We all have our "knows". We know what we know about bigfoot. We know we have seen him. We know we have heard him. We know we have seen evidence of his existence. We know we believe. But there is more to "know".

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We spent the better part of a day hiking at Camp Blanton. We show you the famous Knobby Rock and the labyrinth known as The Maze. By the end of the day, we had logged almost 9 miles of trekking through this 100-year-old forest.

Here is some info about Blanton Forest and Camp Blanton.
Blanton Forest is located on Pine Mountain in Harlan County and is the largest old-growth forest known in Kentucky.

Blanton Forest is named in honor of former owners Grover and Oxie Blanton. The Blantons purchased the land in 1928 and passed it on to their daughters with the understanding that it would never be logged.

Here is our video of our hike.

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Of all the cryptids believed to exist on the planet, you might be surprised by which one I find to be the least likely to exist. At least by the definition of this cryptid that people think they’ve seen. And this is the fabled chupacabra or goat sucker believed to be responsible for brutal, bloody livestock attacks and mutilations. But I’ll tell you why I feel this way.

In many cases of supposed sightings, witnesses see or photograph a creature that is hairless, gray or black, and doesn’t look to them like any known animal. But disease and deformity can cause any creature to appear different than it normally would.

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Bigfoot Research Area - Return for Game Cams and More

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Well, I guess this post might seem out of sorts to some people, but over the past few days I've been thinking about my days growing up. This subject matter of my thinking back to my youth, might be of some interest to some people. Over the years, this same subject matter, has crept into my mind at various times. So, I thought I would share it with the readers today.

I can remember growing up and about this time of year, we would start seeing the June bugs. June bugs are a type of beetle or scarab, they are also sometimes called June beetle instead of June bugs. Here in my part of the world, we have the green June bugs. The green June bugs are found in the Southeaster part of the United States. I can remember, as a young boy, that the yard would be swarming with what looked like hundreds of June bugs. As kids we would catch the June bugs and tie a string on one of their back legs and fly the bug around. It was a fun thing to do back then, as there really wasn't video games or cell phones or a lot for kids to do, so we played outside. Flying the bugs around didn't seem to hurt them any and later, most of the time, we got bored and turned the June bug loose. I don't know when it happen or why it happened but one day I noticed we no longer had June bugs filling up our yards.  Oh, sometimes you might see one or two but nothing like when I was growing up. So, I often wonder what happened to them, why they no longer come in our part of the world. Is it just here, in my area, that the June bugs no longer visit or are other places also seeing little or no June bugs?

So, with me wondering whatever happened to the June Bugs, It got me to thinking about other creatures that I no longer see. Creatures that once seemed so abundant when I was growing up, but now have all but disappeared.

The Monarch Butterfly is one that we use to see all the time growing up, but now you almost never see them, at least not around here. Did the migration path change, and the beautiful butterfly now does not come our way? Are they all dead? This got me to looking into this mystery. I found that there has indeed been a big population drop in Monarch butterflies and it is predicted by some that the species will go extinct in the next 20 years. I think that is terrible news and someone should be working on re-population. I miss seeing them and I will be looking for them while out in the mountains.

Another, I wonder whatever happened to creature, is the Bobwhite. I can remember sitting on my mamaw's porch and listening to the Bobwhites make their very recognizable whistle. Along about dust, about the time us kids would stop playing, we'd be sitting on the porch and seems like you would hear the whistle every evening. But it has been years since I have heard a bobwhite. I know the little ground dwelling quail, is very vulnerable to predators but we use to have a good population of them. I wonder what ever happened to them around here. It was enjoyable listening to that famous whistle, I would like to hear it now, on the evenings I sit on the porch.

This next little fellow may not but very popular, but they serve a good purpose. Bats. I can remember playing in the yard at dust and there would be bats flying about and swooping down. There was not real large numbers, maybe 15-20 of them but compared to what we see now, it seems like a lot. I have not seen a small swarm of bats in the yard in many years. They do eat a lot of bugs, maybe that is why there seems to be so many bugs now, because there are less bats.  I can also remember fishing at one of our local strip mining ponds as a teenager and the bats would be swarming around. There would be so many of them that they (the bats) would fly into our fishing lines.

 I know, there could be many factors to why I no longer see some of these creatures. But I still miss them.

Thinking back and missing things are a part of life, I guess. But growing up and seeing these creatures, I never even thought the day would come when I would miss them or wonder what happened to them. It's funny, as you get older, you seem to appreciate things you gave very little thought about while growing up.



Thanks
~Tom~

This post by Thomas Marcum, Thomas is the founder/leader of the cryptozoology and paranormal research organization known as The Crypto Crew. Over 20 years experience with research and investigation of unexplained activity, working with video and websites. A trained wild land firefighter and a published photographer, and poet.


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**********DF


This Post By TCC Team Member Dorraine Fisher. Dorraine is a Professional Writer, photographer, a nature, wildlife and Bigfoot enthusiast who has written for many magazines. Dorraine conducts research, special interviews and more for The Crypto Crew. Get Dorraine's book The Book Of Blackthorne!



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Over the years and even recently, I have heard people talk about the population of bigfoot. Some think that bigfoot population is dwindling down and some even think they are about to go extinct. So, all that got me to thinking about the many factors that can cause extinction. Lets look at a few that may or may not effect bigfoot and see if we can make some assessments.

Changes in Habitat - Destruction of wildlife habitat can result in a species going extinct. Things like deforestation, development of highways, dam building, urban development and other factors can cause havoc to wildlife. Destruction of habitat can lead to starvation of a species, make them a target for predators, or possibly cause them to die of disease. A species experiencing destruction of habitat must adapt to the changes or move to a different location. This is only some of the possible things that could happen. But would this apply to or effect bigfoot to the point of extinction? In my opinion, I would say probably not. As most of us know, bigfoot is extremely intelligent and would probably just move into a better area. The food source might be a bigger factor in the case destruction of habitat when it comes to bigfoot. But with the intelligence level of bigfoot, I would assume bigfoot would manage to find something. Another point to consider in destruction of habitat, to me, would be the rate of destruction. Of course a very fast, rapid destruction would probably be more devastating to all wildlife. In my are, in days gone by, strip mining and logging disturbed wildlife but the effects seemed to be only a temporary. If bigfoot had to move to another area due to habitat issues, could this be a factor in more sightings? I think it would.

Hunting -  While legal hunting can play a factor, it's the over hunting, poaching and commercial hunting that causes the most problems. Commercial hunting is hunting done for fur/pelts, tusks, horn and other parts. A good example is the hunting of Rhinoceros. Rhino's are/were hunted for their horn. The western black rhino was declared extinct back in 2013. It was due to poaching and a lack of conservation. Now, when it comes to bigfoot, we currently don't have a major problem with people hunting and killing them. Oh yes, some people hunt them and hope to kill one but nothing has come of it so far. There are numerous reports over the years of people shooting bigfoot, but in almost all cases it was a random chance encounter. So I think we can conclude that hunting of bigfoot is not a problem in the bigfoot going extinction theory.

Predators - Natural predators normally kill off the weak, wounded or sick prey, but it can play a part in the extinction of wildlife if a population is already low. But far worse is the human predator factor. Humans tend to take stronger and larger animals, which can really hit wildlife hard and make a species weaker. But neither of these would seem to pertain to our buddy bigfoot. As far as we know, bigfoot really don't have any natural predators. I would assume, new born or very young bigfoot could be prey for mountain lions or something but I would also assume they are well guarded.

Pollution and Disease - Pollution can have negative effects on habitat and animals. This would include plants and trees which could be a food source, among other things. But water pollution would have a bigger devastating effect in most cases. A damaged local water supply could lead to many factors which could result in a die off.  Insecticides and pesticides can be dangerous as well. But this type of problem is rarely seen in mountainous areas so the effects would be very rare and limited and probably not great enough to wipe out a whole species. Disease can be something very unpredictable. It may come from stagnated or polluted water. It could be introduced by a lower prey species. But generally cases of disease doesn't wipe out an entire species. So these factors probably would not play a major role in the dwindling or dying off of bigfoot.


Now, there are also other factors that can lead to extinction, but most are so rare and devastating nothing could be done anyways. For example, rapid climate change or abrupt climate change. Carboniferous Rainforest Collapse was a minor extinction event that occurred around 305 million years ago in the Carboniferous period. It altered the vast coal forests that covered the equatorial region of Euramerica (Europe and America). This event may have fragmented the forests into isolated 'islands', which in turn caused dwarfism and, shortly after, extinction of many plant and animal species. Another possibility is a major meteorological event. Plus I'm sure you can think of other things that can cause or lead to extinction but would it really effect bigfoot in a major way? Probably not.

So, after reviewing this information and thinking about the idea/theory that bigfoot is going extinct, I have concluded that most likely this is not true. And if they are going extinct, then it must be due to some outside factor that we don't know, understand or have thought of. I know this may not be a popular opinion that I have about it bigfoot not going extinct. But if you look at the sighting data, there seems to be a general overall uptick in sightings. You would think, for a dwindling population on the verge of going extinct, sightings would be way down. But that doesn't seem to be the case at all. Having more bigfoot sightings would seem to suggest there is a more robust population.

Of course, we don't know much about bigfoot. We don't know what or if they have a breeding cycle, how long pregnancy last, how long they live and many other things that could play a factor. I would assume, and I really don't know, that bigfoot have similar breeding cycles and pregnancies to humans. In Bonobo apes, the gestation period is about 240 days for pregnancy and that is comparable to humans at 280 days.

So, what might cause some people to think that bigfoot is going extinct?  While I can't really answer that for sure, I can offer a guess. Maybe a person does have less sighting in their area than in days gone by. This could lead them to believe bigfoot is dying off, but it really could only mean that the bigfoot have moved to another location. This would seem to account for the raise in sightings in other locations. I know in my area of Kentucky, there seems to be an increase in sightings. It could be due to a few factors. For one, the lack of logging and coal mining in my area many have led to an increase. Maybe, the increased destruction of habitat in other locations drove bigfoot  into our area.

My final assessment, opinion, would be that bigfoot is not about to die off or go extinct. That bigfoot has been here a long time and it will continue to be here for a long time.  That it is very hard to put a number amount on bigfoot. We really don't have any way to determine just how many bigfoot are out there.  We could make a guess, but it would be just that, a guess.  



Thanks
~Tom~

This post by Thomas Marcum, Thomas is the founder/leader of the cryptozoology and paranormal research organization known as The Crypto Crew. Over 20 years experience with research and investigation of unexplained activity, working with video and websites. A trained wild land firefighter and a published photographer, and poet.


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Here in Kentucky and even many other southern states, we get told that there is no cougars in this area. But yet, we keep seeing them and sometimes even black panthers. But according to wildlife officials we do not have any cougars in the area and we are misidentifying other animals. It reminds me of a few years ago, when these same wildlife officials told us we didn't have any black bears in this area but of course we have a growing number of them.

Well, I got the following report of a cougar sighting in the state of Georgia and wanted to share it.

- Start Report -

Name: Ken ******

Email Address: On file

State: Georgia

County:

Date of Sighting: October 99

Time of Day: 7 PM

Nearest Town: Wrightsville

Length of Sighting: 20 seconds

How many Witnesses: 1

Any Photos/Videos: no

Describe sighting in detail:
Sitting in a tree stand deer hunting a pine grove, when at dusk a cougar walks right under my stand. It was on the trail I have to take back to the truck.  I live in the west and know a cougar when I see one.  Not a black panther but a tan cougar. 


- End Report -

I wonder why wildlife officials tell us that there is no cougars in an area, when in fact there is. Is it because they don't really know? or is it because they just don't want the general public to know they are there? To me, if the officials know they are there and are lying to people, it would be more dangerous to hikers and campers.  I think it would be better to let people know the possibly dangerous cat was in the area, so the hikers and campers could take precautions in case they ran into one. If an accident happened and the wildlife officials had lied about cougars being in an area, would that make the libel in some way?

Thanks to Ken for sending in his report.

Be safe everyone.



Thanks
~Tom~

This post by Thomas Marcum, Thomas is the founder/leader of the cryptozoology and paranormal research organization known as The Crypto Crew. Over 20 years experience with research and investigation of unexplained activity, working with video and websites. A trained wild land firefighter and a published photographer, and poet.



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The fur-bearing trout (or furry trout) is a fictional creature purportedly found in North America and Iceland. According to tales, the trout has created a thick coat of fur to maintain its body heat. Tales of furry fish date to the 17th-century and later the "shaggy trout" of Iceland. The earliest known American publication dates from a 1929 Montana Wildlife magazine article by J.H. Hicken. A taxidermy furry trout produced by Ross C. Jobe is a specimen at the Royal Museum of Scotland; it is a trout with white rabbit fur "ingeniously" attached.

There are no real examples of any fur-bearing trout species, but two examples of hair-like growths on fish are known. The "cotton mold", Saprolegnia, can infect fish, which can result in the appearance of fish covered in the white "fur". A real fish, Mirapinna esau, also known as the "Hairy Fish", has hair-like outgrowths and wings.


Fur-bearing trout are fictional creatures that are purportedly found in Arkansas, northern North America, and Iceland. The basic claim (or tall tale) is that the waters of lakes and rivers in the area are so cold that they evolved a thick coat of fur to maintain their body heat. Another theory says that it is due to four jugs - or two bottles - of hair tonic being spilled into the Arkansas River.
The origins vary, but one of the earlier claims date to a 17th-century Scottish immigrant's letter to his relatives referring to "furried animals and fish" being plentiful in the New World. It was followed by a request to procure a specimen of these "furried fish" and one was sent back home. A publication in 1900 recounts the Icelandic Lodsilungur, another haired trout, as being a common folklore. The earliest known American publication dates from a 1929 Montana Wildlife magazine article by J.H. Hicken.


 

cotton mold

The "cotton mold" Saprolegnia will sometimes infect fish, causing tufts of fur-like growth to appear on the body. A heavy infection will result in the death of the fish, and as the fungus continues to grow afterwards, dead fish that are largely covered in the white "fur" can occasionally be found washed ashore. A real fish, Mirapinna esau known as the "Hairy Fish", has hair-like outgrowths and wings. It was discovered in the Azores in 1956.

According to Icelandic legend, the Lodsilungur is a furry trout that is the creation of demons and giants. The Lodsilungur are described as inedible fish that overwhelm rivers and are a form of punishment for human wickedness. In 1900, The Scottish Review featured an account of the Lodsilungur as a poisonous "Shaggy trout" of northern Iceland. In 1854, a shaggy trout was "cast on shore at Svina-vatn" and featured in an 1855 illustration in Nordri, a newspaper. It was described as having a reddish hair on its lower jaw and neck, sides and fins, but the writer of the Nordri article did not specifically identify it by name. Sjón, a popular Icelandic writer, became obsessed with the folk tale when he was nine. Sjón recounted that if a man were to eat the furry trout he would become pregnant and that his scrotum would have to be cut open to deliver the baby. Sjón noted that the story "might explain why I was later propelled towards surrealism.

An account of a furry trout appeared in 1929 in Montana Wildlife magazine and was first noted by J.H. Hicken. Hicken's account states that when the fish is caught "the change of temperature from this water to atmosphere is so great that the fish explodes upon being taken from the water, and fur and skin come off in one perfect piece, making it available for commercial purposes, and leaving the body of the fish for refrigerator purposes or eating, as desired."


Another fur-bearing trout story originated with Wilbur Foshay, secretary of the Chamber of Commerce. Foshay promoted the story so convincingly that it was picked up by the Salida Record newspaper. According to its Foshay, the trout grew fur due to the cold temperatures of the Arkansas River and shed the fur as the water temperatures warmed in the summer. In November 1938, a story in the Puebloan Cheiftan recounted the hairy trout history and stated that "old-timers living along the Arkansas River near Salida have told tales for many years of the fur-bearing trout indigenous to the waters of the Arkansas near there." In 2014, Mysteries at the Museum visited the Salida Museum and is expected to be part of a segment in late 2014.

A tall tale was recounted by S.E. Schlosser, it states that hairy trout were the result of two bottles or four jugs of spilled hair tonic. To catch hairy trout, fisherman would act as barbers and lure fish from the waters with the offer of a free trim or shave. An intentionally fantastical story in Maine and claimed hairy trout were under catch and release policy that was enforced by wardens' carrying Brannock Devices. If a fish was caught, the warden would measure it against the fisher's foot. If the fish's length matched the fisher's foot size, the fish could be eaten and the outards made into furry slippers.

The Canadian Fur-bearing trout is another example of the furry trout hoax. According to the story, a trout with white fur was caught in Lake Superior off Gros Cap in Algoma, Ontario, Canada and its taxidermist was Ross C. Jobe. The purchaser of the fish learned of the hoax after presenting it to the Royal Museum of Scotland. The white fur of a rabbit was described as being "ingeniously" attached to the fish. A fictional description of the Canadian "Hairy" Trout was published by Takeshi Yamada.

- Source: wikipedia -

How would you like to catch some hairy trout? Maybe we can fire this back up and start making some cash leading fishing expeditions to catch hairy trout.

Really the whole story is pretty funny and at the same time maybe a little sad that some people back then fell for it. But as most of you know, the more outlandish the claim, the more apt some people are to believe it. If you just think back about some of the past Bigfoot hoaxes and some of the things that was told about the dead Bigfoot that Rick Dyer had ....some of it was off the charts unbelievable but yet some believed it.

The fur bearing trout hoax, has to be one of the all time best and funnest hoaxes ever. It makes me wonder about some of the things people may believe today, will it be proven a hoax 10 years down the road? Of course, we know more about things nowadays than we did back in the furry trout days. So I assume we will know even more about things in the days ahead.   

Again, just shake your head and move on. 

Thanks
~Tom~


This post by Thomas Marcum, Thomas is the founder/leader of the cryptozoology and paranormal research organization known as The Crypto Crew. Over 20 years experience with research and investigation of unexplained activity, working with video and websites. A trained wild land firefighter and a published photographer, and poet



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