CryPtoReports.com

If you ask the average zoologist what makes mysterious creatures like Bigfoot or El Chupacabra so impossible today when once scientifically-dismissed species like the Mountain Gorilla or Giant Squid are now common enough concepts, they’ll probably say, “The difference is the gorilla and the squid are real, and Bigfoot isn’t.”

The scientific dismissal isn’t keeping Animal Planet from releasing a new DVD featuring stories of cryptozoological oddities.

Announced this week and set for release this fall (October 6), Lost Tapes operates under the thesis that, while thousands of new species are discovered and classified each year, there are some creatures that science still refuses to recognize.

Lost Tapes offers dramatic reenacts of reported encounters with The Monster of Monterey, Cave Demons, the Megaconda and the Mothman.

A lot of this is outright bollocks, and Animal Planet could be accused of repacking a horror/sci-fi show as an animal documentary here. But, there’s a “ghost story around the campfire” charm about shows like this that an intrigued audience could enjoy a chill or two. People need a good scare now and then, even if it comes from a non-existent Thunderbird or Hell Hound.

Source: tvsquad

A mysterious looking body found along the shore of Okanagan Lake might be the remains of the legendary Ogopogo, an expert says.

Dan Poppoff found the 1.2-metre-long carcass last month while he was kayaking in the lake, close to Kelowna.

The Kelowna resident immediately called Arlene Gaal, who has written three books about the legendary sea creature and documented sightings of the Ogopogo for the last 30 years.

A day later, he sent her a photo of the carcass.

“I told him he had my attention right away,” Gaal said.

She told him to store the body in the freezer and has arranged for two scientists to analyze DNA from the tail.

The carcass had a spinal cord and vertebrae, which made it one of the first interesting discoveries she’s seen in the last 30 years.

“This is something very important to the scientific community. What we’re looking at is an unidentified species and this might open the door to this mystery,” she said.

Like Scotland’s mythical Loch Ness monster, evidence of the Ogopogo’s existence is largely anecdotal.

Since 1978, about 1,000 sightings of the Ogopogo have been recorded in the Okanagan. Every year, at least five people come forward to say that they have seen the sea monster.

Two sightings have already been reported in 2009. Those who claim to have seen the animal say it resembles a whale in its size, the way it moves and the commotion it creates when it emerges from the water.

“We’re looking at a definite large animal that is swimming in the Okanagan Lake. I’m sure of that,” Gaal said.

Source: canada.com

MARBLEMOUNT — A tour along the upper Skagit River usually includes breathtaking and colorful wildlife — eagles, soaring across the sky or lighting in trees to catch salmon in the river; raccoons, scrounging for eggs and any leftover garbage from careless campers; deer; and ever so occasionally, a cougar.

But look a little closer, into the shadow of the tree cover, and some say you might find something that puts a new spin on the “wild” in wildlife.

Dave Button, owner of Pacific Northwest Float Trips, loaded up his small bus recently to lead a group of visitors on one of his most popular river tours — to see where the elusive and legendary sasquatch has allegedly been sighted.

A clever marketing scheme? Maybe. But the 65-year-old river guide, a man with a tenacious gift of gab and friendly wit, will happily tell you he’s never seen the hairy ape-like creature himself. But he’s met more than a few credible folks who have.

“People get really mad about it,” Button said, while tromping toward the river at the boat launch in Marblemount, where two large “Rough River”-type inflatable rafts sat bobbing on the surface of the water.

“One lady jumped up and said, ‘I’ve never seen sasquatch!’” Button howled, throwing his hands in the air and leaning forward. “I said, ‘Ma’am, have you seen a

mountain lion?’ She said, ‘Well, no,’ and I said, ‘But they’re out there.’”

The group of 12 — some firm believers in the legend that is known by a variety of names around the world, and some just along for an entertaining and relaxing ride on the river — climbed into the rafts, on that overcast and drizzly day, armed with binoculars, rain jackets, cameras and carefully packed sack lunches.

In many ways, that river tour was less about sasquatch and more about the people looking for him.

The searchers

Last month’s trip was the first for sasquatch researcher Jason Valenti, although he often heads into the Cascades at night in search of the mysterious creature.

Valenti, 38, is always eager to share his own personal encounter on a spring morning in 1996 with what he suspects was a sasquatch, or a “humanoid.”

“It was a class-one Bigfoot sighting,” said the tall man with the quiet demeanor that all but disappears when he explains his experience. He had been driving through the Appalachicola National Forest near Tallahassee, Fla., when he spotted a massive figure in the roadway.

“If Dennis (the passenger in his vehicle at the time) would have rolled down the window, he could have reached out and touched her arm,” Valenti said, insisting that what he saw was “definitely a female form.”

Valenti’s outlook on life changed, the foundations of his existence shaken to the core. Since that early morning encounter, Valenti has been driven to uncover the secrets behind Bigfoot.

He moved to the Bellingham area in 1999. At least once a month, he takes to the hills in eastern Skagit and Whatcom counties trying to catch a fevered glimpse of sasquatch.

Any luck?

No sightings locally so far, he said. But he has plenty of audio recordings of what he estimates are probably Bigfoot.

Several of the curious visitors sitting next to Valenti on the raft leaned forward as he ticked off various Bigfoot facts: They weigh anywhere from 1,200 to 2,000 pounds; their eyes glow red, just like the local Native Americans have said; they’ve been known to kidnap people; they have a foul odor that can be detected for quite a distance.

As far as Melanie is concerned (she didn’t want her last name used), there’s no reason to be skeptical. Some might consider the sasquatch legend a myth, but Melanie said she likes to keep an open mind — especially after having seen the famous footage of what was allegedly a Bigfoot caught on film in 1967 by Roger Patterson and Robert Gimlin. Melanie saw the film for the first time while she was attending the University of Washington in the 1970s.

Melanie said she’s never seen a sasquatch herself, but “When I’m deep in the woods, sometimes I feel their presence — a consciousness that is very intelligent and loving,” she added, while listening carefully to Valenti’s stories.

Melanie’s friend, Irene (who also did not divulge her last name), is quite sure that sasquatch exists. She decided to take the river tour on Melanie’s suggestion and see for herself where the giant creature has been spotted locally.

“I’m considered weird in some circles,” she said with a hearty laugh. “But I don’t care.”

Sasquatch — also known as Kala’litabiqw by the Upper Skagit Tribe and See’atco to the Coast Salish — has been a part of the local lore for generations, said Kenney Cuthbert, an Upper Skagit tribal member, as he stood in front of the group just before leaving on the rafts.

Cuthbert has never seen a sasquatch, but has heard tales from those who say they’ve been frightened by something ape-like, hairy and imposing while picking wild blueberries in the forests of Snohomish, Skagit and Whatcom counties.

“My dad has seen them on the Suiattle River between here and Darrington,” Cuthbert said, quietly, as the group listened in rapt silence. “I knew three kids in Darrington that went over a hill on the Suiattle to pick blueberries. They saw something they thought was a bear. All the sudden, it stood up, and they said it was about 10 feet tall. It scared them so bad, they had to get out of there.”

Tour mixes lore, nature

As the rafts made their way along the relatively quiet 10-mile “wild and scenic” section of the Skagit River between Marblemount and Rockport, they moved by houses tucked behind clumps of trees set back from the river, as well as numerous rocky islands. Button, the guide, pointed out several locations where he’s been told sasquatch lurks.

“The Native Americans own 40 acres and they’ve (sasquatch) been known to come through there,” Button said, waving his hand toward a distant hillside. “They’re migratory,” he added, “and they live in caves.”

So, if he’s never seen one, how does he know?

Well, through the years, he’s heard stories and done some minor research on the subject himself.

Button started up special “Quest for the Elusive Sasquatch” river tours this spring. He used to conduct them as part of other river tours.

The Skagit County native and former teacher came up with the idea in the 1980s after chatting with a sasquatch expert from Sedro-Woolley.

Button began guiding the tours with the idea of highlighting the Native American legends of Bigfoot along with the eagles that populate the area in the winter and the local habitat.

Since then, the tours have turned into a healthy mix of Native American lore, socializing and some of the most beautiful sight-seeing in the world, he bragged.

And people are enthusiastically interested in the Bigfoot angle, he said.

Always the gregarious storyteller, Button is quick to infuse humor with the rumor to entertain his guests.

As he rowed the oars of one raft past a discarded piece of blue fabric, he joked loudly, “And there’s sasquatch’s long underwear!”

The guests smile and point — not at the sasquatch location, but instead at a bald eagle hunched in the branches of a tall Douglas fir. After all, at least half of the tourists ignore the hidden sasquatch in favor of the more visible wildlife.

Julie Engel of the Redmond area came north with her 14-year-old daughter and two of her daughter’s friends to take the tour — not so much for a chance to see a sasquatch but to get out of the busy city and enjoy a relaxing river ride in rural Skagit County.

Tilting her head thoughtfully, she considered the sasquatch legend. She’s heard plenty about it, having grown up in rural Oregon.

Does she believe it?

“I don’t believe it, though I guess it could be possible,” she said, laughing.

“Then again,” she shrugged, “It could be just a bunch of hairy hobos living out there.”

Source: goskagit

ISTANBUL – First reportedly spotted in eastern Turkish city of Van in the 1990s, the controversial ‘Lake Van Monster’ is set to hit the silver screen for the first time. Directed by Bünyamin Yaşar, the eponymous film is expected to be finished in 25 days and released in theaters in September.

Turkey’s legendary “Van Gölü Canavarı” (Lake Van Monster), already the subject of Japanese books and American documentaries, will star in a movie due to be released this fall. Produced by local folk singer Mustafa Çetin, “Van Gölü Canavarı” has begun shooting on the shore of Lake Van, in the Erçiş district of the eastern city of Van.

The 105-minute feature film about a fake monster created by three shepherds is expected to be finished in 25 days. “We have a 30-person technical team and a 15-person artistic team. We will shoot the film in Van’s historical and touristy places, including Akdamar Island,” said director Bünyamin Yaşar.

“The Kurdish language will be used in some scenes of the film, which will meet with audiences in September,” he added.

It appeared in 1995

The Lake Van Monster was first reportedly spotted in 1995; at least 1,000 people in the region claim to have seen it. The film will tell the story of three shepherds who were dismissed from their town for not protecting the sheep. They created a fake monster and made everyone believe in the legend.

“The film will leave a question mark in people’s minds,” added Yaşar, who said there would be elements of comedy and romance, as well as action scenes, in the film, which stars Levent Aras, Nazif Çetin and Didem Ellialtı.

Yaşar said they were making an entertaining film, but one that would have great importance for the promotion of Van. Noting that the Lake Van Monster had never been featured in a film before, he spoke about the scenario the movie would present. “Three shepherds, who were dismissed from their town, come up with an idea while swimming in the lake that will fool the people of the town: They make a mock-up of a monster and film it,” he said. “Then they make the people watch it in return for money and make very good money. But, at the end of the film, the shepherds see the real monster in the lake.”

Yaşar added that they do not have box-office expectations but hope to join international festivals.

Lake Van is the largest lake in Turkey and the second largest in the Middle East. The monster reportedly measures around 15 meters long, with spikes on its back, and can be compared in many ways to the Loch Ness Monster in the United Kingdom or the Lake Champlain Monster in the United States.

A 4-meter-high statue based on reported sightings has been erected in its honor in the city of Van.

Following the alleged eyewitness reports, the Turkish government sent an official scientific survey group to the lake, but it failed to spot the creature.

Criticisms on video

In 1997, a local man, Ünal Kozak, a member of Van University, said he had captured the creature on video and sent the film in for analysis.

He has also written a book about the monster. Kozak’s video is under constant criticism, with viewers questioning why it never pans left, saying perhaps there was a boat carrying the “creature,” or asking why the monster only goes straight, instead of curving through the water. Some have even criticized why the creature’s breathing seems to be not in and out, but a continuous release, much like the effects of an air hose.

The monster may be nothing more than an urban legend, a hoax to attract tourists or a strange, faceless creature in a shaky video. But to investigators, there is enough reason to believe that there is something lurking in the salty waters of Lake Van.

Source: hurriyet

Trudging gingerly across the arid sands of the Gobi desert, Czech explorer Ivan Mackerle is careful not to put a foot wrong, for he knows it may be his last. He scours the land and shifting valleys for tell-tale signs of disturbance in the sands below, always ready for the unexpected lurch of an alien being said to kill in one strike with a sharp spout of acidic venom to the face. A creature so secretive that no photographic evidence yet exists, but the locals know it’s there, always waiting in silence for its prey, waiting to strike – the Mongolian Death Worm.

Reported to be between two and five feet long, the deep-red coloured worm is said to resemble the intestines of a cow and sprays a yellow acidic saliva substance at its victims, who if they’re unlucky enough to be within touching distance also receive an electric shock powerful enough to kill a camel… or them.

Given the latin name Allghoi khorkhoi, the Mongolian Death Worm was first referred to by American paleontologist Professor Roy Chapman Andrews (apparently the inspiration for the Indiana Jones character) in his book On the Trail of Ancient Man, in 1926 but he didn’t appear to be entirely convinced about the whole idea. Even though locals were desperate to relay events of when the dreaded worm struck, Andrews writes: “None of those present ever had seen the creature, but they all firmly believed in its existence and described it minutely.” But it wasn’t to stop other inquisitive adventurers taking up the investigative mantle when Andrews was no longer interested, or able to pursue the matter.

Only a few years ago, in 2005, a group of English scientists and cryptozoologists spent a month in the hostile Gobi desert searching for the fabled creature, and although they spoke to a number of Mongolians in the area, all of whom regaled wondrous stories of the worm, no one could verify they had seen the creature first-hand. Even still, after four weeks the team had gathered enough verbal evidence to be convinced that the worm really does exist. Lead researcher, Richard Freeman, said: “Every eyewitness account and story we have heard describes exactly the same thing: a red-brown worm-like snake, approximately two feet long and two inches thick with no discernable head or back (tail).”

Today, it is Ivan Mackerle, a self-made cryptozoologist who travels the world in search of scientific evidence that proves creatures like the Loch Ness monster and Mongolian Death Worm exist. As a boy he read the stories of the Russian paleontologist Yefremov, who wrote about a worm, which resembled a bloody intestine, that could grow to the length of a small man and mysteriously kill people at great distance, possibly with poison or electricity.

Mackerle says: “I thought it was only science fiction. But when I was in university, we had a Mongolian student in our class. I asked him, ‘Do you know what this is, the Allghoi khorkhoi?’ I was waiting for him to start laughing, to say that’s nothing. But he leaned in, like he had a secret, and said, ‘I know it. It is a very strange creature.’”

So Does the Mongolian Death Worm really exist, and what if it does?

This insistence by locals that worm is a reality will continue to fuel inquisitive minds and as long as open-mindedness remains a fair virtue, we’re prepared to wait a little longer for empirical proof of its existence.

Just remember, if you do decide to go Death Worm hunting in the Gobi desert, don’t wear yellow, seemingly that’s the color that sends our wrinkly friend into one its trademark electrifying, spitting freak outs. Don’t say we didn’t warm you.

Source: in.com

Midnight, March 5. A young man drives toward U.S. 19 on Gulf Trace Boulevard in Holiday, Fla. He turns on his high beams where the road curves along some woods, just past the recreation center.

His lights catch a pair of yellowish eyes, then a broad-shouldered figure, 8 or 9 feet tall, covered in brown hair. The creature freezes before running to the tree line. It stops to look back at the car.

The young man pulls over 20 feet away. There are no other vehicles on the road. He can now see the creature from the shoulders up. The man doesn’t know why, but he thinks to yell, “Hi!” No answer. The creature disappears into the woods.

Believe it?

The young man sure seemed convincing when he reported the sighting to the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization. It dispatched investigator Cathy Betz, whose job is to separate hoaxes from actual Bigfoot sightings in Florida’s Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando counties.

She’s never seen a Bigfoot herself, but she is convinced they exist. Someday, she says, we’ll get proof.

Meanwhile, she’ll keep her day job: saving lives as a registered nurse in the intensive care unit at the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital in Tampa.

Betz, 45, has believed in the cryptid ever since she was a little girl growing up in Florida and her father took her to see the 1972 docudrama “The Legend of Boggy Creek.”

She read up on the subject, exploring evidence, and she became convinced that something was really out there. In 2003 she joined the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization.

“I never imagined myself doing this kind of thing 10 years ago,” Betz says. “But I love it.”

She has been on four expeditions in Florida and one in North Carolina, and she is now on another in Utah. It was on the North Carolina expedition in 2008 that she had her closest encounter with Sasquatch.

At least she believes it was Sasquatch. It could have been a bear. Something walked around the tent, touching the fabric and grunting.

“I can’t say with certainty what it was,” Betz said, “but it was in a place with a lot of sightings.”

Two days after the Holiday man said he saw a swamp monster, Betz met him at the scene. She compared his story to the version he submitted to the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization online. It was consistent.

They searched for tracks but didn’t find any. He told her he was sure he had not seen a bear or a human.

Betz’s notes are secret, she says, in order to protect the witnesses. She says the young man did not want to be publicly identified.

She considers her role to be much like what a police investigator does.

“We don’t want to be considered like a fluff organization,” she says. “In order to be taken seriously, we feel like we should separate out the stories that don’t pan out.”

As part of her investigations, she often cross-check facts, such as if the witness says it was a full moon. And she examines the area, looking for tracks, hair and other clues. She knows all about inspecting footprints for dermal ridges and mid-tarsal breaks.

“We’re really a research- and science-based organization trying to get as much evidence as we can,” she says. “We don’t want people to think that we’re just throwing everything out there that we get.”

Henry Cabbage, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said Bigfoot’s existence has not been confirmed. But the agency does keep a file on the subject, which includes news clippings and letters from people requesting permits to go out and catch one.

Source: scrippsnews

There has been a mysterious looking specimen found on the shores of Lake Okanagan that could possibly be linked to “Ogopogo”. There will be a tissue sample sent to scientist in Ontario to do some DNA testing and then the specimen itself will be sent to Alberta to be examined.

A Kelowna resident named Dam Poppoff found the specimen about two weeks ago as he was going along in his kayak at the far end of Lakeshore Road. The specimen is said to measure a little over a meter long and is being kept in Poppoffs freezer. Poppoff has not yet claimed that the strange carcass is indeed an example of Ogopogo but he said he is very interested on finding out exactly what the strange creature is.

Poppoff contacted long time Ogopogo researcher and writer Arlene Gaal with information about his findings. Gaal has since set up the tissue sample and carcass to be observed by unnamed researchers , Gaal did not want to identify the researchers so they could work without any distractions. Its not yet known when the results will be available or a match made as to what this creature actually is , but many in the cryptozoology world are waiting in anticipation.

This would ofcourse be a major find if it is indeed a yet unknown creature. Lake Okanagan has been the site of many sightings and reports of Ogopogo over the years yet to produce any solid evidence of the creature existance. We will track this story and hopefully have some more information to report.

YAKIMA, Wash. — Jim Hebert, a longtime insurance agent in Wenatchee who grew up in Yakima, waited three or four years before he told anyone about his bigfoot sighting while on vacation in Yellowstone National Park in 1994.

Wednesday, though, the 59-year-old Hebert shared his tale on the History Channel show “MonsterQuest.”

The program, which has featured episodes on the chupacabra, Loch Ness monster and giant squids, aims to “examine all the evidence available, from pictures and video to hair and bones, as well as the eyewitness accounts themselves,” according to the show’s Web site.

Hebert said while he was driving through Yellowstone, he looked over into a clearing below a wooded hillside and saw a “black hairy thing about 8 feet tall,” he recalled during a phone call Wednesday evening.

Earlier this year, a crew from “MonsterQuest” flew to Wenatchee and had Hebert reenact his experience in a similar-looking area up Chumstick Canyon in Leavenworth.

“There’s no question I saw it,” he said about what happened 15 years ago, emphasizing the image was blazed into his brain.

“Nobody can shake me,” said Hebert.

Source: yakimaherald

Tonight is the Monster Quest special investigations episode on Bigfoot !  The show tonight will look directly at sasquatch evidence such as the Freeman footage, Patterson-Gimlin Film, sighting patterns, and foot cast. The will go indepth on all these area’s so should be a great episode for anyone interested in Bigfoot.

CRITICAL EVIDENCE:

“Frightening encounters with the legendary monster known as Sasquatch are reported in almost every state of America. These run-ins with terrifying upright hairy beasts date back centuries and sightings number in the thousands. Despite the many Sasquatch reports, skeptics point to the lack of evidence as compelling reason for the creature being merely a myth. Now, however, new analysis of the best existing evidence could finally uncover proof of this elusive beast. A special MonsterQuest investigation gathers together the critical evidence – from startling videos to tracks, prints and sighting maps. State of the art analysis may finally give definitive proof that Sasquatch is among us.”

Monster Quest airs tonight at 9:00 pm Eastern Time on History Channel.

Did Sasquatch once roam the forest near Bonney Lake, Lake Tapps and Sumner?

According to the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization, the answer is “yes.”

The organization reported on its Web site that sightings of Sasquatch – commonly known as “Bigfoot” – have been documented since 1967 in Pierce County.

BFRO, based in Southern California, was founded in 1995 and is the oldest and largest organization of its kind – a virtual community of scientists, journalists and specialists from diverse backgrounds.

BFRO is widely considered as the most credible and respected investigative network involved in the study of Bigfoot.

According to BFRO, members seek to resolve the mystery surrounding the “Bigfoot phenomenon.” BFRO said the large ape-like creatures are most often spotted in forested regions with abundant protein sources like deer and fish.

Bonney Lake Councilman David Bowen said he recalled many people discussing “Bigfoot” and some claimed to have heard something or perhaps caught a glimpse.

“I owned an auto-wrecking yard and I remember hearing several people discuss or expound on the subject of Bigfoot,” he said.

Bowen said his sister, Wilma Bennett, remembered a girl claiming she had seen the creature.

Bowen said his older brother lived in Kapowsin at the time and borrowed a rifle to protect him and his wife if attacked by Bigfoot.

There have been several documents sightings and reports, including Bonney Lake and Sumner, according to BFRO.

In October 1975, two boys reported they saw two white creatures that smelled like skunks standing at the edge of the woods near Lakeridge Drive near Sumner. They estimated the creatures were 7-feet tall.

A couple reported to Bonney Lake police that someone was sneaking around close to their home in the south end of Lake Tapps. The officer reported he found a 14-inch human-like track (left foot) close to the front porch.

Richard Noll, a BFRO investigator, contacted the couple and they told Noll strange activity began in the summer of 1975.

The couple told Noll they their daughter was driving home from work about 11 p.m. when she saw a pair of reddish-looking eyes – 7 or 8 feet high – in the middle of the road. When she got closer, the daughter reported a shadow going in front of her headlights.

She stated it went into the woods opposite her home and drove into her parent’s driveway honking her horn and ran to the front door yelling in a frightened voice.

Late that night, the couple was awakened by a loud noise and large footprints were found at the north end of the couple’s property. The daughter moved out a few days later.

A few days later, the couples’ sons were sleeping in their backyard in a tent when they heard their dog barking frantically.

Days later, the dog was found beaten to death in the driveway and was bloodied across the nose and chest.

On Oct. 12, 1975, a woman reported she heard something heavy running across the roof where she was babysitting.

The next day, the couple found two ducks dead.

Two days later, another of the couples’ daughters heard footsteps and animals screams. Police found a footprint that was 16 inches long and 7 inches wide with five toes 2 inches long.

The BFRO Web site shows Washington with the most sightings at 465, followed by California (411) and Oregon (211), along with British Columbia with 112 reported. The most recent report in the state was March on Camano Island.

One of the earliest reported encounters reported in the state with Bigfoot was in 1924, when a five miners reported they were attacked by several “apemen” near Mount St. Helens.

The most famous evidence of Bigfoot is a 58-second film by Roger Patterson and Robert Gimlin in 1967 in Bluff Creek, Calif.

Since the first visual evidence of Bigfoot, there have been books, movies, comic books and documentaries produced.

Source: pnwlocalnews