Sunday, January 18, 2009

The Javelina


Javelina
Common Names: Collared Peccary, Musk Hog, Tayaussa
Genus: Tayassu
Species: tajacu



The javelina is the only wild pig in North America. It looks exactly like a real pig except a little bigger. It is a grizzled blackish-gray color with a yellowish band which runs under the neck. The name collared peccary comes from the ruff of hair around its neck. It has small, round ears and beady eyes. Its body is barrel-shaped with short legs. Its head is pointed, ending in a disc-like nose. Javelinas have 3 toes on each hind foot. The upper tusks (1.5 inches long) are pointed down, instead of up like some other wild pigs. The javelina grows from 46 to 60 inches long, and can weigh up to 60 pounds.


Javelinas live in the canyon area of the desert. They live there because it is bushy and there are water holes everywhere. They need the bushes for the shade and they need lot's of water to live.

The javelina eats cacti, grass, bulbs, berries, flowers, mushrooms, and fruit, which is easy for them to get in their habitat.

The javelina always travel and live in groups. The female gives birth to twins about once a year. Her young travel with the group their whole life until they die. No new members are ever accepted into the group unless they are born into it.

The javelinas have a very good nose. That can have its advantages if there is a predator around. They also look for food in groups so if they're attacked they can fight back in numbers.

The javelina's niche is the water holes and bushes in the canyon area where they live. They get shade under the bushes, so they won't over heat. They can't survive long without water, so it's good to have water close by if you are a javelina.

Javelinas' status in the wild is very good right now. There lots of them around and they're not dying off or going extinct.

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According to papers filed in anArizona court, a Dutch tourist who was attacked by a javelina at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum has taken the first step to filing a lawsuit against the Tucson facility and Pima County.

Rene Zegerius has filed a claim for $400,000 over the incident in June, when he was standing along a path inside the museum grounds when a javelina attacked him. The pig-like animal, a member of the peccary family, tore muscle and nerves and severed veins and arteries in his right calf and left hand.

Zegerius spent eight days in a hospital, and says he lost money on hotel and travel reservations. Medical expenses came to $70,000, and a last-minute ticket back to the Netherlands cost more than $15,000. He had to buy a first-class ticket because doctors told him he needed to stay horizontal.
"These were very serious injuries," said Clague Van Slyke, a Tucson attorney representing Zegerius. "It could have been fatal. Fortunately, it wasn't, but he has permanent nerve damage."

Wants only fair compensation
Van Slyke said Zegerius wants only fair compensation for what he has suffered and the money he wouldn't have had to spend if he hadn't been bitten.

Robert Edison, the museum's executive director, said he is certain the javelina that attacked Zegerius did not belong to the museum.

He said officials from the Arizona Game and Fish Department checked every animal for blood or other evidence and found nothing. The javelina that attacked Zegerius was never found.

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Friday, January 16, 2009

Fouke Monster Legend

Half man, half beast, the Fouke monster has been stalking the Fouke, Arkansas area since the early 1970s. There were reported sightings as early as 1940s but the legend of the Fouke Monster proliferated in the 70s. People in this sleepy, peaceful area were terrorized by a large apelike creature. People who have seen the monster described the hominid-like creature to be completely covered with hair, weighing about 250-300 pounds and standing 7 to 8 feet tall. It has bright red eyes the size of a silver dollar.

The monster has a wide chest and a sloping shoulders and is often seen running with a galloping gait, in a slouched position with dangling arms very much like the arms of a big ape. People who had a close encounter with this monster reported that it has a very repulsive odor, easily compared to a spewing skunk and a wet dirty dog. The bone chilling roar is akin to a bellowing cow and a screaming panther.

The Fouke monster seems to be partial to animals. A Miller country farmer was stunned when he saw what remained of his pigpen. Pig carcasses were strewn around. The pigs were ripped open and one was found several yards away from the pen. Apparently the pig was dragged and later on abandoned when the Fouke monster had his fill.

In 1971, the monster made it to the headlines when it attacked the home of the Fords late one May night. Elizabeth reported that the monster which they thought to be a bear was shooed by her brother Don and her husband Bobby. The creature returned the following night and grabbed Bobby who was then standing on the porch and threw him to the ground. Bobby was later brought to the hospital with the scratches on his back as evidence of the encounter.

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The monster was spotted several times since then. It was seen by three people while crossing a highway and was sighted again on a dry creek bed. Footprints were seen and verified to be the same as the one first found. All foot prints have three toes.To this day, the Fouke monster still generates much attention. Tourists still come to Fouke to view the footprint cast, buy Fouke monster imprinted shirts and to stick their face in the hole of the monster silhouette and have their picture taken.

There is a website that describes the Fouke Monster and numerous other creatures of Cryptozoology in detail, this website is called: Unknown Creatures and it may be found at this url: http://www.unknown-creatures.com

One month after the Ford sighting, Southern State College archaeologist Dr. Frank Schambach determined that "There is a 99 percent chance the tracks are a hoax."

According to Schambach, the tracks could not be from a species of ape, or ape man, as claimed by witnesses, because they were from a three-toed creature, whereas all primates and hominids (both modern and historical) have five toes. In addition to the number of toes, Dr. Schambach cited several other anomalies as part of his conclusion. He noted that the region had no history of primate activity, ruling out the possibility of the creature being the remnants of an indigenous species. He also argued that while all primates are diurnal, the Fouke Monster appeared to be nocturnal. A number of Dr. Schambach's critics say that he did not take into account inbreeding as a possibility for physical abnomalities, or the creatures nasty disposition. Three-toed footprints of possible sasquatch sightings have been found from Florida to Texas and Oklahoma. A number of face-to-face encounters have been reported, with most saying that the creature was not scared or shy, but instead somewhat aggressive. Schambach's critics also state that for he, or any other scientist, to simply disregard people's citings as "mass hysteria" or "mistaken identity", is both fool-hardy and disrespectful


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Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Octopus in Oklahoma ?

Our world is full of strange, sub-aquatic species, but few are more bizarre (or frightening,) than the phenomenon of the FRESHWATER OCTOPI. Perhaps the most intriguing branch of this fascinating - and often dangerous - sub-species, can be found in one of the most unlikely places... Oklahoma. Although numerous watering holes have been associated with this mystery, there are three bodies of water in particular, which have become synonymous with these creatures: Lake Thunderbird, Lake Oolagah, and Lake Tenkiller.
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Unlike its fellow freshwater fiend, the LUSCA (a tentacle ridden, shark-like beast, which is said to dwell in the blue holes of the Bahamas), this animal has not taken up residence not in some tropical paradise, but in the arid, flatlands of the south-central United States. Long feared by the Native American population of the region (who likened the animal to a leech), this creature has been described as being roughly the size of a horse, with small, beady eyes, multiple tentacles, and a leathery, reddish-brown epidermis. This is a description, which - some investigators have noticed - is not entirely unlike that of the African LAU.

Credited with being responsible for the notoriously high mortality rate for swimmers in this area, the Oklahoma Octopus is said to be a voracious predator, which is also believed to be violently territorial. These aggressive tendencies (as well as its apparent use of tentacles during attacks) have lead many investigators to link this animal with the creature that supposedly lurks in the depths of Wisconsin�s Devil's Lake.





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