TERATOLOGY: Conjoined Grey Whales Found in Mexico (Via Simon Reames)

"Exceptionally rare" conjoined whale twins have been found dead in a lagoon in Mexico. Fishermen found the grey whale calves in the Ojo de Liebre lagoon in the Baja California peninsula, which opens up to the Pacific Ocean. The four-metre (13 feet) long creatures, which weighed nearly half a tonne, were linked at the mid-section.

They had two full heads and tail fins, according to Benito Bermudez, a marine biologist and regional manager at the National Natural Protected Areas Commission. Mr Bermudez said the discovery was "without any precedent" in the region, which is in the north-west of the country. It is believed the whales were born as the result of a miscarriage and did not survive for long.

Scientists were examining the carcasses and plan to look for other cases in the animal's habitat off the peninsula.

Read on...

Possibly the most professional and respectful TV tribute to an incredibly rare stranded whale

How did 75 whales end up in the desert?

This story ended up in my email inbox no less than six times yesterday. I know nothing about the story apart from these pictures and the title. So if anyone can enlighten me as to what whales? which desert? whether they are recent skeletons or fossilised? and who are these people? I will be most grateful....

NEIL ARNOLD: Some Kent Snippets

G. Howell’s A Kentish Notebook of 1891 records the following stories:

The Gravesend Mermaid
‘Real Wonders!’ At Gravesend – Exhibition August 1825 – ‘A Gravesender visited these wonders (in relation to beautiful dolphins, a learned pig etc) in company with his children and saw the Mermaid, which, he says, “was about 2-ft high”, and had one arm, the other having been cut off and sold. The woman who exhibited it, declared to me it was no imposition that it had been inspected, very minutely, in London, by professional gentlemen and that it was pronounced to be a Mermaid.

A Kentish Swordfish
November 10th 1888 – Capture of a swordfish at Sittingbourne – Long Reach, Milton Creek, caught by a bargeman , 5-ft, 2” from tip of tail to tip of sword. Possibly in pursuit of a whale seen at Gillingham – trying to find its way to the Mediterranean or the Atlantic.

A Sea Eel
1761 – A sea eel, 6-ft long, 20 inches round and weighing 30lb was lately taken in a shallow water, where it had been left by the tide at Whitstable…

A Conger Eel
October 1760 – A conger eel was lately taken in the River Medway near Romney Marsh, which measured 7-ft, 6 ½ inches, and in circumference 2-ft 9” and ¾ with a weight of 56 lbs.

Sperm Whale
February 1762 – Sperm whale 61-ft in length at Broadstairs.
December 1764 – A Spermaceti whale was thrown ashore on the flats at Seasalter, nr Whistable – 54 ft in length, 38-ft in girth at its broadest point.

Autumn 1854 – forty to fifty young whales at the Thames at Gravesend – proceeded until (?). One struck by steamer paddle. All travelled down river.

More monster fish stories to come…

THE PAIGNTON SEA MONSTER: AUBREY'S HYPOTHESIS

Jon, I'm writing about the photographs that have recently been published of the new Nessie off the Devon coast. The pictures, though not clear, could be that of a very rare whale found in British waters, that of the northern bottlenose whale (Hyperoodon ampullatus). The northern bottlenose whale matches the colour described by Gill Pearce as greenish brown. Actually the northern bottlenose whale has a colour range from dark grey to greenish brown and everything in between. It has a short dorsal fin found two thirds of the way down its back. The photograph I attached shows what appears to be a small dorsal fin. The photograph also shows a bulbous head sticking out of the water, and this is the trade mark of the northern bottlenose whale.

I stuck a picture from one of my books next to Gill Pearce's photograph for comparison. These whales are found from the Canadian coast in the east around southern Greenland, Iceland and Europe. They tend to travel in small groups but are also found on their own. They range in size from 23 to 29 feet. I did not read anywhere if a length was given by Gill Pearce. It is a member of the beaked whale family. The males have between 2 to 4 teeth the females none, or are hidden below the gum line. Some whales have no teeth at all. Their favourite food, like all beaked whales, are small fish and squid. Gill said this creature "snapped stalking a shoal of fish just 30 yards off the British coast." These whales are normally found in deep water but they are also known to strand themselves on beaches; anything is possible.

It was a whale of this species that died in the Thames a few years ago.

HEAD'S UP FROM AUBREY

Hello Jon,

it's Aubrey the whale artist from Toronto. Love your work I make it my mission to read every story every day, and I love everything you do. Below is a link of a strange unknown animal discovered only days ago in Northern Ontario. No one is sure what it is, but I must say it is very strange looking. Wishing you all the best

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/292321

Thank you to everyone else who sent me the story. Personally I think it is a dead otter, but I would be interested in your opinions....

RICHARD FREEMAN SENT US THIS...

Take Action today to save Whales

A massive new threat against whales has recently been announced after secret meetings between Japan, Norway, Iceland, Germany, the United States and other governments.

If allowed to go unchallenged, their plan would restart the cruel commercial slaughter of our ocean's great whales - undermining decades of hard-won protections for the whales.

Please tell German Federal Ministry for Agriculture, Madam Minister Ilse Aigner, to stop this sell-out of the whales. We must act quickly!

http://e-activist.com/ea-campaign/clientcampaign.do?ea.client.id=15&ea.campaign.id=6391&msource=DR100319003&tr=y&auid=6214865

DALE DRINNON: Great Lakes Whale Watch Part 3

Here are some internet resources on Bessie, The Lake Eire Monster, along with reference photos of Bessie and bottlenose whales:


http://web.ncf.ca/bz050/HomePage.bessie.html

Reprint from CREATURE CHRONICLES #14; Oct. 1991
Ron Schaffner: Editor

"SOUTH BAY BESSIE"

A Monster in Lake Erie

A listing of the alleged sightings

Lake Erie's western basin has become a host of yet another aquatic serpent in the world. Not surprising as the student of cyrptozoology is aware that the majority of these inhabited inland waterways within the northern hemisphere lay claim to some sort of monster.

There have been many explanations to the sightings; most notable is the prehistorical sturgeon, which can easily grow up to 300 pounds and have been known to reach 20 feet, 200 pounds and 100 years old. However, it must be noted that they are bottom fish and rarely seen on the surface. But, how often could one see a serpent?

"South Bay Bessie", as dubbed from a local contest has stirred quite a wonder in northern Ohio since the mid 1980's. The battle lines have been carved from the believers and skeptics alike. "Monster-mania" has taken hold in all the local communities. (A more than familiar common thread with all Fortean events of this type.)

John Schaffner, editor of the Ottawa County Beacon (no relation to this edi- tor.) has been the focal point of data collection with his toll-free hot line. I wish to thank him for the material he has sent along to us. His hot-line has produced reports dating back 30 years .

The majority of reports depict the same basic description: A 30-50 long snake-like about as [big a]round as a bowling ball.[Counter to this we also have clear repeated statements that it is at lease two feet wide on the surface and must be wider below the waterline]

The reported creature seems to appear when the water is calm.

So, without further oration, let us begin the listings of "Bessie". We will have no further comments on origin or explanations.

1960 - Ken Golic was fishing off a pier in Sandusky when he heard two rats. He decided to throw a couple of rocks at them when he saw the creature. He stated that it was cigar-shaped and came out of the water about 1-1 1/2 feet. It was about 11:00 PM on a clear, calm night.

1969 - Jim Schindler stated that a serpent came within 6 feet of him near South Bass Island. Although he did not see the length, the width was about 2 feet. The animal appeared to be about 1 foot under[out of] the water.

9/1981 - Theresa Kovach of Akron saw a snake-like reptile that "was so large that could easily capsized a boat. It seemed to be playing." She watched it from a house on the Cedar Point Cause- way.

1983 (app.) - Mary M. Landoll told John Schaffner about her encounter with Bessie off Rye Beach in Huron. Mary went out to the front porch just before dawn when the lake was quite placid. From the left end, she heard a rowing sound and saw what looked like a capsized boat. It was a greenish-brown color about 40-50 feet in length. Landoll realized that it wasn't a boat, but an animal of some sort. It had a long neck and an eye was visible on the side of the head with a grin going up one side The creature appeared to be playing in the water, but still put a scare into the witness.

[This is the ONLY report stated as specifying the creature had a long neck - but it appears that said neck was NOT lifted out of the water to any appreciable distance, otherwise how could it give the usual appearance of an upturned boat? The neck seems to "curve around" flat on top of the water as it was "Playing" - DD]

Summer, 1985 - Tony Schill of Avon, Ohio was boating with friends north of Vermilion when they reported the serpent. It was dark brown and had a flat tail. Tony stated that "5 humps came out of the wa ter. No way it was a sturgeon."

Dale Munro, of Lorain was also boating when he came face-to-face with it. He stated that it had 3 humps and was black. He also reported that it was twice the size of his 16 foot boat. The location was in calm waters just off the Lorain Coast Guard Station and his sighting lasted 3-4 minutes.

May or June, 1989 - Gail Kasner obtains a graph from a boat owned by Ken Smith, of Streetsboro. The fishfinder appears to show a sonar reading of a cigar-shape apparition about 35 feet in length at a depth of about 30 feet.

July 8, 1990 - Susan seeson, of Salem witnessed the creature 2 miles from Cedar Point. Her description basically matched other reports.

September 3, 1990 - Bob Soracco was jet skiing off Port Clinton when he thought he spotted a porpoise. (Porpoise in fresh water? Oh well, Bob had just moved from Florida.[Shows what the author knows: there are several types of porpoises that inhabit freshwater or brackish sea-lakes]) He told reporters that he saw humps with grey spots. "It was very long as I moved closer and it was going down.

September 4, 1990 - Harold Bricker and his family were fishing north of Cedar Point Amusement Park when a serpent type creature swam by their boat about 1000 feet away Their description- 35 feet long with a snake-like head. It moved as fast as their boat. Later, the Bricker's reported their sighting to the ODNR rangers at East Harbor State Park.

September 11, 1990 - Fire inspectors, Jim Johnson and Steve Dircks, of Huron saw the creature from a third story window facing Lake Erie. They decribed it as dark blue or black at about 30-45 feet long. He further stated that he saw three parts of the creature above water. "It laid there motionless for three to six minutes and was flat on top."

Week of September 16 1991 - Dennis Szececinski, of Toledo saw Bessie near Toledo's water intake structure three miles offshore in Maumee Bay. He was fishing in the bay when something long and black slithered in front of him.

The Beacon, Ottawa County, 9/90 Dayton Daily News, 10/7/90 Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, 9/23/90 Columbus Dispatch 9/26/90

Credit: Ron Schaffner (rschaffn@tso.cin.ix.net)






['Bessie' has a mouth with two fangs sticking out in front; sometimes also said to have only one coming down from the top. Its mouth also forms a grin when seen from the side; all of which marks it as a bottlenose whale. One of the very old 'Champ' sightings and one of the sightings on the Ottowa river also mention the peculiar teeth. Only the male bottlenose whale has teeth, and on the males the round head can be developed to the extent that the dolphin-like beak is obscured and hene a blunted 'Snake-like' or turtle-like head. In the case of Bessie, SOME of the sightings of 3 to 7 humps might actually be several animals swimming close together: bottlenose whales do that and it answers the question as to why are they not seen in schools.

The answer is then that they are but it is not recognised. Also, the bottlenose whale is the only whale that can be described as greenish or a sort of olive brown. Bottlenose whales are known for wandering up into estuaries and up rivers, including the Thames, and a colony of these whales are known to be permanent residents around Nova Scotia.]

http://primarysources.newsvine.com/_news/2006/10/10/394874-does-a-sea-monster-haunt-lake-eries-shores

Most people are aware of the Loch Ness Monster, and many have heard of Lake Okanagan's Ogopogo, but Lake Erie's own mysterious sea creature is much less well-known.

Known as South Bay Bessie, the elusive sea serpent has been widely reported on Erie's south shore over the years, in Ohio lakeside locations including Akron, Sandusky Point and Cedar Point. In Huron, Ohio, the monster is so much a part of local lore that since 1984, a life-size floating replica has been seasonally anchored in the waters off the Huron River. In Cleveland, the Great Lakes Brewing Company sells a beer called 'Lake Erie Monster Double IPA'.

On the Canadian shore, a rash of biting incidents from an unknown aquatic creature plagued the tiny beachside community of Port Dover in 2001. According to an article by Graham Marsden, editor of FishingMagic.Com, at least three persons, including Port Dover resident Brenda McCormack, a man and a child were bitten in a 24-hour period. The physician who treated the man at the time, Dr. Harold Hynscht, ruled out lamprey eels, snapping turtles, walleye, goby or muskellunge fish -- even escaped pet piranhas. Whatever it was, he said, it was "a big honking fish." Dr. Hynscht suggested the aggressive, 60 centimetre-long bowfin fish as the culprit, but couldn't be certain. Others proposed – only half-jokingly – the Lake Erie monster. [I do not know why the muskellunge was ruled out; that would have been my choice - DD]

The first documented sightings of the creature occurred as far back as July 1817, when the crew of a schooner reported a 30 to 40-foot long serpent, dark in colour. Later that year, another boat crew spotted a similar animal, this time copper-coloured and 60 feet in length. This time, they shot at it with muskets, which had no visible effect.

A third 1817 incident took place near Toledo, when French settlers – two brothers named Dusseau -- encountered a huge monster on the beach, writhing in what they took to be its death throes. The brothers described it as between 20 and 30 feet in length and shaped like a large sturgeon, except that it had arms. The panicked brothers fled the scene, and when they returned later, the creature had disappeared, presumably carried off by waves after its death. All that was left of its presence were marks on the beach and a number of silver scales about the size of silver dollars.

[This is probably an exaggeration and the scales would not be related to the body. A sturgeon does not have scales like that. The skeletal structure of a cetacean's flippers are like arms, and that point makes a cetacean more likely than a sturgeon in this case]

Since then, there have been more than 15 sightings of the creature, with at least five of those occurring as late as the 1990s. The most recent event was reported from Madison Township in Lake County Ohio in 2004. Most of the accounts are similar, describing a snake-like body, 30 to 40 feet in length, dark in colour and swimming with a wavy motion. Some witnesses say the serpent has 'humps.' [This may even be several individual creatures following together closely, the whales are known to do that - DD]

Interestingly, there may be evidence describing the serpent's presence from long before the first recorded sighting. The Seneca Indians, natives of the area of Niagara Falls, tell a legend of the Good Spirit and the Evil Spirit. In this legend, the Evil Spirit "controlled a huge Water Serpent that lived in the Niagara River and Lake Erie."

Beyond eyewitness accounts and oral history, however, little or no proof supporting Bessie's existence has surfaced. That may change, however, with the advent of the internet and the proliferation of low-cost web-cams. At least one website – MonsterTracker.Com – has set up a number of real-time internet cameras strung across a number of strategic sites on Erie's shore, from Wainfleet, Ontario in the east to Kelly's Island, Ohio, in the west.

http://psican.org/alpha/index.php?/2008072983/Cryptozoology/Ontario-s-Lake-Monsters.html

Lake Erie

Similar to L. Ontario many accounts of various descriptions have been reported over the past two centuries involving Lake Erie.

While shooting at ducks north of Sandusky Ohio in 1793; the captain of the sloop Felicity startled a large creature (snake) described as “more than a rod (16 ½ ft.) in length” [This could have been a smaller, younger "Bessie" or it could have been something different like a large muskellunge-DD]

An extraordinary sighting took place by the entire crew of a ship bound from Buffalo NY to Toledo Ohio in July of 1892, which was carried by local newspapers. The crew (including captain) saw a large area of water approx. one half mile ahead of them churned up and foaming. As they approached they saw “a huge sea serpent” that appeared to be “wrestling about in the waters, as if fighting with an unseen foe.” They observed as the creature relaxed itself and stretched out full length (estimated at 50ft and 4ft in circumference) with it’s head sticking up above the water an additional 4ft. The brownish creature’s eyes were described as “viciously sparkling” and large fins were also noted.[The fins again suggest a cetacean, perhaps several of the small whales sporting or fighting together as they do , like dolphins-DD]

Crystal Beach near Fort Erie was the scene of another sighting on May 5th, 1896. This time there were four eyewitnesses who watched for 45 mins. as a 30ft. creature with a dog shaped head and pointy tail churned up the water as it swam about until finally disappearing before nightfall. [The whale's flattened, bilobate tail that churns up water is also specified in some reports-DD]

A more recent series of sightings, which gained a lot of attention, occurred in 1993. A family witnessed a 30ft creature swimming close to shore near Lowbanks, Ontario. A fisherman presumably spotted the same creature earlier on near Kelley’s Island. It was again spotted in the same area this time by five fishermen. Then on August 24th of the same year the ‘Weekly World News’ ran a front-page story on the reported attack of a 38ft sail boat by a “200–ton sea monster.” The boat had been “crushed like an eggshell” according to the five witnesses who had escaped without injury. A photo of this event purportedly taken by a camera-toting occupant of a low-flying aircraft in the vicinity accompanied the published story. A substantial reward was offered by a group of Ohio businessmen for proof of the creature’s existence. This reward was never collected.

[The story was considered generally suspect and the photo is faked, but there is nothing really outrageous in the idea that a bottlenose whale could have run into the ship and damaged it: the whale might even have impressed witnesses as looking like the creature later illustrated in the tabloid account, assuming there really were witnesses that said so: the actual accident seems to be a matter of public record. The blunt head and thick cylindrical body are shown about right. The reward mentioned at the end was actually posted earlier and was unrelated to this incident - DD]

DALE DRINNON: Is This The Great Lakes Whale?

While mulling the matter over, I was casting around for a candidate that would best fit the odds-and-ends of the Great Lakes whale reports; something that could look like a dolphin sometimes, like a grey whale sometimes and even resemble a sperm whale to some witnesses.

I began to suspect that a North Atlantic bottlenose whale might meet the specifications. Bottlenose whale remains are found in the inland sea deposits when the great lakes were proglacial, and
the bottlenose is a good medium lengeth at about 25 to 35 feet long, which could be mistakenly doubled to 50 to 75 feet long by the witnesses and fit the larger reports well enough. The whales could be considered the replacement for Mackal's [Eastern] Basilosaurian lake-monsters but they would not be Naiatakas: they would be Bessies. Lake Erie's 'South Bay Bessie' is often reported as a large spindle-shaped creature in the right size range, and sonar targets also fit the description. That does not mean to include ALL of the Lake Eerie reports, but the 'Whale' sightings are a remarkably good fit (and it does not matter if the reports are often string-of-buoy reports; those would be the waves in the wake. This time at least the creature would be big and powerful enough to leave a very noticeable wake).

Some of the fossil whales of Michigan have very recent C14 dates, up to possibly the Viking age or even colonial times. These unusually recent dates are thought to be due to contamination of the samples (link cited for Michigan fossil whales last time) However, it can also easily be turned around to say that there is evidence for recent survival of whales in the Great Lakes.

Sightings have been in decline for some time though and if the Great Lakes whales really are represented by 'Bessie' sightings, the population may very well be in peril.

MUSINGS ON DARREN NAISH, SCOTT WALKER, AND MY STEP-DAUGHTER'S BOYFRIEND

We have a houseful of people at the moment. Both my darling step-daughters are here with their respective boyfriends, and to cap it all, the lighting ringmain had blown.

Luckily, Ivan (Olivia's significant other) is an electrician, although `Ivan the Electrician` sound weirdly like an amalgam of two songs by the immortal and invisible Scott Walker
(see below), but I digress as I so often do.

Last night, I went to bed, and as there was otherwise no light in our bedroom, as I waited for Corinna to come upstairs, I pottered around on t'internet. And one of the things I found was this interesting article by our old friend Darren Naish, on his increasingly entertaining blog Tetrapod Zoology.

Enjoy.

http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2009/07/the_newest_whales.php

A TALENTED NEW CANADIAN SCULPTOR

The other day I received an email from a bloke called `Aubrey` who is a Canadian sculptor who happens to be a fan of On The Track. He writes:

"I am also the most prolific wood carver of whales anywhere; presently I have carved over 250 whales. I have in my collection every known species of whale, dolphin and porpoise. It was after watching one of your video clips that I discovered yet another the Bolivian Dolphin. It is now scheduled to be carved this spring; I need to keep my collection up to date."

The guy is brilliant, and - with his permission - I shall be featuring some of his pictures prominently over the next few weeks. But to start off with here is a video..