By Benjamin Radford, LiveScience’s Bad Science Columnist posted: 28 April 2010 04:32 pm ET

Archives recently made public by the Scottish government included some curious correspondence from a police chief expressing concern for the safety of the Loch Ness monster.

William Fraser, the chief constable of Inverness-shire in the 1930s, wrote a letter to a government official noting that a man from London, Peter Kent, “stated that he was having a special harpoon gun made and that he was to return [to Loch Ness] with some 20 experienced men on August 22 for the purpose of hunting the monster down.” Fraser added that he warned Kent not to hunt for the creature, and suggested that some official government protection might be established. Still, he was not optimistic: “That there is some strange creature in Loch Ness seems now beyond doubt, but that the police have any power to protect it is very doubtful.”

It’s not clear whether Kent and his posse returned to the lake, though presumably his success in capturing or killing the monster would have been announced around the world.

Much has been made of the fact that a chief of police believed in the existence of Nessie, though this is not particularly remarkable. People with some level of authority (police officers, ministers, politicians, etc.) often report — and believe in — unproven and unexplained phenomena, from lake monsters to ghosts to psychic powers.

Nor is Fraser alone in his concern for the health of animals never proven to exist. In fact, just about all unknown (and possibly mythical) creatures have believers concerned for their safety. Sandra Mansi, the Vermont woman who took the most famous photograph of Champ, the monster said to inhabit Lake Champlain, is a strong advocate of measures designed to protect the creature. (Later scientific analysis of Mansi’s photograph demonstrated that she probably snapped a photo of a floating log, mistaking it for the monster.)

Quasi-legal measures to protect unknown creatures have been promoted by monster enthusiasts and politicians. For example, Champ is “officially” protected by proclamations from both the New York State Assembly and the Vermont Legislature. Similar measures have been proposed that would outlaw the shooting of Bigfoot creatures.

There is of course a strong economic incentive to protect monsters like Nessie and Champ, even if only symbolically: tourism. Loch Ness is the main tourist draw in the Scottish highlands. It’s a beautiful lake in its own right, but tourists come from all over the world hoping for a glimpse of the famous monster. The irony is that a dead monster may be the only way to scientifically prove these creatures exist—if indeed they do.

• Rumor or Reality: The Creatures of Cryptozoology
• Our 10 Favorite Monsters
• The Science of Sea Monsters

Benjamin Radford is managing editor of the Skeptical Inquirer science magazine.
His new book Scientific Paranormal Investigation will be published in June; this and his other books and projects can be found on his website. His Bad Science column appears regularly on LiveScience.

By Benjamin Radford, LiveScience’s Bad Science Columnist

posted: 08 April 2010 12:39 pm ET

A curious animal recently caught by hunters in the Sichuan province of China is being touted by some as a Yeti, the Oriental version of Bigfoot. The mysterious hairless animal was initially described by eyewitnesses as having features resembling a bear or kangaroo.

The finding is part of a growing number of mysterious mangy creature reports in recent years. And it could get worse.

The supposed Yeti is being shipped to Beijing for DNA testing, but a photograph of the animal clearly shows a small creature with four legs and a tail.

Loren Coleman, author of several books on Bigfoot, believes the animal is likely a civet, a cat-like creature native to the area. Whatever it is, it’s not a bear, nor a kangaroo, nor a dragon, and certainly not a Yeti.

Wimpy Yeti?

In artist depictions and in the public’s mind, beasts such as the Yeti and Bigfoot are usually huge, powerful animals — not the scared, sickly, pathetic little “mystery creatures” that are found. Almost all mammals have hair, so when a hairless mammal is seen, it arouses mystery, curiosity, and of course wild speculation. Yet among biologists and zoologists, this is a non-mystery.

What the civet and other animals have in common is a bad case of mange. Mange is a parasitic skin infection caused by mites. Sarcoptic mange, a highly contagious form of the disease, can cause hair loss as well as skin welts and crusting. Because people usually see animals with their full coat of fur, animals with mange can be very difficult to identify.

In North America there has been a dramatic increase in the number of “mysterious” hairless animals found both alive and dead over the past five years. The “Montauk monster” was a hairless raccoon, though most were initially identified as chupacabra, the Latin American vampiric beast. Various chupacabras found in Texas were identified through DNA analysis as belonging to the Canidae family — dogs and coyotes.

And now this Yeti. What’s going on?

Global warming to blame?

If reports of strange animals with mange seem to be more common over the past few years, there’s a good ecological reason: global warming.

LiveScience spoke to Mike Bowdenchuck, state director for Texas Wildlife Services, who explained why mysterious, hairless animals are more common in Texas and the southwest than other areas:

“Down here, animals don’t die of mange, because the temperatures are warm enough,” Bowdenchuck said. Rather, the animals live with mange.

“Mange is very common in colder areas, in fact wolves are getting it in Montana right now, and in North Dakota foxes get it,” he said, noting a big difference: “Up there it’s fatal, so you never see animals with the severe cases that we see in the southern climates, because they don’t live long enough for the mites to get that bad to cause the hair to fall off. They die of hypothermia first.”

Animals that have lost their fur are more vulnerable to the cold, so in warmer climates they live longer (and be more likely to be seen). Thus one might conclude that sightings of hairless animals will become more common as the climate warms. The extended forecast calls for more non-Bigfoot, non-Yeti, and non-chupacabra mangy monster sightings.

• Top 10 Mythical Creatures
• Monsters, Ghosts and Gods: Why We Believe
• Our 10 Favorite Monsters

Benjamin Radford is managing editor of the Skeptical Inquirer science magazine. His book “Scientific Paranormal Investigation” will be published in July. His books, films, and other projects can be found on his website. His Bad Science column appears regularly on LiveScience.

AFP/File – Examples of 'alien art' seen at an exhibition at the Science Museum in London in 2005. The law …

LONDON – Scientists and other experts are gathering in London to consider new ways — and new places — to search for alien beings.

Britain’s Royal Society — an eminent group equivalent to the U.S. Academy of Sciences — is hosting a two-day event to consider the progress made and the challenges posed in the hunt for alien beings.

One astrobiologist says the best place to look for aliens may be right here on Earth. Paul Davies of Arizona State University said Tuesday that extraterrestrial life may have found its way to this planet at several different times.

If so, Davies says, the aliens could be “right under or noses — or even in our noses.”

STUNNED Derek Bridges has revealed how he shot extraordinary footage which UFO experts say shows aliens beaming a BUFFALO into their spaceship.

Pensioner Derek filmed the eerie scene from his window after spotting pulsating glowing orbs hovering over a neighbouring farm late at night.

The two bright lights hover high over fields, while an animal appears to dangle below before vanishing into them.

A high-pitched screeching noise can be heard before the UFOs finally disappear into the night.

Grandfather Derek, 69, said: “I couldn’t believe my eyes. I’m convinced it is the real thing.”

He told how he spotted the bizarre lights over a neighbouring farm as he looked out of his window while getting ready for bed at his house near Basingstoke, Hampshire.

Quick-thinking Derek grabbed his camcorder and began filming the incident above 2,500-acre Laverstoke Park Farm in Overton village at about 10.30pm.

It has one of the country’s biggest herds of water buffalo and is close to a military base used by special forces.

Derek said: “I just looked out of the window before going to bed. I wasn’t sure what I was seeing at the time.

“I have a keen eye and I could see something glowing which looked dark red about half a mile away.

“I kept looking at it for about 20 minutes and then suddenly a bright white light appeared which was very powerful.

“At that point I picked up my video camera and filmed what I saw. I saw two white lights lifting up and I just kept filming. The lights were high in the sky. They couldn’t have been anything on the ground.

“I did not realise at the time that something was dangling beneath but when I played it back the next day on a big screen I could see it there.

“I believe it’s a UFO and this animal, which could be a bison or a horse, seems to be being beamed up.

“As far as I know, this is the first time anyone in the world has filmed animal abduction, so obviously I’m pretty chuffed.”

UFO experts claim there is a long history of cattle being abducted by aliens for research, particularly in the US, sometimes being returned alive or mutilated.

There are often reports of animal carcasses found lying in fields with body parts mysteriously missing and their blood drained without the skin being spilt.

Divorced Derek told how he spoke to a farm worker who said they had found a couple of dead animals around the time the lights were filmed.

The farm – owned by 1979 Formula 1 champ Jody Scheckter – insists no cattle have gone missing

Boss Sara Whittall said: “We have never seen any aliens or UFOs around here.

“All our animals have been accounted for, so we have not had any abductions either.”

But the area is a hotspot for UFO sightings.

In June last year, families in Basingstoke reported seeing a dozen glowing orange objects hovering in the sky above the town.

The “alien” fleet was captured on video, changing formation for half an hour.

Officials at nearby RAF Odiham said they could not comment at the time “for security reasons”.

A trucker also reported seeing aliens just six miles from the farm in August 2007.

The footage has now been screened at a conference of UFO hunters in Scarborough.

Expert Nick Pope, who used to run the British Government’s UFO Project, said the latest footage needed urgent investigation by the authorities.

He added: “If this footage is genuine, it could be highly significant.”

UFO hunter Kenneth Parsons of the British Earth and Aerial Mysteries Society said he was convinced it was the first ever footage showing aliens abducting cattle.

He added: “This footage is like the holy grail. This is the first time anything like this has been filmed so clearly.

“There are no street lamps or pylons where the footage was filmed, just fields, and it is usually pitch black and silent at night, so there is no simple alternative explanation.

“We are very excited.”

Derek told how he looked out of his window the next evening to see if the lights came back – and saw three helicopters flying around the field as if searching the site.

The Ministry of Defence yesterday declined to comment on the incident, saying only: “The MoD examines UFO reports solely to establish whether UK airspace may have been compromised by hostile or unauthorised military activity.

“Unless there is evidence of a potential threat, there is no attempt to identify the nature of each sighting reported.”

Meanwhile UFO experts are being urged to investigate another case of aliens playing Cattlestar Galactica to steal cows.

A US cattle rancher is blaming extra-terrestrials after finding a mutilated cow with its internal organs removed on his land.

Mike Duran claims ET abducted his animal and made a surgical study of the beast before abandoning its carcass.

The cow was found with its udders and reproductive organs removed in Las Animas County, Colorado, in March.

And Duran says it happened after he spotted strange lights hovering in the skies above his ranch. “They were like a round circle in the air,” he said. “I’ve watched them and they just disappear.”

Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2708680/I-saw-UFO-beam-up-a-buffalo.html#ixzz0ViOjVzPw

New Site of Roswell UFO Museum Photo Courtesy of Larry Rimbert

My last article was about the possibility of the UFO Museum closing!  Look again!  Let’s take a look at what the Roswell UFO Museum has planned for its next move!  It isn’t anything new that the Museum is moving.  The plan has been on the table for years and the architect (who is extremely slow to return calls) was awarded the contact in 2006.

In a recent telephone interview with the architectual firm of Ahearn Schopfer, Kevin Schopfer said he was trying to avoid the look of a spaceship in the design of the building.  Kevin  got the idea to help with the design after seeing a television program on the museum’s plans to expand..  I guess something good does come out of watching television.  He describes the design as more of an alien object such as a  ”celestial navigation chart” rather than an alien spaceship.

Out with the old Roswell UFO Museum! Courtesy of Larry Rimbert

The UFO Museum website, however, states  that the design is that of a “found alien object of unknown origin, which has been placed in a research drawer awaiting examination”, Well, who do we believe in this descrepancy?  So going a little further, what is the meaning of the website’s next sentence, i.e.,  “The object, like the museum subject matter cannot be contained and thus pushes out from it’s containment.”?   Does this mean that the object, which is awaiting examination, has escaped it’s drawer and we will never really get to see it?  This is an area which definitely needs more investigation.  No matter, the end result  will be a unique building design which will stand as a international tribute to ufology!

read more here

The UFO Traffic Report for Monday, October 5, 2009, includes 7 selected sightings over 5 states, according to witness statements filed in the past 72 hours with the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) database.

Witness image from Michigan case on October 4. MUFON database.

Please keep in mind that most UFO reports can be explained as something natural or manmade. If MUFON investigates and reports back on any of these cases, I will update this page. The following reports and their headlines are unedited and uninvestigated.

MI, October 4, 2009 – Two distinct objects, One Rectagular & One Disc. MUFON Case # 19811.

A Michigan witness watched two unidentified objects in the night sky over Round Lake. The first was described as a bright, tall, box-shaped object. It moved across the sky with “three sets of multi color blinking lights,” made a sharp right turn, and turned its lights off. The second object was described as “a bright white disc shaped object that had a round center.” The witness was able to snap one photo with a cell phone of the second object and wants to know if anyone else saw the same thing.

CO, October 2, 2009 – 5 large Triangle UFOs moving as thought they were scanning ground. MUFON Case # 19783.

Two Colorado witnesses watched multiple triangle-shaped UFO “over the mountains between Glenn Haven and Box Prairie.” One of the witnesses saw seven objects and the second saw four.

TX, October 2, 2009 – It was just hovering/stationary over the interstate as we drove S on I-35. MUFON Case # 19781.

Two Texas witnesses watched three white lights and two red lights hovering above I-35 South in Round Rock.

NV, October 2, 2009 – two objects looking like satellites crossing paths within seconds before disappearing. MUFON Case # 19777.

A McGill, Nevada, family traveling 50 miles northeast of their home saw multiple cases of a “big, bright orange ball of light.” They described the objects as very large and very bright, similar to looking at a street lamp from 50 yards away. Other drivers pulled over to watch the objects. There was no sound in the air until they heard “jets coming from all directions,” and then the lights disappeared.

VA, September 29, 2009 – Several objects; sphere shaped, multi-colored rotating lights. MUFON Case # 19804.

A Virginia witness reports several objects in the sky that were hovering at first, with “multi-colored lights rotating across each sphere.” After watching for 15 to 20 minutes, the objects began to move. One moved zig-zag style and the others moved “in lateral lines, but far too rapidly to be a terrestrial vehicle.” There was no sound associated with any of the objects.

TN, October 1, 2009 – Object was long and slender, reflecting light. MUFON Case # 19803.

A Tennessee witness notcied a “long and skinny looking object flying” overhead. The witness reports that the object had no wings or flashing lights. “From where I could see, the whole side of it looked “flat”, or at least there were no obvious bumps to cast shadows.. it looked white on the side, from where the sun was shining on it.” The witness lost slight of the object when it moved out of view.

MI, August 7, 2009 – Large orange-red sphere came down over us. MUFON Case # 19798.

A couple in Michigan watched a “large globe on the horizon” that was pulsed a very bright red color. As the object came closer, it seemed to pulse back and forth between red and orange. The object either faded to a pinpoint of light, or shot up into the air to where it appeared to be just a pinpoint.

WEST PALM BEACH, FL  — There’s something lurking just under the surface of the Lake Worth Lagoon.

Greg Reynolds of LagoonKeepers.org recalls, “Channel marker ten is the first time we saw the unknown creature.” “I hollered out…and said what is that? We followed it, started taking video.”

This mysterious creature was caught on tape by the LagoonKeepers.

Don Serrano was with Reynolds. “I didn’t know what it was….I was like HEY LOOK! And we moved over and saw it. It was different, very different.”

“Little wakes and just kind of moving like this…real long ones too, just like that.”

Reynolds remembers, “We sped up on it to catch up to it and we got up on it, it dove down.” “Every time we get 10 feet from it, it would just disappear.”

What could it be?

“Who knows? I have no idea, but it was something that’s for sure, without a doubt,” said Serrano.

Thanks to the LagoonKeepers, until it’s identified, it has a name:

Reynolds calls it, “The elusive muck monster!”

Thomas Reinert a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Marine Biologist studied the video and said: “This appears to be one animal moving in this direction…nothing’s breaking the surface. Typically dolphins break the surface, sea turtles, manatee, a large school of fish, if it were a shark at that level you would see a fin.”

“I cant definitely say what it is.” “I can speculate but we need more evidence to determine the identity of the Lake Worth muck monster,” said Reinert.

“We spend a lot of time out here on the water and seen a lot of different creatures out here and this is the first time in three and half years that I’ve ever seen anything out here that didn’t know what it was,” Reynolds said.
“We see dolphins out there, sharks, we always see a fin.”

Whatever it is, it certainly has people talking, and watching.

Reynolds jokes “Maybe Nessie’s vacationing in South Florida!”

Watch the whole Lagoon Keepers video and decide for yourself:

Muck Monster raw video part 1

and

Muck Monster raw video part 2

–James Wieland, NewsChannel

by Brian Heater