American researcher Charles Fort wrote in his work “The Book of the Damned” that there were weird, jelly-like beings living in the Earth's atmosphere. Medusa-like creatures, Fort wrote, had stings and tentacles, which they used to hunt for birds. The existence of such creatures seemed to be unbelievable for a very long time, until American scientists developed a special substance, aerogel. The lighter-than-air gel is a substance, the state of which is represents both hard and gas condition. Researchers proposed that the flesh of the mysterious creatures could be made of a similar substance. The theory can be partly proved with an incident, which occurred on 28 December, 1958, in Florida. Detective Faustin Galegos found a strange object outside his house. The detective said that he took the object in his hands, but could not feel that he was holding it. It was a translucent ball, the size of a soccer ball, and it was practically weightless. The detective did not manage to preserve it, because it virtually melted in the air several hours later. Faustin Galegos said that he had an impression of holding an unknown dead creature in his hands.

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The Real Story Of 'The Mothman Prophecies'

A sketch of Mothman, made by an eyewitness in rural West Virginia. In all, more than 100 people reported seeing the creature.--Courtesy Linda Scarberry, in "Mothman: The Facts Behind the Legend"

IGN FilmForce talks with cryptozoologist Loren Coleman about the spooky true-life events that inspired the  up  coming Richard Gere film.

2001-12-06
If you've been following news on films to be released in 2002, you have probably heard about a movie called 'The Mothman Prophecies' starring Richard Gere and Laura Linney, and directed by Mark Pellington (Arlington Road). You might even have seen a poster or a trailer for the film, due out January 25, 2002, which comes with the ominous warning "Based on true events." But what are those true events? And what the heck is a 'Mothman', anyway? IGN FilmForce recently had the opportunity to talk with Loren Coleman, famed'cryptozoologist'(literally "the study of unknown animals") and author of fifteen books, including the upcoming Mothman and Other Curious Encounters, about the whole Mothman story.

"On November 15, 1966, four individuals - two married couples - were at what was essentially a lovers lane in Point Pleasant, West Virginia," explains Coleman, who has been researching so-called "Fortean Phenomena" (from Charles Fort) since 1960.

"These two couples saw two giant red eyes, and it very much scared them...they didn't know what to make of it."
This, then, was the first reported sighting of the 'Mothman', which Coleman goes on to say "was described as 6-to-7 feet tall with red eyes and no head, as if the eyes were in the breast area, and with huge wings." The creature "came toward them. They took off and the creature followed them right up to the city limits of Point Pleasant." The incident was reported to the
local sheriff, who went to the lovers lane and "searches around, sees a puff of smoke in a nearby area from possibly this creature taking off and landing again."

While Coleman reports that the account was "ridiculed in the local press," something very strange began to happen: "More and more people started seeing this creature. For the next thirteen months, over 200 individuals had some interaction with some strange phenomena - and about a hundred of those said they actually saw Mothman."

And why that bizarre name - Mothman? Apparently, it was the work of "some copyeditor at the local newspaper. At the time, the Batman series was on TV, so they didn't want to call it 'Batman,' but it did have wings, so the copyeditor called it 'Mothman.' We have no other information than that - I've been trying to track that copyeditor down for twenty years."

But the creepy events in Point Pleasant during 1966-67 weren't limited to appearances of the Mothman. "There were [also] mutilated dogs, UFO sightings, and other things going on," says Coleman. And that's where John Keel, a longtime friend of Coleman's and author of the book The Mothman Prophecies, came in.

"About a month after [the initial sightings], John Keel got an assignment to go there as a news reporter," explains Coleman. "He sort of showed up, had a very low kind of profile; John was on a contract to write a book about UFOs." As Keel began to talk to people and gather information, the journalist found himself getting more deeply involved in the events, to the extent that "There were entities that communicated with John by phone." Coleman explains that as Keel analyzed the events, he found Point Pleasant to be "a vortex of phenomena, and couldn't really tell one from the other. It was a scary situation for John."

Whatever one thinks of the validity of Keel's claims, there's no arguing the horror of what happened next. Keel had begun to be given "prophecies" by the entities he was dealing with in Point Pleasant, one in particular that said that "when President Johnson turned on the Christmas lights at the White House, the whole northeast was going to go into a blackout." However, by that point, Coleman says that Keel had "started to get fooled by the phenomena.

"On December 15, John Keel is in his apartment in Manhattan," Coleman continues. "[Waiting for the blackout] with his bottled water and his batteries, and nothing happens. About six minutes later, on the TV set across the bottom: 'Bridge collapses across Ohio River.' And he just freaks out."

Keel "freaked out" because the bridge in question was the Silver Bridge, which crossed the Ohio River between Gallipolis, Ohio, and - you guessed it - Point Pleasant, West Virginia. "67 people fell into the river. 46 died. They found 44 bodies," says Coleman. "Several people who died were related to witnesses of Mothman."

The collapse of the Silver Bridge has been seen as the climax of Keel's Mothman experience, but Coleman is quick to say "I don't think it stopped. What I think is that it has continued on but people did not report it. It never got to the fever pitch of, say, a Roswell."

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Koala

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Description: Wolverine looks like a cross between a weasel and a bear.  They are about the size of a medium sized dog, but don’t let that fool you.  Wolverines are powerful and very territorial.  Not a good animal to mess with!

Habitat:  Wolverines are found in the tundra, forests and mountains.  They like wilderness areas, far away from people.

Diet:  Wolverines primarily eat carrion.  That means they eat animals that are already dead.  In the winter they will hunt and kill deer, mountain goats and other large mammals.

Reproduction: Wolverines give birth only once every two years. Between May and August. The embryo is not implanted immediately, but rather waits in dormant stage for six months. After implantation, gestation takes only another 30-50 days. Dams build snow-dens in which they give birth and nurse. Births occur from January through April. Litters are from one to six. These young typically nurse for 8-10 weeks, are separated from the mother in the fall, and attain adult size after 1 year. Wolverines are sexually mature at 2-3 years of life. Females up to 10 years old have bred in captivity. Wolverines may live up to 17 years in captivity, but they generally succumb after 8-10 years in the wild.

Trivia: 

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                                         Burro

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Unlike in the dog world, where all dog races belong to the same species (as proved by the fact that they can interbreed), horses and burros, though members of the same genus, are regarded as being completely different species.

Burro: EQUUS ASINUS

"Asinus" in the burro's scientific name, suggesting a certain assiness to the burro, hints at a further truth. That is, burros, asses and even donkeys are pretty much the same thing. They are all Equus asinus.

"Burro" is just the Spanish word for "donkey. "pretty much the same thing" because some people make a distinction between the descendents of donkeys introduced into the Americas by the Spanish in the 1500s, which they call burros, and donkeys introduced directly from Europe, which they call donkeys. Even people making a distinction between burros and donkeys appear to agree that both, being of the species "asinus," are asses. Jackasses are just "jack asses," or "male asses."

The donkey or ass, Equus africanus asinus,^[1][2] is a domesticated member of the Equidae or horse family, and an odd-toed ungulate. The wild ancestor of the donkey is the African Wild Ass, E. africanus. Traditionally, the scientific name for the donkey is Equus asinus asinus based on the principle of priority used for scientific names of animals. However, the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature has ruled in 2003 that if the domestic species and the wild species are considered subspecies of each other, the scientific name of the wild species has priority, even when that subspecies has been described after the domestic subspecies.^[2] This means that the proper scientific name for the donkey is Equus africanus asinus when it is considered a subspecies, and Equus asinus when it is considered a species.

In the western United States, a small donkey is sometimes called a burro (from the Spanish word for the animal).

A male donkey or ass is called a jack, a female a jenny, and offspring less than one year old, a foal (male: colt, female filly).

While different species of the Equidae family can interbreed, offspring are almost always sterile. Nonetheless, horse/donkey hybrids are popular for their durability and vigor. A mule is the offspring of a jack (male donkey) and a mare (female horse). The much rarer successful mating of a male horse and a female donkey produces a hinny.

Asses were first domesticated around 3000 BCE^[3], approximately the same time as the horse, and have spread around the world. They continue to fill important roles in many places today and domesticated species are increasing in numbers, but the African wild ass and another relative, the Onager, are endangered. As "beasts of burden" and companions, asses and donkeys have worked together with humans for centuries.

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Scientists believe that ancestors of the modern camel lived in North America at least 40 million years ago.  Although the ancestors of the lamas and camels appear to have diverged sometime in the Eocene epoch, they weren't completely separated from each other until the Pleistocene, when the ancestors of the camels migrated across the Bering Strait (temporary) land bridge to Asia.  Lamas migrated to South American, and all camel died out in North America.  Once in Asia, camels migrated through eastern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.

In Asia, two groups separated to become the two chief types of camel known today: the one-humped or dromedary and the two-humped, shorter-legged Bactrian camel.  It is thought that the dromedary may have evolved from the Bactrian camel.  However the hump(s) may have been acquired as a result of domestication.  The one-humped camel (Camelus dromedarius ) is found in the Arabian deserts, while the two-humped camel (Camelus bactrianus ) is an Asiatic animal.

All camels are similar, in having 37 pairs of chromosomes.  The Old World camels may be crossed, producing fertile offspring. (New World camels can be crossed to each other with similar results.)  Despite some major differences in size, all of the camels are basically similar in structure.  Because camels evolved in a semi-desert environment, they have developed sophisticated physiological adaptations for coping with both heat and dehydration.

All camels have a complex, 3-compartmented stomach.  Although they are not considered ruminants, they do regurgitate and rechew ingested forage.  In fact, they are more efficient at feed conversion than are ruminants in extracting protein and energy from poor quality forages.

Wild camels became extinct in North Africa before historic times (3000 B.C.), leaving only the domesticated stock.  However, in the case of the Bactrian camel, there are a small number of animals (300 to 700) located in a small area in the Trans-Altai Gobi Desert, that are considered a wild population.

 Dromedary's adaptation to heat and dehydration:

The dromedary camel does not store water any more than does any other species, yet it does not need to drink water for days.  It can handle extreme dehydration as a result of a number of different physiological adaptations.  Camels have been known to lose safely body water equivalent to 40% of its body weight, a loss that would be lethal in any other animal.  How do they do this?

·        Plasma volume is maintained at the expense of tissue fluid, so that circulation is not impaired.

·        The small oval erythrocyte of the camel can continue to circulate in situations of increased blood viscosity.

·        Camels can take in a very large amount of water at one session to make up for previous fluid loss.  In other animals, this would result in severe osmotic problems.  Camels can do this because water is absorbed very slowly from their stomach and intestines, allowing time for equilibration.  Furthermore, their erythrocytes can swell to 240% of normal size without bursting. (Other species can only go to 150%.)

·        Their kidneys are capable of concentrating their urine markedly to reduce water loss.  The urine can become as thick as syrup and have twice the salt content of sea water.

·        They can extract water from their fecal pellets so much that these can be used immediately for fuel upon voiding.

·        A further adaptation solely for heat is involved in the camel's ability to have a large fluctuation in body temperature (from 97.7 to 107.6 degrees F).  During the day, its body acts as a heat sink, and during the cool night of the desert, excess body heat is dissipated by conduction.

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The porcupine is the prickliest of rodents, though its Latin name means "quill pig." There are about two dozen porcupine species, and all boast a coat of needle-like quills to give predators a sharp reminder that this animal is no easy meal. Some quills, like those of Africa's crested porcupine, are nearly a foot (30 centimeters) long.

Porcupines have soft hair, but on their back, sides, and tail it is usually mixed with sharp quills. These quills typically lie flat until a porcupine is threatened, then leap to attention as a persuasive deterrent. Porcupines cannot shoot them at predators as once thought, but the quills do detach easily when touched.

Many animals come away from a porcupine encounter with quills protruding from their own snouts or bodies. Quills have sharp tips and overlapping scales or barbs that make them difficult to remove once they are stuck in another animal's skin. Porcupines grow new quills to replace the ones they lose.

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Dear Chief: I think we have to protect these wonderful creatures , as you said they are architects and great landscapers. I love them. Thanks Regina

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                                         Moles

Moles are the majority of the members of the mammal family Talpidae in the order Soricomorpha. Although most moles burrow, some species are aquatic or semi-aquatic. Moles have cylindrical bodies covered in fur, with small or covered eyes; the ears are generally not visible. They eat small invertebrate animals living underground. Moles can be found almost anywhere in North America, Europe and Asia, although there are no moles in Ireland.

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Beavers are more than intriguing animals with flat tails and lustrous fur. American Indians called the beaver the "sacred center" of the land because this species creates rich habitats for other mammals, fish, turtles, frogs, birds and ducks. Since beavers prefer to dam streams in shallow valleys, much of the flooded area becomes wetlands. Such wetlands are cradles of life with biodiversity that can rival tropical rain forests. Almost half of endangered and threatened species in North America rely upon wetlands.

Besides being a keystone species, beavers reliably and economically maintain wetlands that can sponge up floodwaters (the several dams built by each colony also slows the flow of floodwaters), prevent erosion, raise the water table and act as the "earth's kidneys" to purify water. The latter occurs because several feet of silt collect upstream of older beaver dams, and toxics, such as pesticides, are broken down in the wetlands that beavers create. Thus, water downstream of dams is cleaner and requires less treatment.

Beavers' ability to change the landscape is second only to humans. But that is just one reason why we find the flat-tailed species fascinating. Adults may weigh over 40 pounds, and beavers mate for life during their third year. Both parents care for the kits (usually one to four) that are born in the spring. The young normally stay with their parents for two years, and yearlings act as babysitters for the new litter. While some beaver behavior is instinctive, they also learn by imitation and from experience. Dr. Donald Griffin, the father of animal cognition, has said, "When we think of the kinds of animal behavior that suggest conscious thinking, the beaver comes naturally to mind."

Wildlife rehabilitators find beavers to be gentle, reasoning beings who enjoy playing practical jokes. An Indian word for "beaver-like" also means "affable." Once weaned, their favorite foods include water lily tubers, clover, apples and the leaves and green bark (cambium) from aspen and other fast-growing trees. Tree cutting is part of nature's cycle, and beaver pruning stimulates willows, cottonwood and aspen to regrow bushier than ever next spring. After eating, beavers use the peeled sticks to build a teepee-like lodge (house) on the shore and/or a dam.

By damming streams, beavers often raise the water level to surround their lodge with a protective moat, and create the deep water needed for winter food storage in northern climes. While other wildlife endure wintertime cold and hunger, beavers stay warm in their lodges with an underwater food cache of branches nearby. A beaver colony, can consist of six or more, including parents, yearlings and kits, yet they peacefully coexist in a lodge with underwater access to the iced-up pond for four months or more in the North.

Because they breed only once a year, require streamside habitats, and two-year-olds leave home each spring to find their own territories, beavers rarely overpopulate. They are limited to a small fraction of the landscape that is close to waterways. Kits have many predators including hawks, owls and otters. Bears, wolves, dogs and coyotes can also take adults that are especially vulnerable each spring when two-year-olds seek new territories. Accidents are another frequent cause of mortality, including falls into abandoned wells, and traffic accidents. Trapping is the most common source of mortality.

Like many wildlife species, beavers self-regulate by starting to decrease their rate of reproduction when occupancy reaches a certain level. In vast areas without trapping, beaver populations may peak, and then slowly drift down to a sustainable level. By the early 1900s, beavers were almost extirpated from North America due to trapping and draining of lands for agriculture. Estimates of the current population are as low as five percent of those present prior to European settlement. Nonetheless, as beaver reclaim some former territory, conflicts with humans arise.

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Opossum Facts and Theories

• Opossums are the only marsupial native to North America
• They lived 70 million years ago during the Mesozoic Era in the late Cretaceous period 
• Adults weigh 5 to 15 lbs, while newborn babies are about the size of a honey bee
• Their life span is 3 years in the wild; longer in captivity
• They are often mistaken for a large rat, but they are not rodents, they are marsupials
• Opossum fur can be white or black, but is usually gray
• Older opossums often have a brown or red tone to their fur
• They are solitary, nocturnal and can live wherever there is food, water and shelter
• They can strike surprisingly fast like snake (I've been bit so I know!)
• They can swim
• Opossums are excellent climbers using their hands, feet and tail to grasp
• Prehensile tail is used for climb-ing and for carrying nesting materials - both males and females build nests
• Young opossums can hang upside down by their tails, but only for short periods of time
• Sense of smell and hearing are excellent; eyesight is poor
• As omnivores, they eat anything: frogs, snails, mice, snakes, bugs, fruit, even road killed animals
• They mate once a year, but have two litters: one in spring and one in late summer - the theory is the 2nd pregnancy is delayed
• Gestation period is a very fast 13 days
• As many as 25 babies are born and make their way into the pouch
• The first 13 babies that attach to a nipple survive - mama can only accommodate 13 babies in her pouch
• Babies spend two months in the pouch continuing their development
• Once out of the pouch, babies ride on top of mom, hanging onto her fur
• Opossums are immune to rattle snake venom, rabies and distemper
• Roam from place to place but sometimes stay in one location if they have food and security
• They do not gnaw or chew on things, dig up gardens or attack people and pets
• Common ways the opossum is injured are by being hit by cars and attacked by dogs
• Some are needlessly trapped, driven off, abused and killed by misinformed humans
• If a mom is fatally injured, her babies can often be rescued and raised by wildlife rehabilitators
• Flea infestations resulting in anemia are a commonly seen problem
• They are hardy creatures and often recover fully from illness and injury
• Because they are slow moving, they often cannot escape predators
• To scare off attackers, they show off their sharp teeth, growl and drool - as a last resort, they will play dead "Play Possum" 
• While "playing possum," they emit a smelly substance from their anal gland which smells like rotten meat. This makes the opossum appear to be a rotting carcass and most predators will not eat him.
• Opossums have a peaceful nature and will avoid confrontations, but they will bite if provoked as a defensive
• They have 52 teeth - more than any other mammal in North America

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Unlike other birds, a hummingbird can rotate it's wings in a circle. Because of this special hummingbird fact, they are the only bird that can fly both forwards and backwards. They can also fly up, down, sideways, hover in one spot, or fly upside down for short distances.

Normal flight speed for hummingbirds is about 25 miles per hour, but they have been clocked at speeds in excess of fifty miles per hour during their courtship dives.

During normal flight a hummingbirds  wings beat about 60-80 times per second. In their courtship dives they might beat up to 200 times per second.

A courtship dive is an elaborate display of flight performed by the male hummingbird at the start of the nesting season. The male hummingbird will climb high into the air (up to 60 feet or more) and dive towards the ground and forming a wide arc, climbs back into the air to about the same height. These dives, forming a wide U-shaped pattern, my be performed 3 or 4 times in rapid succession. These courtship dives are performed to attracted the attention of the female hummingbirds and to ward off other male hummingbirds that might be in the area.

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Hummingbird is a small bird of the Trochilidae family. The rapid beating of the hummingbirds wings (60 to 80 beats per second) makes the distinctive humming sound from which they get their name. 

Sixteen different species of hummingbirds breed in the United States, but the Ruby-throated Hummingbird is the only one that breeds east of the Mississippi River.

And four species  breed in Canada.

Hummingbirds are found only in North America and South America.

Hummingbirds are found as far north as southeastern Alaska and as far south as southern Chile.

South America has the biggest variety of hummingbirds and more than half the species are found there. The country of Ecuador in northwestern South America has the largest number of hummingbirds of any one country with 163 different species.

There are over fifty species of hummingbirds that regularly breed in Mexico.

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                              A Kiwi

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Praying Mantis...

To me this looks like and alien..

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The bizarre appearance of this egg-laying, venomous, duck-billed, beaver-tailed, otter-footed mammal baffled European naturalists when they first encountered it, with some considering it an elaborate fraud. It is one of the few venomous mammals; the male Platypus has a spur on the hind foot that delivers a venom capable of causing severe pain to humans. The unique features of the Platypus make it an important subject in the study of evolutionary biology and a recognisable and iconic symbol of Australia; it has appeared as a mascot at national events and is featured on the reverse of the Australian 20 cent coin. The platypus is the animal emblem of the state of New South Wales.^[4]

Until the early 20th century it was hunted for its fur, but it is now protected throughout its range. Although captive breeding programs have had only limited success and the Platypus is vulnerable to the effects of pollution, it is not under any immediate threat.

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Photo of a strange and extraordinary dog

This is a strange and extraordinary dog that looks like a creature from another planet. This would be an excellent guard dog because one look at him/her would scare away any would be crook without even as much as a growl or bark..

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Wow! So much good information!

Going back to La Lorrona, a story I'm pretty familiar with living in the tip of Texas, there are a lot of variations on the story. The one that Walelu presented is probably the most prevalent. Another version has it that she was a prostitute who had multiple abortions and was refused entrance to heaven until she had found the souls of all those babies. (Clearly, this is laden with catholic overtones.)

I read on one site, from a fellow Texan, that perhaps the story began with Chuacoatl, a mother goddess of the native people -Aztec, I think - whose priests kept warning of an incoming threat (the Spanish invasion). They would hear her moaning at night, my children, my children, where can they hide?

So perhaps that's where it started and the story evolved over the centuries, masked the way European myths were to preserve them, hidden, even through the Church's persecutions.

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    First Live Giant Squid Photographed

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              Lapiths

The battle of the Centaurs and the Lapiths was a subject that was used repeatedly in ancient art. A fresco in Pompeii depicts the Pirithous receiving the Centaurs; a famous François vase depicts the Lapiths, armed with lances, fighting against the Centaurs, who defend themselves with rocks and branches; of the sculptures that depict the battle, the most famous are those on the west wing of the Temple of Zeus   in Olympia, and the metopes of the Parthenon.

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                         Centaurs

These monsters were represented as men from the head to the loins, while the remainder of the body was that of a horse. The ancients were too fond of a horse to consider the union of his nature with man's as forming a very degraded compound, and accordingly the centaur is the only one of the fancied monsters of antiquity to which any good traits were assigned. The centaurs were admitted to the companionship of man, and at the marriage of Pirithous with Hippodamia, they were among the guests. At the feast, Eurytion, one of the centaurs, becoming intoxicated with wine, attempted to offer violence to the bride; the other centaurs followed his example, and a dreadful conflict arose in which several of them were slain. This is the celebrated battle of the lapithæ and centaurs, a favorite subject with the sculptors and poets of antiquity.

But not all the centaurs were like the rude guests of Pirithous. Chiron was instructed by Apollo and Diana, and was renowned for his skill in hunting, medicine, music, and the art of prophecy. The most distinguished heroes of Grecian story were his pupils. Among the rest the infant Æsculapius was intrusted to his charge, by Apollo, his father. When the sage returned to his home bearing the infant, his daughter Ocyroe came forth to meet him, and at sight of the child burst forth into a prophetic strain (for she was a prophetess), foretelling the glory he was to achieve. Æsculapius when grown up became a renowned physician, and even in one instance succeeded in restoring the dead to life. Pluto resented this, and Jupiter, at his request, struck the bold physician with lightning and killed him, but after his death received him into the number of the gods.

Chiron was the wisest and justest of all the centaurs, and at his death Jupiter placed him among the stars as the constellation Sagittarius.

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The Gorgons

The gorgons were ugly monsters that had snakes for hair and, in some cases they had wings. They could also turn anyone that looked upon them into stone.

There were three, Stheno, the Mighty; Euryale, the Far Springer; and Medusa, the Queen. They were the daughters of Phorcys and Ceto and the sisters of the Sirens.

Another story says that Medusa was a beautiful maiden that had the most wonderful hair. Poseidon seduced her in Athena's temple. Athena took revenge on Medusa and changed her into a Gorgon. She was cursed forever with snakey hair, hideousness and lonliness. The only company she ever had was her equally hideous sisters. No one could look upon her without turning to stone. She was eventually killed by Perseus.

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                               The Sirens

The Sirens were the three daughters of Phorcys and Ceto and the sisters of the Gorgons.

Their names were Parthenope, Ligeia, and Leucosia. Also Aglaphone (Of the Brilliant Voice), Peinsnoe (The Persuasive), and Thexpeia (Of the Word Which Enchants).

They had the most beautiful voices. They sang to mariners to lure them to the rocks. The sailors would be so enchanted by their song that they would crash their ships upon the Sirens rocky shore and die.

Sometimes they were said to be half-bird, half-women. Other times half-fish, half-women. In the Odyssey they were bird women.

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In 1909, a track walker on the electric railroad saw the devil fly into the wires above the tracks. There was a violent explosion which melted the track 20 feet in both directions. No body was found and the devil was seen later in perfect health. In 1957, the Department of Conservation found a strange corpse in a burned out area of the pines. It was a partial skeleton, feathers, and hind legs of an unidentifiable creature. The devil was thought to be dead, but reappeared when the people of New Jersey thought that this time his death was real. Each time he is reported dead, he returns. Sometimes this year. The Jersey Devil will be 260 years old. It seems the devil is immortal, which a supernatural being would be. Another thing that supports this theory is the incredible distances the devil could fly in a short period of time. No animal could travel as fast as the devil did in 1909 when he was sighted in South Jersey, Philadelphia, and New York through out the week.

None of these theories can give a definitive answer to what the Jersey Devil was or is, but the sightings prove there is something out there. Whether the Jersey devil is a bird or a demon, is still left ot speculation. The people of New Jersey have definitely seen something out there lurking in the Pine Barrens.

By Dave Juliano (davejuliano@theshadowlands.net)

1995 davejuliano@theshadowlands.net

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Since 1909, the Jersey Devil has continued to be sighted by people all over New Jersey. The number of sightings that have been reported to the authorities has dwindled over the years. This could be attributed to the fact that people don't want to be branded as crazy. Even though the number of reported sightings has dropped, there's still a considerable amount of sightings in the post 1909 era.

IN 1927, a cab driver on his way to Salem got a flat tire. He stopped to fix the tire. As he was doing this, creature that stood upright and was covered with hair, landed on the roof of his cab. The creature shook his car violently. He fled the scene, leaving the tire and jack behind. Phillip Smith, who was known as a sober and honest man, saw the devil walking down the street in 1953. The characteristic screams of the Jersey Devil were heard in the woods near Woodstown, NJ, in 1936.

Around 1961, 2 couples were parked in a car in the Pine Barrens. They heard a loud screeching noise outside. Suddenly the roof of the car was smashed in. They fled the scene, but returned later. Again they heard the loud screech. They saw a creature flying along the trees, taking out huge chinks of bark as it went along.

There have been other sightings since 1909, such as the Invasion of Gibbsboro in 1951. The people there saw the devil over a 2 day period. In 1966, a farm was raided and 31 ducks, 3 geese, 4 cats, and 2 dogs were killed. One of the dogs was a large german Shepard which had it's throat ripped out. In 1981, a young couple spotted the devil at Atsion Lake in Atlantic County.

In 1987, in Vineland an aggressive german Shepard was found torn apart and the body gnawed upon. the body was located 25 feet from the chain which had been hooked to him. Around the body were strange tracks that no one could identify.

The sightings and prints are the most substantial evidence that exists. Many of the theories on the Jersey Devil are based upon that evidence. Some theories can be proven invalid, while others seem to provide support for the Jersey Devil's existence.

One theory is that the Jersey Devil is a bird. Mrs. Cassidy of Clayton thought it was an invasion of scrowfoot ducks. The scrowfoot duck is much too small to be mistaken for the devil. Others believe the devil is really a sand hill crane. The crane used to live in South Jersey until it was pushed out by man. The sand hill crane weighs about 12 lbs., is 4 foot high, and a wingspan of 80 inches. It avoids man but if confronted it will fight. It has a loud scream whooping voice that can be heard at a distance. This could account for the screams heard by witnesses. The crane also eats potatoes and corn. This could account for the raids on crops. This theory doesn't explain , however, the killing of live stock. It also doesn't explain why people described the devil as having a horses head, bat wings and tail, all of which the crane doesn't have.

Professor Bralhopf said that" the tracks were made by some prehistoric animal form the Jurassic period"5. He believes the creature survived underground in a cavern. An expert from the Smithsonian Institute had a theory about ancient creatures surviving underground. He said the Jersey Devil was a Pterodactyl. The Academy of Natural Sciences could find no record of any creature, living or extinct, that resembles the Jersey Devil.

Jack E. Boucher, author of Absagami Yesteryear, has a theory in which he believes the devil was a deformed child. He thinks Mrs. Leeds had a disfigured child and kept it locked away in the house. She grew sick and couldn't feed the child anymore. It escaped out of hunger and raided local farms for food. This doesn't take into account the incredible life span of the devil. The child would have been 174 years old in 1909. It also doesn't account for the sightings of the devil flying.

Only a small amount of the sightings and footprints could be hoaxes. The Jersey Devil has been seen by reliable people such as police, government officials, postmasters, businessman, and other people whose "integrity is beyond question."6 As for the hoof prints, even if some were hoaxes, There is still no way to explain most of the tracks, especially the ones on roof tops and tracks that ended abruptly as if the creature took wing.

The last theory is the most controversial one. Many people believe that the Jersey Devil could be the very essence of evil, embodied. It is said that the devil is an "uncanny harbinger of war"7. and appears before any great conflict. The jersey devil was sighted before the start of the Civil War. It was also seen right before the Spanish American War and WW I. In 1939, before the start of WW II, Mount Holly citizens were awakened by the noise of hooves on their roof tops. The Devil was seen on December 7, 1941, right before Pearl Harbor was bombed. He was also seen right before the vietnam War.

The Jersey Devil's habit of being a forerunner to wars could be because of his possible demonic origins. In 1730, Ben Franklin reported a story about a witchcraft trial near Mt Holly, NJ. One of the origin legends say that Mother Leeds was a witch. The devil's birth could have been a result of a witches curse.

Other facts support the supernatural theory are the reports of the death of the devil. When Commodore Decatur fired a cannon ball at the devil, it went through him and he was unaffected.

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In the early 19th century, Commodore Stephen Decatur, a naval hero, was testing cannon balls on the firing range when he saw a strange creature flying across the sky. He fired and hit the creature but it kept right on flying across the field. Joseph Bonaparte, former king of Spain and brother of Napoleon, saw the Jersey Devil in Bordentown, NJ, between 1816 and 1839 while he was hunting. In 1840-41 many sheep and chickens were killed by a creature with a piercing scream and strange tracks. In 1859-94, the Jersey Devil was seen and numerous times and reportedly carried off anything that moved in Haddonfield, Bridgeton, Smithville, Long Branch, Brigantine, and Leeds Point. W.F. Mayer of New York noticed while visiting the Pine Barrens, most of the locals would not venture out after dark. The devil was sighted by George Saarosy, A prominent business man, at the NJ/NY border. This was the last reported sighting before the turn of the century.

In 1903, Charles Skinner, author of American Myths and Legends, claimed that the legend of the devil had run it's course and that in the new century, NJ would hear no more of the devil. New Jersey rested easy with that thought for 6 years, until the week of January 16-23. 1909. During this week, the devil would leave his tracks all over South Jersey and Philadelphia. He was seen by over 1,000 people. This was his largest appearance ever.

It all started early Sunday morning, January 16, 1909. Thack Cozzens of Woodbury, NJ, saw a flying creature with glowing eyes flying down the street. In Bristol, PA, John Mcowen heard and saw the strange creature on the banks of the canal. Patrol James Sackville fired at the creature as it flew away screaming. E.W. Minister, Postmaster of Bristol, PA, also saw a bird-like creature with a horses head that had a piercing scream. When daylight came, the residents of Bristol found hoof prints in the snow. Two local trappers said they had never seen tracks like those before.

On Monday, the Lowdens of Burlington, NJ, found hoof prints in their yard and around their trash, which was half eaten. Almost every yard in Burlington had these strange hoof prints in them. The prints went up trees, went from roof to roof, disappeared in the middle of the road, and stopped in the middle of open fields. The same tracks were also found in Columbus, Hedding, Kinhora and Rancocas. A hunt was organized to follow the tracks but the dogs wouldn't follow the trail.

On the 19th the Jersey Devil made his longest appearance of the week. At 2:30 am, Mr & Mrs. Nelson Evans of Gloucester were awakened by a strange noise. They watched the devil from their window for 10 minutes. Mr. Evans described the creature they saw:

Tuesday afternoon 2 professional hunters tracked the devil for 20 miles in Gloucester. The trail jumped 5 foot fences and went under 8 inch spaces. The hoof prints were found in more parts of South Jersey. A group of observers in Camden, NJ, saw the devil. It barked at them and then took off into the air.

The next day, a Burlington police officer and the Reverend John Pursell of Pemberton saw the Jersey Devil. Rev. Pursell said, "Never saw anything like it before".3 Posses in Haddonfield found tracks that ended abruptly. In Collingswood, NJ, a posse watched the devil fly off toward Moorestown. Near Moorestown, John Smith of Maple Shade saw the devil at the Mount Carmel Cemetery. George Snyder saw the devil right after Mr. Smith and their descriptions were identical. In Riverside, NJ, hoof prints were found on roof tops and also around a dead puppy.

On Thursday, the Jersey Devil was seen by the Black Hawk Social Club. He was also seen by a trolley full of people in Clementon as it circled above them. The witnesses descriptions matched others from the days before. In Trenton, Councilman E.P. Weeden heard the flapping of wings and then found hoof prints outside his door. The prints were also found at the arsenal in Trenton. As the day wore on the Trolleys in Trenton and New Brunswick had armed drivers to ward off attacks. The people in Pitman filled churches. Chickens had been missing all week throughout the Delaware Valley, but when the farmers checked their yards that day, they found their chickens dead, with no marks on them. The West Collingswood Fire Department fired their hose at the devil. The devil retreated at first, but then charged and flew away at the last second.

Later that night, Mrs. Sorbinski of Camden heard a commotion in her yard. She opened the door to see the Jersey Devil standing there with her dog in it's grip. She hit the devil with a broom until it let go of her dog and flew away. She started screaming until her neighbors came over. Two police officers arrived at her house where over 100 people had gathered. The crowd heard a scream coming from Kaigan Hill. The mob ran toward the creature on the hill. The Policed shot at it and the devil flew off into the night. The streets of Camden were empty after this.

On Friday, Camden police officer Louis Strehr saw the Jersey Devil saw the devil drinking from a horses trough. The school in Mt Ephraim was closed because no students came in. Mills and factories in Gloucester and Hainesport had to close because none of the employees came to work.

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The Jersey Devil, the supposed mythical creature of the New Jersey Pinelands, has haunted New Jersey and the surrounding areas for the past 260 years. This entity has been seen by over 2,000 witnesses over this period. It has terrorized towns and caused factories and schools to close down, yet many people believe that the Jersey Devil is a legend, a mythical beast, that originated from the folklore of the New Jersey Pine Barrens. Others disagree with this point of view. The following text will show there is evidence to support the existence of an animal or supernatural bring known as the Jersey Devil. The evidence consists of the stories of the Jersey Devil's origin, the sightings of it, and finally, the theories on it.

There are many different versions of the birth of the Jersey Devil. One of the most popular legends says a Mrs. Shrouds of Leeds Point, NJ made a wish that if she ever had another child, she want it to be a devil. Her next child was born misshapen and deformed. She sheltered it in the house, so the curious couldn't see him. On stormy night, the child flapped it's arms, which turned into wings, and escaped out the chimney and was never seen by the family again. A Mrs. Bowen of Leeds point said, "The Jersey Devil was born in the Shrouds house at Leeds Point." 1 Another story that also placed the birth at Leeds Point said that a young girl fell in love with a British soldier during the Revolutionary War. The people of Leeds Point cursed her. When she gave birth, she had a devil. Some people believe the birth of the devil was punishment for the mistreatment of a minister by the Leeds folk.

Another story placed the birth in Estelville, NJ. Mrs. Leeds, of Estelville, finding out she was pregnant with her 13th child, shouted,"I hope it's a devil". She got her wish. The child wad born with horns, a tail, wings, and a horse-like head. The creature revisited Mrs. Leeds everyday. She stood at her door and told it to leave. After awhile, the creature got the hint and never returned.

Burlington, NJ, also claims to be the birthplace of the Jersey Devil. In 1735, Mother Leeds was in labor on a stormy night. Gathered around her were her friends. Mother Leeds was supposedly a witch and the child's father was the devil himself. The child was born normal, but then changed form. It changed from a normal baby to a creature with hooves, a horses head, bat wings and a forked tail. It beat everyone present and flew up the chimney. It circled the villages and headed toward the pines. In 1740 a clergy exercised the devil for 100 years and it wasn't seen again until 1890.

There are many other versions of the legend. The legends say it was the 6th, 8th, 10th, 12th, or 13th child, It was born normal or deformed, and the mother confined it to the cellar or the attic. Although there are many discrepancies in all of these stories, there are 3 pieces of evidence that tie all of the legends of the Jersey Devil's origin together.

The first thing that ties the legends together is the name "Leeds". Whether the mothers name was Leeds or the birth place was Leeds Point, all of the stories include the name Leeds. Alfred Heston, the Atlantic County Historian, believes that the devil could be a Leeds or a Shrouds baby. He discovered that a Daniel Leeds opened land in Great Egg Harbor, NJ, in 1699. His family lived in Leeds Point. He also discovered a Samuel Shrouds, Sr. came to Little Egg Harbor, NJ, in 1735 and lived right across the river from the house of Mother Leeds. The 3rd fact ties in the Burlington story with the others stories. Professor Fred MacFadden of Coppin State College, Baltimore, found that a "devil" was mentioned in writings from Burlington as early as 1735. He also indicated that the word Burlington was used to was the word used to names the area from the city of Burlington to the Atlantic Ocean. This means that the name that is now used for the birthplace such as Leeds point or Estelville, could be the same place referred to in the Burlington Legend.

The origins provide some validity to the existence of the Jersey Devil, but the sightings are the most substantial pieces of evidence. The sightings have been divided up into 3 time periods, pre 1909, January 16-23, 1909, and post 1909.

From the pre 1909 era, few documented records of sightings still exist. The ones that do confirm the existence of the devil.

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El Vampiro de Moca

Story Compiled From The Internet by Dale Faber EL CHUPACABRA ART By Ricardo Pustanio © 2006-2007

The chupacabra (or chupacabras, grunch) is a creature said to inhabit parts of the Americas. It is associated New Orleans it is known as a Grunch or Black Grunch. Puerto Rico (where it was first reported as a Chupacabra), Mexico, and the United States, especially in the latter's Latin American communities. 

The name Chupacabra translates literally from Spanish as "goat-sucker". It comes from the creature's reported habit of attacking and drinking the blood of livestock. Physical descriptions of the creature vary. Grunch Sightings began in New Orleans in the late 1960's and Chupacabra, Puerto Rico in the early 1990s, and have since been reported as far north as the Carolinas, and as far south as Chile. The Chupacabra, as it is known now, was called 'El Vampiro de Moca' {in Puerto Rico}, some years ago.

The Name Grunch came from the name of a Road in the eastern part of New Orleans circa late 1950's to present day. Where many numerous stories of blood sucked chickens, goats, cows and occasional persons were said to have encountered them eye to red eye. Many say the legend of the Grunch dates back to the early settlement days of New Orleans.

Though some argue that the chupacabras may be real creatures, mainstream scientists and experts generally contend that the chupacabra and grunch are a legendary creature, or a type of urban legend.

Originated in Puerto Rico in the township of Canóvanas, numerous sightings locate him in the United States, Central America (Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala) and South America (Brazil, Chile) New Orleans as a Grunch.

The species would dwell underneath the soil in cave-like structures whose origins and makeup are currently unknown. Other pretends that they come from the future or a 5th dimension.

The legend of el chupacabra began in about 1992, when Puerto Rican newspapers El Vocero and El Nuevo Dia began reporting the killings of many different types of animals, such as birds, horses, and as its name implies, goats. At the time it was known as El Vampiro de Moca since some of the first killings occurred in the small town of Moca. While at first it was suspected that the killings were done randomly by some members of a Satanic cult, eventually these killings spread around the island, and many farms reported loss of animal life. The killings had one pattern in common: each of the animals found dead had two punctured holes around their necks.

Soon after the animal deaths in Puerto Rico, other animal deaths were reported in other countries, such as the Dominican Republic, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Panama, Peru, Brazil, the United States and, most notably, Mexico, New Orleans

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uN1zbqAMPNA&eurl=http://www.care2.com/c2c/groups/disc_post.html?gpp=19507

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Yeti

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It looks as if someone tried to give a zebra a respray. . . then ran out of white paint halfway through the job.

But in reality there is no artificial colouring on display here. This amazing but natural coat belongs to Eclyse the zorse.

Her father is a zebra, while her mother is a horse. And she's walking proof of how a child inherits genes from both parents.

Eclyse has earnt its stripes as one of the zoo's main attractions.

For while most zebra-horse crossbreeds sport stripes across their entire body, Eclyse only has two such patches, on its face and rear.

The one-year-old zorse was the accidental product of a holiday romance when her mother, Eclipse, was taken from her German safari park home to a ranch in Italy for a brief spell.

There she was able to roam freely with other horses and a number of zebras, including one called Ulysses who took a fancy to her.

When Eclipse returned home, she surprised her keepers by giving birth to the baby zorse whose mixed markings betray her colourful parentage.

The foal was promptly given a name that is in itself a hybrid, of her parents' names.

Now she's become a major attraction at a safari park at Schloss Holte Stukenbrock, near the German border with Holland, where she has her own enclosure.

Udo Richter, spokesman for the park, said, "You can tell she is a mix just by looking at her. But in temperament she can also exhibit characteristics from each parent.

"She is usually relatively tame like a horse but occasionally shows the fiery temperament of a zebra, leaping around like one."

Horses and zebras are often crossbred in Africa and are used as trekking animals on Mount Kenya.

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Geep

These are the result of of a sheep and a goat.

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