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04
DISCOVERY CHANNEL MAGAZINE INDIA
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
BODY AND SOUL
Nobody loves food as much as
I do. What I eat doesnt only make
me the m an I am, it also defines
the person I am at di erent
points of the day. Food governs
my mood, my productivity,
confidence and motivation. Give
me a dark K it Kit and Ill give
you a listen, give me a Ferrero
Rocher Black, and Ill give you my
undivided attention... for a while!
I suspect its the same for a lot of others.
Even Virginia Woolf agrees: One cannot
think well, love well, sleep well, if one has
not dined well.
Imagine my plight, then, when I first
read this months cover feature. By 2030,
new research suggests that developing
countries will begin to run out of natural
grown food and future meals could bedeveloped in labs. They may be more
elaborate than tablets from sci-fi movies
and give us our nutrients, but the joy of
biting into a cheesy burger or mopping up
your favourite sauce with bread will all be
over. Ive always believed we eat for two
reasons: to refuel our bodies and satiate
our minds. Will eating without indulging
ever be eating at all?
My resident Argumentator, the astute
friend I call upon to argue subjects with
no definite answers, scoffed. If thats the
design of the future, accept it,she saidwith a practicality that I detest so lovingly.
When the telephone was invented,
old foggy-minded people like yourself
lamented the death of privacy,
and the joy of meeting an acquaintance
by chance.
I considered her response. (I know
better than to talk to her without thinking.)
And I realised that she was right. Instead of
maginfying the problem, lets celebrate the
solution. Turn to p58 for your dose
of unappetising truths that may be a bit
hard to digest.
Also this month, dont miss our
stunning photo feature on Arctic Travel,
and the intriguing story of five mythical
creatures that can scare bravehearts, but
science is not sure they exist at all.
This issue will indulge your mind, if notyour tastebuds. Thats a promise.
CHANNEL MAGAZINEINDIA
VOLUME 1 NUMBER 8
Discovery Channel Magazine reserves all rights t hroughoutthe world. Reproduction in any manner, in whole or part, inEnglish or other languages, is prohibited. Discovery Channel
Magazine does not take responsibility for returning unsolicited Media India Ltd. (Regd. Office: K-9, Connaught Circus, New Delhi Channel and the Discovery Channel logo are trademarks of DiscoveryCommunications, LLC, used under licence. All rights reserved. Magazine do not necessarily reflect those of Living Media India Ltd., & printed by Ashish Bagga on behalf of Living Media India Limited.
Subscription/Customer CareEmail: [email protected]: Mail:Discovery Channel Magazine India,
Editorial BoardPresident and Managing Director EVP and GM, South Asia SVP Content Group Kevin DickieVP, Marketing, South Asia
VP, Communications Charles YapVP, ProgrammingCharmaine KwanVP, Marketing Magdalene Ng
Editorial (Novus Media Solutions)Editor Luke ClarkDesign Director Richard MacLeanChief Subeditor Staff Writer Daniel SeifertPhoto Editor Haryati MahmoodSenior Designer Bessy Kim
Editor-in-Chief Group Chief Executive OfficerAshish BaggaGroup Synergy and Creative Officer
Editorial Director
Art Director Asst Art Director Rahul SharmaDesigner Kishore Rawat
Impact (Advertising)Group Business
Head ssociate Publisher
(Impact)Anil Fernandes
Senior General Managers Subhashis RoyGeneral ManagerShailender Nehru (Bangalore),General ManagerVelu Balasubramaniam (Chennai)
BusinessHead, CRM/CMS & Senior GMVikas MalhotraChief Manager, Operations GL Ravik Kumar
Marketing Managers Kunal Bag, Anuradha RanaProduction
News stand SalesChief General Manager DVS Rama RaoGeneral Manager - National Deepak BhattSr Manager - NorthManish ShrivastavaSr Manager - East General Manager - West General Manager - Operations Rakesh Sharma
DISCOVERY NETWORKS ASIAPACIFIC
EDITOR'S LETTER
amal Shaikh
Editorial Director
twitter.com/JamalShaikhinstagram.com/JamalShaikh
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18 2
4
FRONTIERS
STING THING
2
When it comes to delivering
venom in brutal, sneaky ways, the
animal world has us beat
NEWS
ALIEN 101
4
Both NASA and sci-fi writer
Michael Crichton agree: our first
date with aliens will be awkward
as heck
CHECKING IN WITH
THE COLOUR PRO
6
Jill Morton, colour
psychologist, fills us in on why
world peace might be just a colour
spectrum away
HISTORY
NON CIVIL WAR
8
War does strange things to men
like the time a major US battle
stopped so two soldiers could
engage in fisticuffs
THE M TCHUP
INVENTION WARS
22
This month, we ask: what s the
best invention ever?
D M
picks
apart the best concepts and ob-
jects known to man
CONTENTS
ISSUE 09/14
DEPARTMENTS
WOW 10 LOOK INTO THE EYES OF A
HUNTED JAY AS A SPARROWHAWK
REVELS IN ITS CATCH
THE GRID13 STORMS: IS THERE
A CORRELATION BETWEEN
THE GENDER OF THE NAMES
OF HURRICANES AND THEIR
INTENSITIES? TURNS OUT, THERE IS
SIZE OVER MATTER14WHO WOULD
IMAGINE A SPIDER EATING A WHOLE
FISH. TURNS OUT THESE SPIDERS
ROAM ALL THE CONTINENTS
HOT DOG 18IT WAS A DOG'S LIFE
WHEN TURNSPIT DOGS RAN IN A
WHEEL TO KEEP IT RUNNING SO THAT
THE MEAT WOULD COOK EVENLY
MASS PRODUCED 20THE LOWLY
SO P H S ITS MOMENT WHEN THE
ILK OF RONALD REAGAN ARE SEEN
ENDORSING THESE
CAMERA DESIGN A BLOCK OF
ALUMINIUM FOR A CAMERA? YES,
RECENTLY RELEASED LEICA T
CAMERA IS JUST THAT
TECHNOLOGY 22WE NEED
CLEVER UMBRELL S WITH
TRANSPARENT PATCHES TO SPOT
THE TRAFFIC
WHAT S ON102 YETIHUNTING IN
RUSSIA, MEDICAL CURIOSITIES WITH
TWIN HOSTS, AND THE COOLEST
MACHINERY IN THE WORLD
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
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0
SEPTEMBER 201
FEATURESISSUE 09/14
PHOTO ESS Y
SUB-ZERO HERO
3
It took one travel photographer almost an
eternity to get to Siberia but it was all
worth it, as he got to shoot a dwindling way
of life, and some sneaky reindeer
MYSTERIES
BEASTS IN THE
SHADOWS
4
Yetis, nocturnal beasts, mega-sharks, the
Loch Ness Monster and ferocious Asian
crocodiles. Why do they all boggle the
mind, and pop up in sightings time and
again?
RESE RCH
FOODS TO EXPECT
58
Brace up for a paradigm shift in the foods
you are accustomed to. There could be the
creepy crawlies sitting there soon. Already
a restaurant in Paris is serving such
delicacies, or are they?
SCI TECH
BLAST OFF
7
Behind the scientific wizardry of modern
rocketry lies an even more intricate web
of interwoven human tales. Discover the
stories of the men with stars in their eyes
SEEKERS
WILDLIFE HANDLING
9
Meet the Canadian adventurer and
conservationist, Dave Salmoni, who
describes himself as a tiger tickler, lion
lover and adventure addict . The next time
you are faced with a dangerous animal in
the wilderness, you will be better prepared
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DISCOVERY CHANNEL MAGAZINE INDIA
"In the wild, things oftenhappen so fast that by thetime you react, the moment isover," says photographer PlHermansen, who received acommendation in the WildlifePhotographer of the Yearcompetition for this image."So I practised pressing theshutter just before an attackbegan." By doing this, he wasable to capture a rare eventindeed the moment asparrowhawk caught anelusive jay.
Catching a jay isn't easy.
When feeding, they regularly
scan the sky for danger,
and at the slightest hint of
a threat will let out a loudrasping alarm call. So when a
pair of sparrowhawks started
to frequent a feeding station
in front of Hermansen's hide
in Dalen, Norway, he didn'timagine they would catch a
jay. What they did do, though,
was bring their young for
hunting practice. Time after
time their attempts failed, but
as the youngsters practised
striking, Hermansen was able
to practise his shooting skills.
On this occasion, hespotted the adult malesparrowhawk lurking nearbyand kept focused on the jayuntil the anticipated strike.Here, the precision andfear expressed in a split
second, barely registered
by the human eye, managesto capture the height of the
action the moment whenlife truly hangs in the balance.
HUNTER AND
THE HUNTED
PHOTO:PLHERMANSEN/WILDLIFEPHOTOGRAPHEROFTHEYEAR
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SEPTEMBER 201
WOW
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ISSUE 09 14
RONTI RS
The latest Angelina Jolie flickMaleficentsees her characterslipping a poisoned apple to dear, sweet Aurora. But, as a new
exhibition at the American Museum of Natural History shows,the animal world can be just as ingenious as cinematic queens
when it comes to delivering death. Think a pit viper and acobra kill in the same way? The video in conjunction with The
Power of Poison proves you wrong: a pit viper injects venom
through hollow teeth just like a hypodermic needle. Cobrateeth, meanwhile, are very groovy literally as venom drips
down their grooves like the scariest waterslide ever. Or takegila monsters, which force venom out of their jaws through
the force of their bite alone imagine chomping down on ahamburger and splurting all the (deadly, deadly) mustard out.
Then there are bee stingers, stonefish spines, jellyfish stingingcells, scorpion tails and even the duck-billed platypus, whichearn them the title of the only venomous mammal. Whatever
the creative delivery system, venom often lets tiny animalspunch well above their weight.
POISON POWER: NATURES CREATIVE
DELIVERY SYSTEMS
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SEPTEMBER 201
NEWS
ASIA-PACIFIC AMERICAS EUROPE MIDDLE EAST/AFRICA
PROOF IN THE
PUDDING
We now
know more than ever what
Neanderthals ate, thanks
to recent examination of
caveman poop from Spain. The
50,000 year-old samples are
the oldest hominid faeces ever
found. Analysis of metabolites
revealed they ate meat, but
a lot of plants too. Previous
analyses of Neanderthal teeth
had been less detailed, say
experts. You might say the
latter method is number two
in terms of accuracy.
TOMATO, TOM-ART-O
Does your salad look like
an abstract painting? Then
youll probably pay more
for it, says the Crossmodal
Research Laboratory at the
University of Oxford. The
team crafted several salads,
including one presented to
look like Kandinskys Painting
Number 201, and found that
despite each having the same
ingredients, participants liked
the taste of 201 better, and
would pay twice the price. Time
to get artistic with the lettuce.
DONT CAVE INDavid
Coulson has a mission
that takes him the length
and breadth of Africa:
documenting and preserving
its ancient rock art. The
British adventurer told The
elegr ph
that millenia-old
art should feature more in
local education. People have
suggested that the colonials
told many African societies
they had no history. There is
a real and sad disengagement
with this past that should be a
point of celebration and pride.
OH, SNAP
You are
legitimately allowed to be
terrified of the trapjaw ant.
True to its name, its fearsome
mandibles look like bear traps,
giving it the fastest self-powered
predatory strike in the animal
kingdom, moving at 2,300
times faster than the blink
of an eye. And, as residents
of the American South have
recently found out, theyve been
living there for years, virtually
undetected by science. Experts
say the creature is expanding to
Americas Gulf Coast.
AN IDEA WITH WHEELS
Its more of a utilitarian symbol
than a painting, sure, but the
global wheelchair sign for
disability is important. And
slightly derogatory, says New
York State, where lawmakers
want a more dynamic version of
the sign, featuring a wheelchair
in motion. The head of
Disability Rights UK agreed,
adding: the vast majority
of [disabled people] are not
wheelchair users. The chase
is still on for a sign that can
capture a range of disabilities.
RAIN, RAIN, COME AND
STAY
When the June to
September annual monsoon
season kicked o with weak
rainfall and sweltering heat,
it revealed the power that
rain can have. Stock prices for
many agricultural firms fell
a severe blow, considering
half of the our population are
involved in agriculture and
local governments extended
summer vacations at 57,000
primary schools and 18,00
secondary schools.
FEMME FATALES
Hurricanes named after females
make for deadlier storms.
Analaysing data from every
hurricane that has hit the US from
1950 to 2012, researchers found
that a hurricane with a relatively
masculine name is estimated
to cause 15.15 deaths, whereas
one with a more feminine one is
estimated to cause 41.84 deaths.
Why? In judging the intensity
of a storm, people appear to be
applying their beliefs about how
men and women behave.
PAINTINGS
STORMS
DISCOVERIES
PAINT BY NUMBERS
At 365 x 7.3 metres, its
over twice the size of an
NBA basketball court, and
thought to be the worlds
largest 3D painting. Chinese
artist Yong Yongchun drew
his eye-poppingly colourful
masterpiece on the grounds
of the Communication
University of China in
Nanjing, where it surpasses
the current record holder, a
work in London which is 106
metres long. It certainly puts
our doodles to shame.
ASIAS ANIMAL HAVEN
Myanmars decades of
military rule created many
hardships for the populace,
but proved a boon for local
flora and fauna. In the last
two years, a huge amount
of animals have been found
here, including new species of
dragon fish, frog and ginger.
These finds highlight the
need to invest in conservation
as well as business, says the
World Wildlife Fund. Some
environmentalists say there are
many more species to be found.
T H E G R I D
SECOND TIMES THE
CHARMIn archaeology
sometimes its not about
discovery so much as
rediscovery. Recently Spanish
excavators in the Egyptian
area of Luxor re-found an
ancient tomb. It had first been
discovered in 1904 but was
later abandoned forgotten
and buried by shifting sands.
Preliminary studies indicate the
tomb belongs to someone called
As-m-ra Ashemro who lived
around 700BC. It adds a new
name to the pharaohic history.
TRU GRITMovies like
Mission Impossible: Ghost
Protocol
which feature powerful
but harmless sandstorms can
paint a beautiful and exciting
picture. As well as giving Tom
Cruise the chance to do his
trademark run at speed. But the
freak sandstorm which h it Irans
capital in June proves otherwise.
The 120kph gusts blotted out
the sun cut power caused cars
to crash and toppled trees. As a
result 40 people were injured
and five killed.
A RECENT NEWS STORY FROM ALASKA CONFIRMS WHAT WE ALWAYS KNEW: BEARS ARE THE
NINJA CAT BURGLARS OF THE ANIMAL WORLD. BEAR FALLS THROUGH SKYLIGHT INTO PARTYEATS ALL THE CUPCAKES, READ ONE HEADLINE. THE BLACK BEAR LITERALLY CRASHED AONEYEAROLDS BIRTHDAY PARTY, AMBLED TO THE
FOOD TABLE AND SNARFED THE BIRTHDAY
TREATS. THE STUNNED PARENTS SHOOEDTHE BEAR AWAY BUT IT QUICKLY SNUCK BACK TOPEER MOURNFULLY THROUGH THEIR WINDOW, STARING AT THE BAKED GOODIES.
ear
Burglar
STRANGE AND SERIOUS EVENTS FROM ACROSS THE WORLD
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NEWS
CRAZY COSTS
NASA recently
released a free e-book
titledArchaeology,
Anthropology,and Interstellar
Communication, atext pondering how
mankind would
communicate with
aliens. Couched in
academic language so
dry it makes Yoda look
like Shakespeare, its
message boils down to
this communicating
with alien life forms will
probably be, like, really
hard. Because theyll
be, like, totally different
from us, yknow?For a far more provoc-
ative and exciting read,
we recommendSphere,
a thriller by Michael
Crichton. In the book,
a band of scientists find
themselves literally
out of their depth
when what appears
to be an alien craft is
discovered 300 metres
beneath the surface of
the Pacific Ocean. Now
the mathematician,
biologist, and
psychologist must try to
predict how to interact
with aliens.
A tricky problem,considering
most movies and
even scholarly
papers imagining
extraterrestrial life have
assumed very human-
centric values and
ways of approaching
the world. Something,
he writes, which is
obviously nonsense.
For one thing, theres
enough variation
behaviour to makeunderstanding just
within our own species
very troublesome.
How, for example,
would a Peruvian tribal
chief and a Russian
schoolboy even begin
to establish a dialogue?
Whats more, aliens
might assume a form so
different from ours we
could barely begin to
imagine it.
F NCY CH T
WITH ALIENS?Try starting with eruvian tribal
chief versus a Russian school boy
Quote Unquote
pider
Eats Fish
The creepy news: some species of spider can eat
prey twice their size. The creepier news: a recent
study finds these fish-eating spiders are present
on every continent but Antarctica.
Imagining Aliens inSphere
THE ESTIMATED VALUE OFTHE WORLDS ECOSYSTEMS,ACCORDING TO A NEWPAPER BY A TEAM OFECOLOGISTS, IN TERMS OFFOOD, RAW MATERIALS,CULTURAL USES AND MORE
US$142.7TRILLION THE AMOUNT IT WOULD COST TO BUYONE OF EVERY PRODUCT FEATURED
IN THE JUNE 2014 ISSUE OF THE USEDITON OF FASHION MAGAZINE VOGUE
US$343,000COST PER PORTABLE TOILET AT THISYEARS GLASTONBURY MUSIC FESTIVAL.ORGANISERS SAID THE SUPER LOOSSMELLED FAR BETTER THAN OLDER MODELS
US$34,000
PLEASE, TURN THE VOLUME DOWN!
Well, Barnes said, if this sphere contains a creature thatinterferes with our basic mechanisms what would thatcreature be like? It might produce a sound vibration that wouldresonate in our skeletal system and shatter our bones, Harrysaid I rather like that one.
PLANT KILLER
But, as usual, were only thinking of ourselves. The creaturemight do nothing directly harmful to us at all. It might simplyexhale a toxin that kills chloroplasts, so that plants could nolonger convert sunlight. Then all the plants on Earth would die
and consequently all life on Earth would die.
THE ULTIMATE GAME OF HIDE AND SEEK
This creature may be multidimensional, so that it literallydoes not exist in our usual three dimensions. To take thesimplest case, if it were a four-dimensional creature, we wouldonly see part of it at any time. That would obviously make itdifficult to kill.
HE GOT VERY OVEREXCITED. IT WAS
THE FIRST EVICTIONOF A CLASSICAL
CONCERTAUDIENCE MEMBER
BY ANOTHERMEMBER WEVE
FOUND SINCE THE18TH CENTURY.
TOM MORRIS
ARTISTIC
DIRECTOR OF
THE BRISTOL
PROMS
Classical concerts are notnecessarily thought of as the coolestof gigs. British artistic directorTom Morris wanted to change thatwhen he recently launched TheBristol Proms, an accessible andinformal set of concerts. Before aperformance of Handels Messiah,Morris pointed to the standingmosh pit and encouraged theaudience to clap or whoop when
you like, and no shushing otherpeople. But he wasnt anticipatingthe response of audience memberDr David R. Glowacki, a scientistfrom Stanford University. Glowackibegan to lurch from side to sideand whoop before attempting arather ambitious crowd-surfingmanoeuvre. Several miffed crowdmembers then proceeded to forciblyeject him from the crowd. Rock on.
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If you take a lighter blue on a $3 milliondollar printer, people arent going to take
pastel blue seriously. I mean some ofXerox's printers are as big as the freight
car of a train picture a sky blue printer ofthat size, my God.
I decided to ask friends and students: Ifyou could change one thing in the world
what would it be? Im amazed at how manypeople would change the colour of their
eyes. The goofiest answer was leaves: Idchange them to blue.
I admit that I have to work hard totransmute the negative in my daily life.
Every time I can find some humour, Iwin. Or as the old Quaker saying goes,
"It is better to light a candle than tocurse the darkness.
CHECKING
IN WITH
e catch up with the colour psychologist who gushes
about the shades that bring the world together
OLOUR EXPERTJILL MORTON
HER 30 SECOND THOUGHTS ON
FIRST INTERVIEWED INFifty Shades of Awesome: Inside theScience of Colour
INDUSTRIAL DESIGNHAPPY THOUGHTSWISHFUL THINKING
Teacher and colour
consultant Jill Morton has
helped some of the biggest
companies in the world
connect more strongly with
customers. Sometimes, it just
takes a tweak in the shade
of a product. But there are
a lot of things to consider
when it comes to why we like
or dislike a colour, she toldus. Cultural complexities
can make it impossible for
a multinational company to
find a single colour that suits
everyone.
As she revealed, she might
start a project by examining
the flags of a country,
because most countries
embrace those colours.
But in some countries, I
think Finland is one, the
flag colours are such a
respectable shade you neverput it on a product.
Recently, Morton has
been doing more pro bono
work, travelling to Pakistan
to conduct colour workshops
with students there. Is she
finding that the universal
language of colour can help
bring people together?
Absolutely yes! she says
happily. During the past
two decades shes realised
that colour is an experience
we all share regardless of
politics, religion, geography,
age. There are seven billion
people on the planet, and we
are all immersed in a colour
soaked world.
She adds that as an
American, she felt hercountry had not made
sufficient efforts to reach out
to the Muslim world. Her
workshops use colour as the
basis for interaction and
hopefully help to build some
bridges in the region.
Creativity, it seems, can
go a long way to linking
cultures, whatever their
flag. Its worth noting
that any design class
regardless of geography
is an ideal environmentfor students to express
personal experiences and
for a teacher to connect to
students on a personal level.
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The American Civil War 1861-1865)
still ranks as the bloodiest conflictin the countrys history. Over 650,000people lost their lives in bloody battles.But some skirmishes were strangerthan others. For example, the Fistfightof Saunders Field, when North andSouth stopped fighting for a fewconfused moments to watch two menbeat the stuffing out of each other.John Worsham of the 21st VirginiaInfantry was there that day, anddescribes how a Southern compatriot
dropped into a gully to escape fire.The problem was that the gully hadrecently been vacated by retreatingNorthern troops and one was stillin it. Having commenced to banter,the enemies decided that "they wouldgo into the road and have a regular fistand skull fight, the best man to havethe other as his prisoner. Sluggingit out in full view of their armies, thisduel soon brought this major battleto a standstill. When the two mentook off their coats and commencedto fight with their fists, a yell went upalong each line, and men rushed tothe edge of the opening for a better
view! Worsham recalls. In the end,the Southern fighter beat the Yankee,and both sides resumed firing!
oxing in
the Battlefield
USA USED 4.5
GIGATONSCHINA USED 6.6
GIGATONS
1901
20002011
2013
CHINA USED MORE
CEMENT IN THE
LAST THREE YEARS
THAN USA USED IN
THE ENTIRE
20THCENTURY
From the Middle Ages until the 19th Centu ry if you walked into
certain Europ ean kitchen inns youd see som ething surprising
a
vernep tor cur
Latin for the dog that turns the wheel. This
was the turnspit dog a small dog which ran in a wheel to turn a
spit over a fire, ensuring that meat would cook evenly
HOT DOG
This Victorian novelist came up with the most hackneyedstorytelling phrase ever, in his 1830 novel Paul Clifford. And
thats not even the full quote, which continues thusly in one longbowel movement of a sentence: The rain fell in torrents
except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violentgust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London
that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercelyagitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled againstthe darkness. Still, Sir Edward did have another literary win:
The pen is mightier than the sword".
EDW RD GEORGE
EARLE BULWER-LYTTON
HISTORY
A CONCRETE ARGUMENT
uote
Unquote
Shakespeare
mentions them inThe Comedy of Errors, describing a characteras a curtailed dog fit only to run in a wheel.Dogs not belonging to the nobility were oftencurtailed (their tails shortened)
The Society of Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals (SPCA)was createdafter the founder witnessed the appallingconditions of the animals in an American
hotel kitchen in the 1850s
To train dogs to run faster, hot coals weresometimes thrown into the wheel
Turnspit dogswould have Sunday off, andsometimes join families at church to serveas foot warmers
It is thought the expressions, every dog hashis day and its a dogs life stem from theseoverworked living microwaves, (picturedabove, between the ham hocks)
18
DISCOVERY CHANNEL MAGAZINE INDIA
IT WAS A
DARK AND
STORMY
NIGHT
HOWEVER, CHINA IS ALSO HOME TO DOZENS OF GHOST CITIES THAT
HAVE BEEN NEWLY BUILT, BUT REMAIN LARGELY UNINHABITED.ONE OF THE BIGGEST IS ORDOS, WHICH IS 98 PERCENT EMPTY. ONEDISTRICT, MEANT TO HOUSE ONE MILLION PEOPLE, CURRENTLY HASONLY 20,000 RESIDENTS
2 PERCENT POPULATION
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M SS
PRODUCED
What better way to make your kid
wash? Highlights include replicas of
Han Solo trapped in carbonite, cat
food scented soap, bars with fingers
(hand soap, gettit?), and for all you
Tyler Durden fans, pink bars with Fight
Club on them.
NOVELTY SOAP
You know, the kind of undersized
bar of soap you get in terrible hotels,
hermetically sealed in plastic that rips your
fingernails o . It takes all of eight seconds
before dissolving to the floor and collecting
nine kinds of b ody hair. Terrible.
TRAVEL SO P
ACCORDING TO THE GUINNESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS, THE FINNISHLANGUAGE IS HOME TO THE LONGEST KNOWN SINGLE PALINDROMIC WORD,MEANING THAT IT CAN BE READ THE SAME WAY BOTH FORWARDS ANDBACKWARDS. SAIPPUAKIVIKAUPPIASMEANS, RATHER PLEASINGLY, A TRAVELLINGSALESMAN WHO SELLS CAUSTIC SODA TO THE SOAP INDUSTRY. WE RE GUESSINGTHAT'S A FAIRLY RARE OCCUPATION. SOME GREEK AND TURKISH BAPTISMALFONTS BEAR ANOTHER PALINDROME: NIYON ANOMHAMATA MH MONAN OYIN,WHICH MEANS WASH THE SINS, NOT ONLY THE FACE. GOOD ADVICE.
Not only does it clean your hands,
it is added to glasses of beer in commercials
to make it froth more appealingly.
Detergent is also the second-most stolen
product in the USA crack addicts trade it
for drugs). Seriously!
LIQUID DETERGENT
4 5 6
MASSPRODUCED
SLIPPERY SO P
HOMEMADE
3
You just need lard, lye and w ater.
Some outdoorsmen have been known to
simply toss fine wood ashes into a
greasy frying pan after dinner. The lye in
the ash combines with the fat to make a
very crude soap.
First produced in 1789, this
opaque product is a clear soap with
a high level of glycerin, a compound
found in fats. Transparent soap is
also more gentle on the skin. Just
dont lose it in the bathtub or youll
be groping for hours.
TR NSP RENT
In his acting days, Ronald Reagan
did commercials for the powdered soap brand
or xo
. On the campaign trail, Californian
protestors hefted signs that blared, Wh o
wants Boraxo in Sacramento? That may be
only soap to you, Reagan told protestors, but
it was bread and butter to me.
ix clean machines have some gritty back
stories to share
POWDERED
The A Z Of
Cleanliness
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ALTERNATIVE CAMERAGermanys latest photo kid on the block is this Leica T camera system.
Its body crafted from a single block of aluminium this mirrorless
camera is sleek and simple. Maike Harberts,product manager tells...
TECHNOLOGY
I liked the feel and weight
of the camera. How
important was that in
designing the Leica?What
we always try to achieve is a
seamless, exciting journey.
The first thing you see when
you see a product is what it
looks like. We try to excite
people with the design of the
camera. Next thing is the first
touch... that is excitementagain. And then you use
it exhilaration again.
When you see the results
overwhelming! Our aim is to
never disappoint at any stage.
One would like to have it in
your hands, because it is very
ergonomi
Nowadays the camera is
becoming less of a physical
object, with smartphones
and Google Glass becoming
popular. Whats your take
on that?I see it as a very
positive thing. There have
never been more people
taking images than today, and
thats because of smartphones
and so on. When I was
growing up, only dads took
images with their cameras.
Maybe enthusiastic nerds too.
Nowadays everyone loves totake pictures.
Does it get harder for a
photograph to shine with
billions taken every day?
The best image sometimes
is the one that just captures
the moment. But theres also
something about having a
beautiful shot. There was
a study a while back where
Why is it so easy to fly into
paroxysms of rage when yourprinter breaks? Well, errormessages like ERROR 67
DEFECTIVE FORMATTER PCAcertainly dont help. Their veryinhumanity make them easy to
blame. In Emotional Design: WhyWe Love or Hate) Everyday Things
Donald A. Norman notes that manhigh-tech systems, do not do a
very good job of gathering trust.They crash for no apparent reason
yet, they express no shame.Worse, he adds, they appearto blame us, the poor unwittingusers. Those cranky machines.
This goes double for road rage. Astudy into the link between gunmurders and road rage by the
Harvard School of Public Healthnoted that its easy for drivers toget mad at another car becausewe get territorial about our own
auto, yet cant communicate withthe jerk in the Volvo next door.Usually, when another drivermakes a mistake, it is often
difficult for him to apologise, tosignal excuse me in a way that
can be readily understood.The consequences, of course,can mean a deadly accident or
fisticuffs on the freeway. Why hasnobody invented an, Im terriblysorry! Hugs and kisses! horn
sound yet?
UNEDITED RESPONSES
TO A 2005 COMPUTER
RAGE SURVEY BY THE
LABORATORY FOR AUTO-
MATION PSYCHOLOGY
AND DECISION PROCESSES
I once shot a computer with a .50cal BMG sniper rifle
I sometimes put my handsaround my monitors neck
Throwing stressball at my scree(didnt help btw)
people had to pick just one
image out of hundreds. And
they always picked the one
with less depth of field. Thats
something that appeals to
people and makes images very
beautiful.
It was interesting seeing
the original Ur-Leica, the
1914 model, next to the 2014
Leica T. Theyre di erent
yet totally the same. What
will cameras look like in 100
years? Thats crystal ball stuff,
to be honest. Technology has
been skyrocketing. In a way, its
been too fast. You had records
in the old days, then CDs, and
now, only bits and bytes. Yet
sales of records has never been
so high, because people love
going back to stuff...100 years
from now? I have no idea.
Maybe something where you
can take photos with your eyes.
What are the design details
the holy grails that make
a Leica so recognisable?
The balance of a camera is
important. If you use a camera
and you like to hold it in your
hands, then you use it more,
and you get better. It shouldnt
be too light or too heavy, it
should be just right. Touch and
feel is always very important.
Like what? Like the
diameter of certain things.The proportion of width,
length and height. These are
very special ratios that we
always try to keep. And with
materials, we try to be as
authentic as possible. If you
see something that looks
like plastic, it shouldbe
plastic. If you see glass it
should beglass, and not some
fake imitation.
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INVENTIONS
TECHNOLOGY
ZIPPO
A quick-thinking bystander
relit the sputtering Sochi Winter
Olympic flame with his Zippo
lighter. And at least six people
have had their lives saved by bul-
letproof Zippos.
GOGGLE UMBRELLAS
How clever are umbrellas with
small transparent patches so you
can spot when youre about to
walk into tra c? Almost as clever
as entirely see-through umbrel-
las. Almost.
SLICED BREAD
Pre-sliced bread was only
invented in 1928. Inventor Otto
Frederick Rohweder w orked on
his bread-slicing machine for 15
years. Worryingly, his prototype
held slices with metal hat pins.
SPACES BETWEEN WORDS
Thisisamazing! Aerated script
writing with spaces between
words was only created by Irish
monks in the 7th century. Before
then scriptura continua was the
norm. As were migraines.
TEENAGERS
The word teenager was only
coined in 1921. The idea of teen-
agers as an accepted, prominent
social group really flourished after
WWII. Before then, you were
either a kid or an adult.
LY N
We o er our awed, undying
respect to the first cave-person
who could look at their lice-ridden,
toothless, sweat-stained signifi-
cant other and say, Darling, of
course you look gorgeous!
BODY BASED USB PORTS
Given that smartphone battery life
can now be measured in minutes,
it would be great if you could plug
an iPhone into your heart and
power it with your own b io-elec-
tricity. You know, like The Matrix.
A NEW SNACK
Preferably a combo that tastes
even better than chocolate and
peanut butter. Oh wait, it doesnt
exist because thats literally the
greatest thing that happened to
food since sliced bread.
SPACES BETWEEN WORDS
Aerated script also helped spread
the practice of reading silently,
which was not common before
then. Yet it took about five cen-
turies before spaced sentences
were the norm in Europe.
UNIVERSAL TRANSLATORS
Never again would we be caught
saying, soy embarazada to a
Spaniard, before being told it
doesnt mean, Im embarrassed
but, Im pregnant. That would
never have happened onStar Trek.
Its a Bird
Its a
Dolphin!OBJEC
TS
FLYBOARD
US$5,850What is it? A bolt-on
attachment that connectsto a jet ski and re-routes
the water jet through a longhose that connects to a pair
of jet boots
Maximum height Can reach
12 metres in the air or dive12 metres below water
Maximum speed kph
Suggested catchphrasewhilst using
I am Iron Man!
HOVERBOARD BY ZR
US$2,657What is it?
A water-propelled
surfboard that allowsits user to fly above thewater to realize multiple
freestyle tricks
Maximum height6 metres
Maximum speed.40kph
Suggested catchphrasewhilst using
Im hangin ten... feet up inthe air!
THE M ATCHUP: I N V E N T I O N S
SLICED BREAD
Its mind-boggling to think that
the phrase _____ is the greatest
thing since sliced bread was
first used in 1952 and just 24
years before that, sliced bread
wasnt even a thing.
CONCEPTS
FRENCH JET SKI CHAMPIONFRANKY ZAPATA HAS
DEVELOPED TWO NEWSPORTSCRAFT. BUT WHICH
ONE SHOULD YOU BUY?
N
O
T
N
V
E
N
T
E
YET
#SUPERTASTYLARGEANDINCHARGE
TEXASTOASTTWOHANDWICHMADE
WITHDELICIOUSONEHUNDRED
PERCENTWHITEMEATHANDBREADED
CHICKENTENDERSANDYOURCHOICEOFCLASSICORSPICYPAPASAUCE
EITHERWAYYOUCANTGOWRONG
WOWTHATSOUNDSGOODYOUNEED
TOTRYONEITSONLYAVAILABLEFORA
LIMITEDTIMEIMGOINGTOHAVETOGO
GETONEMYSELFAREYOUSTILL
READINGTHISSEEYOUATAANDW
UNIVERSAL TRANSLATORS
Heck, even something that could
decode urgent muffled train station
announcements would be good.
Hnnenn shnorf zzLZ! Translat-
ed: The train is delayed by ninjas
stealing conductors hats.
T
O
P
T
H
R
WINNERS
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FEATURES40 72
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SEPTEMBER 201
30
90
58
PAGE 30 WALK THROUGH THE
ENDLESS ARCTIC WILDERNESS
PAGE 40 CONFRONT THE
WORLD'S MOST FEROCIOUS
PAGE 58 TASTE THE FOOD OF
THE FUTURE
PAGE 72 MEET THE MEN WHO
MAN ROCKETS
PAGE 90HANDLE DANGEROUS
ANIMALS LIKE A PRO
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NOTHER
D Y IN
ETERNITY
THE EVENK PEOPLE
OF SIBERIA
RUSSIA
SIBERIA
EVENKS
THE EVENK ARE THE MOSTNUMEROUS AND WIDELY
SCATTERED OF THE MANYSMALL ETHNIC GROUPS OFNORTHERN SIBERIA, WHOSEMEMBERS CAN ALSO BEFOUND IN NEIGHBOURINGCHINA AND MONGOLIA.ALSO KNOWN AS THETUNGUS, THE EVENK SPLITINTO THREE DIFFERENTGROUPS, FOOT, REINDEERAND HORSE WITH EACHDEVELOPING A DIFFERENTDIALECT AND WAY OF LIFE
To gain an appreciation for the beauty and
weirdness of Mother Nature try spending a
day and night with a reindeer herdsman. Kiwi
photographer mos Chappleintroduces
Daniel Seifertto a remote corner of Siberia
carefully avoiding the yellow snow
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THE REINDEER MAN
VLADIMIR BAGADAEV IN
THE WILDERNESS OF
NORTHERN SIBERIA
OPPOSIT SLEEPING
OUTSIDE IN TEMPER
ATURES OF MINUS 60
DEGREES CELSIUS IS
ROUTINE FOR VLADIMIR
HERE HE DEMONSTRATES
HOW HE BEDS DOWN IN
HIS SLEEPING POUCH TO
BEAT THE CHIL
ARCTIC LIFE
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DISCOVERY CHANNEL MAGAZINE INDIA
HOOFING IT
KILOMETERS
THE APPROXIMATE
AVERAGE DISTANCE A
REINDEER WILL TRAVEL
BEFORE NEEDING TO
URINATE. THE FINNISH
LANGUAGE EVEN USES
THIS BLADDERBASED
DISTANCE AS A UNIT OF
MEASUREMENT: ONE
PORONKUSEMA IS
10 KILOMETERS
PHOTOS:AMOSCHAPPLE/REX
FEATURES/CLICK
PHOTOS
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SEPTEMBER 201
t is a place where
minus 60 degree
Celsius temperatures
frequently forcetruckers to leave
their engines on all
night long, just to
stop the diesel from
freezing. And where,
inevitably, trucks
freeze anyway, so you have to
thaw out the frosted machine
parts with a blowtorch. An
area where the nights and
days blend into such winteryoneness that reindeer actually
change their eye colour, in
order to see through the
darkness of gloom.
But for Vladimir Bagadaev,
this northern Russian
wilderness is his home and
office and these frigid
outdoor conditions are places
that, from time to time, he
sleeps in. The hardy member
of the Evenk tribe, a group of
indigenous people, spends
his life shepherding a herd of
about four dozen reindeer.
REINDEER BIOLOGY
DUE TO THE NEARTOTAL
LACK OF LIGHT DURING
SIBERIAN WINTERS,
REINDEER EYES ACTUALLY
CHANGE COLOUR AT
DIFFERENT TIMES OF THE
YEAR. IN THE SUMMER,
THEY ARE YELLOWISH
GREEN. IN WINTER THEY
TURN A BLUE COLOUR,
WHICH SCATTERS
INCOMING LIGHT AND
RESULTS IN BETTER VISION
THEIR NOSES ARE
DESIGNED TO WARM FRIGI
AIR BEFORE IT GETS TO
THEIR LUNGS
REINDEER HOOVES EXPAN
IN SUMMER TO ADAPT TO
SOFTER GROUND, AND
CONTRACT IN WINTER
SOME SPECIES HAVE KNEE
WHICH MAKE A CLICKING
NOISE SO MEMBERS OF
A HERD CAN FIND EACH
OTHER IN A BLIZZARD
VL DIMIR LETS
OFF ROUND
FROM HIS SOVIET
HUNTING RIFLE
FULL MOON RISING
BOVE HERD OF
REINDEER FEW
MINUTES FTER THEY
RETURNED HOME
FROM D Y FOR GING
IN THE FOREST
ARCTIC LIFE
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BAGADAEV S LOG
CABIN TAKEN BY
THE LIGHT OF THE
FULL MOON
PHOTOS:AMOSCHAPPLE/REX
FEATURES/CLICK
PHOTOS
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His is a way of life thatdates back centuries, andthe only life that this gutsy
outdoorsman, now in his lateforties, knows. And lookingat the scenery surroundinghis office, its no wonderAmos Chapple, a travelphotographer from NewZealand, wanted to capturethis unique slice of his life.
At first, his idea camefrom another photograph.I had seen some images of areindeer herders' hut takenby a Croatian photographersome time ago, and had beenobsessed with finding theplace, Chapple tellsDiscoveryChannel Magazine. A friendhelped me to locate the place,then the locals made sure I gotout to Vladimir safely.
Getting out there wasan adventure in itself. Youkick off with a seven hourwestward flight from Moscowto Yakutsk, located about 450kilometres south of the ArcticCircle, followed by a seven
hour drive north-east to theregion of Khandyga. Chapplethen hitched a ride on a supplyvehicle (a nearby mine wasdelivering a new doctor) tothe town of Topolina. Youknow youre well into thewilds when the village yourein doesnt even show up onGoogle Maps, he says. FromTopolina its just anotherthree-hour jaunt down afrozen river, before you arriveat Bagadaev's door.
With your boots finallyon the ground of the Russian
taiga, or forest, youre in adifferent world. Here inthe north the wilderness isclean and never changes, asBagadaev told Chapple. Thatwhy we call it eternity.
Managing his farm in themiddle of eternity is no easytask. His herd of reindeer,which provide him with meat
ARCTIC LIFE
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PHOTO:AMOSCHAPPLE/REX
FEATURES/CLICK
PHOTOS
THE SUBJECT
OF SIBERIA
77 PERCENTSIBERIAS LANDMASS
MAKES UP 77 PERCENT OF
RUSSIA. IF IT BECAME AN
INDEPENDENT NATION IT
WOULD BE THE BIGGEST
IN THE WORLD
1.5MILLION
THOUGH SPARSELY
POPULATED, RUSSIAS
THIRDLARGEST CITY IS
ALSO IN THIS REGION.
NOVOSIBIRSK IS BUILT
ON THE TRANSSIBERIAN
R ILW Y ND IS KEY
INDUSTRIAL CENTRE
30THERE ARE 30
INDIGENOUS TRIBES IN
SIBERIA, COMPRISING
SOME 200,000 PEOPLE
1900THE EVENK ALPHABET
WAS ONLY CREATED IN
THE EARLY 1900S, AND
THE FIRST BOOK PRINTED
IN 1928
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SEPTEMBER 201
VL DIMIR B G D EV
LE DS TE M OF
REINDEER H ULING
H NDM DE SLEDS S
THE SUN SKIMS THE
SIBERIAN HORIZON
ARCTIC LIFE
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PHOTOS:AMOSCHAPPLE/REX
FEATURES/CLICK
PHOTOS
EVENK HUNTING
LANGUAGE
TO COMMUNICATE OVERTHE VAST DISTANCESOF THEIR HUNTINGTERRITORIES, EVENKS
USE A SPECIAL WRITINGSYSTEM
A BRANCH CAREFULLYPLACED ACROSS A PATHMEANS THAT ONE CANNOTGO FURTHER
AN ARROW IN THE BARKOF A TREE WHOSEBRANCHES HAVE BEENCLIPPED CAN MEAN IAM FURTHER AHEAD IFIT POINTS UP, AND I AMSETTING TRAPS NEARBYIF POINTING DOWN
and fur to sell, have a lot of
space to roam in. Sometimes
Bagadaev cant make it back
to his cabin before the sun
swoops over the horizon,
forcing him to bed down
outside for the night. To see
him through the night alive, he
goes through a well-practicedplanned routine.
First, he will craft a fire
with enough wood to last
until dawn. Then, hell
dig a snowbank near his
blaze, which will offer some
protection from the biting
wind. Before snuggling into a
thick woollen sleeping pouch,
which used to belong to his
father, Bagadaev will first
VLADIMIR S BROTHER
ALEXEI WARMS THE
DRIVE SHAFT OF HIS
TRUCK AFTER IT HAS
FROZEN SOLID
A TRUCK DRIVES
ON THE FROZEN
INDIGIRKARIVER
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shuck out of his outer trousers.
For comfort, he notes.
As Chapple explains,
Bagadaevs ability to surviveis more about technique than
his powers of adaptation. The
people of the Yakutsk region
hate being cold, he laughs.
But they know what to wear
and how to live as best they
can, to avoid feeling the chill.
By looking after his herd,
Bagadaev is also looking after
himself. Theres nary a part
of the mammal that goes towaste, providing Evenks with
thick, snowproof clothing,
milk, cheese and meat. In this
landscape, each of these are
vital to survival.
Despite the brutal
conditions, Chapple was
struck by the Evenks obvious
love for the landscape.
And its a bond driven by
ancestral love, not money.
The government will only
subsidise herdsman with
a herd of 800 or more.
Bagadaevs herd numbers just
46 reindeer. He would talkabout the landscape in a waythat was almost romantic,
Chapple recalls. Its a bond
that the photographer has
witnessed in communities
around the world. But I
wasnt expecting it in a place
so desolate.
Nor perhaps was he
expecting just how rough the
conditions would be on his
gear. Cameras get cold fast.
Wield an SLR in 55 degrees
below Celsius for half anhour and it inevitably shivers
to a halt. It was a constant
struggle to keep my camera
as warm as possible. Thatswhen he wasnt keeping it
away from the clouds of mist
that exploded from his mouth
with every single breath,
smothering many of his shots.
To compensate, he would
hold his breath a few seconds
before snapping the shutter.
But despite silencing
his panting, Chapple still
managed to be surprised bysome very sneaky customers,the members of Vladimirs
herd. Reindeers, Chapple will
now tell you, are incredibly
quiet. His first night out, he
was distracted by a dusk that
painted the air a thick blue
against the silver of a rising
moon. One by one, the deer
came walking into camp until
I was surrounded by them.
The only sound was the gentle
tinkling of their bells.
And perhaps a quiet slurp
or two. They love frozen
pee! he marvels. They dig
it out of the snow with their
hooves, then eat it like apopsicle. Indeed, as other
journalists who visited the
region have noted, if you go
for a wee in the middle of
the night, you run the risk of
kicking up a storm of hooves
and antlers, as the thirsty
animals stampede happily
toward you.Places like this are as
unpredictable as they are
beautiful, says Chapple.
Thats what makes them so
attractive. In a space this
isolated, with a culture this
distinct, you never know
whats going to happen. Hisshots confirm that even in an
increasingly urban society,
people like Bagadaev still
spend their days wrestling
with Mother Nature rather
than the rat race. In fact, itsthe exact opposite of going to
a shopping mall, he says.
The Evenks lifestyle
reminds us of some characters
from theDiscovery Channel,
we muse to Chapple.
Definitely, he agrees, then
notes cheekily, He is the
bonafide Bear Grylls of the
tundra just without the
showing off.
ARCTIC LIFE
VLADIMIR S HERD
OF REINDEER IN
THEIR NATURAL
HABITAT
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UNDOCUMENTED BY SCIENCE AND
AGONISED OVER BY ACADEMICS
SCORES OF MYSTERIOUS
CREATURES ARE SAID TO ROAM
THE GLOBE. ARE THESE MERELY
FICTIONAL SUBJECTS OR
DANGEROUS INTIMIDATING BEINGS
FROM ANOTHER WORLD?
M
DELVES INTO THE HISTORY OF
THE TOP FIVE MONSTERS
ILLUSTRATION BYDARIUS CHEONG
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MESSY NESSIE
IF CHARLIE SHEEN CANT
FIND NESSIE NOBODY CAN.
LAST YEAR THE ACTOR
FLEW TO THE HIGHLANDS
AND SCOURED THE LAKE
WITH A LEG OF LAMB ON
A HUGE HOOK. HE LATER
CONFUSED THE MONSTERS
NAME WITH THE LAKE
TELLING TV HOST JAY LENO
THATS WHERE LOCH NESS
LIVES. IN LAKE NESSIE.
LETS NOT FORGET THIS IS
THE MAN WHO ONCE SAID
I AM ON A DRUG.
ITS CALLED CHARLIE
SHEEN. ITS NOT AVAILABLE
BECAUSE IF YOU TRY IT
YOU WILL DIE. YOUR FACE
WILL MELT OFF AND YOUR
CHILDREN WILL WEEP OVER
YOUR EXPLODED BODY.
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PHOTO:GETTY
IMAGES(CHARLIESHEEN)
Of all the cryptids animals
with no scientific explanation
for their existence
Scotlands Loch Ness Monster
is the most documented, by
both amateurs and experts.
First reported to have been
sighted in AD565, the sea
serpent has enthralled and
enticed both crypto-zoologists
and scientists to prove itsexistence. Every year, hordes
of tourists travel to the
Scottish highlands to chance
their arm at sighting this
giant sea snake or living
dinosaur as many believe it to
be. There have been over 3000
documented encounters.
For the last few months,
experts at the official Loch
Ness Monster Fan Club have
been studying satellite images
using Apples satellite map app
which clearly shows a giant
30 metre beast swimming
just below the surface of the
water. So big that it could be
seen from space, the sighting
has put an end to a dearth ofencounters over the last 18
months, believed to be the
longest time the monster has
remained unseen since 1925.
Weeks later an unusual sonar
image, which appears to show
a being with several humps,
was picked up by a cruise
vessel on the lake, seeming to
also point to the fact that the
monster is indeed still very
much alive.
PREHISTORIC TALES
At 36 kilometres long and
248 metres deep, Loch Ness
is said to contain more water
than all the lakes of England,
Scotland and Wales combined.
A rainfall of just 0.635
centimetres can add a massive
11 million tons of water to its
shadowy depths. At this scale
it is clear to see why many who
believe in the monster Nessies
existence say that even the
water itself has an almost
inky viscosity.
The enormity of the loch
underlines why the mystery
of the Loch Ness Monster
has perpetuated throughout
the years. According to www.
nessie.co.uk, the official site
of the serpent of the deep,
the many sightings all bear
the hallmark of a similar
description of a serpent type
creature with a head like a
giraffe, skin like an elephant
and short forelegs withflippers. Those who have
glimpsed the monster in the
water haver also reported
seeing ample evidence of fins
or dark humps.
Many believe that the
Loch Ness Monster shares
characteristics with the
Plesiosauras, a reptilian
dinosaur that shares many of
the features of the Scottish sea
serpent, although is believed
to have been extinct for 65
million years. While early
sightings of the lochs most
famous inhabitant were from
a distance, when a road was
built around its edge in the
early 1930s, the number ofreports increased, with the
first photographic evidence
emerging in 1933.
More than an intrigue for
tourists, some of the worlds
top scientists have gone
to great lengths to prove
the monsters existence.
In 1960, students from
Oxford and Cambridge
Universities mounted a
scientific expedition to prove
that this strange creature
lived. Cameras and an echo
sounder were used to gather
evidence. It was reported
that a visual sighting and
unusual echoes were
recorded on the expedition.
This cryptid has had
more than its fair share of
high profile hunters over
the years, with thousands
of pounds invested in trying
to prove its reality. In 1987,
George Hunter, skipper of
the loch pleasure boat, The
Nessie Hunter, recorded the
greatest depth of the loch at
248 metres, verified in 2006
by sonar technology. Nessie
aficionados were delighted
with this find, many dubbing
it Nessies Cave.
The unchartered waters
of the loch further add to the
possibility of the monsters
existence. In the 1980s it was
also discovered that a shoal
of Arctic char inhabited the
lochs depths a species thatwould have lived there since
the Ice Age, which began 2.4
million years ago.
Although there is a
mounting body of proof
that something exists in
these waters, the Loch Ness
Monster is adept at playing
a cat and mouse game
with those that are keen to
corroborate its existence.
In 1960, engineer and keen
Nessie hunter Tim Dinsdale
was delighted to have recorded
the first footage of the beast
which was sent to Royal Air
Force photographic experts
to be examined, with the
only conclusion put forwardthat his film was indeed of an
animate object.
By the 1970s, American
scientists became interested
in following up Dinsdales
finds. A group from the
American Academy of
Applied Science, led by Dr
Robert Rines used cameras
and sonar to gather evidence
of its existence, with one
photograph showing the
image of a large flipper and
another showing the head
and body of the creature.
Worldwide excitement
ensued. In 1987 Operation
Deepscan, a massive search
using sonar equipment on 24
boats, failed to find evidence
of the monster. As did an
extensive search by the BBC
in 2003, which was using 600
sonar beams and satellitenavigation technology.
Despite the evidence,
many believe that the monster
is merely a giant sturgeon,
which can grow up to 3.6
metres. But with so many
academics willing to spend the
time and money searching the
unchartered waters of the loch
this is one myth that seems to
be too intriguing to dismiss.
LO H
N SS
MONSTER
20 SIGHTINGSON AVERAGE THERE ARE
20 SIGHTINGS OF THE LOCH
NESS MONSTER EACH YEAR
85 PERCENTOF THE ONE MILLION
TOURISTS WHO VISIT LOCH
NESS EACH YEAR ARE
DRAWN BY THE MONSTER
6.6 DEGREESTHE WATER UNDERNEATH
THE SURFACE OF LOCH
NESS NEVER ALTERS FROM
6.6 DEGREES CELSIUS
A MU RKY MYS TE RY
EXPERTS HAVE
BEEN STUDYING
SATELLITE
IMAGES WHICH
CLEARLY SHOW
A GIANT 3
METRE BEAST
SWIMMIN JUST
BELOW THE
SURFACE OF
THE WATER
MONSTER FABLES
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DISCOVERY CHANNEL MAGAZINE INDIA
Many would rather not admit
to having a fear of the sea after
glimpsing the man eating
great white shark in the movie
Jaws. The fact that the hunter
can turn into the hunted with
terrifying consequences is
a chilling reminder of how
insignificant we humans are
as part of the ecosystem of the
planet Earth.
As frightening as the idea
of such a carnivorous monster
remains, Jaws, at just under
eight metres long, is small fry
compared to the C. megalodon.This submarine-sized shark
surfaced in prehistoric times
and its outsized offspring may
still be alive today.
Known as the giant tooth,
the megalodon, which is
thought to measure around 20
metres, has an impressive six
rows of 46 razor-sharp serrated
teeth each measuring just
under 18 centimetres long.
Over the years, scientists have
used the fossilised teeth to
work out and estimate the true
size of these huge ferocious
aquatic killing machines.
This monolithic monster
is said to be related to the
great white shark, but eventhe world record holder
for that species caught in
Australia in 1959 and verified
by the International Game
Fishing Association at just
over 1,200 kilograms pales
into insignificance against its
45,000 kilogram prehistoric
cousin. The megalodon shares
the same size characteristics
as the gentle whale shark, but
its predatory behaviour of
consuming almost everything
and anything in its path makes
the ferocious great white shark,
which has been around for just
10 million years, look like a
mere pushover.
A mammoth killing
machine, the megalodon is
believed to have ruled the
seas for some 16 million years
megalodon teeth have been
found all over the world. Some
say it may still be lurking in the
deep even to this day.
GLOBAL TRAVELLER
Its massive jaws have given
it the reputation of having
the most powerful bite of any
animal that ever lived. Despite
its size it is said to have been
able to reach speeds of up to
40 to 56 kilometres an hour
which underlines why it was so
widely travelled. The monsters
teeth are not the only hard
evidence of its existence. Like
most sharks it is made up
mainly of cartilage, but alongwith evidence of its massive
jaws, a small number of its
vertebrae, made up of heavily
calcified cartilage, have also
weathered the test of time.
While adults roamed the
globe, the discovery of the
teeth of baby sharks has added
credence to specific areas being
favoured for nurseries. It is
thought that the area between
the Pacific and Atlantic oceans
were favoured by expectant
mothers to give birth, a place
where newborn pups would be
safe from predators.
While many scientists
say that the megalodon
disappeared millions of yearsago, sightings of mammoth
sharks lend credibility to the
theory that they may still be
alive today. With 95 per cent
of the planets oceans still
undiscovered, megalodon
believers say that it may not
be the only behemoth that is
lurking in the depths.
Palaeontologists surmise
that the megalodon could not
survive today, having died out
due to the severe cold of the ice
age or the disappearance of
its main food source: the blue
whale. With a biting force of
some 10 tons, the megalodon
made light work of its prey,
often biting them in two. Its
ferocious bite is said to have
even exceeded the powerful
jaws of the prehistoric land
terror Tyrannosaurus rex,
which preceded the giant shark
by about 36 million years.
But truth can be stranger
than fiction. Although
scientists discount the fact
that a prehistoric creature still
terrorizes the deep, recent
evidence may suggest that
a relative of this powerful
predator indeed remains. A
three metre great white shark,
tagged for scientific study, went
missing off Australias coast in
2004, its data tag resurfacing
months later. Bleached by
stomach acid and recording
a 580 metre deep fall and a
huge rise in temperature, thisindicated that the shark had
fallen prey to a much larger
animal. Based on the data tag,
the predator had a stomach
that was at least a metre wide.
While scientists believe
that the fate of the megalodon
is lost in the oceans of history,
the fact that a huge ocean,
three times the size of the
worlds entire water mass
was discovered, could explain
why so many oceanic myths
remain unexplained. The
giant reservoir, which lies
70 kilometres below the
earths crust in eastern Asia,
is believed to be the source of
the planets seas, and scientistssay this could clear up why the
Earths oceans have remained
at exactly the same level for
millions of years.
As New Scientist explains:
Jacobsens team used 2000
seismometers to study the
seismic waves generated by
more than 500 earthquakes.
These waves move throughout
Earths interior, including the
core, and can be detected at
the surface. By measuring the
speed of the waves at different
depths, the team could figure
out which types of rocks the
waves were passing through.
The water layer revealed itself
because the waves slowed
down, as it takes them longer
to get through soggy rock than
dry rock.
Returning though to the
megalodon, believers hope
that it may be the next myth
in line to become fact which
happened with the giant squid
or Kraken, a subject of myth
and conjecture since records
began. It was not until one was
caught on film in 2004 that this
fishermans tale jumped from
fiction to fact. Time will tell.
MEG
LO ON
SH RK
DINOS UR
OF THE DEEP
1,100 KGTHE AMOUNT OF
FOOD CONSUMED BY A
MEGALODON IN JUST ONE
DAY. AND BY FOOD, THINK
SEALS, SEA LIONS AND
WHALES
CARCHARODON MEGALODONMAXIMUM
CARCHARODON MEGALODON
CONSERVATIVEWHALE SHARK
GREAT WHITE SHARK
SIGHTINGS OF
MAMMOTH
SHARKS LEND
CREDIBILITY
TO A THEORY
THAT THEY
MAY STILL BE
ALIVE WITH 9
PERCENT
OF THE
PLANETS
OCEANS STILL
UNDISCOVERED
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TERRIFYING THE
TOOTH FAIRY
AMONG FOSSIL HUNTERS,
MEGALODON TEETH ARE A
PRIZED COMMODITY. NOT
SURPRISING CONSIDERING
YOU CAN FIND SPECIMENS
17 CENTIMETRES IN
LENGTH. BIG ONES IN GOOD
CONDITION CAN FETCH
HUNDREDS, OR EVEN
THOUSANDS, OF DOLLARS.
PEOPLE PAINSTAKINGLY
SEARCH FOR THEM BY
SCUBADIVING RIVERS,
SCOURING BEACHES AND
PEERING AT CLIFF FACES.
MONSTER FABLES
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BIG SMILES
IF YOU SEE A CROCODILE ON
A BANK WITH ITS MOUTH
OPEN, IT DOESNT MEAN
ITS ABOUT TO ATTACK.
JUST LIKE DOGS PANTTO SIPHON OFF EXCESS
HEAT, CROCS COOL OFF
BY SWEATING THROUGH
THEIR IMPRESSIVELY
TOOTHED MOUTHS. THEIR
SHARP TEETH ARE MEANT
FOR GRASPING PREY.
INSTEAD OF CHEWING, THEY
SWALLOW STONES THAT
ACT AS BALLAST IN THE
WATER, AND GRIND THE
FOOD IN THEIR BELLIES.
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SEPTEMBER 201
A centuries-old albinocrocodile, its scaly body aslong as a bus and weighing
over a ton, is said to have beenpatrolling the waters of the
Malaysian region of Sarawak,terrorising locals for hundreds
of years. While many believethe yellow-eyed beast to be amyth, the disappearance of
villagers snatched from theshallows or the waters edge by
an enormous crocodile lendscredence to this historical beast.
In the last five years, 40
of Malaysias 42 recordedcrocodile attacks have taken
place in Sarawak, with 81percent of attacks usuallyrecorded at the waters edge.
Half of the attacks have beenfatal, attributed to an
enormous reptilian beastthat has claimed the shallowmurky waters as its kingdom,
and the shores as its feeding
ground. Research shows grislyfootage of limbs being retrievedfrom the bellies of the beasts;
ferocious monsters that seem tohave a place gruesomely carvedin the annals of history rather
than mythology.The biggest crocodile to
be caught in these waters wasa 5.8 metre long saltwatercrocodile. Many believed this to
be a legendary crocodile named
Bujang Senang. It ruled therivers through fear for years,
killing 13 people and evadingcapture until May 1992 just
after it snatched its final victimfrom a footbridge. Locally,
the beasts live a peaceful co-
existence with their humanneighbours but when the
reptiles go rogue, they arehunted and killed. A rare albino
croc, he was the largest to bekilled or captured in the state intwo decades.
The legend of this monsterstarted through local mythology
from the Iban people ofSarawak. The story goesthat a huge white crocodile
named Bujang Senang was thereincarnation of the warrior
Simalungun, who died centuriesago vowing to terrorise andwreak revenge on his enemies
and their descendants.Although its skull is displayed in
the Sarawak Museum, rumoursabound that he was never
caught and its descendantsstill roam the rivers. Soingrained is the legend in local
culture that if fishermen catch ababy crocodile they set it free, to
ensure that no bad omen befallsthe family.
When years of efforts to
catch the fearsome beast failed,it seemed as though this was
a monster that was certainlyof another realm. Reports ofhiding a grenade in a dead duck
to astonishing tales of hookswith bait being mauled out of
shape only added fuel to themythical fire. When the mightybeast was finally killed, the one
ton crocodile took a large groupof men a staggering four hours
to haul it from the river.
GRUESOME LEGEND
Legend has it that although
Bujang Senang whichincidentally means 'happy
bachelor' in the local language was a fearsome killer, he maynot have been the only fearsome
predator that roamed the rivers.All the victims were seized from
the shore or in shallow water,
which is a characteristic trait ofthe saltwater crocodile. Earlier
in 1988, the legendary beastscompanionBujang Sudinwascaught by a witch doctor, its
180 kilogram carcass sold to anearby crocodile farm.
With two of the distinctivewhite crocodiles captured,
the local legend thatBujangSedangsdescendants stillterrorised the depths became
more real. In 2000, so prevalentwere the crocodile attacks
that plans were made to trainMalaysian firemen to help huntthem down. The move came
after a 5.5 metre crocodile,suspected of killing a 10-year-
old girl, surrendered itself toher father on the spot where she
died, apparently following theinstructions of local bomohs(shaman) who had been asked
to track down the beast afterforestry officials failed to locateit. The same bomohs were said
to be responsible for catchinganother of the area's toothy
killers. In 2006, a boy wassnatched from the river just
metres from his house, by acrocodile that was described asbeing as big as a boat.
Although accountable
for fewer attacks than itsNile cousin, the potentially
enormous size of the saltwatercrocodile (crocodylus porosus)
gives it a fearsome reputation.While most would prefer thesehuman-eating crocodiles to
be myth, there are severalexamples through history of
enormous reptiles terrorisingvillages, causing scores offatalities and remaining elusive
for years. Indeed, the immense
crocodiles caught in Sarawaklook more like huge dragonsthan mere reptiles.
MASSIVE ATTACK
The number of crocodilesin the areas is rising, with
attacks increasing tenfold inthe last decade. This has been
attributed to the increase oflogging. With nowhere to hide,
the crocodiles are being driven
out of their homes. Some peoplefeel that the evicted reptiles
are actively targeting humansin retribution. While manysay that they will not attack
people, if they are hungry theywill eat just about anything.
Modern day advances may alsobe attracting the crocodiles tohuman prey. The increase of
boats with outboard motorsattracts them as the motor is
said to emulate the sound ofanother croc.
In June 2012, the hot seasonsaw an increase of attacks, to
such an extent that the ForestryCommission issued a permit to
cull. The target was to capture60 crocodiles, all bigger than2.5 metres long. The move came
after two fatal attacks occurredin the Sungai Anak River. The
perpetrator was known locallyasBujang Seblak, a monstrouswhite creature that had been
on the prowl since 2007 and
had just claimed his fourthvictim. Despite the animaltaking bullets to its snout, it
took two weeks to catch him,along with two other crocodilesmeasuring 2.8 and 2.7 metres
feet long, scarily perceivedas his lieutenants. Whether
the reincarnation of a formerwarrior is true or not, factremains that these crocodiles
are too deadly to ignore.
THE MAN EATING
R
OF SARAWAK
90 EGGSA FEMALE CROCODILE
CAN LAY UP TO 90 EGGS
INCUBATING THEM FOR
THREE MONTHS
70 YEARSTHESE ESTUARINE OR
SALTWATER CROCODILES
GROW UP TO SIX METRES
IN LENGTH, WEIGH 1,000
KILOGRAMS AND CAN LIVE
FOR UP TO 70 YEARS
A DEADLY MENACE
RUMOURS
ABOUND THAT
THE ALBINO
BUJ NG
SEN NG
WHICH MEANS
HAPPY
BACHELOR
IN LOCAL
DIALECT WAS
NEVER CAUGHT
AND ITS
DESCENDANTS
STILL ROAM
THE RIVERS
MONSTER FABLES
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FEET FIRST
The search for the elusive
creature that walks upright
with a stooped gait is big
business, and snowballed in
the 1950s when a photograph
of a yeti footprint was
taken by British climberEric Shipton at the base of
Everest. The bear-like prints,
measuring as long as a US size
nine mens shoe and twice
as broad, were discovered
almost six kilometres up the
mountain in the snow. It
is testament to the worlds
fascination with the yeti that
the photograph sold at auction
in 2007 for US$5,900.
Last year, tests by Oxford
University genetics professor
Bryan Sykes on hair samples
concluded that there may be
a biological animal behind
the myth. One hair sample
was from the remains of a
mummified creature shot
decades earlier by a hunter
in Ladakh in India, the other
was a single hair found in a
bamboo forest by filmmakers
around a decade ago.
Interestingly, Professor Sykes
told theBBC that he had a 100
percent match with an ancient
polar bear jawbone which was
found in Norway and dated
back to between 40,000 and
120,000 years.
Speaking to the broadcaster,
Professor Sykes said that whilehe didnt think there was an
ancient polar bear roaming themountains, he concluded that
the yeti could be a subspeciesof brown bear, descended fromthe ancient polar bear.
The fact that the hunter,
who had great experience ofbears, thought this one was
in some way unusual and was
frightened of it, makes me
wonder if this species of bear
might behave differently,"
he told theBBC. Maybe it
is more aggressive, more
dangerous or is more bipedal
than other bears.
The cryptic creature was
most recently sighted in
2013 in Siberia by 11-year-old
Yevgeny Anisimov. Its said
to be the only time the yeti
has apparently been captured
on film, although the jury is
still out on the validity of the
four-minute video. The giant
mammal with its stooping
gait was also said to have
had a close encounter some
miles away with government
official Liliya Zenkova, when
it stroked her arm through
the open window of her car
as she lay sleeping while her
husband was fishing. A creepy
experience.
A proliferation of huts madeof twigs in the Kemerovo areaof Russia further enhanced
the reality of the yeti fable.Professor Valentin Sapunov,
of the HydrometeorologicalUniversity in St Petersburg hasapparently infuriated fellow
academics by making claimsthat as many as 200 yetis live in
the Siberian wilds, apparentlydeclaring that he is 95 percentsure that the yeti is real.
MOUNTAIN EVIDENCE
While academics may fight
over the existence of the
yeti, it is interesting to hear
from those who know the
mountains well and have
been convinced the yeti
is a living creature only
to change their minds. SirEdmund Hillary and Tenzing
Norgay reported seeing large
footprints while scaling
Mount Everest in 1953. Hillary
even mounted an expedition
in search of the creature but
later became more sceptical as
to its existence.
Climber Reinhold Messner
encountered his first yeti near
Tibet in the 1980s, standing
around two metres high and
covered with hair. Its two-
legged agility impressed him
and the strange hissing sound
it made was imprinted on his
memory. An accomplished
climber, renowned as one of
the best in the world, Messneris said to have always believed
the yeti was merely a creation
of cryptozoology until he
saw it with his own eyes.
For 12 years he scoured theHimalayas for more proof,until he came to the conclusion
that his first thought wasright: the yeti is a myth and
is merely an exaggerated taleof the rare Tibetan blue bear.This particular beast will often
rear its hind legs to scare off
predators and is said to possessalmost human capabilities.
Despite the lack of
evidence of the remains of
a yeti, or the physicality of a
living specimen, locals still
maintain that the yeti is a
real entity and is the guardianof the mighty Himalayas
and its people. Whether this
creature is the earliest form of
a meme or a rare animal that
is very much alive, the history
of the yeti is a fascinating tale
woven with both mythology
and scientific fact. It's one
that looks to continue
enthralling monster hunters
for years to come.
T
Y TITHE FIRST SCIENTIST TO
INVESTIGATE THE YETI WAS
EMPLOYED BY HEINRICH
HIMMLER, A COMMANDER
OF THE NAZI PARTY IN
GERMANY. PROFESSOR
ERNST SCHAEFER
SEARCHED FOR THE YETI
IN 1938 IN THE HOPE THAT
IT WOULD TURN OUT TO BE
THE PROGENITOR OF THE
ARYAN RACE
STRENGTHSSTRONG LIMBS, A
POWERFUL JAW AND A
THICK HIDE ALLOW THE
ANIMAL TO THRIVE IN COLD
TEMPERATURES
WEAKNESSESSHYNESS
A MOUNTAIN MONSTER
GENETICS
PROFESSOR
BRY N SYKES
CL IMS TH T
THERE M Y
INDEED BE
BIOLOGICAL
ANIMAL BEHIND
THE MYTH
BASED ON A
HAIR SAMPLE
DATING BACK
TO 120 000
YEARS AGO
The yeti, also known as "TheAbominable Snowman", has
been the stuff of numerouslegends. The Greek king and
conqueror Alexander theGreat is said to have demanded
to see one (without success) inIndias Indus valley in 326 BC.
Another sighting was said to be
in the Himalayas by Buddhistmonks in the 19th century.
Trekker Brian HoughtonHodgson first documentedthe yeti after a Himalayan trek
in 1832 when he witnessed
a tall dark beast standing ontwo feet. Given its nicknamebecause of its snowy habitat,the reclusive animal is said
to resemble a human gorillahybrid, possibly with the
characteristics of a bear.Those who have witnessed itat close hand say it stands two
to three metres tall and has athreatening yowl and eyes
that glow.
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HUNTING LICENSE
IN THE LATE 1950S, THE
NEPALESE GOVERNMENT
CAME UP WITH AN
INGENIOUS MONEYMAKING
SCHEME: THEY ISSUED
YETIHUNTING LICENSES
TO FOREIGN HUNTERS
WHO WERE STREAMING IN
TO HUNT THE BEAST. THE
LICENSES WERE HUGELY
EXPENSIVE, PRICED AT 400
PER YETI. EVEN WORSE,
NOBODY EVER ACTUALLY
CAUGHT A SPECIMEN.
MONSTER FABLES
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THIN-SKINNED
MYTH
EXPERTS BELIEVE MANY
EL CHUPACABRA
SIGHTINGS ARE SIMPLY
WILD COYOTES WITH
MANGE. THIS COMMON
SKIN DISEASE, CAUSED
BY PARASITIC MITES, CAN
CAUSE LARGE PATCHES
OF FUR TO FALL OFF,
LEAVING SHRIVELED,
REDDENED SKIN WITH A
SCALE LIKE APPEARANCE.
THIS CORRELATES WITH
MANY DESCRIPTIONS OF
"THE GOAT SUCKER" THAT
HAVE BEEN GIVEN BY
WITNESSES
OVER THE YEARS.
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SEPTEMBER 201
Others say they originatedfrom another planet entirely,as UFO sightings have beendetailed in the same areaswhere and when the attackshave taken place.
Paranormal investigator
Benjamin Radford spent fiveyears researching the beastfor his book, Tracking theChupacabra. His inquiriesincluded forensic analysis,eyewitness reports and fieldresearch. One of the reasonshe believes that the reports ofattacks saw a spike in the mid1990s was due to the releaseof the sci-fi movie Species.Showing the power of urbanmyth, the descriptions of aspiky backed monster at this
time mirrored a characterfrom the film.
El Chupacabra is said to be
responsible for the deaths ofnumerous animals, all of whichwere found dead, killed by two
small puncture wounds madeby a pair of fangs and sucked
dry of all their blood. Wild dogs,and mutated coyotes have beenframed as the perpetrators
of these violent crimes butthe scenes are almost devoid
of prints and those thatbelieve in the existence ofthis vampirical beast say that
canines do not have the rightfacial construction, or the
ability to suck blood. As theattacks of the 1990s continuedand packs of dogs and herds of
cattle were found dead as farafield as Texas, California and
Florida, speculation grew as tothe logical explanation behind
the attacks and sightings ofthis strange mythical beast.
Particularly as the victimswere devoid of blood and thehallmark tiny puncture wounds.
NOCTURNAL SCAPEGOAT
For the next few years, any
strange nocturnal killing
was placed at the door of El
Chupacabra, who was now
being described by people
as looking more like a wild
eyed hairless dog or coyote,
El Chupacabra is said to not
only have attacked and killed
hundreds of livestock but
has also sucked every last
drop of their blood, through
two tiny puncture wounds
it makes with its fangs. Its
chilling killing style is whyit is known infamously as
The Goatsucker, from the
Spanish chupra for suck and
cabra for goat, giving us its
name, El Chupacabra.
Most prolific for its killing
sprees in the 1990s, thedescription of El Chupacabraby those who have managed
to steal a fleeting glance is ofan animal resembling a griffin,
with an ability to stand onits powerful hind legs. Some
describe it as running onclawed feet and displayinga row of sharp fins or long
quills along its bony, archedback. Its pale, papery-thinskin has been documented as
sprouting coarse, dark hairs.Other sightings detail a beast
that wears its wings wrappedaround itself like a veined cloak.
ODOROUS DEMONS
The Puerto Rican region
of Canvanas is where ElChupacabra has been the mostindustrious locals havelost some 150 animals to thisnocturnal predator. In oneattack, a witness reported afanged, kangaroo-like creaturewith red eyes attacking thefamily goat. Other witnessestell of a monster with vampirelike qualities, giving offa sulphurous smell anattribute linked to demonsin folklore. Others have
described seeing a reptile-likecreature unlike any otheranimal on the planet with scalygreen-grey skin and a leatheryappearance. Rather thanbeing a vampire, many havespeculated that these beastsare the product of experimentsby secret agents in the PuertoRico area, which escaped fromthe laboratory when it wasdamaged in a severe storm.
MANY HAVE
SPECULATED
THAT THESE
BEASTS
ARE THE
PRODUCT OF
EXPERIMENTS
BY SECRET
AGENTS IN THE
PUERTO RICO
AREA WHICH
ESCAPED
FROM THE
LABORATORY
EL
CHUP
C R
ALTHOUGH THER