New Bipedal Lizard Sighting From Utah

I have recently been informed of a new bipedal lizard sighting. It happened in Arches National Park near Moab, Utah in the Summer of 2011. A man saw several bipedal lizards in a pack. They were about 4 feet tall. He then drew a sketch of the animal that he had seen. It was lightly-built, with long legs and a long neck.

Here is the sketch:

Using this sketch and the information from this sighting, I have been able to come up with a new hypothesis about these lizards. I have modified the ideas that I previously had about them.

I now think that they are closely-related to the Collared Lizard. They are around 4 feet tall, 10 feet long, and weighing around 32 pounds (possibly up to 40 pounds or so in the largest specimens). They are lightly-built, with long legs, a long neck, and a long tail. They are capable of running very quickly on their hind legs.

They are vicious predators who hunt in packs, and there are stories of them killing humans. Both the predatory behavior and the pack-hunting behavior leads me to believe that these lizards might possibly be related to the Collared Lizard, which also lives in the Southwestern United States. Collared Lizards are also vicious predators, and they have also been observed using pack-hunting tactics to flush out their prey.
This lizard would pretty much be a gigantic and more strongly-bipedal version of the Collared Lizard.

This is probably the best sighting report I have ever heard of. I am looking forward to receiving more sighting reports of these fascinating animals in the near future.

New Tapir Species Discovered In South America

A new species of tapir, the Kobomani Tapir (Tapirus kabomani), has been discovered in Brazil and Colombia. This is a very significant discovery. It is the first new tapir species discovered since 1865, the first new perissodactyl species discovered in over 100 years, and the largest new species of terrestrial mammal discovered since the Saola (Vu Quang Ox) in 1992.

What I find ironic about this discovery is that it came at a time when the fate of cryptozoology is in rather uncertain hands. We have lost many great people, such as Roy Mackal, and the field of cryptozoology is now mostly in the hands of unscientific people who just want to attract attention and earn money. Therefore, the field of cryptozoology is not doing so well right now.

I remember another time in history when cryptozoology wasn't doing so well. It was back in 1812, when the revered French biologist Baron Georges Cuvier made what cryptozoologist Bernard Heuvelmans called his Rash Dictum: That no species of large animals remained undiscovered. However, just seven years later, in 1819, a new species of tapir was discovered in South America. This heralded the beginning of an era in which several new species of large animals were discovered all over the world, including the mountain gorilla, the okapi, and the Komodo dragon.

So I find it ironic that, in both cases, a new tapir was discovered.

Let's hope that the new tapir of 2013 ends up heralding the beginning of a new era of discovery, just like the new tapir of 1819 did.

RIP Dr. Roy P. Mackal (1925–2013)

According to an article on Loren Coleman's CryptoZooNews Blog, cryptozoologist Roy P. Mackal, who was famous for going on expeditions in search of the Loch Ness Monster of Scotland and the Mokele-Mbembe of Central Africa, died in September 2013, according to an online obituary at a funeral home website. He was born on August 1, 1925, and was 88 years old at the time of his death.

In early 2012, I began to be interested in lake monsters. I purchased Mackal's book, The Monsters of Loch Ness, from a bookstore and began to read it. I was immediately amazed at how scientific and logical Mackal's writing was. He was not some crazy lunatic who believed that every single sighting and photo/video was true - he was a very intelligent and down-to-Earth individual who truly succeeded in bringing cryptozoology out of the domain of the true believers and lunatics and into the domain of science (at least in my opinion).

I also read his book about mokele-mbembe. While the book is outdated now (due to recent discoveries in paleontology that have contradicted many of the theories about dinosaurs that Mackal had back then), I still found it to be a very good book, as well. I was especially impressed by this quote from Mackal:

"I admit that my own views are tinged with some romanticism, but certainly not to the extent that I would endure extreme hardship, even risk my life, to pursue a dream with no basis in reality."

I was very sad to learn that Roy Mackal has passed away. His passing also marks the end of an era, as he was the last surviving founder of the International Society of Cryptozoology. Now there are no longer any founders of the ISC who are still living.

Rest in peace, Roy Mackal. You will always be one of the true legends in the field of cryptozoology.

Large, Flightless Dinosaur-Like Birds

I have already written about sightings of large bipedal creatures in North and South America which resemble theropod dinosaurs. I concluded that those sightings are probably of large, unknown bipedal lizards. However, there are also some reports which describe features that appear to be characteristic of theropod dinosaurs. For example, there are some sighting reports which state that the animals had three toes, and appeared to be covered with fur-like structures on their bodies. Both of these characteristics are not really compatible with the lizard identity. 

Therefore, I have come up with a new hypothesis to explain these odd sightings. I feel that there is a species of large flightless bird living in the Americas which has evolved tooth-like serrations in its beak and a long, bony tail. This may sound unlikely, but in reality, it isn't. There are many birds alive today with tooth-like structures in their beaks; one example is the merganser. And there are already many birds which have claws on their wings, such as the ostrich. And finally, there was an extinct flightless bird called Sylviornis which had long, bony tails, just like their non-avian theropod relatives did.

These birds are probably around 5 feet tall and 9 feet long. They have a beak with tooth-like structures in it, which they use to help catch their prey. They are omnivorous, feeding on nuts, seeds, and insects, and occasionally taking larger prey, too. They most likely belong to the order Galliformes, which includes chicken and turkeys, as well as Sylviornis. In fact, they might actually be birds in the same family as Sylviornis that evolved tooth-like structures in their beaks, wing claws, and even longer tails. 

So, this is my hypothesis. I would appreciate any feedback or constructive critiques of it. Cheers! 

Lake Monsters

One of the most well-known categories of cryptids to the general public are the lake monsters. There is no good definition of a lake monster, but I will try my best to define them. Lake monsters are large aquatic cryptids that are sighted in lakes. The term 'lake monster' covers a very wide variety of different types of cryptids, so it's really not very possible to discuss all of them in one blog post. Therefore, in this post, I will only discuss some basic information about these creatures.

Lake monsters are reported from all over the world; reports have come from every continent other than Antarctica.

Without a doubt, the most famous lake monster in the world has got to be the Loch Ness Monster of Scotland. Strange animals have been sighted at Loch Ness for centuries. However, it was not until 1933 that these cryptids became very popular. In that year, there was a new road that was built right next to the loch. This may have been at least partially responsible for the dramatic increase in sightings that year.

Another famous lake monster is Champ of Lake Champlain in the United States. Native Americans living next to the lake have long had legends about a strange creature or 'dragon' living in the lake. The Abenaki called these creatures Tataskok. Sightings of these creatures increased greatly in the late 19th century. In 1873, it was even alleged that one of these creatures swam into a ship on the lake, nearly sinking it in the process.

According to the eyewitness descriptions and photos that have been taken of them, Nessie and Champ look very similar to each other. Although descriptions vary widely, most eyewitnesses describe a large, aquatic creature with a long neck and four flippers; in other words, a very plesiosaur-like animal. 

Numerous ideas and hypotheses have been developed over the years to attempt to explain these anomalous freshwater cryptids. Obviously, one of the most likely candidates at first glance appears to be a surviving plesiosaur. They match the body shape and anatomy very well, and are very reminiscent of some of the eyewitness descriptions and photographs.

Some other hypotheses include: a large amphibian, like a giant salamander; a giant, long-necked pinniped; and a giant eel.

However, despite all of the ideas that have been proposed, we still have no idea what these cryptids actually are. Hopefully, in the future, they will be discovered and scientifically-named. Then, we will finally have solved one of the greatest mysteries in the history of mankind: the mystery of the lake monsters. 

Giant Bipedal Lizard Recap & Notable Sightings

In this post, I will wrap-up my series about giant bipedal iguanid lizards. I will also analyze some of the more notable sighting reports of these creatures.

First, I will recap the entire situation. In North America, bipedal creatures resembling theropod dinosaurs have been sighted for decades. My theory is that these animals are actually really big iguanid lizards that are facultatively bipedal. They can be up to 5 feet tall and 10 feet long, possibly weighing about 150 pounds or so. They have large, prominent eyes, which are red in the males. They also have sharp claws and teeth. Their hind legs are significantly longer than their front limbs. Therefore, when they are standing on all fours, they appear to be much higher in the rear than in the front.

They have a row of spines going down their backs, which, once again, might be more prominent in the males. Their color is usually green on the back and somewhat greyish on the belly and underneath the tail. They are covered with brown stripes, or splotches, like a tiger or a jaguar.

These creatures are omnivores. In addition to plants, they mostly eat insects, eggs, and possibly fish. They occasionally take larger prey as well, such as birds, rodents, smaller lizards, and possibly even juvenile deer and pronghorn. 

They are certainly large and powerful enough to kill a human, and indeed, there are stories of them doing so. I would guess that they are not normally aggressive to humans, and would usually run away from them. However, if they felt threatened, they could probably attack and kill a person in self-defense. Being opportunistic feeders, they would then probably feed on the person's body after killing them. 

Therefore, even though they are not usually "man-eaters", some individuals could have possibly killed humans in self-defense, and then feasted on their bodies. This is possibly what gave rise to the legends in Mexican culture of them being "monsters" or "demons" that regularly feasted on human corpses.        

It is very hard to classify these creatures. Although they are obviously iguanid lizards, we are not sure what genus they belong to. However, I tend to think that they are closely-related to the genus Iguana, if not members of that genus. As I stated before on this blog, this is due to the fact that they share many features with members of this genus, including the large size and the presence of a circular boss near the base of the jaw.

Notable sightings 

I will now do an analysis of some of the more notable sightings of these animals. I will start with one of the more interesting reports. I read this report on the Internet, and it can be found here: http://www.paranormal.about.com/od/livingdinosaurs/a/tales_09_04_15t.htm 

According to the report, an 18-year-old and his grandfather were hunting deer in Georgia on July 25, 2008. They were walking on a rocky road, when, all of a sudden, a very strange animal walked out of the bushes and onto the road maybe 150 yards in front of them. It had a long, stiff tail, walked on two legs, and had very large and sharp claws on its hands and feet. It appeared to be about 5 feet tall at the shoulders. The animal just stood there for a while, before eventually running back into the bushes. 

I feel that this sighting probably represents a genuine encounter with one of these unknown iguanid lizards. I also found it especially interesting because the witnesses described the height as being about 5 feet tall. This matches the height seen in other reports.

Another encounter happened in South Carolina. Army Colonel Robert Cooper was driving next to the Scape Ore Swamp when he saw a creature which he described as being "half-man, half-dinosaur" running on its hind legs across the road. He thought that it was the famous Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp, which had recently been reported in that same area. However, judging by the sketch that he later drew of the creature, and the description that he gave, I doubt that this animal is the same creature as the Lizard Man. Instead, it sounds an awful lot like a bipedal lizard, just like the ones reported further west.

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In conclusion, these giant bipedal lizards really are very fascinating cryptids, and I will be writing a whole lot more about them in the future.

In my next post, I will start discussing the phenomenon of lake cryptids, such as the ones seen at infamous places like Loch Ness and Lake Champlain, as well as some lesser-known ones. I will look through all of the evidence, to find out which animal would be the most-likely candidate.

Cheers!

Habitat and Range of Bipedal Lizards

In this post, I will describe the habitat and range of these unknown bipedal lizards, including the geographical regions they live in, the environments they inhabit, and the places where they are most likely to be found. 

Sightings of these creatures are reported widely. In North America, they range from as far north as Wyoming to as far south as southern Mexico and possibly even Central America. They have been sighted as far west as Utah and as far east as Georgia and South Carolina. 

They live in diverse habitats, from deserts to swamps. However, one thing that is always consistent about these creatures is that they are associated with the presence of water. They are constantly seen around rivers, lakes, reservoirs, etc.

Therefore, the places where they are most likely to be found would probably be bodies of water surrounded by sparsely-populated wilderness areas. This is also probably where a cryptozoologist would need to go if he or she wanted to search for them.