Fabulous Creatures Mythical Monsters and Animal Power Symbols A Handbook

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dramatic, such as its having escaped from alien spaceships or even that it is
the result of genetic experiments crossing human and extraterrestrial DNA.
Occasionally, it seems that a Bigfoot can obtain a distinct personality and
distinguishing features. Old Yellow Top has been classed as a Sasquatch, but
it has very fair hair on top of its head. Reports of Yellow Top come from the
area surrounding Cobalt, a town in Ontario. They date back to around 1906
and were last recorded in the 1970s, when it was speculated Yellow Top might
have died, though no remains were found.
DOES BIGFOOT EXIST?
All the evidence is anecdotal, apart from casts or photographs of the foot-
prints. Even then, there can be controversy about the authenticity. For exam-
ple, in 2002, after the death of Ray Wallace of Centralia, Washington, his
family claimed that he had admitted that he created giant footprints using
specially constructed wooden shoes near a logging site as a practical joke that
had started a local spate of Bigfoot sightings in 1958. What is more, no bones
of a creature resembling Bigfoot have ever been found.
However, sightings continue. In December 2006, Shaylane Beatty, who
lives in the Dechambault Lake region of Saskatchewan, Canada, reported
seeing a Sasquatch beside the highway at Torch River while driving to Prince
Albert. Men from the village, who were alerted, went to the spot and followed
giant footprints through the snow but did not see the creature. However, they
did find some brown fur (which could have been from any animal) and pho-
tographed the prints.12
The Hopi elders and the Iroquois Indians believe that Bigfoot s increasing
appearances in recent years are a warning from the Creator to take better care
Monsters and Weird Creatures 117
of the planet and live in peace. Skeptics would say that the current fascination
and increased sightings reflect the increasing hunger for the weird and won-
derful, which might in itself express, as the Indians are saying in a different
way, the lack of meaning in modern living.
YETI
Yeti, or Abominable Snowmen, are more like large bears than apes and
apparently inhabit the Himalayan Mountains of Tibet and Nepal. Like the
Bigfoot, Yeti are described as more than six feet tall, covered with white fur,
having a musty aroma and also reportedly telepathic abilities, but seeming
more aggressive toward humans.
One highly speculative theory for similarities between Bigfoot and Yeti is
that the North American Bigfoot crossed the Bering Straits landbridge
thousands of years ago when the continents of Asia and America were
joined.
There seem to be different kinds of Yeti, though the most popular image is
of the white, furry giant with long, shaggy hair, more giant gorilla than bear,
called meh-teh in Tibet. The top of meh-teh s head is pointed. The really
huge Yeti are called dzu-the, and they can walk upright as well as on all fours.
They are a cross between a bear and an ape, but with the characteristic white
fur and claws. In Bangladesh in Southeast Asia, a huge twenty-foot tall hairy
giant called Nyalmo has been reported. It is similar to the Yeti.
Yeti are thought to be valley dwellers because of the need for food, but are
mainly seen in narrow mountain passes as they travel, rather than in dense
forests where there is more camouflage. Locally, Yeti are said to have super-
natural powers and are sometimes considered sacred demons or guardians of
the mountains, intended to scare away humans scaling mountains and dis-
turbing the deities. However, in mist and thick snow it might be possible,
especially at high altitudes where the brain suffers oxygen deprivation, to hal-
lucinate and mistake bears or even rocks for Yeti.13
EL CHUPACABRAS, OR GOATSUCKER
At this point, fact and fiction seem almost indistinguishable. Such creatures
as Goatsucker are called cryptids because they bear no resemblance to crea-
tures known to science.
In March 1995, the Puerto Rican towns of Orocovis and Morovis
were under attack from what appeared to be a vampire; carcasses of goats,
118 Fabulous Creatures, Mythical Monsters, and Animal Power Symbols
chickens, and other small farm animals were found all the blood drained out
through a single neat puncture wound. The first sightings of the creature
were reported around September of that year. The perpetrator was identified
as Goatsucker, a cross between a kangaroo, a gargoyle, and the extraterres-
trial creatures called grays described as smaller than the average adult, with
grayish skin pigmentation, huge oval heads, staring almond eyes, and spindly
limbs. The Goatsucker is described by apparent eyewitnesses as about four
feet tall, with a large, round head, a mouth with no lips, sharp fangs, huge lid-
less red eyes, a small body with thin, clawed arms and webbed bat wings, and
muscular hind legs. The creature also reportedly had spikes from the top of
its head down to its backbone. Sightings and slain livestock continued to be
reported in various parts of Puerto Rico throughout the autumn of 1995,
especially in Canovanas, where more than 150 animal bloodsucking incidents
were reported. Sightings also occurred in Mexico and the United States,
although cynics would say this coincided with increased media exposure of
the creature.
Goatsucker, or El Chupacabras, has been linked with an earlier Puerto
Rican monster known as the Moca Vampire, whose appearance coincided
with reports of UFO activity in 1975. A number of farmers discovered ani-
mals massacred after strange lights appeared in the sky and again the animals,
which included ducks, goats, geese, and cows, had been completely drained
of blood through a puncture wound.14
One of the problems with investigating or trying to analyze what this crea-
ture might be is that there is very little consistency in description. For exam-
ple, it is variously described as hairy, hairless, or scaly in parts, changing color
to blend with surroundings, having red feathers or wings, and being able to
jump over buildings.
However, since sightings no longer occur, it is hard to unravel the truth
about this creature; many of the incidents may have been human attacks on
animals, attacks that got tied up with media hype.
OWLMAN
Owlman is another creature that stretches credulity; it has been suggested
Owlman might have been a huge Eurasian eagle owl (Bubo bubo) escaped from
a bird sanctuary, or more likely, kept illegally as a pet and released when it
became too large. Skeptics say Owlman was invented in England in response
to the U.S. Mothman.
Owlman was described as resembling an owl, with silvery gray feathers
(or in some accounts, dark feathers), wings, and a beak. He was said to be
Monsters and Weird Creatures 119
of human size with fiery red eyes and huge black claws but able to fly, mak-
ing a hissing sound as he flew. Owlman was witnessed in Cornwall in south-
west England around Mawnan Woods and the cemetery of Mawnan Old [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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