PHOTO: Viper Dogfish Caught off Coast of Taiwan

Viper Dogfish - Sputnik, Int'l.

First discovered in 1986 and not revealed to the public until 1990, the Viper Dogfish (or Trigonognathus kabeyai) is a rare, deep-sea shark rarely seen by Man.  Not much is known about the species, but it reportedly poses little threat to humans despite its fearsome appearance, as crustaceans and bony fishes comprise its diet.

Earth Touch News revealed the find on January 13^th, 2018, and the report was picked-up by Sputnik International.  Specimen have been acquired off the coasts of Japan and Hawaii, as well.

© The Weirding, 2018

500-lb. Boar Killed in North Carolina

500-lb Boar

A few years back, hunters noticed an incredibly large boar on camera.  The boar was marked for death -- but it took until now for anyone to bring it to justice!  Hunter, Jett Webb, shot and killed the beast with a .308 rifle after stumbling across it almost by accident.

"I just set out to put a little meat in the freezer," he says. "But afterwards, I was completely blown away."

Actually, Webb had been hunting the boar after spotting it in the area earlier in the week.  He bagged a similar-sized hog a year or so back that is mounted on the wall of the hunting club to which he belongs.

Wild boars in North Carolina, and North America in general, usually weigh up to 180-lbs.  While Jett Webb's 500-lb. catch was certainly remarkable, it was not the largest boar killed in North America!

© The Weirding, 2014

The Goat is the Word

Two goats are wowing California beachgoers with their surfing skills since owner Dana McGregor taught them the skill. Goatee and Pismo surfed together and separately for onlookers at California's San Onofre State Beach a few days ago. You can see pictures of the goats in action here.

McGregor says he originally got Goatee, a nanny goat, to eat unwanted plants from his property. He began taking her to the beach and teaching her to surf. He then taught Pismo, Goatee's billy, shortly after he was born.

© C Harris Lynn, 2012

Six-Legged Lamb Born in Germany

The lamb was born in a small town in Georgia and not only has six legs, but both sets of sexual organs. The farmer says he has never heard of such a case and asked around to find that neither had anyone else. The six-legged lamb appears to have at least partial control over all six limbs, four of which are in the front. A six-legged lamb was born in Belgium in 2006.

© C Harris Lynn, 2011

Python Had Eaten Deer

A Burmese Python found in Florida measured nearly 16 feet long and had recently eaten a deer weighing more than 70 pounds. MSN has pictures of the captured snake. These snakes and others like them are often kept as pets until they get too big and are released into the wild, or escape their owner's care.

© C Harris Lynn, 2011

Big Game Animals Terrorize Small Ohio Town

Authorities say owner, Terry Thompson, released some 50 wild animals from the Muskingam County Animal Farm before killing himself, leaving Bengal tigers, lions, black bears, wolves, and other dangerous animals to patrol the area freely. Schools and roads were closed as sheriffs and volunteers hunted-down the 50-some-odd beasts and were forced to kill most of them. 

Some were tranquilized, but there were not a lot of tranquilizers to go around, there is no good way to tranquilize an animal of that size and demeanor at night, and human safety was of the utmost concern.

At the time of this writing, there are still at least four unnamed creatures on the loose throughout the county and surrounding areas. Residents are being told to stay inside.

Ohio apparently has wild animal auctions and numerous wild animal farms similar to this one which need to be shut down. Authorities say they paid numerous visits to the Muskingam County Animal Farm in recent years, but had little luck in closing it.

© C Harris Lynn, 2011

Manpig Born in South America

'It looked like some kind of alien creature,' a local farmer told reporters about a piglet born with an eerily human-looking face. What makes the story double interesting is the fact that bright lights were seen in the area the night the piglet was born, leading some to believe the pig's human-like face may have been the work of aliens!

Of course, most scientists reject the notion of aliens having anything to do with it, suggesting that chemical pollution or some kind of genetic issue may have caused the birth defect. Citizens in Santa Cruz El Chol in Guatemala are not so sure.

The Metro had pictures but the link to the story is no longer available (2019).

© C Harris Lynn, 2011

New York Overrun by Swine

And that is not a euphemism. Apparently, hundreds of wild boar have escaped local game farms, overrunning areas of the state. They have attacked and killed pets, rooted through trash, and even gone after humans on occasion. Unfortunately, funding is only enough to afford one official who is working overtime and making little progress.

While the overall "picture" of the wild boar problem in New York state is unclear, authorities believe there are a few hundred living in the wild and breeding in at least three counties. Their litters are of four to five piglets. Boar are not native to the state.

© C Harris Lynn, 2011

Grizzly Bear Fatally Mauls Man in Yellowstone

For the first time in 25 years, a grizzly bear fatally mauled a Yellowstone Park visitor. A 57-year-old man and his wife spotted the sow and two of her cubs, but when they attempted to leave the area, the mother attacked the man. His wife played dead some yards away and though the grizzly bear picked her up and slung her around by her backpack, she was uninjured.

Officials called it a "1-in-3 million" attack and do not believe the animal dangerous. It appears as though she was simply looking after the safety of her cubs. A hunt for the grizzly bear is underway, though.

© C Harris Lynn, 2011

Wrexham Horse Refused Admittance to... Train?

Closed-circuit cameras captured pictures of a man trying to board a train with a pony at Wrexham Station. When a conductor refused to allow the pony to board, the man bought two tickets -- one for himself, another for the pony -- and attempted to board once again. Once again, the pony was refused admittance.

Train officials said, "Horses and ponies, which may pose a risk to the general public, are not permitted to travel."

© C Harris Lynn, 2011

Bepantied Man Attacks Goat

A West Virginia man was found clad in a bra and panties standing over the carcass of a neighbor's goat. The man told police he was high on bath salts and "wasn't in his right mind." The 19-year-old was apparently discovered in a bedroom with the dead pygmy goat, which had been stabbed at least once.

© C Harris Lynn, 2011

Nine-Foot Alligator in Arkansas!

Authorities say a 9' alligator may have surmounted two fences and gotten loose in the Pine Bluff area, about 50 miles outside of Little Rock. The male alligator was being housed at Gov. Mike Huckabee Delta Rivers Nature Center. Authorities now believe he is mingling with other alligators in the area.

So far, the beast has not been found!

© C Harris Lynn, 2011

Fox Turns Tables on Hunter

A hunter in Belarus shot and wounded a fox, but dropped his gun when he went in for the kill.  The hunter had advanced on the fox, intending to kill it with the butt of his gun, but the wounded animal fought fiercely.  The gun discharged when the fox accidentally hit the trigger.

The unidentified hunter was being treated for a gunshot wound to the leg.  The fox got away.

© C Harris Lynn, 2011

Tennessee - January, 1934: Carnivorous Kangaroo or Chupacabra?

In January of 1934, rural Tennessee was under attack from a creature, or creatures, eyewitnesses reported as "fast as lightning" that "looked like a giant kangaroo."  The creature was said to leap and jump about fields, but also attack geese, pets, and ducks.  Kangaroo are vegetarian and generally considered docile.

The outbreak was carried by newspapers nationwide, but largely as a means for ridicule.  Yet eyewitnesses refused to back-down.  A report in the Chattanooga Daily Times even "corroborated" one attack in which, "A kangaroolike beast visited the community and killed dogs left and right, and that's all there is to it."  However, the rash of sightings came and went within that single month, and killer, carnivorous kangaroo have never been reported in or around the area since, leading many to dismiss the incident as a hoax.

But this was nearly 50 years before the legend of the chupacabra became widespread.  Could the carnivorous kangaroo attacks in 1934 Tennessee have been the work of a chupacabra, or did a roo just happen to find its way down South from its more natural habitat (kangaroo have been spotted in many states north of Tennessee) and go a little mad on some animals it may have considered threatening?

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

There Are Kangaroos in Wisconsin

There are kangaroo in the American state of Wisconsin.

There was an outbreak of kangaroo sightings in and around the Wisconsin area in the 1970s and '80s, as well as across several other states. In 1978, two Polaroids showing a large kangaroo standing alongside a Menomonee Falls highway emerged. An expert likened the creature in the pictures to the brush kangaroo indigenous to Tasmania.

In January of 2005, authorities captured a 150-lb. kangaroo in Dodgeville, Wisconsin. Eyewitnesses had called for days before police investigated. No one knows where the marsupial came from.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Poacher Kills Arresting Game Warden

31-year-old game warden, David Grove, stopped a felon after catching him "spotlighting" a deer. While partially handcuffed, 27-year-old Christopher Lynn Johnson shot Grove with a .45 handgun. Johnson then fled the scene and claims to have later shot-off the handcuffs. A passenger with Johnson at the time managed to leave the vehicle but may still face charges.

According to authorities, Grove was in the process of arresting Johnson for felony possession of a handgun when the incident occurred. Investigators later recovered the body of a buck, believed to be the one Johnson dazzled with a high-powered spotlight then shot.

Grove was shot four times. He is the first Pennsylvania game warden to have been killed in the line of duty in 95 years.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Cougars in New Castle, DE

Big cats were spotted twice in residential areas in New Castle, Delaware (DE) last week. Cougars, mountain lions, or pumas were said to have strolled near neighboring apartment buildings and residential areas twice in the second week of November, 2010.

Some eyewitnesses commented that cougars are found elsewhere in the general area more frequently, and in greater numbers. Police found no evidence of a puma in either case, but are making residents aware.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Zimbabwean Killed by Pride of Lions in Shower

A Zimbabwean tourist in an open wildlife conservation area was killed by a pride of lions while showering last Friday. Though details of the attack are still emerging, experts blame the attack on poaching. Earlier in 2010, eight villagers were similarly attacked by lions hundreds of miles down the river.

Experts say a lack of food has lead villagers to poach lions, traumatizing the animals. It is believed they may be targeting humans as a result.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Record-Breaking Alligator Captured in Florida

Tres Ammerman was amazed when he caught a 14' alligator on Halloween, 2010. The gator, weighing-in at just over 654-lbs., is believed to be between 50 and 60 years old. Ammerman's catch is 3" longer than the state record, which was set in 1997. Ammerman is selling his catch to a taxidermist at $1000 per foot, for a net of $14,000 USD.

The largest alligator on record was caught in Louisiana and measured 19'.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Emperor of Exmoor Dead, Long Live the Emperor

The "Emperor of Exmoor" is a 9' tall, 300-lb. red stag some reported as having been killed a couple weeks back after landowners offered a bounty of over $1500. However, no one has claimed the money and no evidence of the kill has been presented, leading some to believe that the story was simply put forth to ward-off hunters.

In fact, the landowners who reportedly offered the bounty say they did no such thing and are actually quite protective of the Emperor of Exmoor. Further, several report having seen the red stag numerous times since its reported demise.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010