Comments on: Alaskan Mystery Carcass Photo

By: flying_eskimo

flying_eskimo — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 22:53:33 +0000

it is very interesting how the photo made it this far.
i am the brother of the photographer that took the photo of this unknown ‘beast’. the reason i’m calling it a ‘beast’ was because it was huge!
my brother and his wife were using the “little boat” on the east side of Nunivak, when we spotted this huge thing. me my dad and my 2 uncles were in the “big boat” right about 3-4 miles off shore, you can clearly see how huge this thing was.
the reason why that we didn’t go investigate on shore is because the weather can change in a snap.
so me my dad and uncles kept on going by. while my brother drove by this thing. they did take 5 photos. but only from the “little boat”
from the view out at 3 or 4 miles this thing was clearly much bigger than the 14′ foot boat my brother was in.

By: Loren Coleman

Loren Coleman — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:20:57 +0000

Obviously, many of us were educated to understand that “Eskimo” is an unfortunate word that is interchangeable with Inuit. But that does not appear to be the case in this brave new world. Thanks for the update.

The Yupik or, in the Central Alaskan Yup’ik language, Yup’ik, are a group of indigenous or aboriginal peoples of western, southwestern, and southcentral Alaska and the Russian Far East. They include the Central Alaskan Yup’ik people of the Yukon-Kuskokwim delta, the Kuskokwim River, and coastal Bristol Bay in Alaska; the Alutiiq (or Suqpiaq) of the Alaska Peninsula and coastal and island areas of southcentral Alaska; and the Siberian Yupik of the Russian Far East and St. Lawrence Island in western Alaska. They are Eskimo and are related to the Inuit.

The Central Alaskan Yup’ik are by far the most numerous group of Yupik. The Central Alaskan Yup’ik who live on Nunivak Island call themselves Cup’ig (plural Cup’it). Those who live in the village of Chevak call themselves Cup’ik (plural Cup’it).

The Yup’ik people (also Central Alaskan Yup’ik, plural Yupiit), are an Eskimo people of western and southwestern Alaska ranging from southern Norton Sound southwards along the coast of the Bering Sea on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta (including living on Nelson and Nunivak Islands) and along the northern coast of Bristol Bay as far east as Nushagak Bay and the northern Alaska Peninsula at Naknek River and Egegik Bay.

They are one of the four Yupik peoples of Alaska and Siberia, closely related to the Alutiiq (Pacific Yupik) of southcentral Alaska, the Siberian Yupik of St. Lawrence Island and Siberia, and the Naukan of Siberia. The Yupiit speak the Central Alaskan Yup’ik language. The people of Nunivak Island, speakers of the Nunivak Island dialect of Central Alaskan Yup’ik, call themselves Cup’ig (plural Cup’it); the people of Hooper Bay and Chevak, speakers of the Hooper Bay-Chevak dialect, call themselves Cup’ik (plural Cup’it).

Yupiit are the most numerous of the various Alaska Native groups and speak the Central Alaskan Yup’ik language, a member of the Eskimo-Aleut family of languages. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the Yupiit population in the United States numbered over 24,000, of whom over 22,000 lived in Alaska, the vast majority in the seventy or so communities in the traditional Yup’ik territory of western and southwestern Alaska.

By: Scott C.

Scott C. — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 03:16:10 +0000

The Cup’ig Eskimo are not Inuit. They’re Yup’ik.

There are two major subsets of Eskimo: Inuit and Yup’ik.

There are, of course, further subdivisions (the Yup’ik peoples include Cup’ig, Yuit, etc. The Inuit peoples include Inupiaq, Inuvialuit, etc.).

By: mystery_man

mystery_man — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 23:13:59 +0000

Darkshines is right, I think. That hole looks like a navel, so while I don’t think we can discern just what animal this was on that alone, at least it might give us a vantage point as to which direction the carcass is lying.

By: darkshines

darkshines — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:30:04 +0000

The hole in its “belly” looks like a naval, which indicates to me that it is the decomposing remains of a mammal.

By: DtLW

DtLW — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 13:36:36 +0000

I’m new to commenting on the site, though I’ve visited and read from time-to-time.

I must say I’m not an expert, but something in this photograph does not look kosher to me. The bottom edge of the object does not seem native to the photograph. Something about the line between the bottom edge of the carcass and the sand underneath looks unnatural, especially when combined with the shadowing along the left side and along the far end of the left appendage.

By: Dj Plasmic Nebula

Dj Plasmic Nebula — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 10:42:04 +0000

I say it’s a Trunko

By: cryptidsrus

cryptidsrus — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 23:42:02 +0000

Looks like a bloated stingray/manta ray. Could be something else. I agree it is indistinct.
Thanks for bringing this to our attention, Loren.

By: Andrew Minnesota

Andrew Minnesota — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 23:23:57 +0000

Fantastic I’ve been waiting for this since the original post on this subject. I’m hoping that more information will be obtained and there will be a future post, it’s certainly odd enough. Heck it almost looks like the left side has a mouth and a trunk, a rare Alaskan Sea Elephant? I’m not being serious, I do wish that there was another photo or two showing some other angles.

By: Richard888

Richard888 — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 21:08:01 +0000

Hi,
I believe the best fit for this carcass is, ’stomach of large whale.’ Also, I sense an intention of hoax. A closeup picture of the snake like head would have been within the photographers’ capability and have put all speculation to rest. The fact that they didn’t send us a clear picture has me think that the neck is not a neck but an esophagus or the small intestine…

Cheers!