MUIRHEAD`S MYSTERIES: The feral reindeer of northern Scotland

Dear Cryptopeople

My Muirhead`s Mysteries blog of today is essentially a precis of an article by Ian Whitaker (deceased) in Archives of Natural History (1986) 13 (1) pp 11 - 18 titled ` The survival of feral reindeer in northern Scotland.

Whitaker states : " The reindeer, Rangifer tarandus L., was commonly found in the British Isles at the end of the last Ice Age and some remains have been found within a considerably later archaeological context. In Northern Scotland,however, it seems to have survived into the present millennium. In particular there is a reference in the Old Norse text,the Orkneyinga saga, to a hunt of this animal having taken place in Caithness in the year 1158. In this article I shall examine this passage in its literary context, as well as other archaeological records of the animal in Scotland..."

Unconvincing remnants of the reindeer have been found in Allt nan Uamh in Scotland and also in Tain, Co.Ross.  There is a sculptured stone, originally from the area of Grantown-on-Spey, Inverness-shire which "seems to show a reindeer " (Whitaker, p.11). Whitaker then goes on to describe more realistic reindeer relics from Orkney in the form of "brochs."

"However , the most specific evidence of the reindeer in Scotland is a literary one, contained in chapter 102 of Orkneyinga saga. There we read: "The Earls used to go over to Caithness every summer hunting red deer and reindeer in the woods there." Boyd Dawkins ,a naturalist,pointed out that the author of the saga " ...must have been well acquainted with the animal in Norway,Sweden and Iceland.."

Whitaker believed that the author of this saga may not have seen reindeer himself but he may have met travellers to Norway who may have seen it for themselves. The reindeer may have become extinct in Scotland when the woods were burnt down to clear out the wolves.Or possibly climate change.Other ideas put forward include the idea that Lapps visited Scotland to tame the reindeer and milk them, and the similarity between Lapps and fairies!

Whitaker believed the feral Scottish reindeer tended towards the " woodland type" (Whitaker p. 15) of reindeer.   

CRYPTOLINk: Tyneside "sea serpent".

A word about cryptolinks: we are not responsible for the content of cryptolinks, which are merely links to outside articles that we think are interesting (sometimes for the wrong reasons), usually posted up without any comment whatsoever from me. 

	Loch Ness Monster SPOTTED? 'Mysterious sea creature' leaves British fisherman baffled Daily Star "I think I witnessed the first sighing of the Loch Ness Monster outside of ... While a fourth simply concluded: "The mystery of Loch Ness is solved.".
	Bizarre moment 'sea serpent' filmed swimming in the River Tyne The Sun The Loch Ness monster has become a national legend, with dozens of ... a giant "water beast" dragging a man to his death in Scotland's River Ness.

FORTEAN BIRD NEWS FROM THE WATCHER OF THE SKIES

What has Corinna's column of Fortean bird news got to do with cryptozoology? 

Well, everything, actually! 

In an article for the first edition of Cryptozoology Bernard Heuvelmans wrote that cryptozoology is the study of 'unexpected animals' and following on from that perfectly reasonable assertion, it seems to us that whereas the study of out-of-place birds may not have the glamour of the hunt for bigfoot or lake monsters, it is still a perfectly valid area for the Fortean zoologist to be interested in.

• Gamekeepers vital in protecting rare birds, report...
• First confirmed breeding of Golden Nightjar in the...
• New rafts for Sussex terns
• Yellowhammer: Farmers urged to save 'iconic bird'
• Manx shearwater: The Skomer bird which appears aft...

BIGFOOT NEWS IN BRIEF

RMSO report on the Uinta Mountain Bigfoot sighting

Squatchable

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Golden filmmaker unable to prove in court that sasquatch exists

Vancouver Sun

... a documentary filmmaker who produced a film about the sasquatch entitled Discovering Bigfoot, had been out filming for several days and while he ...

Lawsuit against BC government to recognize the existence of sasquatch fails - InfoTel News Ltd

Full Coverage 

THE GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN HAS A CLIPBOARD AND A WHISTLE

The Gonzo Daily: Wednesday

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YER EDITOR SEZ:

The good news: Prudence didn't eat my new iPad. The bad news: I didn't discover it quickly enough to stop Prudence eating the cover of my new iPad. Why she took it upon herself to do this, I have no idea. But she did, and a horrid crisis was averted by a margin of error which makes me shudder every time I think of it. Prudence, by the way, just in case you didn't know is an elderly and slightly senile Boxer x Bulldog bitch, the shape of a miniature hippo, rather than some human relative who has a taste for eating electronic consumer goods.

Now, I am on the want again. I have been using MSPublisher 2003 for many years, but upgraded to MSOffice 365 a few years ago. However, things that have been designed in Pub2003  come out all awry in 365, with pictures in the wrong places and all sorts of other formatting errors. Has anyone any bright idea about how this can be fixed? Preferably without going through the whole damn thing and sorting it piecemeal.

I have been writing Press Releases and one sheets for decades, but yesterday was the first time I had ever written one about myself. My endeavours to try and find out how the world of digitally marketed music works, are carrying on apace. I even started an EPK for anyone who wants to review my new record. Please email me on jon@eclipse.co.uk if that is the case, and please be nice. My ego is far too fragile for the sort of criticism that some reviewers dish out.  ‘Coldharbour’, by the way, can be found here: https://jondownes1.bandcamp.com/releases

I think it is really rather good, but then again I would say that wouldn't I?

Corinna continues to be pain free, and although she has intermittent discomfort is doing rather well. There is no further news from the hospital except for the fact that she needs more tests, and so the waiting game continues. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. I am convinced that the barrage of love and blessings you have sent us so far has borne remarkable results...

ALL TODAY'S GONZO NEWS WOT'S FIT TO PRINT:

http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2018/09/the-gonzo-track-of-day-berlioz-les.html

THE GONZO TRACK OF THE DAY: Berlioz - Les Troyens ...

http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2018/09/thom-world-poet-daily-poem_5.html

THOM THE WORLD POET: The Daily Poem

http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2018/09/dave-bainbridge-interview-celestial.html

Dave Bainbridge Interview - Celestial Fire - Solo ...

http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2018/09/yes-feat-arw-in-news.html

YES feat ARW IN THE NEWS

http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2018/09/leonard-cohen-in-news.html

LEONARD COHEN IN THE NEWS

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THANK YOU: To Bob Skinner for this lovely and most undeserved glft

NEWS FROM NOWHERE: Wednesday

ON THIS DAY IN -   1698 - Russia's Peter the Great imposed a tax on beards. 
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AND TO WHISTLE WHILE YOU WORK... (Music that may have some relevance to items also on this page, or may just reflect my mood on the day)