September 2009

  • Freaky Footed Snake Found

    By sarajean on 9/30/09 3:34am
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    The first thing that came to my mind when I read this report was the TV show (and book series) Little Bear. Little Bear’s snake friend has the name “No Feet.” I’ve always thought it was a pretty odd name.

    After all, Little Bear is named after his species—so are the other characters, from Cat to Owl to Duck to Hen. Why is No-Feet named as such and not “Snake”? Is snake a dirty word or something—and is it not mean to point out his deficiency in the mobility department? Would it be kind, after all, to refer to Little Bear as “No Scales” in comparison?

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  • Orang Pendek Spotted - Footprint Cast Taken

    By erika on 9/29/09 5:10pm
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    Orang PendekOrang PendekCryptomundo is reporting some encouraging news from the latest hunt for the Orang Pendek, Sumatra's version of Bigfoot.  A researcher on the hunt for the Orang Pendek reports having spotted one briefly in the trees, before it fled the scene.  The researchers were able to retrieve a bit of vine the animal was chewing on, and to take casts of the footprints which it left at the scene.

    It seems that almost every continent and country on the planet (except Antarctica, obviously!) has its own ape-like cryptid.  From the Sasquatch and Skunk Ape of North America to the Yeti of the Himalayas, the sheer volume of reported sightings is enough to convince many people that cryptid apes live on in some of the more remote regions of the planet.


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  • Spider Venom Used to Cure ED?

    By becksta on 9/26/09 12:25am
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    Brazilian Wandering SpiderBrazilian Wandering Spider

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  • Palau Bans Shark Fishing

    By erika on 9/25/09 12:52pm
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    This is some of the best conservation news I've heard in ages. The island nation of Palau has decided to ban shark fishing in its waters, a territory of ocean about the size of Texas.  The New York Times points out that the tiny, impoverished nation of 20,000 is going to have trouble policing the ban, but it still remains an important step in the preservation of the oceans.


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  • Gooey Ducks: just weird and delicious

    By Lipps on 9/24/09 1:38pm
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    Geoducks in an aquarium.: courtesy Flickr user cubemateGeoducks in an aquarium.: courtesy Flickr user cubemateA Geoduck (pronounced like 'gooey duck') is a weird one. There are creatures you see and think to yourself, damn, that's weird. Things like Big Foot, unicorns and giant spiders. The geoduck is in that category, except it's actually in the rivers of the Pacific Northwest too. Besides having a rather odd appearance, like a two-foot meat tube with a wallet glued to its back, these weird clams have several other qualities that push them deeper into the weird animal file.

    Geoducks are among the oldest living creatures on Earth with an average age of 146 years. That's a long time to spend in a tributary in Seattle. Only a handful of animals survive longer, including some tortoises, some boring ass sponge from Antarctica and some other boring slimes and microscopic things. None of those animals are more action packed and exciting than the Geoduck.

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  • Bloop and Slow Down: Mysterious Underwater Sounds

    By erika on 9/22/09 2:41pm
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    cthulhucthulhuThe other day I was browsing Wikipedia articles and ended up at one with the wonderful title of "Bloop."

    It turns out there is an entire cryptological sub-category for "weird noises heard in the ocean."  Bloop is a noise which was heard several times in the summer of 1997 by researchers for NOAA (National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, better known to most people as "the weather department").  The Bloop was an ultra low-frequency sound which originated from the southwest coast of South America.  


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  • Big Foot

    By becksta on 9/22/09 2:11pm
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    Bigfoot HoaxBigfoot HoaxBig Foot, aka, the "Sasquatch" is "big" in the Pacific Northwest (pun definitely intended). He is so big that he has his own music festival named after him, and countless websites dedicated to sightings of him or his footprints, which are larger than the average bear's.

    A Google search for "Sasquatch" excepting the results with "music" yielded 1,270,00 pages. Since my own Sasquatch grant funding request was denied by the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation, I am unable to verify whether the sightings were in fact legitimate, or give you more than my own honest perceptions of the misunderstood beast after "careful" research on the net.

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  • Destination Truth: Best Season Yet!

    By erika on 9/21/09 3:36pm
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    Sci Fi Channel's - oops, sorry - Syfy Channel's - dark horse Destination Truth is pulling in its strongest season yet.  The show's third season premiered on September 9, and two episodes have aired so far.  The first episode ("Haunted Forest/Alux") "hit a series high with 2.1 million [viewers]" according to Wikipedia, and deservedly so.  Aside from the terror of the chartered biplane's roof ripping off, the collection of footage from the haunted Romanian clearing was wonderfully chilling.


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  • Krill: Powering the Earth's Oceans

    By selecter on 9/14/09 12:55pm
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    Krill chillin: Courtesy sakichin, FlickrKrill chillin: Courtesy sakichin, FlickrThis animal may not seem weird at first. It’s sort of just a shrimpy little thing that swims around in the water getting eaten by just about everything else in the ocean from tuna to humpback whales. Krill get eaten, that’s their major talent on Earth. But amazingly, that talent is what drives most of the ocean ecosystem.

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  • Papua New Guinea's "Lost World" Found

    By sarajean on 9/11/09 8:40pm
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    While it’s no Will Ferrell movie, Papua New Guinea is home to something pretty freaking amazing: a lost “world.” Complete with giant rats, frogs with teeth and other brand spanking new creatures to human knowledge, and described as “a pristine jungle habitat,” it’s quite possibly the most amazing discovery this year.

    The South Pacific “world” is in a volcanic crater on Mount Bosavi, remote and, up until now, unknown to humans. The volcano has remained dormant for 200,000 years, allowing plenty of time for the growth and development of some amazing wildlife.

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