It's a fantastic photo which I can't believe anyone has gone to the trouble of faking. Here's a link to the The Honey Island Swamp Monster (http://jmichaelms.tripod.com/HIS/) and here's another The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry - Swamp Monsters of Louisiana (http://www.csicop.org/si/show/tracking_the_swamp_monsters/). Compare the tracks to the feet of this animal: Hyrax skeleton showing 4 front toes and 3 back toes (http://www.flickr.com/photos/peteredin/2278238720/).

http://img695.imageshack.us/i/3707c3373db4.jpg/]http://img695.imageshack.us/img695/9567/3707c3373db4.jpg.

Everything's a hyrax with you. The description in the article doesn't even come close..plus the creature in the article was a carnivore.

plus the creature in the article was a carnivore.
ZOMG!
I had a theory that giant hyraces are carnivorous and you've just proved it! :eek:

Everything's a hyrax with you. The description in the article doesn't even come close..plus the creature in the article was a carnivore.No, there is no evidence of the swamp monster being a meat-eater. There IS evidence of their tracks though, 3 toed and some 4 toed:


From Dana Holyfield I obtained a plaster copy of one of the several track casts made by her grandfather (figure 2). It is clearly not the track of a stereotypical Bigfoot (or sasquatch) whose footprints are “roughly human in design,” according to anthropologist and pro-Bigfoot theorist Grover Krantz (1992, 17). Instead, Ford’s monster tracks are webbed-toe imprints that appear to be “a cross between a primate and a large alligator” (Holyfield 1999a, 9). The track is also surprisingly small: only about nine and three-fourths inches long compared to Bigfoot tracks which average about fourteen to sixteen inches (Coleman and Clark 1999, 14), with tracks of twenty inches and more reported (Coleman and Huyghe 1999).1

Clearly, the Honey Island Swamp Monster is not a Bigfoot, a fact that robs Ford’s and Mills’s story of any credibility it might have had from that association. Monster popularizers instead equate the Honey Island reports with other “North American 'Creatures of the Black Lagoon' cases,” purported evidence of cryptozoological entities dubbed “freshwater Merbeings” (Coleman and Huyghe 1999, 39, 62). These are supposedly linked by tracks with three toes, although Ford’s casts actually exhibit four (again see figure 2). In short, the alleged monster is unique, rare even among creatures whose existence is unproven and unlikely.

Conclusions: This creature seems to possess both primate and feline characteristics. It seems to have chosen the trees as opposed to the water when pursued. It killed by biting the throat, but did not immediately eat its prey. Dogs will pursue this animal.



How many herbavores kill by biting the throat?

How many herbavores kill by biting the throat?That would be their unique survival strategie then wouldn't it! Only way to keep wolves from killing your offspring, then so be it!

Funny how CSS can find a quote to "disprove" anyone else's comments that don't agree with his contentions, yet ignores the ones in his own links that also go against his particular "hypothesis":

4. The animal was observed swimming the Pearl river , by Mr. Williams. He said that they swam with long overhand strokes, like a human.
http://jmichaelms.tripod.com/HIS/
So hyraces have human-like shoulder joints CSS?

Oh wait, of course they do, but only the giant non-carnivorous ones. (It helps them with air travel when they want to visit Dartmoor, putting luggage in the overhead rack is such a pain if your shoulders don't work right).

This should be merged with CSS's other hyrax thread, imo:
http://www.sciforums.com/showthread.php?t=99231

This creature seems to possess both primate and feline characteristics

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/mammal/mesaxonia/hyrax.jpg

Does that look like anything like a feline or primate? No, it looks like a rodent.

Sneaky little sods.
I didn't realise they had such good camouflage skills.

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/mammal/mesaxonia/hyrax.jpg

Does that look like anything like a feline or primate? No, it looks like a rodent.

But what you don't realize is that they can grow into giant monsters at night. Apparently to scare off their predators!

http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=174282

I wonder.. This can't be a coincidence. Right?

all summer long I'm barefoot I hear "Here comes the country gal" when I walk around in our neighbourhood.




I think it is Orleander taking an after dinner stroll.

http://www.ghosttheory.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/maussan-alien.jpg

tell me WTF that thing is

But what you don't realize is that they can grow into giant monsters at night. Apparently to scare off their predators!

http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=174282

I wonder.. This can't be a coincidence. Right?

LOL! That thread reads exactly like this one. They all make the same points we are, and CSS answers with the same crap.

LOL! That thread reads exactly like this one. They all make the same points we are, and CSS answers with the same crap.

Yep. And it must be him because one of them mentioned that he (Smugfish) also has a thread on Flying Rays on there :D

So get this, he is even too woowoo for www.unexplained-mysteries.com! lol

http://www.ghosttheory.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/maussan-alien.jpg

tell me WTF that thing is

A baby Giant Hyrax! What else??

My guess is if this creature only has 2 or 3 toes it is most likely a Moonshiner that is bad with an Axe.

http://www.ghosttheory.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/maussan-alien.jpg

tell me WTF that thing is

A figment of your imagination.
http://gadgetophilia.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/t10neuralizer.jpg

http://www.ghosttheory.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/maussan-alien.jpg

tell me WTF that thing is

I would say it is dead that is what it is.

Funny how CSS can find a quote to "disprove" anyone else's comments that don't agree with his contentions, yet ignores the ones in his own links that also go against his particular "hypothesis":

http://jmichaelms.tripod.com/HIS/
So hyraces have human-like shoulder joints CSS?
The conclusions of the swamp monster are:


Conclusions: This creature seems to possess both primate and feline characteristics. It seems to have chosen the trees as opposed to the water when pursued. It killed by biting the throat, but did not immediately eat its prey. Dogs will pursue this animal.

Sounds exactly like the European sightings imo. The swimming arm-over-arm instead of doggy paddle is interesting. More independent witnesses of this behaviour is needed though to confirm it.

It's a fantastic photo which I can't believe anyone has gone to the trouble of faking.

Looks like a long haired guy with a big ass bending over to tie his shoes to me.

Looks like a long haired guy with a big ass bending over to tie his shoes to me.

It's a guy bending over with a bag/backpack on his back that has tumbled over slided down towards his head (because he is bending over).

LOL! That thread reads exactly like this one. They all make the same points we are, and CSS answers with the same crap.
Wow, someone said almost identically the same thing as me : "Fossil record? Evolution? Escaping detection for hundreds of years on an island that has hunted most of it's large mammals to extinction? How?". And CSS still sticks to his delusional guns.

It's a guy bending over with a bag/backpack on his back that has tumbled over slided down towards his head (because he is bending over).

I think you might be right about the rucksack, I just saved the image and zoomed, and it's definitely too square for hair. Other thing I noticed is that it might be a woman, as there's a highlighted patch that would correspond to where a breast would catch the light. Would explain the womanly rump too. There's even a hint of what might be shorts, appears to have a frilly edge maybe, adding to the idea it might be a woman,... although the resolution is pretty bad, it could be interpreted a few ways.

I think you might be right about the rucksack, I just saved the image and zoomed, and it's definitely too square for hair. Other thing I noticed is that it might be a woman, as there's a highlighted patch that would correspond to where a breast would catch the light. Would explain the womanly rump too. There's even a hint of what might be shorts, appears to have a frilly edge maybe, adding to the idea it might be a woman,... although the resolution is pretty bad, it could be interpreted a few ways.

You could be right, but I saw it as someone with jeans and a loose shirt which hangs down because he/she is bending over. But it's really to vague an image to be sure. I am 99.99% certain it's a human bending over though.

That's sweat on the cryptids back you donuts! Notice how the front legs aren't touching the ground and appear much smaller than the hind legs.


Hyraxes: Hyracoidea - Physical Characteristics
Hyraxes are herbivores, plant eaters, that resemble guinea pigs. They have short legs, a stubby tail, and round ears. There is no average size, as the species vary greatly across Africa, but the growth of the hyrax seems to be directly linked to precipitation, or rainfall—the largest hyraxes are in the areas with the most rainfall.

The feet have pads on them that contain sweat glands. The hyrax sweats as it runs, which help its feet pads grip, making it easier to climb. The feet are flexible and can turn upwards. The front foot has four toes and the hind foot has three toes. All toes have flat nails except for the second toe of the hind foot. This toe sports a long, curved claw used for grooming.

All hyraxes have fur, but the length of it depends on the climate in which they live. The colder the temperature, the longer the fur. Coat color ranges from light to dark, and may be brown, white, or gray. The bulging eyes are framed by bushy white eyebrows. The head is flat on top, and the muzzle, nose and mouth area, is shaped like a skunk's muzzle.

That's sweat on the cryptids back you donuts!
Who are you calling a donut, you fruit loop!


Notice how the front legs aren't touching the ground and appear much smaller than the hind legs.
Well duh! That's because they aren't front legs, they are arms!

Harlan Ford the hunter disagrees http://jmichaelms.tripod.com/HIS/

Harlan Ford the hunter disagrees http://jmichaelms.tripod.com/HIS/
So he saw that picture and commented on it?

Harlan Ford the hunter disagrees http://jmichaelms.tripod.com/HIS/

Harlan Ford died in 1980, how could he disagree?

Harlan Ford died in 1980, how could he disagree?By leaving his testimony dumbass..

By leaving his testimony dumbass..

Reported. He said nothing about a hyrax. You are quote-mining him to fit your own ideas.

If I told him today, He'd know..

If I told him today, He'd know..


He'd know what? That the 7 foot tall beast he saw was actually a giant hyrax?

If I told him today, He'd know..

He would probably call you what you just called Mac.

CSS, did you see this?

http://jmichaelms.tripod.com/HIS/suspect.htm

CSS, did you see this?

http://jmichaelms.tripod.com/HIS/suspect.htm

LOL!! They actually have the "shoe" used to make the prints. I guess that puts a nail in the coffin of that giant hyrax.

The shoe is the hoax imo! The fourth upper toe on the forefoot which confounded the hunters is in fact the GROOMING claw of the hyrax..all fits..you can't deny it..(okay you can)

The shoe is the hoax imo! The fourth upper toe on the forefoot which confounded the hunters is in fact the GROOMING claw of the hyrax..all fits..you can't deny it..(okay you can)


Can't see the forest for the trees..huh?

Hyrax feet don't look anything like the prints. The prints have long "fingers", where the hyrax feet are short and stubby.

http://www.travelphotos.in/thumbs/lrg-359-img_3111_hyrax.jpg

LOL!! They actually have the "shoe" used to make the prints. I guess that puts a nail in the coffin of that giant hyrax.


crashed and burned CSS crashed and burned


http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200703/r131336_435543.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJjUt2sXo5o

how do u descibe this.. facial features can be sceen before the costume making technology was around, this is pre photo shop.. and for years there were doing the calculations wrong because the lens they used in the equation was wrong.

The creature is more than 7 feet tall.. humans cant physically walk this way. the knee is bending in the wrong location even if the human was that tall.. A human head couldnt fit in the mask and see out of the eye holes properly.. why link the vid? its one of the oldest and has more relavence that photo could be easily photoshopped and with todays costume making wouldnt be TO hard to reproduce imo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJjUt2sXo5o

how do u descibe this.. facial features can be sceen before the costume making technology was around, this is pre photo shop.. and for years there were doing the calculations wrong because the lens they used in the equation was wrong.

The creature is more than 7 feet tall.. humans cant physically walk this way. the knee is bending in the wrong location even if the human was that tall.. A human head couldnt fit in the mask and see out of the eye holes properly.. why link the vid? its one of the oldest and has more relavence that photo could be easily photoshopped and with todays costume making wouldnt be TO hard to reproduce imo

Looks like a giant hyrax to me. :)

Looks like a giant hyrax to me. :)

rofl ^_^

how do u descibe this.. facial features can be sceen before the costume making technology was around,

Er, no. the first 'Planet of the Apes' flick was released in 1968, the film you linked to was 1967. Clearly, costume making was quite advanced and convincing by that date.

Can't see the forest for the trees..huh?

Hyrax feet don't look anything like the prints. The prints have long "fingers", where the hyrax feet are short and stubby.

http://www.travelphotos.in/thumbs/lrg-359-img_3111_hyrax.jpgNa, that's poor evidence against. The hyrax skeleton fits the three toed and four toed prints exactly, Beast with 3 and 4 toes (http://www.flickr.com/photos/peteredin/2278238720/)

Na, that's poor evidence against. The hyrax skeleton fits the three toed and four toed prints exactly, Beast with 3 and 4 toes (http://www.flickr.com/photos/peteredin/2278238720/)

It's better evidence than any of yours, because you have zero evidence.

It's better evidence than any of yours, because you have zero evidence.No. mines better.

No. mines better.

No...your's is delusional.

No. mines better.

What evidence? I haven't seen any yet.

It's a damn shame we don't have a moderator for this subforum. I think I'll start 25 new threads, all about my favorite woo theory...since it's ok to spam the board with multiple meaningless threads on the same topic.

I think I'll do that tonight after I get drunk.

It's a damn shame we don't have a moderator for this subforum. I think I'll start 25 new threads, all about my favorite woo theory...since it's ok to spam the board with multiple meaningless threads on the same topic.

I think I'll do that tonight after I get drunk.

Dear God! LOL!

Here's more circumstancial evidence that the 'hoofed' hyrax also resides in South America The Cryptid Zoo: Tapire-iauara (http://www.newanimal.org/tapir-nymph.htm):

The tapire-iauara is reported to live over large areas of the Amazon basin in South America, including the Orinoco River in Venezuela, the Negro River and the Madeira River in Brazil, and the Amazon River itself from Codajas to Santarem.


Witnesses describe the tapire-iauara as an animal about the same size as a cow. In most sightings it has red or red-gold fur, but a few witnesses describe animals with black fur. In rare instances, the black animals have a large white patch on the front of the body. The tapire-iauara has a face that reminds people of a cat or jaguar, but it lacks the jaguar's spots. The rest of its body is not much like a jaguar. The large, drooping ears are cow-shaped, the legs are shaped like those of a donkey, and the animal may have hooves. Witnesses are not always sure about this last detail, since the tapire-iauara is often seen swimming or standing in water that hides the extremities of its limbs. Some witnesses say that it has paws like a jaguar's on its front feet and hooves on its hind feet. Its glossy coat repels water like the feathers of a duck, and it exudes an oily smell, possible evidence that it waterproofs its fur with natural oil secretions like so many aquatic mammals.

The large, drooping ears are cow-shaped.

Who are you saying has droopy ears?

http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/cow.jpg

I reckon they've evolved 'bendable'-cow-like ears Little Ms. Floppy Ears (http://www.flickr.com/photos/anxiousdog/1691109811/)

Use the pause/start button to see the grey sleek tail-less body with long rear legs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VFWL2p7IxE&feature=player_embedded