Eye witness states:
This is real footage my son and I took in Myakka March 2, 2013. We had iphones with us only. You will see actual still shots of this thing. The only editing we did to these pictures was to lighten them up some. At one point you hear us talk of two, it was deer out there hiding in the tall grass. Maybe what it was after.

To see it on video pause around 2:03-2:08. You can see it in the middle at the thin tan line of grass just under the tree line. Also here you will see the deer to the left a little closer in. They seem to appear several times then lay back down.

Here is the video, what do you think?

But to a growing number of believers in Texas, Bigfoot lives among us, and they are now out to prove it.

“We know that they’re there,” said Travis Lawrence with the not-for-profit Texas Bigfoot Conservancy. “We’ve heard them, we’ve seen them, we’ve smelled them.”

Like the characters on Animal Planet’s “Finding Bigfoot,” Lawrence investigates sightings. He claims to have once seen a Bigfoot, as well as its unexplained over-sized footprints.

“Isn’t it incredible that in our backyards in North America there could be a seven, eight-foot tall ape?” he asks. “I mean, if that’s real, if that’s true, that’s incredible. That’s the zoological discovery of all time.”

Sightings in Texas are nothing new and date back to the settlement of Native Americans. But today, the most seem to be happening in the same place. And it is not far from Houston.

According to the Texas Bigfoot Research Conservancy, Liberty and Montgomery Counties have had 28 sightings in recent years. It is the most of any region in Texas.

Lawrence claims that most center around the dense and remote Sam Houston National Forest.

“That’s plenty enough land for anything to live and pretty much go undetected,” he said.

Unlike other parts of the country, which market themselves to Bigfoot believers, the forest’s sightings may still be something of a secret.

Yet some visitors are now on the lookout.

“We have to have something to hold in your hand, that you can say ‘look, it’s real, it’s irrefutable,’” Lawrence said.

This weekend the Texas Bigfoot Conservancy will be holding its annual conference in Fort Worth. For more information, click here.

Previous theories have suggested the wolf somehow rafted on ice or vegetation, crossed via a now-submerged land bridge or was even semi-domesticated and transported by early South American humans.

The 320-year-old mystery was first recorded by early British explorers in 1690 and raised again by Charles Darwin following his encounter with the famously tame species on his Beagle voyage in 1834.

Researchers from the University’s Australian Centre for Ancient DNA (ACAD) extracted tiny pieces of tissue from the skull of a specimen collected personally by Darwin. They also used samples from a previously unknown specimen, which was recently re-discovered as a stuffed exhibit in the attic of Otago Museum in New Zealand.

The findings were published in Nature Communications today and concluded that, unlike earlier theories, the Falkland Islands wolf (Dusicyon australis) only became isolated about 16,000 years ago around the peak of the last glacial period.

Painting of a Falkland Islands wolf by Michael Rothman, Ace Coinage Inc – Credit: Michael Rothman, Ace Coinage Inc

“Previous studies used ancient DNA from museum specimens to suggest that the Falkland Islands wolf diverged genetically from its closest living relative, the South American maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus) around seven million years ago. As a result, they estimated that the wolf colonised the islands about 330,000 years ago by unknown means,” says Associate Professor Jeremy Austin, Deputy Director of ACAD and co-lead author with Dr Julien Soubrier.

“Critically, however, these early studies hadn’t included an extinct relative from the mainland, the fox-like Dusicyon avus. We extracted ancient DNA from six specimens of D. avus collected across Argentina and Chile, and made comparisons with a wide group of extinct and living species in the same family.”

ACAD’s analyses showed that D. avus was the closest relative of the Falkland Islands wolf and they separated only 16,000 years ago – but the question of how the island colonisation came about remained. The absence of other mammals argued against any land bridge connection to the mainland.

“The Eureka moment was finding evidence of submarine terraces off the coast of Argentina,” says study leader Professor Alan Cooper. “They recorded the dramatically lowered sea levels during the Last Glacial Maximum (around 25-18,000 years ago).”

“At that time, there was a shallow and narrow (around 20km) strait between the islands and the mainland, allowing the Falkland Islands wolf to cross when the sea was frozen over, probably while pursuing marine prey like seals or penguins. Other small mammals like rats weren’t able to cross the ice.”

Source: University of Adelaide [March 05, 2013]

One Oklahoma man believes that’s exactly what he managed to photograph. Craig Martin recently captured three images of an animal he thinks could be a Chupacabra, a legendary species rumored to feed on the blood of goats.

The pictures show the animal feasting on the carcass of a dead animal, and even captures the face of the animal. To Martin, it’s a match for the elusive prowler.

“It looks exactly the same, there’s not much difference at all,” Martin told 2NEWS affiliate KFOR in Oklahoma City

While the scavenger does resemble web images of the Chupacabra, not everyone is buying it.

“What we’re dealing with here is just a coyote with a bad case of mange,” a biologist told KFOR.

Martin said while maybe that’s much easier to accept, he’s not so sure that’s the whole story.

“I’m not saying it’s not part coyote but I think it could be a hybrid,” he said. “I think it’s probably mixed with another species of dog, but it’s definitely not just a regular coyote. They can say what they want.”

Whatever it is, Oklahomans will be watching

A team of scientists will publish their five-year long study of DNA samples from a novel hominin species, commonly known as “Bigfoot” or “Sasquatch,” on Friday February 15th, 2013. The results suggest that the legendary Sasquatch is extant in North America and is a human relative that arose approximately 13,000 years ago as a hybrid cross of modern Homo sapiens with an novel primate species.

The study, “Novel North American Hominins, Next Generation Sequencing of Three Whole Genomes and Associated Studies,” was conducted by a team of experts in genetics, forensics, imaging and pathology. The team, led by Dr. Melba Ketchum of DNA Diagnostics in Nacogdoches, TX, included Dr. Pat Wojtkiecicz, Director of the North Louisiana Criminalistics Laboratory; Ms. Aliece Watts of Integrated Forensic Laboratories in Euless, TX; Mr. David Spence, Trace Evidence Supervisor at Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences; Dr. Andreas K. Holzenburg, Director of the Microscopy & Imaging Center at Texas A&M University; Dr. Douglas G. Toler of Huguley Pathology Consultants in Fort Worth, TX; Dr. Thomas M. Prychitko of Wayne State University in Michigan; Dr. Fan Zhang of the University of North Texas Health Science Center; and Sarah Bollinger, Ray Shoulders, and Ryan Smith of DNA Diagnostics.

In total, 110 specimens of purported Sasquatch hair, blood, skin, and other tissue types were analyzed for the study. Samples were submitted by individuals and groups at 34 different hominin research sites in 14 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. Ketchum’s team sequenced 20 whole and 10 partial mitochondrial genomes, as well as 3 whole nuclear genomes, from the samples.

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) comes from mitochondria, energy-producing organelles in the cellular cytoplasm, and is passed down on the maternal lineage across generations. Nuclear DNA (nuDNA) is the genetic information contained in the cell nucleus and is the equal combination of DNA from the parents of an individual.

Initially a skeptic, Ketchum implemented strict protocols to ensure the scientific integrity of the study. DNA samples from submitters and scientists working with study specimens were obtained for use as controls. DNA was extracted from samples using forensic procedures to prevent contamination. Forensics experts examined the morphology of the submitted hair samples against known human and animal samples before beginning DNA testing. “We soon discovered that certain hair samples–which we would later identify as purported Sasquatch samples–had unique morphology distinguishing them from typical human and animal samples,” says Ketchum. “Those hair samples that could not be identified as known animal or human were subsequently screened using DNA testing, beginning with sequencing of mitochondrial DNA followed by sequencing nuclear DNA to determine where these individuals fit in the ‘tree of life.’”

After extensive forensic controls to prevent contamination, mtDNA testing of the Sasquatch samples yielded fully modern human profiles. Sixteen haplotypes indicating 100% homology with modern human mtDNA sequences were observed from 20 completed whole and 10 partial mitochondrial genomes. The human mtDNA results are consistent with prior, unrelated mtDNA tests of purported Sasquatch samples from other laboratories.

Next-generation whole genome sequencing with the HiSeq 2000 platform by Illumina was performed at the University of Texas, Southwestern on one tissue sample, a saliva sample and one blood sample to produce 3 whole genomes. In contrast to the mtDNA which was unambiguously modern human, the Sasquatch nuDNA results were a mosaic of novel primate and human sequence.

“While the three Sasquatch nuclear genomes aligned well with one another and showed significant homology to human chromosome 11 which is highly conserved in primates, the Sasquatch genomes were novel and fell well outside of known ancient hominin as well as ape sequences,” explains Ketchum. “Because some of the mtDNA haplogroups found in our Sasquatch samples originated as late as 13,000 years ago, we are hypothesizing that the Sasquatch are human hybrids, the result of males of an unknown hominin species crossing with female Homo sapiens.”

Hominins are members of the taxonomic grouping Hominini, which includes all members of the genus Homo.

“Novel North American Hominins, Next Generation Sequencing of Three Whole Genomes and Associated Studies.”

Authors: Ketchum MS, Wojtkiewicz PW, Watts AB, Spence DW, Holzenburg AK, Toler DG, Prychitko TM, Zhang F, Bollinger S, Shoulders R, Smith R

Journal of Advanced Multidisciplinary Exploration in Zoology. 11 January 2013.

Specimens yielding DNA were obtained, purportedly from elusive hominins in North America

The witness who’d captured the footage thought there was something unusual about those tracks as well, saying, “They were almost in a straight line — which is something I’ve never seen in a human track.”

“Squatches walk toe-to-toe like a tightrope walker, and we’ve seen that hundreds of times in the past,” Bobo said. Continue, Huffingtonpost

The ‘tests’ were conducted on samples of hair found in a Siberian cave during an international expedition last year.

‘We had ten samples of hair to study, and have concluded that they belong to mammal, but not a human,’ said Professor Valentin Sapunov, of the Russian State Hydrometeorological Institute.

Nor did the hair belong to any known animal from the region such as a bear, wolf, or goat, he claimed.

Analysis was conducted in the Russia and US and ‘agreed the hair came from a human-like creature which is not a Homo sapien yet is more closely related to man than a monkey’, said the Siberian Times, citing claims made on a regional government website in Russia in the area where the hair samples were allegedly found.

It stated that long-awaited scientific tests were conducted on their hair at two institutions in Russia and one in Idaho in the US.

‘All three world level universities have finished DNA analysis of the hair and said that the hair belongs to a creature which is closer by its biological parameters to Homo sapiens than a monkey. The Yeti’s DNA is evidently less than one per cent different to that of a human.’

Continue reading, Click here

The locals tracked it to a nearby lair or nest where they found three more creatures of similar size. The wounded creature attacked one of the shooting party and it was shot dead, the others escaped into the brush.

The body of the creature was taken back to the local camp, police later removed its corpse and a full forensics investigation is under way.

Here is the video, what do you think?

Raccoons, indigenous to North America, were first brought to Germany in the 1920s and bred in captivity for their fur. Everything went well for a few years but then, in the 1930s, a few of them escaped from a farm near Berlin.

Rumour has it that around the same time, Hermann Goering, the founder of the Gestapo and head of Adolf Hitler’s air force as well as being Nazi Germany’s most senior forestry official, ordered two pairs to be released into the wild near the Edersee Dam in western Germany so that they could be hunted.

However, no evidence has been found to back up that particular claim, but a number of British newspapers have taken to referring to the animals as “Nazi raccoons” as a result. There is no question that they are invasive.

Germany’s current population of 500,000 raccoons derive from that handful of escaped and released raccoons.

Experts say their numbers have been exploding in recent years and will soon reach about one million.

The animals are conquering territory in Scandinavia and some have even managed to cross the Alps into southern Europe.

“They are spreading rapidly. The population was stagnant for a long time but something has happened in the last 10 years to cause them to thrive,” Torsten Reinwald, a biologist at the German Hunting Federation, said

“They’ve adapted to their environment. They eat anything and they aren’t especially particular about where they live.”

Among Native Americans, the sharp-toothed beasts with pointy snouts and bushy striped tails were known for their foxlike cunning.

They are living up to that reputation in Germany, where they are making themselves comfortable in garages, garden sheds and attics. And once ensconced, they are hard to get rid of.

“You’re in trouble if you get them in your attic,” said Mr Reinwald.

“They defecate and urinate everywhere, eat through your insulation, bite through power cables and make a huge noise, especially at night. The cubs are born blind and spend a long time with their mothers during which they get bored and romp around. It’s chaotic,” he added.

Female raccoons tend to have five cubs a year. Hunting figures show how fast the population is expanding. In the 2000/2001 hunting season, just under 8,500 were shot and killed. In 2010/2011 it was 67,700.

Encounters with humans are becoming so frequent that raccoons regularly feature in police reports, and make for entertaining reading. In the town of Moritzburg, for example, holidaymakers called the police one night last week saying that their bungalow was being burgled.

Upon investigation, police officers found a raccoon climbing up the shutters. One raccoon even broke into the headquarters of the Dresden police force last year and was caught taking a nap outside an office. It was netted by the fire brigade and taken to an animal shelter.

Experts disagree on how damaging raccoons are to the environment.

There is evidence they are reducing numbers of the rare pond turtle from the lake region around Berlin, and in Thuringia, they have been scaring off the large Eurasian eagle-owl by climbing trees and making themselves at home in their nests.

“They’re cheeky and forward,” said Mr Reinwald.

The 1979 Bern Convention, an agreement on measures to preserve European wildlife, placed the raccoon on its list of most dangerous species and recommends strictly controlling its numbers.

However, raccoons are hard to shoot because they are nocturnal and cautious.

Hunters often use special traps to catch them, frequently with chocolate as bait.

Animal welfare groups say that even massive raccoon culls wouldn’t stop them spreading.

“Killings will merely improve the living conditions for the remaining animals and they will multiply even faster,” said Jorg Styrie of the Federal Animal Protection Association.

Experts say the priority is to reduce their numbers in nature conservation areas where they do the most damage to vulnerable wildlife.

In residential areas, there are some simple ways to keep the raiders at bay. For a start, resist the temptation to feed them, even if they flutter their eyes and look cute.

“That’s the worst thing you can do. They’ll just come back to beg for more even though they’ve got no trouble finding food on their own,” said Mr Reinwald.

But now matter what us done, it looks as if Europeans will have to learn to live with the little pests.

“The species is firmly established here,” said Ulf Hohmann, a forest biologist.

Also, the researchers scout out new sites where the best bigfoot footprints have been reported.

There are several organizations dedicated to the research and investigation of Bigfoot sightings in the United States. The oldest and largest is the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization (BFRO). The BFRO also provides a free database to individuals and other organizations. Their internet website includes reports from across North America that have been investigated by researchers to determine credibility.

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