all the neighbor ladies to see if they'd seen anything."
The really strange part, Siltanen said, was the fact that the footprints seemed to appear 60 feet from the outer edge of the field, then continue toward the woods. There were no prints leading onto the field.
"Who the heck knows," he added. "It's one of those unexplained situations."
He made casts of the footprints using plaster of Paris, which are displayed in an old shoebox. The prints are quite different: The left one looks almost deformed, with the smaller toes practically stacked on top of each other..
The brothers, who are the third generation in their family to farm their land in Kettle River, said they also hear strange noises early in the morning, sometimes a scream, other times a low moan.
Robert Siltanen imitated the moan.
Roger Siltanen laughed.
"It was hell walking to the deer stand after that," Roger Siltanen said. "I don't know how I would react to seeing one."
Robert Siltanen said a man named Jim Hebb from a Minnesota Bigfoot organization came and looked at the prints three weeks later and guessed they could belong to a juvenile Bigfoot.
However, in a response to viewing photographs of the footprint casts together and compared to Robert Siltanen's bare foot, Idaho State University professor Jeff Meldrum said the prints look very human.
Meldrum, an anatomy professor whose specialty is primate and human locomotion and the adaptation of the foot for walking on ground, is well-known as an expert on reported Bigfoot casts. He initially became interested in doing serious research on the legendary North American ape after seeing about 35 to 45 clear prints in the ground in 1996.
"My forte is footprint evidence," said the professor, who also published a book, "Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science," in 2006. In endorsing the book, noted primatologist Jane Goodall said, "Jeff Meldrum's book `Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science' brings a much-needed level of scientific analysis to the Sasquatch — or Bigfoot — debate."
Although his recent film and television credits include Monster Qwest and National Geographic programs, the Idaho State University professor has not worked with the "Finding Bigfoot" television cast … at least not directly.
"They did send some prints after they found the first Georgia footprints," Meldrum said. "But I
couldn't get back to them in time. I concluded they were bear tracks. One of the hosts raved about those tracks, that they were some of the best he'd seen.
"It's unfortunate," he added. "You get these amateur `experts' making silly pronouncements, and the skeptics use it as ammunition to discredit all the evidence that comes to light."
On the subject of Sasquatch and footprints, Meldrum said the more-credible Bigfoot prints have several things in common:
They exhibit a flat, archless foot that shows a greater degree of flexibility in the mid-foot.
They have a much greater width and length than a human foot.
The toes tend to be more squarely aligned; there's less of an angle from the big toe to the little toe. There's also less of a size difference between the big toe and the smaller toes, although the big toe is still bigger than the rest.
Meldrum has no trouble making the call on the Siltanen casts on the basis of two photographs.
"The photo of the man [Robert Siltanen] with the cast is the most telling," Meldrum said. "There are so many resemblances [between his foot and the print] … I'd be surprised if it's not his foot or someone closely related to him."
Robert and Roger Siltanen both insist the footprints were not their own.
"We might (stretch the truth), but we wouldn't do this," Roger Siltanen said. "It's still a mystery if they (Bigfoot creatures) are really out there or if it's someone that's had too much to drink … or it's an elaborate hoax."
http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/207804/
Showing posts with label footprints. Show all posts
Showing posts with label footprints. Show all posts
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Messing with Sasquatch may not be such a good idea
CHATHAM – There’s something amiss in the backwoods of Chatham, something potentially big. Lately there’s been talk around certain areas of town of an unusual howling and screeching sound as well as evidence of some very large footprints.
Since June there have been at least five to six instances of residents discovering or hearing evidence that the infamous Bigfoot may be lurking somewhere in the Chatham community. One case in particular has garnered some attention from local police, as well as a few proclaimed Big Foot experts.
On Wednesday, June 15, 2011, Michael Patrick’s mother was getting the liner to her pool changed at her residence, when workmen noticed an abnormally large footprint under the apple tree in the back yard and brought the footprint to Patrick’s attention.
Over the years Patrick and his mother had, at times, heard bizarre noises, but had always passed them off as coming from some common forest animal. But they weren’t the only ones that had heard the sounds either. The night before the footprint was found a neighbor had also commented about unusual sounds.
“My neighbor has a German Shepherd, and it heard something that night that spooked him. The dog went outside to investigate, but came back cowering, now it won’t leave its owner’s side,” Patrick said.
Unsure about what exactly the footprint was, and concerned for his mother’s safety, Patrick called the Chatham Police Department. An officer came to investigate the scene, but was unable to determine what might have caused the print.
“The responding officer stated that there was a large footprint approximately 18 inches long and 8 inches wide, and it appeared there were five claw marks,” Chatham Police Department Deputy Chief, Vernon Foli said.
To give you an idea how big 18 inches is, retired NBA center Shaquille O’Neil's feet are approximately 15 inches long, and he wears a size 23 shoe. The average human being’s foot measures approximately 9 ½ inches. Most shoe size charts end at a size fifteen shoe. An 18-inch footprint is about the size of a healthy newborn baby. Considering the size of the print, it’s understandable for a person to show a little concern if they found such a print in their yard.
Patrick documented his discovery on Facebook where he struck up a conversation with a friend. Patrick’s friend knew John Winterbauer, a Bigfoot investigator. Winterbauer in turn contacted local Bigfoot expert Stan Courtney.
Courtney has documented sightings and gathered sound recordings and evidence of Bigfoot for years. He has interviewed over two hundred witnesses who have seen Bigfoot.
“I literally know hundreds of people who’ve seen these animals. There have been lots of them in central Illinois. I’ve recorded lots of sounds that other researchers and witnesses believe come from these animals. People in Springfield don’t realize it, but there have been a lot of reports from the Sangamon River around Riverton.” Courtney said in a previous interview.
Courtney said that there have been five to six other reports of finding footprints and howling in the Chatham area since June.
So why is Bigfoot in Chatham? Well it’s hard to say really. Patrick’s property does back up to a wooded stream which flows into Lake Springfield. Courtney proposed that the creature was drawn to the house because of the apple tree that grows in Patrick’s mother’s back yard.
Stan Courtney explained to Patrick that the apple tree might have somehow been interpreted as a gift of food. In the past the Patrick’s had noticed that apples from the tree had been picked, but only to a certain height. They believed that the culprit was a wily raccoon, but the large footprint seemed to suggest otherwise. Courtney told Patrick that a creature such a Bigfoot will usually return the favor, and present a gift of its own as a show of appreciation in the form of a dead animal or a strange arrangement of flowers.
The day after his meeting with Courtney, Patrick discovered the Sasquatch’s gift, a decapitated rabbit, near his mother’s house. In Courtney’s account he stated that the rabbit had, “its head pulled off, not bitten or cut, but just simply pulled off.”
Since that strange June evening, no more incidents have occurred at Patrick’s mother’s residence. You might think that such a strange series of events would frighten most people in to staying out of the back yard, but the occurrence has not deterred Patrick’s mother from going about her normal routine.
“She’s not scared, she continues to do her yard work, she thinks it’s neat. My mom has never been skeptical of it.” Patrick said.
While his mother may not be skeptical of what happened, others aren’t ready to pin the event on Bigfoot just yet. Vernon Foli posed a possible explanation, albeit an indirect one.
“One thing I can tell you is that approximately ½ mile south of this location is the former Grindstone Valley Zoo that use to have exotic animals. The zoo is no longer in existence but the owner is Brad or Larry Reynolds and he still has some animals at this location,” Foli said.
Could the print have come from an animal from the old zoo? The Reynolds had kept large animals such as buffalo, antelope, elk, deer, tigers, leopards, monkeys, and zebras while the zoo was open. Or could it be a bear footprint? It’s widely believed by many that there are no bears in Illinois, but with their presence in neighboring states, Wisconsin and Missouri, would it be so far fetched to think that there are indeed bears in Illinois?
At this point it’s hard to tell what exactly made the footprint, but with other accounts of strange happenings and unusual howls and screeches in Chatham, many residents are raising an eyebrow.
“I definitely don’t think it was a hoax, and it was more than just a coincidence. I think that people should just be a bit more vigilant and careful, because you never know what you’re going to find out there,” Patrick said.
By Kevin Tremain (ourtowns.sj-r.com)
http://www.sj-r.com/ourtowns/chatham/x121481200/Messing-with-Sasquatch-may-not-be-such-a-good-idea
Since June there have been at least five to six instances of residents discovering or hearing evidence that the infamous Bigfoot may be lurking somewhere in the Chatham community. One case in particular has garnered some attention from local police, as well as a few proclaimed Big Foot experts.
On Wednesday, June 15, 2011, Michael Patrick’s mother was getting the liner to her pool changed at her residence, when workmen noticed an abnormally large footprint under the apple tree in the back yard and brought the footprint to Patrick’s attention.
Over the years Patrick and his mother had, at times, heard bizarre noises, but had always passed them off as coming from some common forest animal. But they weren’t the only ones that had heard the sounds either. The night before the footprint was found a neighbor had also commented about unusual sounds.
“My neighbor has a German Shepherd, and it heard something that night that spooked him. The dog went outside to investigate, but came back cowering, now it won’t leave its owner’s side,” Patrick said.
Unsure about what exactly the footprint was, and concerned for his mother’s safety, Patrick called the Chatham Police Department. An officer came to investigate the scene, but was unable to determine what might have caused the print.
“The responding officer stated that there was a large footprint approximately 18 inches long and 8 inches wide, and it appeared there were five claw marks,” Chatham Police Department Deputy Chief, Vernon Foli said.
To give you an idea how big 18 inches is, retired NBA center Shaquille O’Neil's feet are approximately 15 inches long, and he wears a size 23 shoe. The average human being’s foot measures approximately 9 ½ inches. Most shoe size charts end at a size fifteen shoe. An 18-inch footprint is about the size of a healthy newborn baby. Considering the size of the print, it’s understandable for a person to show a little concern if they found such a print in their yard.
Patrick documented his discovery on Facebook where he struck up a conversation with a friend. Patrick’s friend knew John Winterbauer, a Bigfoot investigator. Winterbauer in turn contacted local Bigfoot expert Stan Courtney.
Courtney has documented sightings and gathered sound recordings and evidence of Bigfoot for years. He has interviewed over two hundred witnesses who have seen Bigfoot.
“I literally know hundreds of people who’ve seen these animals. There have been lots of them in central Illinois. I’ve recorded lots of sounds that other researchers and witnesses believe come from these animals. People in Springfield don’t realize it, but there have been a lot of reports from the Sangamon River around Riverton.” Courtney said in a previous interview.
Courtney said that there have been five to six other reports of finding footprints and howling in the Chatham area since June.
So why is Bigfoot in Chatham? Well it’s hard to say really. Patrick’s property does back up to a wooded stream which flows into Lake Springfield. Courtney proposed that the creature was drawn to the house because of the apple tree that grows in Patrick’s mother’s back yard.
Stan Courtney explained to Patrick that the apple tree might have somehow been interpreted as a gift of food. In the past the Patrick’s had noticed that apples from the tree had been picked, but only to a certain height. They believed that the culprit was a wily raccoon, but the large footprint seemed to suggest otherwise. Courtney told Patrick that a creature such a Bigfoot will usually return the favor, and present a gift of its own as a show of appreciation in the form of a dead animal or a strange arrangement of flowers.
The day after his meeting with Courtney, Patrick discovered the Sasquatch’s gift, a decapitated rabbit, near his mother’s house. In Courtney’s account he stated that the rabbit had, “its head pulled off, not bitten or cut, but just simply pulled off.”
Since that strange June evening, no more incidents have occurred at Patrick’s mother’s residence. You might think that such a strange series of events would frighten most people in to staying out of the back yard, but the occurrence has not deterred Patrick’s mother from going about her normal routine.
“She’s not scared, she continues to do her yard work, she thinks it’s neat. My mom has never been skeptical of it.” Patrick said.
While his mother may not be skeptical of what happened, others aren’t ready to pin the event on Bigfoot just yet. Vernon Foli posed a possible explanation, albeit an indirect one.
“One thing I can tell you is that approximately ½ mile south of this location is the former Grindstone Valley Zoo that use to have exotic animals. The zoo is no longer in existence but the owner is Brad or Larry Reynolds and he still has some animals at this location,” Foli said.
Could the print have come from an animal from the old zoo? The Reynolds had kept large animals such as buffalo, antelope, elk, deer, tigers, leopards, monkeys, and zebras while the zoo was open. Or could it be a bear footprint? It’s widely believed by many that there are no bears in Illinois, but with their presence in neighboring states, Wisconsin and Missouri, would it be so far fetched to think that there are indeed bears in Illinois?
At this point it’s hard to tell what exactly made the footprint, but with other accounts of strange happenings and unusual howls and screeches in Chatham, many residents are raising an eyebrow.
“I definitely don’t think it was a hoax, and it was more than just a coincidence. I think that people should just be a bit more vigilant and careful, because you never know what you’re going to find out there,” Patrick said.
By Kevin Tremain (ourtowns.sj-r.com)
http://www.sj-r.com/ourtowns/chatham/x121481200/Messing-with-Sasquatch-may-not-be-such-a-good-idea
Dinosaur tracking in Bolivia
I'm staring at what was, until very recently, the largest set of dinosaur footprints on earth – 581 metres of vicious slashes gouged by a carnivore's razor-sharp claws. But now, a third of the way into the run, as the predator salivated at the prospect of supper, the spoor suddenly vanishes, replaced by a slab of fresh, smooth rock.
It reappears 10 metres further on. The hunt has recommenced. But it's too late. A landslide has left a savage rip across the rock face, interrupting the trail laid down 65m years ago in Bolivia's central highlands. To palaeontologists it's almost iconoclasm, like a theologian finding a page torn from the Gutenberg Bible.
The lost footsteps of "Johnny Walker", as the dinosaur is known, are the latest tweak to the prehistoric landscape outside the elegant city of Sucre. Cal Orko is a constantly evolving record of life in the Cretaceous era – an epic canvas that due to erosion and local mining will always be a work in progress.
"It's just amazing," says chief guide Maria Teresa Gamón as we inspect the damage. "We see fresh footprints and fossils all the time. We lose some, we find some. It's always changing."
Whatever the latest tally, the vast wall of sedimentary rock still bears the largest, most diverse collection of dinosaur tracks on the planet. Across a limestone slab 1.2km long and 80m high, Cal Orko sports more than 5,000 footsteps, with 462 individual trails.
My own trail is slightly longer. Sedate Sucre breaks up the schlep from tropical Santa Cruz to the altiplano mining town of Potosí. With a student population served by great bars and cafes it's the perfect place to kick back for a few days, particularly in the dreamy Parador Santa María la Real, where colonial-era rooms surround light-filled courtyards.
But Spain's conquistadors are a pinprick in history compared with the dinosaurs. The Bolivian prints belong to eight main species, including the unpleasant carnotaurus with its terrible dentistry and laughably tiny upper limbs, and the herbivorous ankylosaurus – a sort of heavyweight armadillo. But they and their footsteps are dwarfed by those of the clumsy plant-guzzling titanosaur, weighing up to 100 tonnes.
Cal Orko lies three miles from downtown Sucre, where red, brown and ochre folds of earth smudge into the Andean foothills. I know it's inside a quarry – miners spotted many footprints after the first discoveries in 1985 – but it's still shocking to find heavy industry cheek by jowl with a fragile landscape of world significance. The extraction company's work covers everything – trees, buildings, men – in a fine fuzz of dust. Its vast lorries, titanosaurs of earth moving, are a surreal juxtaposition with the palaeontologists' delicate work.
The Parque Cretácico, opened in 2006, lies further up the hill, with a museum, vast models of dinosaurs and B-movie roars piped through loudspeakers. So far so Spielberg. It's only when I reach the viewing platform, 150 metres from the rock face, that it starts to become marvellously real – a widescreen view of prehistory. My eyes need to adjust. Cal Orko is a vast optical puzzle requiring time to decipher. Those dots, dashes and holes like super-sized horse hoofprints aren't random designs – they're rock-solid semaphore explaining Cretaceous life.
Visitors aren't normally allowed up to the wall, but with mining temporarily suspended, I'm granted rare access. The immense vertiginous rock face is slightly overwhelming, in the dust and searing heat. Maria, the palaeontologistss assistant, uses a mirror to transform the sun's rays into a spotlight, picking out specific tracks.
Her enthusiasm is infectious. "Look! Six footprints going up. Ankylosaurus. And over there! Those are about 80cm in diameter. It's a titanosaur coming down the wall for about 25m. See where they stop? That soft outer rock will soon crumble and you'll follow them right to the ground."
Maria uses the footprints to explain how meat-eaters walked with straight feet "while herbivores were pigeon-toed like Charlie Chaplin – apart from the long-necked ones, who had the same hips as carnivores".
The spoors reveal mundane details of daily Cretaceous life. It's CSI: Sucre. "That ankylosaur was running. It sank its four toes into the ground, rather than its heel." There's even a large carnivore that, like any true gentleman, preferred the female to stay on its left side.
Most fun of all is gauging the beasts' size from their tracks. For two-legged dinosaurs you multiply the length of the footprint four times to discover leg-to-hip length. Once you've got the legs, you know if it was Joe Average or Godzilla. A large titanosaur had 6m pins – without stilettos.
By the time we're placing our hands next to the tracks – a quick way to feel extremely insignificant – I've mutated into teacher's pet. I fear I'm raising my hand to ask questions.
"What's that?" demands Maria, pointing to a splatter of prints.
"Two round toes. A hoof. Waddling like Chaplin. A herbivore," I snap back. "Possibly an iguanodont."
"Very good, Ian" I feel stupidly proud.
But Cal Orko is about geology as well as palaeontology. Unless dinosaurs wore crampons, and size 72 ones at that, how the hell did they leave tracks up a vertical rock face? It's all very complicated, so pay attention at the back.
The Cretaceous era, starting 145m years ago and ending with mass extinction 80m years later, saw South America drift away from Africa and and join with North America, sparking wildlife migrations. Cal Orko, kissing a huge lake and boasting the continent's first flowers, attracted herbivores and subsequently carnivores.
But it was unique climate fluctuations that made the region a palaeontological honey pot. The creatures' feet sank into the soft shoreline in warm damp weather, leaving marks that were solidified by later periods of drought. Wet weather then returned, sealing the prints below mud and sediment. The wet-dry pattern was repeated seven times, preserving multiple layers of prints. The cherry on the cake was added when tectonic activity pushed the flat ground up to a brilliant viewing angle – as if nature was aware of its tourism potential.
Not surprisingly, Cal Orko has applied for Unesco listing, but the fate of Johnny Walker's steps underlines the vulnerability of this place.
Far from preserving the site, man is adding to the ravages of time. As I leave, a low explosion thumps across the quarry's fragile earth and reverberates through my chest. More tracks will disappear, more emerge – the endless dance of conservation and industrial progress.
Ian Belcher
guardian.co.uk
http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2011/jul/15/dinosaur-tracking-bolivia-cal-orko
It reappears 10 metres further on. The hunt has recommenced. But it's too late. A landslide has left a savage rip across the rock face, interrupting the trail laid down 65m years ago in Bolivia's central highlands. To palaeontologists it's almost iconoclasm, like a theologian finding a page torn from the Gutenberg Bible.
The lost footsteps of "Johnny Walker", as the dinosaur is known, are the latest tweak to the prehistoric landscape outside the elegant city of Sucre. Cal Orko is a constantly evolving record of life in the Cretaceous era – an epic canvas that due to erosion and local mining will always be a work in progress.
"It's just amazing," says chief guide Maria Teresa Gamón as we inspect the damage. "We see fresh footprints and fossils all the time. We lose some, we find some. It's always changing."
Whatever the latest tally, the vast wall of sedimentary rock still bears the largest, most diverse collection of dinosaur tracks on the planet. Across a limestone slab 1.2km long and 80m high, Cal Orko sports more than 5,000 footsteps, with 462 individual trails.
My own trail is slightly longer. Sedate Sucre breaks up the schlep from tropical Santa Cruz to the altiplano mining town of Potosí. With a student population served by great bars and cafes it's the perfect place to kick back for a few days, particularly in the dreamy Parador Santa María la Real, where colonial-era rooms surround light-filled courtyards.
But Spain's conquistadors are a pinprick in history compared with the dinosaurs. The Bolivian prints belong to eight main species, including the unpleasant carnotaurus with its terrible dentistry and laughably tiny upper limbs, and the herbivorous ankylosaurus – a sort of heavyweight armadillo. But they and their footsteps are dwarfed by those of the clumsy plant-guzzling titanosaur, weighing up to 100 tonnes.
Cal Orko lies three miles from downtown Sucre, where red, brown and ochre folds of earth smudge into the Andean foothills. I know it's inside a quarry – miners spotted many footprints after the first discoveries in 1985 – but it's still shocking to find heavy industry cheek by jowl with a fragile landscape of world significance. The extraction company's work covers everything – trees, buildings, men – in a fine fuzz of dust. Its vast lorries, titanosaurs of earth moving, are a surreal juxtaposition with the palaeontologists' delicate work.
The Parque Cretácico, opened in 2006, lies further up the hill, with a museum, vast models of dinosaurs and B-movie roars piped through loudspeakers. So far so Spielberg. It's only when I reach the viewing platform, 150 metres from the rock face, that it starts to become marvellously real – a widescreen view of prehistory. My eyes need to adjust. Cal Orko is a vast optical puzzle requiring time to decipher. Those dots, dashes and holes like super-sized horse hoofprints aren't random designs – they're rock-solid semaphore explaining Cretaceous life.
Visitors aren't normally allowed up to the wall, but with mining temporarily suspended, I'm granted rare access. The immense vertiginous rock face is slightly overwhelming, in the dust and searing heat. Maria, the palaeontologistss assistant, uses a mirror to transform the sun's rays into a spotlight, picking out specific tracks.
Her enthusiasm is infectious. "Look! Six footprints going up. Ankylosaurus. And over there! Those are about 80cm in diameter. It's a titanosaur coming down the wall for about 25m. See where they stop? That soft outer rock will soon crumble and you'll follow them right to the ground."
Maria uses the footprints to explain how meat-eaters walked with straight feet "while herbivores were pigeon-toed like Charlie Chaplin – apart from the long-necked ones, who had the same hips as carnivores".
The spoors reveal mundane details of daily Cretaceous life. It's CSI: Sucre. "That ankylosaur was running. It sank its four toes into the ground, rather than its heel." There's even a large carnivore that, like any true gentleman, preferred the female to stay on its left side.
Most fun of all is gauging the beasts' size from their tracks. For two-legged dinosaurs you multiply the length of the footprint four times to discover leg-to-hip length. Once you've got the legs, you know if it was Joe Average or Godzilla. A large titanosaur had 6m pins – without stilettos.
By the time we're placing our hands next to the tracks – a quick way to feel extremely insignificant – I've mutated into teacher's pet. I fear I'm raising my hand to ask questions.
"What's that?" demands Maria, pointing to a splatter of prints.
"Two round toes. A hoof. Waddling like Chaplin. A herbivore," I snap back. "Possibly an iguanodont."
"Very good, Ian" I feel stupidly proud.
But Cal Orko is about geology as well as palaeontology. Unless dinosaurs wore crampons, and size 72 ones at that, how the hell did they leave tracks up a vertical rock face? It's all very complicated, so pay attention at the back.
The Cretaceous era, starting 145m years ago and ending with mass extinction 80m years later, saw South America drift away from Africa and and join with North America, sparking wildlife migrations. Cal Orko, kissing a huge lake and boasting the continent's first flowers, attracted herbivores and subsequently carnivores.
But it was unique climate fluctuations that made the region a palaeontological honey pot. The creatures' feet sank into the soft shoreline in warm damp weather, leaving marks that were solidified by later periods of drought. Wet weather then returned, sealing the prints below mud and sediment. The wet-dry pattern was repeated seven times, preserving multiple layers of prints. The cherry on the cake was added when tectonic activity pushed the flat ground up to a brilliant viewing angle – as if nature was aware of its tourism potential.
Not surprisingly, Cal Orko has applied for Unesco listing, but the fate of Johnny Walker's steps underlines the vulnerability of this place.
Far from preserving the site, man is adding to the ravages of time. As I leave, a low explosion thumps across the quarry's fragile earth and reverberates through my chest. More tracks will disappear, more emerge – the endless dance of conservation and industrial progress.
Ian Belcher
guardian.co.uk
http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2011/jul/15/dinosaur-tracking-bolivia-cal-orko
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
China's 'Bigfoot' Leaves Big Footprints in Chinese Cornfield (via Lindsay Selby)
Reports from central China hint at yet more evidence that the so-called “Shennongjia Wildman” may actually exist. Shennongjia, in China's Hubei province, is one of the country's most rugged areas featuring mountains up to 9,840 ft (3,000 meters) tall and thick old-growth forests.
The Shennongjia National Nature Reserve (神农架国家自然保护区), listed on UNESCO's World Network of Biosphere Reserves, protects a number of rare creatures including the endangered Golden Monkey but perhaps another, much larger primate may live there as well.A number of sightings, supposed footprints, and samples of coarse hair have hinted at the possibility of a bigfoot-like creature existing deep in the wilds of Shennongjia. Anecdotal evidence paints a picture of a very tall, bipedal, ape-like animal with thick reddish or yellowish hair.The latest report comes from Wang Taizhao, a local villager and farmer from nearby Chengkou county who was fertilizing his corn field early on the morning of June 2nd. “I was so scared,” said Wang in his statement to local police. “First I heard a strange noise from the woods near my corn field, which I thought to be the bark of a dog. Then I spotted a human-like creature approaching. I took a flight to my house with great haste.”
Read rest see pics here : http://inventorspot.com/articles/chinas_bigfoot_leaves_big_footprints_chinese_cornfield
The Shennongjia National Nature Reserve (神农架国家自然保护区), listed on UNESCO's World Network of Biosphere Reserves, protects a number of rare creatures including the endangered Golden Monkey but perhaps another, much larger primate may live there as well.A number of sightings, supposed footprints, and samples of coarse hair have hinted at the possibility of a bigfoot-like creature existing deep in the wilds of Shennongjia. Anecdotal evidence paints a picture of a very tall, bipedal, ape-like animal with thick reddish or yellowish hair.The latest report comes from Wang Taizhao, a local villager and farmer from nearby Chengkou county who was fertilizing his corn field early on the morning of June 2nd. “I was so scared,” said Wang in his statement to local police. “First I heard a strange noise from the woods near my corn field, which I thought to be the bark of a dog. Then I spotted a human-like creature approaching. I took a flight to my house with great haste.”
Read rest see pics here : http://inventorspot.com/articles/chinas_bigfoot_leaves_big_footprints_chinese_cornfield
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Mystery beast causing panic in Quang Ngai province
VietNamNet Bridge - Hundreds of households in Binh Dong Commune of Binh Son District in Quang Ngai are living in panic after mysterious footprints were seen on the sand and loud roaring sounds heard in the area.
According to Cao Tan Son, police chief of the Binh Dong Commune, these mysterious incidents have been occurring since May 7 at the foot of Dinh Mountain in Son Tra Commune.
However, no one has seen the strange creature that could have caused such large footprints measuring almost 12-15cm. Over 20 dogs have also been killed in the area and now around 280 households of the commune are living in panic.
Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc, a 70-year-old woman was the first to find her dead pet dog on the night of May 7. She said that her dog was found without its head and some body organs.
On the same night, four dogs were also found dead in the same manner, approximately 15-20 kilograms from Ngoc’s neighborhood.
Many households living near the Dinh Mountain said they had heard very loud roaring sounds.
In related news, in the border districts of Si Ma Cai and Muong Khuong in the northwestern province of Lao Cai, people have repeatedly seen strange species of dog like animals.
The strange creatures have bitten about 15 people in Ban Me, Thao Chu Phin, Quang Than San and Si Ma Cai communes in the two districts.
According to local residents, the strange doglike creatures have slender, long bodies, slanting red eyes and their fur coat is marked with white spots, black and white spots or yellow stripes.
They are seen wandering in the villages trying to prey on housedogs or attacking other domestic bred animals like chickens, pigs, goats and horses. They attack any person who tries to drive them away.
http://english.vietnamnet.vn/en/society/8146/mystery-beast-causing-panic-in-quang-ngai-province.html
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Do giant paw prints mean big cat is on the prowl in Capital?
Published Date:
11 January 2011
By ADAM MORRIS
THEY are shadowy creatures who create claws for concern for farmers across the UK.
But now Edinburgh might have its own big cat on the prowl.
Residents of Newhaven have been left feline distinctly uncomfortable after the discovery of huge paw prints in the snow.
They believe an animal - like a puma or lynx - may be behind the tracks and experts say it is possible the mystery cats may be venturing into the Capital to search for food.
Nora Robertson, 81, who has lived in the area since childhood, discovered the prints on an early morning walk near her home in Andrew Wood Court.
"It was still dark so I had my torch with me, and the light reflected off one of these large prints," she said.
"I followed the track all the way to my neighbour's garden, which showed it had jumped up over a wall.
"I've never seen anything like this. We get a lot of foxes around here and there is a lot of woodland and unused paths."
Sightings of big cats themselves and their prints are fairly common in Scotland, particularly in Perthshire and Fife, where recent pursuits of the Perthshire Puma and the Beast of Balbirnie have taken place.
Big cat experts, who keep a register of sightings, said frequent reports of the creatures were made in the wider Lothian area.
But sceptics have often pointed out that if they did exist, much like the myth of the Loch Ness Monster or UFOs, conclusive photographic evidence would surely by now exist.
George Redpath, a member of Cupar-based Big Cats Scotland, said: "It's unlikely but not impossible.
"We have been getting more sightings in Edinburgh, Dundee and Glasgow.
"Perhaps - as foxes have - they have come into cities more to scavenge for food, particularly after the freezing weather we've had over the last months.
"It can be difficult to tell from prints in the snow, it can sometimes distort the real size of a print. It is hard to confirm any suspicion like this until there is a conclusive photograph, but the sightings continue. Over the weekend we had one reported from the Bilston area.
"We just don't know what type of cat they could be. In Scotland we've had puma, lynx and possibly leopards."
Other residents of the street also noticed the larger-than-normal paw prints.
Maureen Porteous, 71, said she spotted a large cat in her garden during the summer, but did not think much of it until seeing the tracks.
"I just don't know, it all seems strange, and these prints are certainly much bigger than a normal cat," she said.
"Last summer I looked out to the garden and caught sight of a really big cat, but forgot about it until now.
"My own cat has also been behaving strangely over the weekend, it's never been away from the window but won't go out, which is unusual.
"It's as if something's really spooked it."
WILD AT HEART
The possibility of a Newhaven big cat is not a first for the Lothians.
In October 2005 a mystery "black beast" described as "panther-like" was hunted by police in Haddington. The incident came shortly after a similar animal had been seen in the Dunbar area, and after several big cat sightings near Roslin.
In 2004 a man claimed to have seen a large black cat in the grounds of Merchiston Castle School.
The Big Cats in Britain research group has estimated around 40 big cats are on the loose in Scotland.
Their existence is often put down to the 1976 Dangerous Wild Animals Act, which ruled that such animals could not be kept without a licence. After it was passed, many owners are thought to have let their pets run wild.
http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Do-giant-paw-prints-mean.6686399.jp
11 January 2011
By ADAM MORRIS
THEY are shadowy creatures who create claws for concern for farmers across the UK.
But now Edinburgh might have its own big cat on the prowl.
Residents of Newhaven have been left feline distinctly uncomfortable after the discovery of huge paw prints in the snow.
They believe an animal - like a puma or lynx - may be behind the tracks and experts say it is possible the mystery cats may be venturing into the Capital to search for food.
Nora Robertson, 81, who has lived in the area since childhood, discovered the prints on an early morning walk near her home in Andrew Wood Court.
"It was still dark so I had my torch with me, and the light reflected off one of these large prints," she said.
"I followed the track all the way to my neighbour's garden, which showed it had jumped up over a wall.
"I've never seen anything like this. We get a lot of foxes around here and there is a lot of woodland and unused paths."
Sightings of big cats themselves and their prints are fairly common in Scotland, particularly in Perthshire and Fife, where recent pursuits of the Perthshire Puma and the Beast of Balbirnie have taken place.
Big cat experts, who keep a register of sightings, said frequent reports of the creatures were made in the wider Lothian area.
But sceptics have often pointed out that if they did exist, much like the myth of the Loch Ness Monster or UFOs, conclusive photographic evidence would surely by now exist.
George Redpath, a member of Cupar-based Big Cats Scotland, said: "It's unlikely but not impossible.
"We have been getting more sightings in Edinburgh, Dundee and Glasgow.
"Perhaps - as foxes have - they have come into cities more to scavenge for food, particularly after the freezing weather we've had over the last months.
"It can be difficult to tell from prints in the snow, it can sometimes distort the real size of a print. It is hard to confirm any suspicion like this until there is a conclusive photograph, but the sightings continue. Over the weekend we had one reported from the Bilston area.
"We just don't know what type of cat they could be. In Scotland we've had puma, lynx and possibly leopards."
Other residents of the street also noticed the larger-than-normal paw prints.
Maureen Porteous, 71, said she spotted a large cat in her garden during the summer, but did not think much of it until seeing the tracks.
"I just don't know, it all seems strange, and these prints are certainly much bigger than a normal cat," she said.
"Last summer I looked out to the garden and caught sight of a really big cat, but forgot about it until now.
"My own cat has also been behaving strangely over the weekend, it's never been away from the window but won't go out, which is unusual.
"It's as if something's really spooked it."
WILD AT HEART
The possibility of a Newhaven big cat is not a first for the Lothians.
In October 2005 a mystery "black beast" described as "panther-like" was hunted by police in Haddington. The incident came shortly after a similar animal had been seen in the Dunbar area, and after several big cat sightings near Roslin.
In 2004 a man claimed to have seen a large black cat in the grounds of Merchiston Castle School.
The Big Cats in Britain research group has estimated around 40 big cats are on the loose in Scotland.
Their existence is often put down to the 1976 Dangerous Wild Animals Act, which ruled that such animals could not be kept without a licence. After it was passed, many owners are thought to have let their pets run wild.
http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Do-giant-paw-prints-mean.6686399.jp
Do giant paw prints mean big cat is on the prowl in Capital?
Published Date:
11 January 2011
By ADAM MORRIS
THEY are shadowy creatures who create claws for concern for farmers across the UK.
But now Edinburgh might have its own big cat on the prowl.
Residents of Newhaven have been left feline distinctly uncomfortable after the discovery of huge paw prints in the snow.
They believe an animal - like a puma or lynx - may be behind the tracks and experts say it is possible the mystery cats may be venturing into the Capital to search for food.
Nora Robertson, 81, who has lived in the area since childhood, discovered the prints on an early morning walk near her home in Andrew Wood Court.
"It was still dark so I had my torch with me, and the light reflected off one of these large prints," she said.
"I followed the track all the way to my neighbour's garden, which showed it had jumped up over a wall.
"I've never seen anything like this. We get a lot of foxes around here and there is a lot of woodland and unused paths."
Sightings of big cats themselves and their prints are fairly common in Scotland, particularly in Perthshire and Fife, where recent pursuits of the Perthshire Puma and the Beast of Balbirnie have taken place.
Big cat experts, who keep a register of sightings, said frequent reports of the creatures were made in the wider Lothian area.
But sceptics have often pointed out that if they did exist, much like the myth of the Loch Ness Monster or UFOs, conclusive photographic evidence would surely by now exist.
George Redpath, a member of Cupar-based Big Cats Scotland, said: "It's unlikely but not impossible.
"We have been getting more sightings in Edinburgh, Dundee and Glasgow.
"Perhaps - as foxes have - they have come into cities more to scavenge for food, particularly after the freezing weather we've had over the last months.
"It can be difficult to tell from prints in the snow, it can sometimes distort the real size of a print. It is hard to confirm any suspicion like this until there is a conclusive photograph, but the sightings continue. Over the weekend we had one reported from the Bilston area.
"We just don't know what type of cat they could be. In Scotland we've had puma, lynx and possibly leopards."
Other residents of the street also noticed the larger-than-normal paw prints.
Maureen Porteous, 71, said she spotted a large cat in her garden during the summer, but did not think much of it until seeing the tracks.
"I just don't know, it all seems strange, and these prints are certainly much bigger than a normal cat," she said.
"Last summer I looked out to the garden and caught sight of a really big cat, but forgot about it until now.
"My own cat has also been behaving strangely over the weekend, it's never been away from the window but won't go out, which is unusual.
"It's as if something's really spooked it."
WILD AT HEART
The possibility of a Newhaven big cat is not a first for the Lothians.
In October 2005 a mystery "black beast" described as "panther-like" was hunted by police in Haddington. The incident came shortly after a similar animal had been seen in the Dunbar area, and after several big cat sightings near Roslin.
In 2004 a man claimed to have seen a large black cat in the grounds of Merchiston Castle School.
The Big Cats in Britain research group has estimated around 40 big cats are on the loose in Scotland.
Their existence is often put down to the 1976 Dangerous Wild Animals Act, which ruled that such animals could not be kept without a licence. After it was passed, many owners are thought to have let their pets run wild.
http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Do-giant-paw-prints-mean.6686399.jp
11 January 2011
By ADAM MORRIS
THEY are shadowy creatures who create claws for concern for farmers across the UK.
But now Edinburgh might have its own big cat on the prowl.
Residents of Newhaven have been left feline distinctly uncomfortable after the discovery of huge paw prints in the snow.
They believe an animal - like a puma or lynx - may be behind the tracks and experts say it is possible the mystery cats may be venturing into the Capital to search for food.
Nora Robertson, 81, who has lived in the area since childhood, discovered the prints on an early morning walk near her home in Andrew Wood Court.
"It was still dark so I had my torch with me, and the light reflected off one of these large prints," she said.
"I followed the track all the way to my neighbour's garden, which showed it had jumped up over a wall.
"I've never seen anything like this. We get a lot of foxes around here and there is a lot of woodland and unused paths."
Sightings of big cats themselves and their prints are fairly common in Scotland, particularly in Perthshire and Fife, where recent pursuits of the Perthshire Puma and the Beast of Balbirnie have taken place.
Big cat experts, who keep a register of sightings, said frequent reports of the creatures were made in the wider Lothian area.
But sceptics have often pointed out that if they did exist, much like the myth of the Loch Ness Monster or UFOs, conclusive photographic evidence would surely by now exist.
George Redpath, a member of Cupar-based Big Cats Scotland, said: "It's unlikely but not impossible.
"We have been getting more sightings in Edinburgh, Dundee and Glasgow.
"Perhaps - as foxes have - they have come into cities more to scavenge for food, particularly after the freezing weather we've had over the last months.
"It can be difficult to tell from prints in the snow, it can sometimes distort the real size of a print. It is hard to confirm any suspicion like this until there is a conclusive photograph, but the sightings continue. Over the weekend we had one reported from the Bilston area.
"We just don't know what type of cat they could be. In Scotland we've had puma, lynx and possibly leopards."
Other residents of the street also noticed the larger-than-normal paw prints.
Maureen Porteous, 71, said she spotted a large cat in her garden during the summer, but did not think much of it until seeing the tracks.
"I just don't know, it all seems strange, and these prints are certainly much bigger than a normal cat," she said.
"Last summer I looked out to the garden and caught sight of a really big cat, but forgot about it until now.
"My own cat has also been behaving strangely over the weekend, it's never been away from the window but won't go out, which is unusual.
"It's as if something's really spooked it."
WILD AT HEART
The possibility of a Newhaven big cat is not a first for the Lothians.
In October 2005 a mystery "black beast" described as "panther-like" was hunted by police in Haddington. The incident came shortly after a similar animal had been seen in the Dunbar area, and after several big cat sightings near Roslin.
In 2004 a man claimed to have seen a large black cat in the grounds of Merchiston Castle School.
The Big Cats in Britain research group has estimated around 40 big cats are on the loose in Scotland.
Their existence is often put down to the 1976 Dangerous Wild Animals Act, which ruled that such animals could not be kept without a licence. After it was passed, many owners are thought to have let their pets run wild.
http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Do-giant-paw-prints-mean.6686399.jp
Residents in Edinburgh spot big cat footprints
The paw prints were found in the snow in Newhaven, leading residents to fear a big cat is on the loose.
11 January 2011 16:25 GMT
Residents in Edinburgh are convinced that a big cat is loose in the capital after spotting huge paw prints in the snow.
The homeowners in Newhaven believe a puma or lynx has been forced to come in to the city to search for food during the big freeze.
Nora Robertson found the prints while she was out walking near her house in Andrew Wood Court.
The 81-year-old said that they often get foxes in the area but the footprints were too large for the mammals.
She said: "It was still dark so I had my torch with me, and the light reflected off one of these large prints.
"I followed the track all the way to my neighbour's garden, which showed it had jumped up over a wall.
"I've never seen anything like this. We get a lot of foxes around here and there is a lot of woodland and unused paths."
Experts on big cats said it is possible the animal came into the city to try and find food.
George Redpath, a member of Cupar-based Big Cats Scotland, said: "It's unlikely but not impossible.
"We have been getting more sightings in Edinburgh, Dundee and Glasgow.
"Perhaps - as foxes have - they have come into cities more to scavenge for food, particularly after the freezing weather we've had over the last months.
"It can be difficult to tell from prints in the snow, it can sometimes distort the real size of a print. It is hard to confirm any suspicion like this until there is a conclusive photograph, but the sightings continue.
"We just don't know what type of cat they could be. In Scotland we've had puma, lynx and possibly leopards."
http://news.stv.tv/scotland/east-central/219799-residents-in-edinburgh-spot-big-cat-footprints/
11 January 2011 16:25 GMT
Residents in Edinburgh are convinced that a big cat is loose in the capital after spotting huge paw prints in the snow.
The homeowners in Newhaven believe a puma or lynx has been forced to come in to the city to search for food during the big freeze.
Nora Robertson found the prints while she was out walking near her house in Andrew Wood Court.
The 81-year-old said that they often get foxes in the area but the footprints were too large for the mammals.
She said: "It was still dark so I had my torch with me, and the light reflected off one of these large prints.
"I followed the track all the way to my neighbour's garden, which showed it had jumped up over a wall.
"I've never seen anything like this. We get a lot of foxes around here and there is a lot of woodland and unused paths."
Experts on big cats said it is possible the animal came into the city to try and find food.
George Redpath, a member of Cupar-based Big Cats Scotland, said: "It's unlikely but not impossible.
"We have been getting more sightings in Edinburgh, Dundee and Glasgow.
"Perhaps - as foxes have - they have come into cities more to scavenge for food, particularly after the freezing weather we've had over the last months.
"It can be difficult to tell from prints in the snow, it can sometimes distort the real size of a print. It is hard to confirm any suspicion like this until there is a conclusive photograph, but the sightings continue.
"We just don't know what type of cat they could be. In Scotland we've had puma, lynx and possibly leopards."
http://news.stv.tv/scotland/east-central/219799-residents-in-edinburgh-spot-big-cat-footprints/
Residents in Edinburgh spot big cat footprints
The paw prints were found in the snow in Newhaven, leading residents to fear a big cat is on the loose.
11 January 2011 16:25 GMT
Residents in Edinburgh are convinced that a big cat is loose in the capital after spotting huge paw prints in the snow.
The homeowners in Newhaven believe a puma or lynx has been forced to come in to the city to search for food during the big freeze.
Nora Robertson found the prints while she was out walking near her house in Andrew Wood Court.
The 81-year-old said that they often get foxes in the area but the footprints were too large for the mammals.
She said: "It was still dark so I had my torch with me, and the light reflected off one of these large prints.
"I followed the track all the way to my neighbour's garden, which showed it had jumped up over a wall.
"I've never seen anything like this. We get a lot of foxes around here and there is a lot of woodland and unused paths."
Experts on big cats said it is possible the animal came into the city to try and find food.
George Redpath, a member of Cupar-based Big Cats Scotland, said: "It's unlikely but not impossible.
"We have been getting more sightings in Edinburgh, Dundee and Glasgow.
"Perhaps - as foxes have - they have come into cities more to scavenge for food, particularly after the freezing weather we've had over the last months.
"It can be difficult to tell from prints in the snow, it can sometimes distort the real size of a print. It is hard to confirm any suspicion like this until there is a conclusive photograph, but the sightings continue.
"We just don't know what type of cat they could be. In Scotland we've had puma, lynx and possibly leopards."
http://news.stv.tv/scotland/east-central/219799-residents-in-edinburgh-spot-big-cat-footprints/
11 January 2011 16:25 GMT
Residents in Edinburgh are convinced that a big cat is loose in the capital after spotting huge paw prints in the snow.
The homeowners in Newhaven believe a puma or lynx has been forced to come in to the city to search for food during the big freeze.
Nora Robertson found the prints while she was out walking near her house in Andrew Wood Court.
The 81-year-old said that they often get foxes in the area but the footprints were too large for the mammals.
She said: "It was still dark so I had my torch with me, and the light reflected off one of these large prints.
"I followed the track all the way to my neighbour's garden, which showed it had jumped up over a wall.
"I've never seen anything like this. We get a lot of foxes around here and there is a lot of woodland and unused paths."
Experts on big cats said it is possible the animal came into the city to try and find food.
George Redpath, a member of Cupar-based Big Cats Scotland, said: "It's unlikely but not impossible.
"We have been getting more sightings in Edinburgh, Dundee and Glasgow.
"Perhaps - as foxes have - they have come into cities more to scavenge for food, particularly after the freezing weather we've had over the last months.
"It can be difficult to tell from prints in the snow, it can sometimes distort the real size of a print. It is hard to confirm any suspicion like this until there is a conclusive photograph, but the sightings continue.
"We just don't know what type of cat they could be. In Scotland we've had puma, lynx and possibly leopards."
http://news.stv.tv/scotland/east-central/219799-residents-in-edinburgh-spot-big-cat-footprints/
Monday, February 8, 2010
Monday, February 1, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
Fortean zoologists on snow footprint trail
Thursday, January 14, 2010
THE 150-YEAR-OLD mystery of what caused a long trail of hoof-like marks could be solved — thanks to the latest batch of snow.
In February 1855, after a fall of snow, footprints were discovered in Devon, stretching 100 miles from Exmouth to Teignmouth.
For the greater part of their course they followed straight lines. Houses, rivers, haystacks and other obstacles were travelled straight over, and footprints appeared on the tops of snow-covered roofs and high walls.
The prints were dubbed The Devil's Footprints. Then in March last year, similar footprints appeared in a Woolsery garden after a fall of snow.
The prints, which were five inches long and had a stride of between 11 and 17 inches, caused an academic punch-up in the zoology world as scientists wondered what animal could be responsible.
Jon Downes, from the Centre for Fortean Zoology, an organisation which studies strange animals, studied the prints.
He was sure the Woolsery footprints were not caused by supernatural means but believed they were from a rabbit or a hare.
Other academics argued they could have been formed by mink, sheep or muntjac deer.
However, Jon believes the 150-year-old puzzle will soon be solved as one of its scientists, Jan Edwards from County Durham began testing theories on Friday.
Jan has an animal sanctuary where all the animal's prints are being tested.
She has more than 30 different rabbits and as it is a sanctuary many have disabilities — so it would be possible to see if the Devon-based Devil was in fact a disabled rabbit.
Jon added: "This is the best chance we have had of solving this 150-year-old mystery and we're all looking forward to the results."
But, the work of the CFZ team is never over and although one mystery may soon be solved another riddle is still to be cracked.
Again the conundrum centres around a bizarre footprint found in the snow — this time found at Powler's Piece woods between Parkham Ash and East Putford.
The print is bigger than a human foot and was found by Jon's wife Corinna and her children Shoshannah and Gavin when on a walk.
He believes it looks like a one-legged dinosaur, but doubts one of them has been running around Torridge.
He said: "It is the fact that it is a single imprint in the snow that intrigues me, but it probably isn't even a footprint.
"My best guess is that it is what happens when a bird of prey momentarily lands to capture some poor hapless rodent, but that is only a guess."
http://www.thisisnorthdevon.co.uk/news/Fortean-zoologists-snow-footprint-trail/article-1702895-detail/article.html
THE 150-YEAR-OLD mystery of what caused a long trail of hoof-like marks could be solved — thanks to the latest batch of snow.
In February 1855, after a fall of snow, footprints were discovered in Devon, stretching 100 miles from Exmouth to Teignmouth.
For the greater part of their course they followed straight lines. Houses, rivers, haystacks and other obstacles were travelled straight over, and footprints appeared on the tops of snow-covered roofs and high walls.
The prints were dubbed The Devil's Footprints. Then in March last year, similar footprints appeared in a Woolsery garden after a fall of snow.
The prints, which were five inches long and had a stride of between 11 and 17 inches, caused an academic punch-up in the zoology world as scientists wondered what animal could be responsible.
Jon Downes, from the Centre for Fortean Zoology, an organisation which studies strange animals, studied the prints.
He was sure the Woolsery footprints were not caused by supernatural means but believed they were from a rabbit or a hare.
Other academics argued they could have been formed by mink, sheep or muntjac deer.
However, Jon believes the 150-year-old puzzle will soon be solved as one of its scientists, Jan Edwards from County Durham began testing theories on Friday.
Jan has an animal sanctuary where all the animal's prints are being tested.
She has more than 30 different rabbits and as it is a sanctuary many have disabilities — so it would be possible to see if the Devon-based Devil was in fact a disabled rabbit.
Jon added: "This is the best chance we have had of solving this 150-year-old mystery and we're all looking forward to the results."
But, the work of the CFZ team is never over and although one mystery may soon be solved another riddle is still to be cracked.
Again the conundrum centres around a bizarre footprint found in the snow — this time found at Powler's Piece woods between Parkham Ash and East Putford.
The print is bigger than a human foot and was found by Jon's wife Corinna and her children Shoshannah and Gavin when on a walk.
He believes it looks like a one-legged dinosaur, but doubts one of them has been running around Torridge.
He said: "It is the fact that it is a single imprint in the snow that intrigues me, but it probably isn't even a footprint.
"My best guess is that it is what happens when a bird of prey momentarily lands to capture some poor hapless rodent, but that is only a guess."
http://www.thisisnorthdevon.co.uk/news/Fortean-zoologists-snow-footprint-trail/article-1702895-detail/article.html
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Russian bigfoot expedition postponed due to weather conditions
The expedition that went looking for bigfoots in a cave in the mountains of Siberia has so far been fruitless, but its organizers blame the weather for failure and say they will return in summer.
Earlier this week an expedition headed by “yeti specialist” Igor Burtsev set off to explore the several kilometer long cave in the Kemerovo Region, where local hunters reported to have seen the creatures. The expedition returned to Moscow without any success.
“Our expedition visited the Azasskaya Cave. Unfortunately, we did not find any direct evidence of a bigfoot's presence there,” Burtsev was quoted by RIA Novosti as telling a press conference directly after his return.
But he was not discouraged by this failure, blaming it on bad weather and the curiousity of local people.
“People are simply pouring in there now. If there had been any footprints there originally, they were destroyed,” he said.
Besides, the cave is very deep, Burtsev said, and to explore its full length, a team of speleologists would have to join the mission. Since the exploration was made almost impossible by heavy snow drifts, the expedition should return in summer, he added.
In February the administration of Kemerovo Region in Russia's Siberia started receiving reports from local hunters who claimed to have seen human-like creatures near Azasskaya Cave, 500 kilometers off the city of Kemerovo. The creatures reportedly were 1.5-2 meters tall and covered in fur. One of the hunters also made a photograph of what he said was the creature's footprint in the snow.
Burtsev, a PhD in History and a passionate believer in bigfoots, says he sees nothing strange about bigfoots possibly showing up in the Kemerovo region. Its mountains are part of the Altai range, thought to be the favorite yetis reproduction spot. In late 19th and early 20th century, he says, female creatures with young ones were frequently spotted there.
The Russian Academy of Sciences, however, is skeptical of Burtsev's enthusiasm. To preserve a stable population, there would have to be many yetis, but only single creatures have so far been spotted, an anthropologist of the Academy, Sergei Vasilyev, told RIA Novosti. Besides, no body of a bigfoot has ever been found and studied, no matter how many sightings have been reported.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Dinosaur footprint dating back 135 million years stolen
A 135 million-year-old dinosaur footprint has been stolen from a working quarry
Last Updated: 3:49PM GMT 13 Mar 2009
The 18-inch print was chiselled out of a limestone block and taken from Coombefield Quarry along the Jurassic Coast in Portland, Dorset, sometime over the last six months.
About 25 slabs bearing the footprints of dinosaurs such as the two-legged herbivore Iguanadon, the four-legged herbivore Sauropod and the two-legged carnivore Megalosaur have now been moved to a safe place by The Portland Gas Trust.
The Trust was set up by Portland Gas Storage Limited which is behind plans to build a gas storage facility on Portland with 14 underground storage caverns holding one per cent of the UK's annual demand for natural gas.
It plans to put the footprints on display at a new £1.5 million visitor centre.
Trust manager Rachel Barton said: "Everyone thinks it's a fantastic project, allowing future generations to share the delight of walking with the dinosaurs.
"Aside from the risk of vandalism or theft by some elements of the public, their previous setting was a busy working site exposing the treasured items to unnecessary risk.
"Safeguarding these historic footprints supports the Trust's key aims to benefit projects connected with Portland. We're thrilled to keep them here."
The footprints were all unearthed by quarrying at the Stone Firms Ltd site in 2002.
The Jurassic Coast often attracts fossil hunters as its rocks record 185 million years of the earth's history.
The 95-mile coastline in Dorset and East Devon is England's first natural World Heritage Site and is known as The Jurassic Coast.
World Heritage status was achieved because of the site's unique insight into the earth sciences as it clearly depicts a geological walk through time spanning the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/4986312/Dinosaur-footprint-dating-back-135-million-years-stolen.html
Last Updated: 3:49PM GMT 13 Mar 2009
The 18-inch print was chiselled out of a limestone block and taken from Coombefield Quarry along the Jurassic Coast in Portland, Dorset, sometime over the last six months.
About 25 slabs bearing the footprints of dinosaurs such as the two-legged herbivore Iguanadon, the four-legged herbivore Sauropod and the two-legged carnivore Megalosaur have now been moved to a safe place by The Portland Gas Trust.
The Trust was set up by Portland Gas Storage Limited which is behind plans to build a gas storage facility on Portland with 14 underground storage caverns holding one per cent of the UK's annual demand for natural gas.
It plans to put the footprints on display at a new £1.5 million visitor centre.
Trust manager Rachel Barton said: "Everyone thinks it's a fantastic project, allowing future generations to share the delight of walking with the dinosaurs.
"Aside from the risk of vandalism or theft by some elements of the public, their previous setting was a busy working site exposing the treasured items to unnecessary risk.
"Safeguarding these historic footprints supports the Trust's key aims to benefit projects connected with Portland. We're thrilled to keep them here."
The footprints were all unearthed by quarrying at the Stone Firms Ltd site in 2002.
The Jurassic Coast often attracts fossil hunters as its rocks record 185 million years of the earth's history.
The 95-mile coastline in Dorset and East Devon is England's first natural World Heritage Site and is known as The Jurassic Coast.
World Heritage status was achieved because of the site's unique insight into the earth sciences as it clearly depicts a geological walk through time spanning the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/4986312/Dinosaur-footprint-dating-back-135-million-years-stolen.html
Man snaps pictures of 'sasquatch footprints' in northern B.C.
By Ian Austin, The Province
March 12, 2009
Photograph by: Brian Vike
Brian Vike believes he has photographic evidence that sasquatches exist.
No, he doesn’t have a photo of a sasquatch, but he does have a photo of a very large footprint.
The Houston, B.C.-based UFO researcher has developed a soft spot for the mythical furry creatures, and got an excited call last Sunday from the remote community of Moricetown.
“I made the 90-minute drive up there, and I was amazed at what I saw,” Vike told The Province. “I’ve been on some of those turkey runs, when there’s nothing to see.
“But there were footprints, 17-and-a-half inches in length, that went on for a long ways.
“The stride is three feet six inches from the front of the foot to the back of the heel.”
More tellingly for Vike, the snow around the prints was untouched.
“There were no tracks around to show that somebody was trying to pull a gag.”
Vike, who tracks UFO sightings, got even more excited when he found blood in one of the prints.
“I’m sending it off for testing in Saskatchewan and Ohio. We also have a hair sample.”
Sasquatches are allegedly ape-like beings that apparently are quite shy, since they don’t seem to interact with humans much.
Like the yeti and the ogopogo, sightings are frequently reported, but no conclusive proof of their existence has ever been found.
On the other hand, conclusive proof that they do not exist does not exist.
Story and more pictures at: http://www.theprovince.com/Technology/snaps+pictures+sasquatch+footprints+northern/1378636/story.html
Friday, March 13, 2009
The truth ... is furry?
Written by Citizen staff
Thursday, 12 March 2009
He's back. Or perhaps that should say she's back.
No one knows its gender. No one knows for sure if it exists, although some will swear it does.
Photographs taken this week near Moricetown by Brian Vike show what he says are footprints that are 17 1/2 inches long with no tracks around them that might say hoax.
A resident of Moricetown called Vike, a noted paranormal researcher in the region who spends most of his time on the UFO beat, to get him to take a look at those mysterious tracks.
Vike drove the 90 minutes from his home in Houston and is glad he did.
Vike found blood in the one of the prints along with a hair sample that he's sending off for testing in Saskatchewan and Ohio - where, one presumes, they have facilities that can confirm or debunk the existence of sasquatches.
The sasquatch. It's our very own legend - sighted (some say) but unproved. - ranking right up there with Scotland's Loch Ness Monster, Okanagan Lake's Ogopogo, and Yeti, the fabled abominable snowman of the Himalayas.
Every so often there's a sasquatch sighting - or supposed evidence of a sasquatch - somewhere in B.C. The last one in this area was in 2005, when Leo Selzer of Prince George was in the woods near Gregg Creek when he came across a series of shelters and tepee-like frameworks he's convinced were built by a sasquatch. It was only the most recent of several strange sightings in the region by Selzer in the past 45 years.
And yet, like the Loch Ness Monster, Ogopogo and Yeti, there is no proof. No sasquatch has been wounded and captured. No carcasses have been found.
And maybe that's for the better.
Some people believe. Some don't.
But it's the not knowing for sure that makes his, and her, legend grow.
Thursday, 12 March 2009
He's back. Or perhaps that should say she's back.
No one knows its gender. No one knows for sure if it exists, although some will swear it does.
Photographs taken this week near Moricetown by Brian Vike show what he says are footprints that are 17 1/2 inches long with no tracks around them that might say hoax.
A resident of Moricetown called Vike, a noted paranormal researcher in the region who spends most of his time on the UFO beat, to get him to take a look at those mysterious tracks.
Vike drove the 90 minutes from his home in Houston and is glad he did.
Vike found blood in the one of the prints along with a hair sample that he's sending off for testing in Saskatchewan and Ohio - where, one presumes, they have facilities that can confirm or debunk the existence of sasquatches.
The sasquatch. It's our very own legend - sighted (some say) but unproved. - ranking right up there with Scotland's Loch Ness Monster, Okanagan Lake's Ogopogo, and Yeti, the fabled abominable snowman of the Himalayas.
Every so often there's a sasquatch sighting - or supposed evidence of a sasquatch - somewhere in B.C. The last one in this area was in 2005, when Leo Selzer of Prince George was in the woods near Gregg Creek when he came across a series of shelters and tepee-like frameworks he's convinced were built by a sasquatch. It was only the most recent of several strange sightings in the region by Selzer in the past 45 years.
And yet, like the Loch Ness Monster, Ogopogo and Yeti, there is no proof. No sasquatch has been wounded and captured. No carcasses have been found.
And maybe that's for the better.
Some people believe. Some don't.
But it's the not knowing for sure that makes his, and her, legend grow.
Sasquatch linked to mysterious footprints
Written by Canwest News Service
Wednesday, 11 March 2009
A paranormal researcher in northwestern B.C. claimed on Wednesday he has photographic evidence that sasquatches exist.
Brian Vike said he has a photo of a very large footprint along with samples of hair and blood from the mythical creature.
The Houston-based UFO researcher said he received a phone call last Sunday from a resident in Moricetown, 400 kilometres west of Prince George.
"I made the 90-minute drive up there, and I was amazed at what I saw," Vike said. "I've been on some of those turkey runs, when there's nothing to see.
"But there were footprints, 17 1/2 inches in length, that went on for a long ways."
Vike said the snow around the footprints was untouched.
"There were no tracks around to show that somebody was trying to pull a gag," he said.
Vike, who tracks UFO sightings, said he was even more excited when he found blood in one of the prints.
"I'm sending it off for testing in Saskatchewan and Ohio. We also have a hair sample."
Sasquatches are said to be apelike creatures that live in the wilderness and avoid civilization.
Like the yeti and the ogopogo, sightings are frequently reported, but no conclusive proof of their existence has ever been found.
Wednesday, 11 March 2009
A paranormal researcher in northwestern B.C. claimed on Wednesday he has photographic evidence that sasquatches exist.
Brian Vike said he has a photo of a very large footprint along with samples of hair and blood from the mythical creature.
The Houston-based UFO researcher said he received a phone call last Sunday from a resident in Moricetown, 400 kilometres west of Prince George.
"I made the 90-minute drive up there, and I was amazed at what I saw," Vike said. "I've been on some of those turkey runs, when there's nothing to see.
"But there were footprints, 17 1/2 inches in length, that went on for a long ways."
Vike said the snow around the footprints was untouched.
"There were no tracks around to show that somebody was trying to pull a gag," he said.
Vike, who tracks UFO sightings, said he was even more excited when he found blood in one of the prints.
"I'm sending it off for testing in Saskatchewan and Ohio. We also have a hair sample."
Sasquatches are said to be apelike creatures that live in the wilderness and avoid civilization.
Like the yeti and the ogopogo, sightings are frequently reported, but no conclusive proof of their existence has ever been found.
Sasquatch expert following footprint discovery
Written by Mark Nielsen
Citizen staff
Thursday, 12 March 2009
The discovery of what may be evidence of a sasquatch near Moricetown has caught the eye of a local expert.
Leo Selzer says the photos of very large footprints posted on a website by fellow sasquatch researcher Brian Vike "hardly do justice to what you look at in real life," but are similar to what he's come across.
"The measurements coincide, the stride coincides, the general physical appearance of the footprints coincides with other evidence that I have found," Selzer said.
Vike, who lives in Houston and is also a UFO enthusiast, drove out to Moricetown, about 430 km. west of Prince George, after receiving an e-mail from someone who came across the footprints on Monday morning after strange noises were heard out in the dark the evening before.
Along with taking the photos, Vike collected some samples of blood and hair that he plans to send off for testing.
After a handful of strange encounters over the years, particularly in the Gregg Creek area, Selzer is now convinced the creature is more than mythical.
He has set up his own web site, www.sasquatch-pg.net, to share his knowledge and collect stories from others more reluctant to tell them to others for fear of getting strange looks in return.
Vike's sasquatch website is found at bigfoot-sasquatch.blogspot.com.
Selzer maintains people have come across sasquatches and did not even know it, incorrectly identifying them as bears. There have been times when it's been the other way around.
"I've had people come to me and say 'hey, look, I've just photographed some tremendous sasquatch footprints, come and take a look at them,' and they've turned out to be very large grizzly bear tracks," Selzer said.
What's the difference between a grizzly track and a sasquatch track?
A lack of claw marks is a good first sign it's not a bear, but Selzer added a sasquatch footprint resembles a small child's.
"You know how the foot of a four-year-old child is kind of boxy looking and from the big toe to the little toe it doesn't have as much of a slant as an adult's? That's very much what a sasquatch footprint looks like," Selzer said.
Contrary to popular belief, the size of a sasquatch print can be as little as four to five inches long in the case of the youngsters old enough to walk, although the large males' are as much as 18 inches and 16 inches in the case of the females.
They are very family oriented, Selzer added, so the footprints are can be found in groups of various sizes although the young adults without mates often travel alone.
What's the difference between a human footprint and a sasquatch's?
"Sasquatches don't have an arch," he said. "They have additional joints within the foot so they have a flat foot that's capable of wrapping around things better than the human foot with an arch."
However, they're still a far cry from an ape or chimpanzee.
"Sasquatches are not able to grab things with their foot anymore than a human," he said.
Because of job commitments, Selzer hasn't been able to get out to search for more evidence but when he gets the chance he plans to establish contact with a family he believes is roaming around the Gregg Creek area.
Citizen staff
Thursday, 12 March 2009
The discovery of what may be evidence of a sasquatch near Moricetown has caught the eye of a local expert.
Leo Selzer says the photos of very large footprints posted on a website by fellow sasquatch researcher Brian Vike "hardly do justice to what you look at in real life," but are similar to what he's come across.
"The measurements coincide, the stride coincides, the general physical appearance of the footprints coincides with other evidence that I have found," Selzer said.
Vike, who lives in Houston and is also a UFO enthusiast, drove out to Moricetown, about 430 km. west of Prince George, after receiving an e-mail from someone who came across the footprints on Monday morning after strange noises were heard out in the dark the evening before.
Along with taking the photos, Vike collected some samples of blood and hair that he plans to send off for testing.
After a handful of strange encounters over the years, particularly in the Gregg Creek area, Selzer is now convinced the creature is more than mythical.
He has set up his own web site, www.sasquatch-pg.net, to share his knowledge and collect stories from others more reluctant to tell them to others for fear of getting strange looks in return.
Vike's sasquatch website is found at bigfoot-sasquatch.blogspot.com.
Selzer maintains people have come across sasquatches and did not even know it, incorrectly identifying them as bears. There have been times when it's been the other way around.
"I've had people come to me and say 'hey, look, I've just photographed some tremendous sasquatch footprints, come and take a look at them,' and they've turned out to be very large grizzly bear tracks," Selzer said.
What's the difference between a grizzly track and a sasquatch track?
A lack of claw marks is a good first sign it's not a bear, but Selzer added a sasquatch footprint resembles a small child's.
"You know how the foot of a four-year-old child is kind of boxy looking and from the big toe to the little toe it doesn't have as much of a slant as an adult's? That's very much what a sasquatch footprint looks like," Selzer said.
Contrary to popular belief, the size of a sasquatch print can be as little as four to five inches long in the case of the youngsters old enough to walk, although the large males' are as much as 18 inches and 16 inches in the case of the females.
They are very family oriented, Selzer added, so the footprints are can be found in groups of various sizes although the young adults without mates often travel alone.
What's the difference between a human footprint and a sasquatch's?
"Sasquatches don't have an arch," he said. "They have additional joints within the foot so they have a flat foot that's capable of wrapping around things better than the human foot with an arch."
However, they're still a far cry from an ape or chimpanzee.
"Sasquatches are not able to grab things with their foot anymore than a human," he said.
Because of job commitments, Selzer hasn't been able to get out to search for more evidence but when he gets the chance he plans to establish contact with a family he believes is roaming around the Gregg Creek area.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Something paid a visit to Woolsery in the snow — but it possibly wasn't Satan
Thursday, March 12, 2009, 06:58
STRANGE footprints in a snowy Torridgeside garden have left locals wondering whether the devil's been down in Woolsery...
The Devil's Footprints is one of Devon's great mysteries. Legend has it that on February 8, 1855, a trail of hoof-like marks following straight lines appeared in the snow for more than 100 miles across South Devon.
Legend has it that the footprints were those of Satan.
But, some 150 years later, the puzzle could be solved as a similar phenomenon was found in Woolsery last Thursday morning.
Jill Wade, a member of the Woolsery Knit-wits, who knit in aid of the Children's Hospice South West, woke to find the footprints.
She said: "I looked in the garden and it really intrigued me.
"I was quite surprised by it and I hadn't got a clue what it was, but I thought I would love to know."
Mrs Wade, who is retired, didn't believe it was the work of the devil, but still couldn't account for it. So she called in scientists from the nearby Centre for Fortean Zoology (CFZ).
The CFZ immediately dispatched zoologist Graham Inglis to look at the footprints which were around 5in long with a stride of between 11 and 17 inches.
Jon Downes from the CFZ said: "The footprints are peculiar, but they are not the devil's — I don't believe the horned one has been in Woolsery.
"Personally I think it belongs to a rabbit or hare, but quite an academic punch-up has started over it."
Mr Downes explained that several scientists had seen pictures of the footprints and had varying opinions on what could be responsible including mink, rabbit, hare, sheep and a muntjac deer.
Mr Downes is hoping to get access to all these animals the next time it snows and record their behaviour to solve the mystery.
He added: "I think that with some further research we may finally solve the great Devon mystery of 150 years — I want to see if we can put it to bed."
http://www.thisisnorthdevon.co.uk/news/paid-visit-Woolsery-snow-8212-possibly-wasn-t-Satan/article-763209-detail/article.html
STRANGE footprints in a snowy Torridgeside garden have left locals wondering whether the devil's been down in Woolsery...
The Devil's Footprints is one of Devon's great mysteries. Legend has it that on February 8, 1855, a trail of hoof-like marks following straight lines appeared in the snow for more than 100 miles across South Devon.
Legend has it that the footprints were those of Satan.
But, some 150 years later, the puzzle could be solved as a similar phenomenon was found in Woolsery last Thursday morning.
Jill Wade, a member of the Woolsery Knit-wits, who knit in aid of the Children's Hospice South West, woke to find the footprints.
She said: "I looked in the garden and it really intrigued me.
"I was quite surprised by it and I hadn't got a clue what it was, but I thought I would love to know."
Mrs Wade, who is retired, didn't believe it was the work of the devil, but still couldn't account for it. So she called in scientists from the nearby Centre for Fortean Zoology (CFZ).
The CFZ immediately dispatched zoologist Graham Inglis to look at the footprints which were around 5in long with a stride of between 11 and 17 inches.
Jon Downes from the CFZ said: "The footprints are peculiar, but they are not the devil's — I don't believe the horned one has been in Woolsery.
"Personally I think it belongs to a rabbit or hare, but quite an academic punch-up has started over it."
Mr Downes explained that several scientists had seen pictures of the footprints and had varying opinions on what could be responsible including mink, rabbit, hare, sheep and a muntjac deer.
Mr Downes is hoping to get access to all these animals the next time it snows and record their behaviour to solve the mystery.
He added: "I think that with some further research we may finally solve the great Devon mystery of 150 years — I want to see if we can put it to bed."
http://www.thisisnorthdevon.co.uk/news/paid-visit-Woolsery-snow-8212-possibly-wasn-t-Satan/article-763209-detail/article.html
Who made footprints in the snow?
Thursday, March 12, 2009, 10:00
A MYSTERIOUS set of tracks bearing an eerie resemblance to the legendary "Devil's footprints" which appeared in Devon more than 150 years ago is being investigated.
A pensioner was perplexed to find pointed, hoof-like marks in freshly fallen snow at her home in Woolsery, North Devon, so she called in the experts from the Centre for Fortean Zoology (CFZ). The organisation, based near Bideford, specialises in looking into unexplained sightings.
They quickly recognised that the clearly defined tracks bore striking similarities to those which appeared across South Devon in February 1855. According to some reports, the so-called Devil's footprints covered a trail of about 100 miles. The unexplained phenomenon became known as the Great Devon Mystery. Now it seems the puzzle has been resurrected, after the new tracks appeared on March 5, leaving investigators flummoxed.
Graham Inglis, the biologist who visited the garden, said: "This is certainly a first for me."
He said it was unusual to get snow in the Westcountry at all, but tracks that appear on white ground look different to those left in mud, because of the different consistency. The tracks crossed the garden before returning in the same direction, before frustratingly disappearing in an area with no snow cover.
Jonathan Downes, who runs the centre, is investigating whether the footprints could have been left by hare or rabbits hopping on their hind legs, perhaps as a combination of both the snow and spring mating hormones. He said: "Thousands of people across the world believe in the paranormal, but so far every single thing we have looked into has turned out to have a natural explanation. I'm sure these will as well."
He said the Devil's Footrpint myth emerged at a time when many South Devon parishioners were angry at the clergy for changing the standard prayer book. When the tracks appeared, they blamed vicars for letting the devil in to their communities.
"It was a piece of local politics which had nothing whatsoever to do with the paranormal," Mr Downes said. Asked if he believes in the paranormal, Mr Downes said: "Do I believe that the Devil comes from the pits of Hell to wander around the gardens of North Devon? Of course not. But if you're asking if there are things that can't be explained by modern science, then yes. But human knowledge is expanding all the time. I believe that things that are currently put down to the paranormal will one day be explained by science."
The CFZ is kept busy in North Devon alone, with sightings of beasts and large cats wandering the moors. But Mr Downes has travelled the world on his investigations, and now boasts 400 members in the organisation.
http://www.thisiswesternmorningnews.co.uk/news/Footprints-snow/article-764833-detail/article.html
A MYSTERIOUS set of tracks bearing an eerie resemblance to the legendary "Devil's footprints" which appeared in Devon more than 150 years ago is being investigated.
A pensioner was perplexed to find pointed, hoof-like marks in freshly fallen snow at her home in Woolsery, North Devon, so she called in the experts from the Centre for Fortean Zoology (CFZ). The organisation, based near Bideford, specialises in looking into unexplained sightings.
They quickly recognised that the clearly defined tracks bore striking similarities to those which appeared across South Devon in February 1855. According to some reports, the so-called Devil's footprints covered a trail of about 100 miles. The unexplained phenomenon became known as the Great Devon Mystery. Now it seems the puzzle has been resurrected, after the new tracks appeared on March 5, leaving investigators flummoxed.
Graham Inglis, the biologist who visited the garden, said: "This is certainly a first for me."
He said it was unusual to get snow in the Westcountry at all, but tracks that appear on white ground look different to those left in mud, because of the different consistency. The tracks crossed the garden before returning in the same direction, before frustratingly disappearing in an area with no snow cover.
Jonathan Downes, who runs the centre, is investigating whether the footprints could have been left by hare or rabbits hopping on their hind legs, perhaps as a combination of both the snow and spring mating hormones. He said: "Thousands of people across the world believe in the paranormal, but so far every single thing we have looked into has turned out to have a natural explanation. I'm sure these will as well."
He said the Devil's Footrpint myth emerged at a time when many South Devon parishioners were angry at the clergy for changing the standard prayer book. When the tracks appeared, they blamed vicars for letting the devil in to their communities.
"It was a piece of local politics which had nothing whatsoever to do with the paranormal," Mr Downes said. Asked if he believes in the paranormal, Mr Downes said: "Do I believe that the Devil comes from the pits of Hell to wander around the gardens of North Devon? Of course not. But if you're asking if there are things that can't be explained by modern science, then yes. But human knowledge is expanding all the time. I believe that things that are currently put down to the paranormal will one day be explained by science."
The CFZ is kept busy in North Devon alone, with sightings of beasts and large cats wandering the moors. But Mr Downes has travelled the world on his investigations, and now boasts 400 members in the organisation.
http://www.thisiswesternmorningnews.co.uk/news/Footprints-snow/article-764833-detail/article.html
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)