ShukerNature Loch Ness Monster sighting from Tim Dinsdale

http://www.karlshuker.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/what-may-be-hitherto-undocumented.html

Karl Shuker recently ran a notice about a sketch a witness had given Tim Dinsdale and which Dinsdale subsequently gave to Shuker. Since this was in 1986, the sighting was presumably recent from perhaps the earlier 1980s. Karl Shuker was putting the information out in hopes of receiving more details about the sighting and I thought it might help if I shared the sketches and the story here.

LNM sighting given to Dr Karl Shuker by Tim Dinsdale on 25 July 1987

 The sheet given to me on 25 July 1987 by Tim Dinsdale containing two sketches by a Nessie eyewitness

The eyewitness observed a typical 'periscope' shape projecting up through the water surface, yielding an outline reminiscent of the object in the controversial Surgeon's Photo. He/she also saw a very long hump visible above the water surface, approximately 25-30 ft in length and approximately 1.5 ft high, with what looked like distinct backward-pointing serrations running along the posterior portion of its upper surface.

If anyone has any further knowledge concerning this Nessie sighting, I'd be delighted to receive details here on ShukerNature

 It just so happens that only the day before yesterday, I posted some extractions of statistics on the Loch Ness Monster in reply to prodding by "Joe Richardson" (I have reason to suspect that is a pseudonym). These were posted in the comments section of "What is Nessie Really?"

http://frontiersofzoology.blogspot.com/2012/04/what-is-nessie-really.html

 

Owing to a glitch in the comments section at blogger, I had to make repeated attempts before my comments in reply were even published, and they would only go out in small sections, such that it took four postings to get my entire reply up. Having the reply function for comments at the end of my blogs malfunction is an unfortunately common occurance here on Blogger.

1. Joe Richardson23 August 2013 10:01

   Do a majority of the sightings at loch ness occur at close range?

   
   
2. Dale Drinnon23 August 2013 13:11

   In that Loch Ness is an inland area where most distances come with more close range reference points to judge distance by, as opposed to sightings at sea which are unbounded and without such reference points, it only stands to reason.
3. Dale Drinnon23 August 2013 13:13
   The majority of all sightings are well nearer the shoreline than toward the middle of the loch. The majority of sightings occur in areas where the depth of the water is from 50-300 feet, hence more to the edges of the loch instead of in the deeper waters (in the middle). That's something like 70% of the sightings and very close to shore, when the information can be checked
4. Dale Drinnon23 August 2013 13:14

   The majority of sightings occur near the concentrations of human occupation, at the settlement areas, and fairly close to the shore. These are also areas where rivers go into the loch and fishes can be expected to be travelling in and out the river mouths. Slightly over half the sightings are in the bay areas. Nearly all sightings are of a hump or back under 30 feet long, and just about a third say the length of an overturned boat between 10-20 feet (usually 15). Over half of the sightings also say this back or hump rose only about a foot out of the water. The Periscope sightings of the head and neck are most frequently 3-5 feet out of the water (just over 50% of sightings where an estimation was made) and less frequent the larger sizes you go up. Most of these estimates are pretty definite and consistent and the estimates seem to be reliable under ordinary circumstances.
5. Dale Drinnon23 August 2013 13:17

   In all of these instances the percentages of cases shown are for the sample where the statistics can be extracted, hence sightings of objects like upturned boats are given a certain percentage of the sightings when an object appears above the surface at all, and so on down the line.

 

So it would seem that going by the statistics, the body or hump in this sighting was just over the average size at 25-30 feet long (probably the next category up from the most common one) while the head and neck "Periscope" is very likely to be just about in the most common category (the head and neck are 1/5 the length of the larger hump to scale and hence more than likely 5-6 feet tall.) This would do well to compare to the recent 'More Comparisons of Long necked Sea Serpent Models' blog entry, and the Periscope would be ahead of the hump for a fair length od submerged neck. This would be a very good sighting to have established and verified because it is basically very exemplary but a little bit larger than the average sizes estimated. For that reason I would urge anybody that recognizes this report to give the specifics to myself or to Karl Shuker's blog: and if I get anything important here I shall cheerfully notify him about it as well.

Black Indri on Shuker Nature Blog

A little while back I published a review of Cryptid lemurs on Madagascar and mentioned the black Indri in passing. I included this illustration:


Black indri, SG Goodrich, The Animal Kingdom Illustrated, AJ Johnson & Co, NY, 1885, p119

http://frontiersofzoology.blogspot.com/2013/07/persisting-giant-lemurs-of-madagascar.html

And today I find that Karl Shuker has published a new article on the topic (Beginning with the same illustration) indicating that we still have black indris and they are only a colour phase of the common indri. If it is only a darker colouration but the same species, well then of course it cannot be considered a Cryptid. In future references I shall remove the black indri from my list.
Interested readers should go to Karl Shuker's blog to read the extended article:

http://karlshuker.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/the-black-indri-reviving-another.html

And yes, I own a copy of the Goodrich book.

Mongolian Death worm

 On the cryptid commonly known as the Mongolian Death Worm.

National Geographic Simulation

Google Image Search "Mole Lizard", Bipes

 There have been many explanations but forth for the possible explanation, and identity of the
Mongolian Death Worm. This article  looks at the possibility of the amphisbaenia as been the explanation and the identity of the Mongolian Death Worm.


Amphisbaenia are commonly refered to as worm lizards. They are known as worm lizards because
they resemble earthworms both in their behavior and morphologically. Systematics place them in the class-Reptilia, Order-Squamata, Suborder-Amphisbienidae, and Families of, Amphisbienidae (Gray, 1865), Bipedidae (Taylor, 1951), Rhineuridae (Vanzolini 1951) and Trognophidae (Gray 1865).
    This article will be focusing on the Family Bipedidae (Taylor 1951) which the Genus- Bipes  ("Two-Foots") belongs. The four species with in the genus Bipes are Bipes alverazi, B.bipurus, B.canaliclatus and B.tridictylus. One of the biggest morphological differences that seperates the genus Bipes from other amphisbaenian is they have two forelimbs.

    Amphisbaenias have a wide geographic distribution they are found both in the Old world and New World. All though so far they have not been found in Mongolia or that far east. With in the Eastern Hemisphere amphisbaenia occur in Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Iraq, Saudi Arabia most of the Southern half of continental Africa and Madagascar. Iraq is the part of the range which has the nearest approach to Mongolia.

  - Morphology and Natural History -

   The local names for the Mongolian Death Worm are Allghoi khorkhoi and Allergorhai horhai which is transalted as intestine worm. They are desribed as 2 feet long with some extreme reports of length at 5 feet long. Their color is said to be red with reports sometimes desribing brown spots. Some acounts describe the appearance one end of the Mongolian Death Worm having aserious of long pointed structures at it tip. The other accounts desribe that their head and tail are so similar that it is difficult to decide which is the tail and which is the head. The overall look of the Mongolian Death Worm is said to resemble the apperance of a earth worm.
 The Mongolian Death Worm is said to have the ability of being able to secreates a bubble of poison from one end. Then squirts it in a stream at it desecenated target. Anything that comes in to contact with the fluid it turns yellow instantly, and has the apperance as if it had been corrodied with acid. There are other eyewitness accounts of the ability that it can kill from a distance by the use of a electrical discharge. Most serious researches think the stories of the creature's squirting venom or electrical discharge are nothing but Folk tales added on to sightings of a legendary creature. Ordinarily creatures that kill using electricity are aquatic and not terrestrial.

  The habitat of the Mongalian Death Worm is it lives in the sand dunes among the saxual plants. Living a subterrestrial live but becoming terrestrial both during the hottest months of the year of June and July. Also the terrestrial observations and behavior is also associated after the rain.

- The Amphisbaenia as the Mongolian Death Worm -

   Comparing both desribtions and eyewitness testimony shows how the Amphisbaenia and the genus Bipes ssp. is a possibility for the identification for the cryptid Mongolian Death Worm, if it is based on a real animal ("You laugh only because you know nothing and understand nothing. The allghoi khorkhoi it is a terrible thing.) and not just native folklore and superstition.

  Starting with the comparing the morphology of the Mongolian Death Worm compared to the genus Bipes ssp. we see that the describtion of the Mongolian Death Worm is a near perfect match. Both Amphisbaenidae and the Mongolian Death Worm are desribed as looking like earthworms. These worm like descriptions are said about both of them. Their tail are so similar to their head that it is often difficult to decide which end is which. The name amphisbaenian comes from the mythical amphisbaena a worm-like monster with a head at each end of it body.
   Also the Mongolian Death Worm has been desribed as having at least one end has a serious of long pointed structures at it tip. If we add the third report of the Mongolian Death Worm morphology that desribes it as having wings. We can see how all three of this reports giva a accurated distribution of a Amphisbaenia that closely resembles the genus Bipes ssp. and are not contradicting each other. Presumably the descriptions saying the creatures has spkes or wings on one end are a reference to two short forelimbs as in Bipes.

    Sherperd L. Chorloo (Khorlaw) from Chorngor Gobi in the southern Gobi aimak (country) stated: " Here we see an intresting creature. Its body looks like salami, half of which is taken up by the head, and on the rear it has wings. I have seen it twice. On both occasions it was lying dead."

   We need to keep in mind is that any eyewitness accounts of the cryptid it is going to be brief encounter, The Mongolian Death Worm is said to be extremely deadly being able to kill from a distance from either a posion or by a electric discharge. 

   If we take into account that the eyewitness accounts are of a brief encounter the first description of the Mongolian Death Worm is a great match for the Amphisaenian. Both the Mongolian Death Worm and Amphisbaenian, are desribed as stated earlier that their their head and tail are so similar, that it is difficult to tell which is the tail and which is the head.
    The second description is of spikes at one end, this fits the desribtion of Amphisaenian in the genus Bipes ssp. as, being the only Amphisaenian with two front limbs that posse long claws for digging.
    It is then resonable that both this accounts can be right and be desribing the same cryptid, by letting fear set in and not taking any time to take a good long look. Bipes ssp. would be a over all match for the desribtion of the Mongolian Death Worm. With either the witness memory of a brief encounter they either remember the overall shape or the long claws.

    That just leaves the wing stuctures as desribed by Shepherd L. Chorloo. The description he gave does resemble the Mongolian Death Worm overall it is just the wings that that make it sound like it is a diffrent cryptid. There is two possible explanations that can be shown either being with in the genus Bipes ssp.  or, a new genus within Amphisaenian.
    With little desribtion to go on and no pictures with the anadoltale information we don't know the state of decompostion or any scavaging that has taken place on the body. Or how long or close attention he paid to the bodys being desribed, with seen the same cryptid on more than one occasion there is little information to go by.
    If the wings being described were the arms of  Bipes ssp. out to the side of the body, this would give a wing like look to it. The other possible explanation is a new genus of Amphisaenian there are other legless lizards  in the Class-Reptilla,  Order-Squamata,  and in the family Pygopodidae that have no fore legs and the hind legs consist only of small scally flaps at the rear end of the body, at the level of the cloca. It is possible for a new genus of Amphisaenian with similar morphology these would explain the wings. This would be no different that the genus Bipes ssp. with the Amphisaenian they so far are the only genus with appendages.
    If this is the most accurate desribtion of the cryptid Mongolian Death Worm it desribtion fits in with other eyewitness desribtions when it is placed a a possible Amphisaenian.

    The length is the the last part of the morphology that the anecdotal eyewitness reports talk about, it is said to be between 2 feet and 5 feet being the extreme. As Karal Shuker has pointed out - "Morphologically speaking, an extra large ajolote (Bipes biporus) would certainly provide a very plausibale explanation for the legged /winged mystery worm of Chongar Gobi." We can not prove that such a large Amphisanian or Bipes ssp. exist but it can be shown how it is biologically possability. [Other amphisbaenians are up to 3 feet long or more, they are simply not members of the genus Bipes.-DD]
    There are many examples of squamates that have Island Gigantism do to shorten seasons they have less time they can store enough fat reserves to last the rest of the year. The most widely known example of this is Nortchs ater serventyi (Chappel Island tiger snake) during a brief season of mutton birds 2 to 3 years is the only time N. a. serventyi gets to feed. Which leaves 10 to 9 months until they will eat again the next mutton bird season.

 - Conclusion -

    With a possible identification of the Mongolian Death Worm we can use both anecdotal reports and empirical evidence of the Amphisienian. This gives us a staring place to either find and prove that the Mongolian Death Worm is a real animal, or it gives use a starting place to disprove that the Mongolian death worm is either a Amphisbaenian or a real animal at all. We know that both are hard to study and are rare seen, with both the opportunitive time to obseve them is on a raining day  (June /July).
[It is possible that they are coming out to lay eggs at such times as they are observed: Mexican Bipes do emerge in June to find a new nesting place to lay eggs. Amphisbeanas are also likely to emerge after the rain.-DD]

 Using the method of Digital search assistant (Digital search assistant for cryptozoological field expeditions. By Andrew May, The Journal of Cryptozoology Vol 1, Nov 2012) in and around the habitat of the sand dunes near the saxual plants during raining conditions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_mole_lizard
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amphisbaena_(lizard)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongolian_death_worm

Below: Facsimile page for Mongolian Death Worm entry from George Eberhart's Mysterious Creatures, 2002.

[ For my part I think this is a good theory and matches well with the possibility that the
 two-legged Tatzelwurm reports are a similar sort of Amphisbaena. The link between the Tatzelwurm and the Mongolian Death Worm has previously been suggested by some Cryptozoologists and originates in an issue of PURSUIT, as far as I can tell    -DD]

Cladogram for Amphisbaenidae. Somewhere along the line there was a transfer of an Old World Original population to the New World, where the earlier Bipes types were shunted into the frontier territory of Western Mexico, where they diversified, while the other branch of Amphisbaenids, the legless kinds also diversified but became much more successful and filled the rest of the range. Below, Range map of the Amphisbaenids. If the 2-footed Tatzelwurms and Death Worms are nor related, then it is also an unusual coincidence that they are located on the same latitude of the Temperate zone. Since they are also about the same size, colour and shape (Tatzelwurms are more usually reported as darker, but the colours might actually be closer than reports would suggest), it may be that they are a larger sized variant of the original Old-World ancestral Amphisbaenid type, and similar to Bipes. In the 1990s, some fossils thought to be ancestral to the Amphisbaenas were found in Mongolia, but there were problems with the identification and the matter is still disputed.

See Also  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sineoamphisbaena

More on Burus, Druks and such

Illustration of the Buru by Neave Parker of the British Museum of Natural History.

Online Encyclopedia definition for Buru (evidently quoting the Wikipedia)

Buru (cryptozoology)

The Buru was an aquatic reptile said to have lived in Jiro (also spelled and pronounced as Ziro) valley, a small town in the state of Arunachal Pradesh, India, at some undefined time in the past. In 1947, Professor Christopher von Furer-Haimendorf was the first westerner to be told about the Buru. By that time, the animals had reportedly already become extinct in the valley. According to the Apatani elders, when their forefathers migrated to Jiro valley, the valley was primarily a marsh which was populated by Burus. The Apatani people decided to settle in the valley because of its fertility and good climate. But every now and then they would have confrontations with burus. So they decided to drain the marsh of its water and thus eliminate the Burus. Most of the Burus died because of the drainage, and many supposedly went underground into the springs. The last Buru was said to be reported by a young woman, who sighted it in a spring one night while she was drawing water. The startled lady told her father about the incident. The next day the whole village helped fill the spring with stones and clay. Identity Traditionally, there has been speculation that the Buru was an unidentified member of the order crocodilia. Tellingly, crocodiles or alligators are also called "Buru" by the Apatanis. There is large population of crocodiles which live in caves in North Africa, quite far from open water, so an underground existence is not improbable for persecuted Indian crocodiles. The mere fact that crocodilians are called "Buru" may not however be very significant, since the Buru is described with monitor-like characteristics such as an elongated neck and a forked tongue. The native name of the Komodo dragon is "Land Crocodile". Both Bernard Heuvelmans.[1] and Roy Mackal regard the Buru to be a large Komodo dragon-like monitor lizard, and there are fossils of such a creature to be found in the Indian subcontinent. Heuvelmans notes similar reported creatures from Western India under the name of "jhoors" where they seem to merge into the Iranian traditional dragon or ahi (Azi Dahaka), which in Iranian art is basically a local stylistic adaptation of the Chinese dragon. George Eberhart notes rumors of a similar creature in the Tigris marshes of Iraq, called the afa, possibly the same thing as ahi. Heuvelmans also notes in his checklist of unknown animals that similar reports to the buru also come from Burma, and they might also relate to a reported lizardlike Meikong River monster. Cryptozoologist Karl Shuker claims that the Buru was a giant lungfish stating that this provides a far more comprehensive, comparable match not only in terms of morphology but also with regard to behaviour. Shuker believes this explains the Buru's alleged ability to survive hidden at the bottom of lakes during the dry season.[2] Shuker's view admittedly does nothing to account for the various other buru-like creatures as cited in this article. It also does not account for the specified features of the long neck and forked tongue. References ↑ Heuvelmans,Bernard "Annotated Checklist of Apparently Unknown Animals with which Cryptozoology is Concerned," CRYPTOZOOLOGY, Vol 5, 1986, P.1, ISSN 0736-7023 http://www.newanimal.org/buru.htm

The Dragon of Persia, from a copy of the Falnama

Note that  accompanied by a Wonderbird evidently equated to the dragon

 and possibly representing  a Firebird from Russia and Central Asia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Bhutan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Druk

Heuvelmans in his Checklist entry on the Buru specified it was identical to the dragon represented on the flag of Buthan. This dragon is known as the Druk.(most likely linguistically related to Dragon)

From the Wikipedia:The Druk (Dzongkha: འབྲུག་) is the "Thunder Dragon" of Bhutanese mythology and a Bhutanese national symbol. A druk appears on the Bhutanese Flag, holding jewels to represent wealth. In the Dzongkha language, Bhutan is called Druk Yul, or Land of Druk, and Bhutanese leaders are called Druk Gyalpo, Dragon Kings. During the Bhutanese mock election in 2007, all four mock parties were called the Druk colour Party^[1]. The national anthem of Bhutan, Druk tsendhen, translates into English as "The Kingdom of Druk".

Similar lake monster reports come from the Brahmaputra drainage over the border into Tibet.


The Buru as represented by "Wolf's Den" for the Cryptid Fieldbook

I had formerly reposted my opinions about the Buru on this blog in the article
http://frontiersofzoology.blogspot.com/2011/11/some-more-on-oriental-dragon.html

I did just find a link to this while googling:
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/cryptolist/message/7899?l=1

Heuvelmans Checklist of Apparantly Unknown Animals, CRYPTOZOOLOGY, vol. 5, 1986, p. 20

"Amphibious animals, probably huge monitor lizards, some up to 20 feet in length-- and thus larger than the Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis)-- currently reported in India and neighboring countries. In the Gir area (Kathiawar Penninsula), where they are called jhoor, they are largely mythicized, but they have been fairly well observed in the Sundabarans (mouths of the Ganges), where, strangely enough, they live in symbiosis with the Saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus)

In Assam, where they are known as the Buru to the Apa Thanis,seem to have been exterminated in modern times (Izzard 1951, Mackal 1980), in Buthan, however, some have been sin one of the Northern lakes and once even by the king himself (referring to an issue of National Geographic but not cited by Heuvelmans) they have also been reported in Burma (as the Bu-Rin, again not cirted by Heuvelmans directly). There is even a historical reference extantof their existance in Sumatra in the 16th Century (Heuvelmans 1965)"

What is stiking to me at this point is the large size, up to 20 feet long, and the part about the symbiosis with C. porosus. Both of those things are in contrast with the Buru on the one hand and the other purported giany monitors on the other.

At this point in time, what I propose now is this:

There is a true Crocodile monitor seen in New Guinea often confused with the Tree crocodile monitor but at approximately double the length. It is amphibious, at home on land and in the water, and can tolerate both saltwater and freshwater. It has evolved some sort of a symbiosis with C. porosus. It therefore (my inference) is possibly found throughout the same range as C. porosus. (This is the "Aha!" part) Therefore the larger creature found at the Sundabarans, in the Andaman Islands and down to Sumatra, and in other places, is the same as the Guanjan or snake-crocodile in New Guinea and Melanesia and the Ngarara of Fiji-to-New Zealand, probably in its occasional and not its regular range. It is not the Buru, it is much longer and especially has a much longer tail. It possibly ranged as far as the Persian Gulf at one time, as C. porosus seems to have done.

It s still my feeling that the Buru is another giant monitor and especially since its description and measurements match exactly those given for "Dragons" in Burma, the Meikong and Southern China (probably as far as Taiwan, but the ones in the Phillipines seem to match the ones in New Zealand instead. More information on this score would be very helpful!)

At present, officially the Sea-crocodile lizard has been assumed to be the same as the New Guinean Tree-crocodile lizard or Atrellia. Provisionally, the species could be referred to as Varanus cf-salvadorii. Hopefully, somebody with access to museum specimens might be able to come up with already-collected specimens. The length of 20 feet at least matches Roman-era reports of Dragons in India.

Hope this helps. Best Wishes, Dale D.

The following two photos of Komodo dragons were used to illutrate different internet articles on these South-Asian dragons, including reports from Southern China.  While they are are not in themselves authoritative representations of such creatures directly, they do indicate what people think they are talking about. These creatures are always generally given the same size and body shape with four legs, usually stating ith separate clawed digits, a long tail and a scaly fat body with a distinct longer neck to the front of it. The fact that most of the descriptions match as far as body shape goes is significant: Exceptions contrary to the general run of the reports are recorded for Burus but are noted to come from an interview with a single esteemed member of society but unfortunately somebody with whom there was a very difficult language barrier. This same individual stated that the teeth were like a wild boar's teeth, the young were born in wayter, and that the legs were like "Flanges" on the side of the body. ALL of these statements must be viewed with suspicion and this was noted in Izzard's initial reports.

 

 

Afa
Unknown LIZARD of the Middle East.
Etymology: Madan (Marsh Arab) word.
Physical description: Large lizard.
Distribution: Marshes at the mouth of the
Tigris River, Iraq.
Possible explanation: An undescribed species
of Monitor lizard (Family Varanidae), large car-
nivorous reptiles that live in tropical areas.
Source: Wilfred Thesiger, The Marsh Arabs
(New York: Dutton, 1964), p. 115.

Buru
Unknown Lizard of Central Asia.
Etymology: Apatani and Nisi (Sino-Tibetan)
word, possibly from its call.
Physical  description:  Roundish,  elongated
body. Length, 11–14 feet. Mottled blue-black
above.  Broad  white  band  on  the  underside.
Head, 20 inches. One account gives it three
plates on the head, one on the top and on each
side. Eyes are close behind a flat-tipped snout.
Flat  teeth,  except  for  a  single  pair  of  large,
pointed teeth in both the upper and lower jaws.
Forked  tongue.  Neck,  3  feet. Three  lines  of
short spines run down its back and sides. Back,
18 inches wide. One account said it has legs 20
inches long with clawed feet, while another only
gave it paired lateral flanges. Round, tapering
tail 3–5 feet long and fringed at the base.
Behavior: Completely aquatic. Raises its head
out of the water occasionally. Basks in the sun
on the bank in the summer. Remains in the
mud when the swamps dry up. Makes a hoarse,
bellowing noise. Does not eat fishes. Young are
born alive in the water. Can grab a man with its
tail and drag him underwater.
Distribution:Swamps and lakes near Ziro in the
Apatani Valley, Arunachal Pradesh Union Terri-
tory, India; 50 miles to the southwest in the Dafla
hills, Arunachal Pradesh Union Territory, India.
Significant sightings:In 1945 and 1946, James
Phillip Mills and Charles Stonor collected de-
scriptions of the Buru from the Apatani people,
who are said to have killed the last of them in
their area when they were draining swamps for
rice cultivation.
In 1948, Ralph Izzard and Charles Stonor vis-
ited a swamp in the Dafla hills near Chemgeng in
the hopes of finding a living Buru but returned
with conflicting stories from the Nisi people.
Present status: It may still be possible to find
skeletal remains of the animals in the Apatani
Valley, since the precise kill spots are still known.
Possible explanations:
(1) A surviving dinosaur of some type, sug-
gested by Ralph Izzard.
(2) An unknown species of Monitor lizard
(Varanus sp.), suggested by Roy Mackal.
(3) An unknown species of Crocodile (Order
Crocodylia), suggested by Tim Dinsdale.
(4) A large, swamp-dwelling Lungfish
(Order Lepidosireniformes) would explain
the Buru’s ability to keep submerged in
mud, according to Karl Shuker. The body
structure also matches a lungfish more than
a reptile. Its bellow might be caused by its
ventilating air.
(5) An unknown species of Bonytongue fish
similar to the Pirarucu (Arapaima gigas) of
South America, which also has an air blad-
der fashioned into a lung.
Sources: Christopher von Fürer-Haimendorf,
“The Valley of the Unknown,” Illustrated
London News 121 (November 8, 1947):
526–530; Ralph Izzard,The Hunt for the Buru
(London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1951);
Desmond Doig, “Bhutan,” National
Geographic 120 (September 1961): 384,
391–392; Tim Dinsdale,The Leviathans
(London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1966),
pp. 105–110; Roy P. Mackal, Searching for
Hidden Animals (Garden City, N.Y.:
Doubleday, 1980), pp. 79–98; Karl Shuker,
Extraordinary Animals Worldwide (London:
Robert Hale, 1991), pp. 54–61. [Karl Shuker's assertions that the estivation indicates a lungfish better than a crocodile or lizard is incorrect: both crocodiles and lizards are known to hibernate in the winter and estivate in the summer, and the lungfishes most like his model for the Buru live in permanent pools so they do not estivate. Furthermotre his assertion that a lungfish fits the description of the body shape better is simply false. The described body shape specifies a long flexible neck which the lungfish would never have.-DD]

Bu-Rin
Giant Snake of Southeast Asia.
Physical description: Length, 40–50 feet.
Behavior: Aquatic. Aggressive. Attacks swim-
mers and small boats.
Distribution: Near Putao, Myanmar.
Source: Alan Rabinowitz, Beyond the Last
Village: A Journey of Discovery in Asia’s
Forbidden Wilderness (Washington, D.C.:
Island Press, 2001), p. 116.

Lake and River Monster Sightings

Bhutan
Jigme Dorji National Park, lake in. Former king
Jigme Dorji Wangchuck saw a white, fast-swim-
ming  animal  in  a  lake  in  this  park.  Desmond
Doig, “Bhutan,” National Geographic 120 (Sep-
tember 1961): 384, 391–392.

China
Lake Changhai [Long Lake], Sichuan Province.
A Chinese scientist saw a 10-foot “miracle animal”
with a horse’s head and a huge body on October
12, 1984. Janet and Colin Bord,Unexplained Mys-
teries of the 20th Century (Chicago: Contemporary
Books, 1989), p. 355; UNEP-WCMC, Protected
Areas  Programme,  http://www.unep-wcmc.org/sites/wh/juizhaig.html

 Jianzhuhai  Lake,  Sichuan  Province.  UNEP-
WCMC,  Protected  Areas  Programme,  http://www.unep-wcmc.org/sites/wh/juizhaig.html.
Nuorilang  Lakes,  Sichuan  Province.  UNEP-
WCMC,  Protected  Areas  Programme,  http://www.unep-wcmc.org/sites/wh/juizhaig.html. 

 Wuhan, lake near, Hubei Province. In 1987, a
group of biologists led by Chen Mok Chun re-
ported seeing three large, grayish-white, toadlike an-
imals with mouths 6 feet wide and huge eyes swim-
ming toward them. One of the creatures extended
an  enormous  tongue  that  grabbed  their  tripod-
mounted  cameras.  Karl  Shuker,  “Lesser-Known
Lake Monsters,” Fate43 (September 1990): 75–86.
[This is badly exaggerated but the creatures are short-snouted crocodilelike animals with protrusable tongues. The descriptions match a type of giant monitor lizard better than anything else. The sizes are badly exaggerated but only the width of the mouth is specifically given a measure-DD]

Malaysia
Tasek Bera, Pahang State.
Tasek Chini, Pahang State. Snakelike or long-
necked monsters, born at the top of the Gunong
Chini  Mountain,  are  said  to  guard  an  ancient
Khmer city submerged in the lake. Phyllis Ben-
jamin, “Making Waves in the Cryptozoo,” INFO
Journal, no. 57 (July 1989): 29; Harold Stephens,
Return  to  Adventure  Southeast  Asia (Miranda,
Calif.: Wolfenden, 2000), pp. 11, 14.

Tibet
Lake Wenbu [also Wembo or Menbu]. In June
1980, farmers and party officials saw an animal
with a long neck and big head. It was held respon-
sible for the disappearance of a yak and a villager
who had been rowing in the lake. Karl Shuker,
 “Lesser-Known Lake Monsters,” Fate 43 (September 1990): 75–86.
Vietnam
Mekong  River.  Lizardlike Water Monster
Mottled green, brown, and yellow. Length, 15
feet. PURSUIT articles quoting: Peter R. Kann,
“Vietnam Journey,” Wall Street Journal, Novem-
ber 10, 1969, p. 1; Wall Street Journal, October
21,  1992;  “Making  for  the  Mekong,”  Fortean
Times

Indonesia
Lake Patenggang, southwest of Bandung, Java.
Giant fish, turtle, or reptile 18 feet long. Times
(London), February 7, 1977; Karl Shuker, “Lesser-
Known  Lake  Monsters,”  Fate 43  (September
1990): 75–86.

 Definitions are from Eberhart, George, Mysterious Creatures, 2002

.

Pristichampsus Procamptoceras

Procamptoceras Is a favourite candidate as an original creature to have inspired "Unicorn" myths in Midieval Europe among certain Cryptozoologists, most prominently naming Karl Shuker, and the matter has been discussed on this blog before. I mentioned there actually were no really good reconstructions of the animal that I knew about, and Tim Morris (AKA Pristichampsus on Deviant Art) volunteered to give a reconstruction of the creature a go. I just got a copy of his reconstruction in last night's email and so here it is now. My version differed in that it had a beard. I was considering that this animal might account for the European Unicorn sightings. A similar creature might be represented on one of the 7500 year old Tartaria Tablets, thought to have been one of the earliest types of writing known:

 So is this a good candidate for the real creature behind the Unicorn tales of Midieval Europe?

Please decide for yourself, I prefer to remain neutral.

"The Princess and The Unicorn" by Ken Barr

Finding Lost Letters From the Mailbag

In cleaning out my google email account, I discovered to my horror that several of my emails from several months back had all gone astray and were missed by me for those several months until I discovered their folder. Today I am trying to air out some of the more interesting messages that I had found there. And once again, I apologise if this seems really too tardy to make any sort of a reply at all!


(Ganges?) Makara Depicted as a Standard Oriental Dragon, Presumably as a Buru in this case.

 Dale,
Saw your blog entry on Makara 
http://frontiersofzoology.blogspot.com/2011/03/sea-elephants.html#comments
 and tried to post a comment, not sure if it worked.
I encountered statues of "makara" in Kerala (south India) and they're on the coat of arms of the modern Indian state of Karnataka. People I spoke to suggested they're heraldic devices or architectural flourishes going back no further than the 18th century. And they are LAND ANIMALS combining elephants with bits of lions, horses and possibly eagles' claws, with tufts, manes or crests. Guides described them to me as "unicorns" or "elephant dragons."
See my blog entry on "makara" (photos towards the end of the post).
http://mattsalusbury.blogspot.com/2011/04/kallana-reconnaissance-kerala-india.html
Attached are two photos, copyright Matt Salusbury, which I license "Frontiers of Zoology" blog to reproduce without cost on the blog only.


The big stone carving is from the porch of Trivandrum's ancient main temple, probably added early 18th century, about the same date as the smaller painted wooden white and yellow makara, from the Maharaja of Travencore's palace opposite. (Trivandrum is Kerala's state capital.)


Sincerely, Matt Salusbury

-The larger one of Matt's photos with the big stone carving failed to come through on this blog-I believe it was a scan at too large of a size. I include the white and yellow one blow. The problem is that, once again, THE NAME OF A CRYPTID IS NOT THE OFFICIAL NAME OF ANYTHING. IT HAS NO OFFICIAL STATUS NOR STANDARD DEFINITION. IT IS NOT THE EQUIVALENT TO A SCIENTIFIC NAME FOR A KNOWN SPECIES. IT DOES NOT IN FACT USUALLY DESCRIBE ONLY ONE THING. IT IS COMMONLY USED WITH EQUAL STRENGTH WITH ANY NUMBER OF UNRELATED CREATURES SIMPLY BECAUSE A CRYPTID HAS NO OFFICIAL STANDING WITH THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY.
Now in this case, Matt is speaking of Heraldric-composites called "Makaras" and he says they are not very old. Indeed they are not very old. HOWEVER, that is not the oldest meaning of "Makaras" nor yet the oldeast kind of "Makaras" that there are. Makaras in different forms have been artistic decoration for thousands of years and the creature is much older as a mount for various Gods and Goddesses, particularly the Goddess of the Ganges.

Different Makaras (A Water Horse is depicted at Right)

Now for my usage I was interested solely in the kind of Makara that is an Elephant-headed Water-Monster. I never said the term was not used to name anything else, it is simply that the other creatures being called Makaras have no relevance to the discussion of a specific sort of Water-Monster. As a matter of fact some of these "Land-Makaras" are very interesting because they could be representations of The Big Unicorn Elasmotherium, the one Pliny described as having "Elephant-feet". But that is a separate discussion on Unicorns, don't you see?
Best Wishes, Dale D.

 

While we are on the topic of Makaras and Water-Elephants, I did come across the photo of Karl Shuker holding a cast of a "3-Toes" track from Africa, said to be from a "Dinosaur" type there and probably the same as the Gambian Water-Elephant. It is probably the trach made by an elephant seal's flipper when the toes are widely spread out. And before you go saying the idea is ridiculous, please look back at some of my old blog postings on the matter:
http://forteanzoology.blogspot.com/2010/02/dale-drinnon-old-three-toes-matter-as.html
http://forteanzoology.blogspot.com/2010/02/dale-drinnon-3-toes-footnotes.html
http://forteanzoology.blogspot.com/2009/06/dale-drinnon-amended-cryptozoological.html
http://forteanzoology.blogspot.com/2010/07/michael-newton-muddying-clearwater.html
http://forteanzoology.blogspot.com/2010/04/lindsay-selby-florida-lake-monsters-in.html

This illustration of Arkansas "Critters" is interesting for several reasons. One thing is that it shows the White River Monster and Gowrow together (they are sometimes thought of as being synonymous) but the White River monster is a kind of turtle here. Roy Mackal identified it as an Elephant seal and used the 3-toed-track argument as part of his case. And in fact some Elephant seasl-SeaMonsters are also described as having the heads of gigantic turtles. These creatures are also locally called "Gollywampus" evidently a variant for "Grampus", a fat porpoise or seal. And the last thing I would like to mention is that the "Giasticutus" looks very much like the "Thunderchick" illustrated from elsewhere...which would thend to indicate that the Ozarks area, as well as the Black Forest PA, is another nesting ground for Thunderbirds.

http://forteanzoology.blogspot.com/2010/01/dale-drinnon-ozark-howlers-or-black.html

Hello Dale, My name is Brea Tisdale, I am writing you from the Travel Channel Special "Legends of the Ozarks." I saw a blog you posted on "The Ozark Howler" and I was wanting to talk to you a bit more about this. We are looking for people that have had sightings or experiences with the Ozark Howler and was wondering if you had any contacts for people that have had such an experience or if you knew of a good place for me to ask around. Thank you in advance for your time and I look forward to speaking with you soon. Best, Brea Tisdale Associate Producer "Legends of the Ozarks"- Travel Channel O

Unfortunately I got that message also several months late and I replied as soon as I saw the message, I do not know if Brea is still going to want my information although I have communicated with witnesses. The artwork is my creation, BTW, as is much of the stuff you see on my blogs. It is also free for public use also as the other such items I put up in my blogs.

Hi Dale,
I saw some of you blog on the Dobar-chu and it is a creature that interests me...I keep finding that newspaper snippet about the man named Patel from Pittsburgh who was attacked by one at Lake Erie...do you know where I can find the whole article? did anyone ever go back and talk to him (Patel)? his case and the wound on his arm seemed pretty solid to me!
anyhow when I was in Sligo sometime back (maybe six years back) I talked with a wood carver who just brought up the tale of the Dobar-chu to me as a sort of totem -as when I walked in -he had just heard of a sighting there in Leitrim or roundabouts (Ireland)...he was quite sincere about it and apparently this thing is taken seriously as the men standing about the shop maintained a serious countenance...the general feeling about this creature was that it was both real and dangerous...anyhow more grist for your mill!


Allen Pittman

--Yes, I frequently see the first-page-only for that Lake Erie encounter and in fact that is the page which is reproduced below. I have never heard any more about the matter than that, but the creature is supposed to inhabit scattered locations all over New England and the Great Lakes region. People have (hopefully?) said it must be extinct in both Ireland and the USA and yet the reports continue. I quote some additional information from other websites below:

http://amayodruid.blogspot.com/2010/09/dobhar-chu-irish-crocodile.html


WaterHound or Master Otter, The Irish Version




Mishipizhiw or Water Panther, The American Version

 http://naturalplane.blogspot.com/2011/04/doyarchu-irish-crocodile.html

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Doyarchu, The Irish Crocodile

The Doyarchu is described as an animal that is about the size of a crocodile or a big dog, but resembles a cross between a dog and an otter. It either has sleek black fur that fits very snugly to the body, or it has smooth, slimy black skin with no fur at all. The hindquarters are bigger than the forequarters and resemble a dog, especially a powerfully-built greyhound. The paws are big in proportion to the rest of the body, the same as most aquatic mammals. The head is sleek, the neck is long, and the tail is long and slender. A few individuals are described as having one or more patches of white, especially a large patch in the middle of the chest. It goes by various monikers, ex. dobhar-chu, anchu, water dog and Irish crocodile.

These creatures have been reported as living in Irish lakes from ancient times. They are highly aggressive towards people and dogs. They attack by grasping prey and dragging it into the water, and they are often a match for the fiercest dogs, especially when they get their opponents into the water. They are often found in pairs and hunt in tandem. One animal usually stays hidden while the other attacks, but it will appear if the first animal has trouble. If one of these is killed, the other becomes extremely angry and will risk its own life to get revenge, suggesting that these animals may have monogamous pair-bonds of exceptional strength. One report tells of a doyarchu that pursued the men who had killed its mate for twenty miles, even though it was at a disadvantage on land.

Some cryptozoologists acknowledge it could be a new species of giant otter since descriptions of the creature are consistent. Others favor the view that it is a variety of immature 'Loch Ness Monster' evenly though Loch Ness is in Scotland. Another possibility is that is represents a link between seals and their landbound ancestors. Seals are most closely related to the bear family and the dog family and a primitive ancestor of modern seals may have resembled the doyarchu.

There has been a scarcity of modern sightings which seems to indicate that the doyarchu, if it ever existed, may be extinct today. The location in which the largest number of modern sightings has taken place is Achill Island, located just off the western coast of Ireland in County Mayo. The lake called Sraheens Lough is supposed to have a small population of doyarchu, but these creatures seem migratory, not occupying the lake all year. - www.newanimal.org

An early description of the Dobhar-chú appears in A Description of West Connaught (1684), by Roderick O'Flaherty. This story, originating from the area of Lough Mask:

There is one rarity more, which we may term the Irish crocodile, whereof one, as yet living, about ten years ago had sad experience. The man was passing the shore just by the waterside, and spyed far off the head of a beast swimming, which he took to be an otter, and took no more notice of it; but the beast it seems lifted up his head, to discern whereabouts the man was; then diving swam under the water till he struck ground: whereupon he run out of the water suddenly and took the man by the elbow whereby the man stooped down, and the beast fastened his teeth in his pate, and dragged him into the water; where the man took hold of a stone by chance in his way, and calling to mind he had a knife in his jacket, took it out and gave a thrust of it to the beast, which thereupon got away from him into the lake. The water about him was all bloody, whether from the beast's blood, or his own, or from both he knows not. It was the pitch of an ordinary greyhound, of a black slimey skin, without hair as he imagines. Old men acquainted with the lake do tell there is such a beast in it, and that a stout fellow with a wolf dog along with him met the like there once; which after a long struggling went away in spite of the man and his dog, and was a long time after found rotten in a rocky cave of the lake when the waters decreased. The like they say is seen in other lakes in Ireland, they call it doyarchu, i.e. water-dog, or anchu which is the same.

In 2003 Irish Artist Sean Corcoran and his wife claim to have witnessed a Dobhar-Chú on Omey Island in Connemara, County Galway. In his description the large dark creature made a haunting screech, could swim fast and had orange flipper like feet. “What a shock!” he says, recalling the next few moments. “A vicious snarl right below us, like a loud hiss, followed immediately by a huge splash. The creature, if that is what it was, swam the width of the lake from west to east in “what seemed like a matter of seconds”, leaving a “fairly big wake”, Corcoran remembers when it reached shore, it clambered up onto a boulder, he swears, and gave “the most haunting screech”. My wife's account of the incident is give or takes the same as mine. Its body was dark, and I'd say it was about the size of a large Labrador, and about five foot tall when standing. It turned and disappeared into the darkness of the area I call the Heart.

We scrambled back to our tent, completely stunned. This was something very strange, it wasn't a swan or an otter or a badger. The next day we went across to Sweeney’s bar. Malachy served us and there were a few lads at the counter. I casually explained about the creature and there was nervous chuckling." - www.irishtimes.com

The Kinlough Stone is claimed to be the headstone of a grave of a woman killed by the Dobhar-chú in the 17th century and shows an old drawing of the creature. Her name was supposedly Gráinne. Her husband supposedly heard her scream as she was washing clothes down at the Glenade lough and came to her aid. When he got there she was already dead, with the Dobhar-chú upon her bloody and mutilated body. The man killed the Dobhar-chú, stabbing it in the heart. As it died, it made a whistling noise, and its mate arose from the lough. Its mate chased the man but, after a long and bloody battle, he killed it as well. The Glenade Stone, found in Conwall cemetery in Glenade, Co. Leitrim also depicts the Dobhar-chú and is related to the same incident.

The Legend of the Dobharchú (Water hound) was written by Joe McGowan and stems from the bestial murder of Grainne Ni Conalai at Glenade Lake, Co. Leitrim on September 24th 1722:

The details were well known one time and the ballad sung at fairs on the streets of nearby Kinlough. Some say she went to the lake to wash clothes; the ballad tells she went to bathe. It is no matter. When she failed to return, her husband Traolach Mac Lochlainn went to look for her. He was aghast when he found her body lying by the lake with the 'beast lying asleep on her mangled breast'! The words of the following poem, written around the time of the incident, form part of the legend surrounding an event which excites discussion and controversy to the present day. The ballad, a lengthy one, was skilfully composed by a hedge schoolmaster of the time. An abbreviated version below brings the story vividly to life. Beginning with a description of the locality it goes on to record the dreadful occurrence:

…And whilst this gorgeous way of life in beauty did abound, From out the vastness of the lake stole forth the water hound, And seized for victim her who shared McGloughlan's bed and board; His loving wife, his more than life, whom almost he adored.

She, having gone to bathe, it seems, within the water clear, And not having returned when she might, her husband, fraught with fear, Hasting to where he her might find, when oh, to his surprise, Her mangled form, still bleeding warm, lay stretched before his eyes.

Upon her bosom, snow white once, but now besmeared with gore, The Dobharchú reposing was, his surfeiting being o'er. Her bowels and entrails all around tinged with a reddish hue: 'Oh, God', he cried, 'tis hard to bear but what am I to do?'

He prayed for strength, the fiend lay still, he tottered like a child, The blood of life within his veins surged rapidly and wild. One long lost glance at her he loved, then fast his footstps turned To home, while all his pent up rage and passion fiercely burned.

He reached his house, he grasped his gun, which clenched with nerves of steel, He backwards sped, upraising his arm and then one piercing, dying, squeal Was heard upon the balmy air. But hark! What's that that came One moment next from out of its depth as if revenge to claim!

The comrade of the dying fiend with whistles long and loud Came nigh and nigher to the spot. McGloughlin, growing cowed Rushed to his home. His neighbours called, their counsel asked, And flight was what they bade him do at once, and not to wait till night.

He and his brother, a sturdy pair, as brothers true when tried, Their horses took, their homes forsook and westward fast they did ride. One dagger sharp and long each man had for protection too Fast pursued by that fierce brute, the Whistling Dobharchú.

The rocks and dells rang with its yells, the eagles screamed in dread. The ploughman left his horses alone, the fishes too, 'tis said, Away from the mountain streams though far, went rushing to the sea; And nature's laws did almost pause, for death or victory.

For twenty miles the gallant steeds the riders proudly bore With mighty strain o'er hill and dale that ne'er was seen before. The fiend, fast closing on their tracks, his dreaded cry more shrill; 'Twas brothers try, we'll do or die on Cashelgarron Hill.

Dismounting from their panting steeds they placed them one by one Across the path in lengthways formed within the ancient dún, And standing by the outermost horse awaiting for their foe Their daggers raised, their nerves they braced to strike that fatal blow.

Not long to wait, for nose on trail the scenting hound arrived And through the horses with a plunge to force himself he tried, And just as through the outermost horse he plunged his head and foremost part, Mc Gloughlans dagger to the hilt lay buried in his heart.

"Thank God, thank God", the brothers cried in wildness and delight, Our humble home by Glenade lake shall shelter us tonight. Be any doubt to what I write, go visit old Conwell, There see the grave where sleeps the brave whose epitaph can tell.'

The story still survives in local tradition. A local man of Glenade, Patrick Doherty, now deceased, told me some years ago that the chase, which started at Frank Mc Sharry's of Glenade, faltered at Cashelgarron stone fort in Co. Sligo when Mac Lochlainn was forced to stop with the blacksmith there to replace a lost horseshoe. His version differs very little from the ballad. Acording to Patrick, when the enraged monster caught up with them the horses were hurriedly drawn across the entrance to form a barrier. Giving the terrified man a sword the blacksmith advised him, 'When the creature charges he'll put his head right out through the horse. As soon as he does this you be quick and cut his head off.'

The story is given credence today by the carved image engraved on Grace Connolly's tombstone in Conwell cemetery, Co. Leitrim. Cashelgarron stone fort, near where the chase ended and the Dobharchú met its gory end, still stands today nestled on a height under the sheltering prow of bare Benbulben's head. Both monster and horse lie buried nearby. - “Echoes of a Savage Land” by Joe McGowan

Because of its aquatic life style we usually associate the otter with a variety of watery places but not readily with bog. Otters are found in streams, rivers, marshes, lakes, estuaries, lagoons and on the coast. There are no sea otters in Ireland, nor is there such a thing as a bog otter. There is the river otter in Ireland (Lutra lutra), which exploits a range wetlands.

Otter, Lutra lutra (Ireland)

A clipping that references an encounter at Lake Erie, PA

Source:
www.newanimal.org
Clark, Jerome and Coleman, Loren - "Cryptozoology A-Z" - 1999
www.irishtimes.com
McGowan, Joe - “Echoes of a Savage Land”
www.rootsweb.ancestry.com
Shuker, Karl - "The Beasts That Hide From Man: Seeking the World's Last Undiscovered Animals" - 2003
www.mythicalcreaturesguide.com
www.ipcc.ie



Master-Otter reconstruction from Morelock on Deviant Art.



New Guinea Giant Hornbill

Back in April I mentioned the sightings in New Guinea of a sort of giant hornbill, the Kusa Kap, which was confusing the search for possible pterosaurs (or "Ropens" in this case). To set the stage, I'll quote the last thing I said on the subject:
In the Torres Strait region between New Guinea and Queensland, Australia, there is supposed to be a tremendouis flying bird the same size as the Ropen is said to be (allegedly a twenty-foot wingspan) this is the Cryptid Giant Hornbill the Kusa Kap. Karl Shuker mentions this in his book The Beasts That Hide From Men on page 168, from a statement made by an 18th century Naturalist. I have a very good drawing of one and it is clearly a hornbill, presumably at the size of a large eagle (that is, probably 150% the size of a rhinoceros hornbill, or 200% at most-making it at a 10 foot winspan) I am willing to say that wiotnesses might have estimated its size as twice too large: park rangers have stated that as a general rule of thumb in estimations made of unfamiliar species in other circumstances.

I had always intended to make up another blog posting on this, but right now the main problem is that I do NOT have permission to publish the material in my possession.

Best Wishes, Dale D.
27 April 2011 08:27

Karl Shuker's text follows:
HUGE HORNBILLS AND TREMENDOUS TAILS
The Torres Straits separates New Guinea from the Northernmost tip of Queensland [Australia] and contains many unexplored islets. According to the 18th century naturalist Luigi d'Albertis, among others,[the area] houses a huge species of hornbill known as the Kusa Kap. The largest known species include the familiar great Indian hornbill Buceros bicornis and the rhinoceros hornbill B. rhinoceros (from Malaysia, the Sundas and Borneo)attain a length of four feet, but these pale into insignificance alongside the Kusa Kap-whose alleged 22-foot wingspan, not to mention its inclination for carrying dugongs aloft in its claws, more closely recall the elephant-transporting Roc! Moreover the noise of its wings flapping in flight is said to resemble the roar of a steam engine! [in the next paragraph it is added that witnesses have indeed likened the sound of a rhinoceros hornbill's flapping wings to the chugging of a steam locomotive-DD]

http://frontiersofzoology.blogspot.com/2011/03/possible-pterosaurian-sightings.html

http://henry-stuart.co.uk/tag/takeoff/

Subsequently I came across another posting on the matter from Chad Arment.


The Giant Hornbill, Giant Bird in New Guinea


From Nature, (Nov. 25, 1875), V. 13, p. 76.
An interesting letter appears in yesterday's Daily News from Mr. Smithurst, the engineer of the steamer which made the voyage up the newly discovered Baxter River in New Guinea, referred to in Sir Henry Rawlinson's address at the Geographical Society last week. The river seems to be a magnificent one, and could evidently be made navigatable to a considerable distance inland. The exploring party found the banks to consist mainly of mangrove swamps, though, near the end of the journey, high clay banks with Eucalyptus globulus were found. Scarcely any natives were seen, though there were frequent signs of their being about. Mr. Smithurst refers to a very remarkable bird, which, so far as we know, has not hitherto been described. The natives state that it can fly away with a dugong, a kangaroo, or a large turtle. Mr. Smithurst states he saw and shot at a specimen of this wonderful animal, and that "the noise caused by the flapping of its wings resembled the sound of a locomotive pulling a long train very slowly." He states that "it appeared to be about sixteen or eighteen feet across the wings as it flew, the body dark brown, the breast white, neck long, and beak long and straight." In the stiff clay of the river bank Mr. Smithurst states that he saw the footprints of some large animal, which he "took to be a buffalo or wild ox," but he saw no traces of the animal. These statements are very wonderful, and before giving credence to them we had better await the publication of the official account of the voyage. A very fair collection of rocks, stones, birds, insects, plants, moss, and orchids has been made, which will be submitted to a naturalist for his opinion. The dates of Mr. Smithurst's communication are from August 30 to Sept. 7.

[The same legendary bird is also said to live in Queensland but that is also to be expected}



Shuker's illustration on the Kusa Kap.
Public Domain Image: we both own the same book.



Now this might seem to be as far as we could go on the matter but as a matter of fact a certain drawing of a Ropen is circulating around the internet and illustrating articles on "Living pterosaurs". One site I saw discussed all such sughtings together, the Ropens along with the Kongamatos, and called this picture a Kongamato-but in the context of the article that was being used as a generic and not specific term, indicating the whole category of "Living pterosaurs" And this drawing is not only a bird with feathered tail and feathered wings folded bird-style, it is pretty obviously meant to be a kind of hornbill.

Now given the circumstances I suspect the sightings actually made at sea to be manta rays again. But inland on Northern Australia, New Guinea and on the islands in the strait, there could well be a gigantic and still-unknown species of hornbill. How big it gets is a problem.
But it seems helpful that a bird with a wingspan reported as 22 feet across in the original notices became only sixteen to eighteen feet across when fired upon by an experienced hunter (who unfortunately also did not bag the bird, or the problem would be already solved) My guess is that it is the size of the largest eagles, ten to twelve feet across, but in the largest specimens only. And it does not carry off dugongs but it does seem to have some "Thunderbird" stories attached to it independantly from the North American legends (Unless the legends actually are connected, which would also be significant to know). Since the large hornbills might well have a wingspan of 5-6 feet in males, I feel pretty secure at making ten to twelve feet the maximum allowable for the unknown species. It could well turn out to be much less more commonly. And hornbills will commonly eat just about anything they can overpower as well as fruits and insects, so that part is plausible enough also. Perhaps the islander populations tend to be beachcombers and if a dead dugong should happen to turn up, the big birds might well gravitate toward it.(This is similarly my explanation for the association of Thunderbirds with whales)

http://books.google.com/books?id=19o8AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA25&dq=hornbill+kusa+kap&hl=en&ei=YLnRTvaWOY7eggfniOHCDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=hornbill%20kusa%20kap&f=false

http://books.google.com/books?id=GHsHAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA40&dq=kusa+kap&hl=en&ei=MLnRTpfdB-PY0QGniMg6&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=kusa%20kap&f=false

http://www.tv.com/shows/destination-truth/forums/destination-truth-topic-ideas-83002-797182/

http://www.jstor.org/pss/1253689

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hornbill