April 2010

  • Hunt For The Moa

    By erika on 4/30/10 4:09pm
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    This week's episode of Destination Truth went after the moa, New Zealand's presumed extinct giant man-eating bird.  (They also did some ghost hunting on Easter Island, which was awesome, and entertaining, and really great, and you should definitely go watch the episode.)

    Unlike a lot of other cryptozoological reports, I give total credence to stories about the moa.  For one thing, this is an animal that did, without question, exist.  Much like the passenger pigeon and the dodo, the moa was a known presence here on the Earth.  And much like the passenger pigeon and the dodo, people killed it off.  

    The moa was a large flightless bird, something like a predatory ostrich.  There were ten species of moa living on New Zealand, ranging in size from about the height of a chicken, to the largest species which was a whopping twelve feet tall.


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  • Giant Palouse Earthworm Not So Giant

    By erika on 4/29/10 2:00pm
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    The Key is to Walk Without RhythmThe Key is to Walk Without RhythmThis story raises more questions than it does answers.  In the 1890s, the Giant Palouse earthworm was said to be common, three feet long, able to spit, and smelling like lilies.  "Samples" were sent to a researcher who formally described the worm for science.  

    The earthworm was thought to be extinct in the 1980s.  It requires unspoiled prairie land to roam deep in its underground lairs, and the Palouse prairies have been torn up to make way for crop lands.  


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  • Welcome To World Tapir Day!

    By erika on 4/27/10 2:30pm
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    Malayan TapirsMalayan TapirsToday is World Tapir Day, which is dedicated to raising awareness of the wonderful tapir.  Sadly, the tapir is incredibly endangered.  All four species are officially endangered, and one of the four may have less than 50 individuals remaining.

    Most people guess that the tapir is related to pigs somehow.  It has a long flexible snout, a rounded body, and a stubby little tail that are all rather pig-like.  But although the tapir looks something like a very large hog, it is most closely related to the horse and the rhinoceros (in so far as it's closely related to any other animal on Earth, which as you can tell it really isn't).  Some scientists believe that the tapir evolved from the Hyracotherium, which is a very early prehistoric form of horse.


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  • A blue stork?

    By dfunzy on 4/26/10 3:15pm
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    In a German village there is a bright blue colored stork that has become a tourist attraction. Storks are normally white. This blue one has become a golden goose. People are flocking to the village to see it, snapping its picture, grabbing up souvenirs and spending money in the local shops and restaurants. An oddity always draws the curious and the enterprising.

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  • Venomous Mammals

    By erika on 4/20/10 4:04pm
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    Careful - He's Venomous!Careful - He's Venomous!I ran across a wonderful article on Wikipedia the other day, while I was trying to figure out what kind of spooked, swimming mammal might have been caught on thermal camera by the Destination Truth team in New Zealand.  I settled on "platypus" as the most likely suspect, and also the funniest.  Platypus!  Who could possibly be scared by a platypus?


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  • Bizarre Animal Penises

    By becksta on 4/14/10 1:14pm
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    Animal sex is totally different than human sex and I think the main reason has to do with the fact that there are a lot of strange animal penises out there. There are  animals with multiple penises, animals with testicles that explode on copulation, animals with strangely-placed penises, and animals with ginormous members resembling corkscrews.

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  • Karakoncolos, The Mischievous Turkish Sasquatch

    By erika on 4/13/10 6:42pm
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    Karakoncolos Costume at the Kukeri FestivalKarakoncolos Costume at the Kukeri FestivalI was clicking around Wikipedia somewhat at random when I ran across this article about the Karakoncolos, which I had never heard of before.  By the physical description (tall and hairy) I was all set to put the Karakoncolos firmly in the "cryptid ape" category.  

    However, the Karakoncolos likes to stand on street corners at night and collar passing strangers with odd questions.  If you know what's good for you, you'll answer the Karakoncolos - and use the word "black" in your answer, too.  If you refuse to answer, the Karakoncolos will strike you dead.

    In addition to his Sphinx-like duties, the Karakoncolos will sometimes lure people outside by calling to them in the voice of their loved ones.  Like a siren, or many of the more malevolent species of Faerie kind.


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  • Creepilicious Giant Deep Sea Isopods

    By erika on 4/8/10 6:06pm
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    I first encountered the existence of giant deep sea isopods a few years back, when I was convinced that they were Photoshopped.  Someone somewhere posted a picture of three giant isopods seemingly attacking a bag of Doritos.  What were these things?  They set the internet afire, starting with this Something Awful article.

    I still don't really know what the deal is with that Doritos picture.  

    At any rate, isopods are a group of crustaceans loosely related to shrimp and crabs.  You may be familiar with one of the land-living isopods, the wood louse (known also as the "roly poly" or "pill bug").  Most isopods are relatively small, but some isopods grow very large indeed.  About the size of a cantaloupe, according to one of the more recent finds.


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  • MonsterQuest, "Lizard Monster"

    By erika on 4/6/10 1:48pm
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    Floating Trash Can Lizard Monster, as depicted on MonsterQuestFloating Trash Can Lizard Monster, as depicted on MonsterQuestI know I say this every time!  But each new episode of MonsterQuest is more hilariously over the top than the one before.  Last time I thought there was no way they would be able to top "giant killer bees."  And then they trot out this confusing hodge-podge of Appalachian monster sightings, UFO encounters, and also a skull some kid found in Texas in the 1930s.

    The fact that the show's producers even tried to stitch this together into a coherent episode is impressive, to say the least.  


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