Does Florida Have A Lake Monster?

The central part of Florida has hundreds of lakes, many connected in a vast channel way that makes them popular for sports fisherman. In Polk county there is a legend of a sea monster that lives in Lake Clinch south of Lake Wales.

M.F. Hetherington wrote in his 1928 "A History of Polk County." "The Indians many years ago insisted there was an immense serpent in this lake. In 1907 residents of Frostproof declared they had seen the monster, and that it must be 30 feet long - this, too, before post-prohibition liquor was known."

In 1936 a fisherman was found dead in the lake after being mutilated by an unknown animal (alligator?).

There are manatees in the sunshine state, but they live in salt water or the marshes where the fresh and salt water meet. The saltwater crocodiles also share that environment. Descriptions of the lake monster is that it has a long neck, a dog-like head, a humped back and flippers. That sounds like a marine dinosaur.

"In the United States alone, researchers list 222 lakes and rivers as alleged cryptid habitats," Michael Newton wrote in "Florida's Unexpected Wildlife."

This is a very large and beautiful lake about a 90 minute drive from my house. I think I will get over and investigate.

Loch Ness Monster 'Beyond Doubt' Real: Scottish Police Chief

Documents released in the last week show that the Sottish authorities took the matter of a Loch Ness Monster seriously. They were concerned for its safety, and the security of the lake. A famous photo taken is called the 'surgeon' picture taken by Kenneth Wilson in 1934. The image is considered to be a hoax because the scale of the photo is all wrong. It must have been something very small floating on the surface. The image here is more recent, and shows a very large animal with a long neck sticking out of the lake.

"That there is some strange creature in Loch Ness seems now beyond doubt, but that the police have any power to protect it is very doubtful," a Scottish police chief wrote back in the 1930s in a newly released letter expressing his concern that a London man might harpoon Nessie. The 1930s constable was only one in a long line of Scottish authorities who've sought to protect Nessie from harm, cryptozoology expert Loren Coleman says, and they were still doing it as recently as 1999.

Coleman knows because he was all set that year to search for Nessie in a homemade sub with a man who was absolutely sure he had bumped into the monster in a dive 30 years earlier. They planned to take along a harpoon to take a DNA sample. But Scottish authorities nixed the trip, showing, Coleman says, that officials have taken Nessie more seriously than they let on. “There’s always been the sense that quietly…they were taking the reports more validly. There was a serious acknowledgment that the Loch Ness monster exists,” Coleman tells the Christian Science Monitor.

via www.newser.com

The Loch Ness Monster has been seen for decades in this lake. One of the theories is that it is a prehistoric plesiosaur that is moving from locke to locke. That is why is not seen often surfacing for air, which he wold need to do about every 8-10 hours. The idea Loren Coleman had would be the best way to to this. With modern color sonar, they could get up close to anything that was underwater of large size.

Bigfoot Science?

Systems of knowledge are creations of the human mind (in metaphysics, constraints, perhaps). Millenniums of philosophy, logic and science have paved a way for man to rise to heights unimaginable centuries ago. Branches of science, such as, zoology, botany, anthropology and so forth are constantly making discoveries and increasing our body of knowledge as humans. They follow a subset of rules that guide their research into a rational outcome of their theories. Unfortunately, in 2010, epistemology, metaphysics and crypto-field research are now blending into a pseudo science or ad hoc science, that has become more entertainment then serious in content. We are losing our scientific grounding.

Man has formed what is called the scientific method. In its most simple form:

SCIENTIFIC METHOD

1. Ask and define the question.
2. Gather information and resources through observation.
3. Form a hypothesis.
4. Perform one or more experiments and collect and sort data.
5. Analyze the data.
6. Interpret the data and make conclusions that point to a hypothesis.

7. Formulate a "final" or "finished" hypothesis

Lets follow this method with the classic case of Santa Clause and his rain deer:

1) If we wanted to know "Can rain deer fly?" we would write down all the reasons we think they can.

2) We would gather all the information we could by going out to where the rain deer were at and seeing if they could fly. Even though we don't see any fly, we could still base our research on the myth and folklore that surrounds Santa and his gang.

3) Our hypothesis would now be "Rain Deer do indeed Fly."

4) Our experiment would be to gather 12 rain deer and throw them off of a very tall building.

5) We now have 12 dead rain deer.

6) Even though all 12 crashed to the ground and died, we could still conclude that "on this particular occasion these rain deer chose not to fly." - (this totally ignores a basic law of logic about not arguing from the general to the specific.)

7) We now conclude that the world is populated by thousands of flying rain deer, and wonder why we and our followers are the only ones that believe it.

AD-HOC SCIENCE

Does any of this sound familiar? The example above is called ad-hoc science and that is a mistake some well intended people do when they are trying to prove something that is more of a belief, or myth, then a fact. They put the conclusion up front as if it were the hypothesis. It is not. It cannot be supported.

This method is what's at the heart of ALL conspiracy theories. They believe what they believe, and will only look for facts that support their conclusion that they presented up front (JFK assassination, Locke Ness Monster, UFO's, Global Warming, Obama is a Communist...and so forth)

This sadly, is what Bigfoot people are doing. They are not alone.

THE RED PLANET

One of the greatest examples of poor methodology is the scientist Percival Lowell in the nineteenth century and his belief in the canals on Mars. Dr. Lowell had mapped out the surface of Mars that showed large metropolitan areas and how they were connected by an intricate array of canals, obviously for drinking water and sewage. He went so far as to submit scientific papers to renowned journals to prove his theory. Some scientist were skeptical, others thought he was on to something. A few decades later better optics on telescopes showed that this was all an illusion. There were no canals. How can that be? He saw them.

What Dr. Lowell saw is what we would call 'blobsquatches.' Simply a way that his mind was matrixing the blurry images he saw on his telescope.

METAPHYSICS

A period of time after getting into bigfoot research, many fall into the 'metaphysics' trap. This is not to different then UFO guys that start dwelling on abductions, implants, UFO's in the Bible and this kind of stuff. Bigfoot guys start focusing on structures, writing books about sasquatch social structures, gong to conventions and talking on radio about things that are way away from being proven.

The researcher soon learns of how difficult field work is. The time, expense and dedication is just to much for most people to maintain consistently. That is why it is easier to go on radio and talk about what your imagination has now convinced your mind that you saw sasquatch six years ago walking across a trail.

There is so much of that kind of stuff going on, I wonder does anybody ever carry a digital camera with them?

MODERN RESEARCH

Today, big money can be made off of something that cannot be presented to a University as a serious research paper. The method would be all backward. That is why the entertainment aspect of it is what is making money.

Look at shows like Monster quest and the major 'Bigfoot' blogs to see who is behind them. Are they scientist? If they are, challenge them on their motives. Where is the University paper that should be in the hands of a anthropology department? It does not exist. There is a reason for that. They are afraid of what could become of knowing something simply is not real.

That is why no serious effort is being made anymore by the community to find bigfoot. Ultimately you would have to conclude at some point that he does not exist. That is what a real scientist would do.

He would not continue to research something that cannot fit into a scientific methodology. How would he even approach the effort? He would conclude it does not exist.

That would indeed kill the goose that lays the golden egg.

THE GUYS ON THE FRONT-LINE

There are people like myself, tcsjrbigfoot, Derek Randles and firstbillyjack are at the forefront. We have no real backing other You-Tube commenter's. None of the 'big guys' will support us even with the amount of intriguing evidence that has been accumulated.

I have found a number of tracks, taken a fantastic photo of the skunk ape and recorded the howl of something that cannot be identified as a known animal. I am on my own, but am moving in.

To put together a real expedition would be costly and who wants to upset the apple cart anyway. The myth is real - Just leave it at that.

Now the weather sucks, and I am at home waiting for better conditions. Not much I can do about any of this stuff now.

A New Bigfoot Blog

Its not really new, but there is a blog that I have been posting on my Typepad site. It is called Florida Bigfoot Hunter - sort of like this blog. I love the 'flash' elements of Typepad and that is why I keep it up. I really like this blog, and I seem to get different Goggle traffic, for some reason.

I use this blog for live updates in the field while I am searching for the Florida Skunk Ape.

Tom Biscardi Brings Bigfoot To Las Vegas

Rock N Roll 2 Soul, Bigfoot Hunter Tom Biscardi, Fiend Without A Face Remake, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo movie, The Joneses, and more.....fromthebalcony.com

The dashing, flirt Tom Biscardi (pictured) and John Stuart, co-producers of "Rock N Roll 2 Soul", now playing at the Palace Station Showroom, hosted a Media Night on Tuesday evening with a hors d'oeuvres and beverage reception at 6 p.m. The show, “Rock N Roll 2 Soul" runs from Monday through Saturday at 7 p.m. "Rock N Roll 2 Soul" stars The Original Cornell Gunter’s Coasters, Jonathan Von Brana Tribute to the King and Mary Williams Tribute to the Supremes, The Shirelles & The Vandellas. Tickets are $34.95 plus tax/fees; $44.95 plus tax/fees for VIP Booth Seats. The show is well worth the reasonable ticket price!

Who doesn’t love 50’s and 60s rock and roll? Cornell Gunter was a member of the legendary group The Coasters from 1958 to 1961 along with Carl Gardner, Billy Guy and Will "Dub" Jones.

The Coasters ranked as one of the most popular groups in America and was the first vocal group to be inducted into the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame with a string of hits such as Charlie Brown, Searchin', Youngblood, Yakety Yak, and Little Egypt, just to name a few. The band is fantastic and The Original Cornell Gunter’s Coasters – dressed in zoot-suit purple - is an explosive, fan favorite filled evening of high-energy rock and roll. (Photos by Nikki Artale)

In doing research for TDH I discovered this fascinating information on Tom Biscardi – he’s a BigFoot hunter! Biscardi's first company relating to Bigfoot research was "Amazing Horizons Corporation" in 1971.

Tom talks about how he got into Bigfoot research:

"I was watching John Carson in 1967, and I saw the first 8mm footage that Roger Patterson took of the Bluff Creek incident. I said to myself, 'How the hell can we send a man to the moon, but we can't find this creature'."

"I went to the library and researched my predecessors, to see what kind of mistakes they had made, so that I could do better. I then started my own Bigfoot research company to stage expeditions to find the creature."

"The recent Burney Mountain sighting of Bigfoot is the fifth time I've seen Bigfoot in 32 years. I've always had the love for the myths, the unknowns, and mysteries."http://www.searchingforbigfoot.com/Tom_Biscardi

Where Did Bigfoot Go?

The 1960's had a rash of bigfoot finds from footprint cast, eyewitness accounts and the famous Patterson Film. Why in this era of high tech digital cameras and computerized surveillance equipment has the sasquatch evaded capture or at least a decent set of images? Could it be that he was never out there to begin with. In my research I believe I have found compelling evidence such as footprints and audio that cannot be explained. I also took an image I believe to be the Florida Skunk Ape and not a blobsquatch. There may be a simple reason for the lack of a capture. Doug Waller of the Southeastern Ohio Society For Sasquatch Research has this theory as reported by WHIZ of Zanesville Ohio

"These things have a vertical spine like men, and when you go out in the woods and you have trees everywhere and you see a deer, it has a horizontal spine. It sticks out. Well, if a Bigfoot is in the woods, and he hears you coming and doesn't want to be found, all he needs to do is stand in the shadows next to a trees. Chances are, you'll just go right on by, and you won't ever know it's there"

The following is from the James Randi Educational Foundation

It's that simple. They hear you coming, and hide.

And I guess they never die, or get hit by cars, and for some reason, hunters who sit camouflaged in tree stands for hours don't see them (or shoot them). There is a reason that most skeptics doubt the existence of these creatures, and that is the simple lack of evidence. Theories and explanations about why there's no evidence are no substitute.

We discover creatures all the time. Recently, the Javan Rhino was rediscovered, having been thought extinct. This discovery proves two things: 1) Large mammals can "hide" from us, and 2) We can find them. Why did we find this species and not Bigfoot? I doubt the horizontal spine had much to do with it. I suspect it had more to do with a team of scientists using proper methodology to document the creature. Had they used the same methodology to search for Bigfoot, and I'm sure someone has, their results would be negative.

I'm aware of no organization dedicated to finding Java Rhino around the world, but there are hundreds of such organizations allegedly trying to find Bigfoot using much of the same equipment ghost hunters use. And yet... none of them have produced as convincing an image as the one that leads this article. Add to that the fake Bigfoot evidence that pops up from time time and the case gets even thinner.

Does Bigfoot exist? I doubt it. I admit that's it's possible, but I find that possibility to be extremely remote. I find it much more likely that a group of people want to believe, and do everything they can to reinforce that belief.

The Olympic Project

The Olympic Project lead by Derek Randles of Washington State is begining to yield some interesting results. Their stealth campaign of deep field trail cam deployment in one of the most ambitious projects in the history of bigfoot research.

The idea for the Olympic Project was first thought of by Richard Germeau and long time Bigfoot researcher Derek Randles. Richard, a Washington native, has an extensive background in law enforcement and investigation. Derek, a landscape contractor and wilderness guide in Washington State, is currently a field investigator and tracker with the Bigfoot Field Research Organization (BFRO). Wally Hersom, the main benefactor for the BFRO, provides all the equipment to make this effort possible. Expert woodsmen and big game trackers, Brian Rasmussen and Robert Johnson, round out the Olympic Project team. This five year study will hopefully provide the first clear pictures of Bigfoot along with photographic documentation of many apex predators and ungulates living and moving throughout their natural habitat.

They have deployed 30 deep field digital trail cams that are set at a height of over 4 feet to eliminate triggers by low level four leggeg beast. This project has already began to yield results such as the image above that may indeed show the right front side of a sasquatch that is raising its arm.

Today's Bigfoot Hunters And Science

Searching for bigfoot has always been considered a pseudo science. It has been relegated to the level of UFO, Locke Ness Monster, ghost and so forth. All of that is changing now. With the advent of digital technology and the new media, bigfoot research is entering the mainstream. That was not without a long series of decades which steadily yielded trace evidence to keep the interest alive. Today, real scientist are getting involved.

A generation ago grew up watching the Leonard Nimoy narrated tv show In Search Of that created interest in all things unknown, but ingrained cryptozoology into the realm of speculation and mystery for the general masses. It was viewed as entertainment but not much more.

Bigfoot research had never had the following of mainstream science. That is not surprising; science deals in what can be measured, studied, observed and tested - none of that can be done with bigfoot evidence. At least until recently. That is because of who is involved. 1968 was the pivital year.

Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin are known for the 16 mm footage the obtained of a female sasquatch in northern California (a film that to this day has never been debunked), but they also acquired evidence that is just as strong. They were able to cast numerous footprint found in areas were there was a rash of sightings. With a continuation of prints being found over the decades, these things cannot continue to be ignored.

In the decades since the Patterson Film there is now a growing body of 'evidence' that has made many in the scientific and academic community begin to take notice. When you consider the number of footprint cast and audio of strange behavior such as tree knocking and howls that cannot be attributed to any known animal, no wonder bigfootery is now becoming more recognized.

Fortunately (perhaps because of the fame possible in the new media) some scientist have entered the fray in the search for the North American Sasquatch. Dr. Jeff Meldrum and Estaban Sarmiento added their expertise in zoology and primatology. They do this at great risk. Without following the proper procedures of scientific methodology, they may be considered scientific heretics. That judgment is for future scientist to consider.

Digital technology has allowed the 'hobbyist' to get into the game. I mean now that trackers and woodsman with no formal academic training in biology, zoology and so forth, can be at the front line and often get way ahead of those that do not go into the field. It is in the field were the real discover will be made. Yes, studying dermal ridges has its place but is in the outdoors were this thing will finally be found. Sasquatch will not just walk into a University lab and introduce himself.

Skunk Ape Project In Florida

The Gulf States and Florida are home to a smaller version of the Pacific Northwest bigfoot called the skunk ape. I have been involved in research for the last year, and have come across some intriguing evidence that has not gone unnoticed by experts in the field. Check out Timsplanet86.blogspot

I have recently been linked to by about.com on their paranormal section, and one of the only bigfoot guys that they are linking to. I have been approached by floridaskunkape.com about a documentary project which would included all the researchers in Florida bigfoot who are finding evidence in the field. This project should be filmed this summer. Man, with all the insects out there. I better bring lots of deep woods OFF with DEET.

Validating My Florida Howl Audio

This documentary by animalx.net was set on the Texas Louisiana border and they recorded a howl at night that they believe was bigfoot. It has the same pitch and tone as the one I recorded in the Florida swamp at night. Theirs was a little longer but animals don't always maintain consistency in the length of their yells.

Haunted Swamp Land

There is something haunting and mystical about these swamp areas where you know people don't go into. What is out there is the mystery. Part of the reason I search for the mythical skunk ape is to take in this beauty that I have been missing out on all my life as a 'city slicker.' Click video below to watch

Hiking Toward The Howl Zone Area

I had to hike down a state road in the heat to get to the entry point at the north end of where I recorded the Florida skunk ape howl last month. I really wanted to get into this SWIFMUD area but everything was underwater because of all the rain Florida has had this winter. (MPEG-2 video thumbnails show up dark on the Blogger browser..click play to watch)

This is an important point in my bigfoot research into the Florida skunk ape. This area must be explored at this point because I have evidence they are in this area for now. The weather has not cooperated in this matter.

Skunk Ape Radio

With the success of my research...About.com link and Floridaskunkape.com link and the offer of a documentary about my research, I started this radio show. I have no idea were it will lead or if I will ever do it again. Let me know what you think about skunk ape on the wild side!

Bigfoot Evidence: Florida Tree Knocking

Tree knocking or the banging of wood has long been believed to be a way of communication between sasquatch to ward off other males or alert others to the presence of humans, perhaps. We are really not sure but there seems to be historical president for this behavior such as what was recorded in the High Sierra mountains in 1974 called the Sierra Sounds.