Cryptic Sightings Roundup
Posted by: Loren Coleman on August 18th, 2007
Orange-bellied Parrot (Neophema chrysogaster). Photograph courtesy of Tasmanian Parks & Wildlife Service.
There’s been nothing new on the Mystery Kangaroos in Mississippi seen along I-90, but that doesn’t mean people haven’t still been sighting them. We just haven’t heard about it.
So what else has been going on? Here’s a weekend roundup of other recent appearances and sightings from around the world of cryptic animals and cryptids.
Ignoring the more mundane news of big blue whale sightings off the coast of California, shark sightings near Cornwall, UK, and hundreds of Australian jellyfish encounters in the Gulf of Mexico, how about an overview of Cryptomundo-intriguing news in recent days?
Mystery Cats
Around Barrie, Ontario, Canada, where they are not suppose to be, cougars (mountain lions/pumas) have been seen since March. In today’s August 18, 2007 article,
in “Cougar sightings expand; More cats seen north of Barrie”, it is noted that “since a story earlier this week about sightings in Severn Township, a number of people have contacted the Osprey News describing their own sightings of the elusive feline. A woman who drives to work along Monck Road said she has seen a cougar crossing the road near the Scottish Hills Golf Course on four occasions this summer, usually just after dawn.”
Meanwhile, over in the UK, eyewitnesses have been dealing with a “Big cat mystery on the A4.”
The August 17th article says, “A man was left stunned after seeing what he believes is the same cat described as the size of a ‘mini-leopard’ twice in a month on the A4. His claims will raise speculation that a mystery beast is loose in Berkshire. William Barnard, 30, a nurse from Maidenhead, saw the cat while pointing out to a friend where he had originally seen the first one….Stuart Lamb, 44, of Kimmaird Close, Burnham, said: “It was powerful and slender and looked to be the size of a mini-leopard….Linda Long, Berkshire sightings coordinator for Big Cats in Britain Research Group, said sightings are not as rare as one might expect.”
Strange Squirrels
Cryptomundo does not discriminate against the popular cultural interest in albino animals, and I’ve focussed on white squirrels in the past, of course. So why should I ignore white-tailed squirrels? 
Indeed, Dekalb County, Illinois, has had a rcent wave of activity regarding the sightings of such animals. On August 14, The MidWeek’s Diane Strand summarized her area’s white-tailed squirrel sightings.
People are talking about more than one white-tailed squirrel, and Elizabeth Mehren photographed two seen together there.
Rare Birds
Only about 200 orange-bellied parrots exist in the world, with reported (until now?) only six in all of south Australia, as most live in Tasmania. But now: “Nine orange-bellied parrots have been seen around the Yambuk wetlands, sparking hopes numbers of the critically endangered birds are on the rise. The parrot is considered one of the rarest kinds of bird in the world.”
These new sightings of nine at once, as mentioned on August 17, in The Warrnambool Standard, has excited many people.
Spanning the globe, Cryptomundo will be there to give you the latest cryptic animal news, as well as the more clearly cryptid news too.
that Orange Bellied Parrot is beautiful.Hope they keep it away from poachers. Has anyone seen a half White tail squirrel?
Thanks for the updates.
Yup that parrot sure is beautiful and we’re lucky that we still have them. So many similar species in Australasia have sadly become extinct. Great to hear that they are making a possible recovery as well!