True crime: A Maine treasure long missing

 I don't talk a whole lot about my own history and life on this blog, but this story draws on it in a number of ways.  I left home when I was 16 years old.  I went to high school, worked a job, and had an apartment of my own (having lied about my age on the lease).  Relationships with my parents were frayed, to say the least.  At one point my dad decided to try to find a way to spend time with me, and also share a useful and enjoyable experience with me, and enrolled us together in a cooking course through Portland Adult Education.  He had taken a course with the teacher before, and thought she was great.  Her name was Tot Harriman.

Photo by David A. Rogers in the Portland Press Herald 4/30/95 issue

Tot, born in Vietnam and now long-married to a U.S. veteran, wanted to share her cooking skills and her enjoyment of food with her other American neighbors here in the Portland area.  And my dad was right -- she was terrific.  Her personality was indomitable, sparkling, and very like a fireball at peak moments.  She was a great teacher, pragmatic, nonjudgmental, and straightforward.  We all learned a lot of useful and memorable techniques, mostly for stir-fry cooking, but towards the end of class she threw in some other more challenging menu items that gave us an idea of what else could be possible.

I still use her simple technique for cooking perfect rice today, and her teaching informed my stir-fry techniques that I use on a regular basis as well.  The course was back in the late 1980s, and Tot's instructions echo in my head whenever I do any of these things.  I see her strong hands at work cutting, her finger measuring the depth of water over rice in the pot, and showing us the best way to use different ingredients at each point in the cooking process, and how to serve a plate so it looks appealing. 

It was with great sorrow and shock that I saw an article in the newspaper back in 2001 reporting that Tot was missing.  She had vanished during a househunting roadtrip in Texas, where she moved after raising her children in Maine.  To think of that tiny powerhouse of a woman, perpetually giving to everyone around her, being subject to whatever tragedy had happened so many miles away, broke my heart.  Every so often I would check up on the case, but despite her family continuing to post online seeking leads, all that remained was a big question mark.

In the last couple of years (her first episode dropped in Dec 2020), Kristen Seavey has been working hard on her true crime podcast, Murder She Told, which focuses on mostly Maine and New England cases.  Her journalism is clear, compassionate, and seeks the truth, especially in cases where families are left still asking questions.  I thought maybe if I suggested Tot's case to her, she might someday do an episode about this woman who left such a mark on my life.

To my endless gratitude, that really did happen this autumn.  You can listen to the two part coverage of Tot's case here, and see lots of photos from her amazing life, too:

Part 1 - https://www.murdershetold.com/episodes/tot-harriman

Part 2 - https://www.murdershetold.com/episodes/tot-harriman-2

I had always known Tot had lived an astonishing life.  Anyone who made it alive out of the Vietnam War to come to America had; I knew this in part because I went to elementary school with some kids who had made it out too.  My father had also hinted that her life story was remarkable, but beyond a few brief mentions, Tot's history was never the focus of her class talks.  Here is where Kristen steps in.  

Through Kristen's research and through interviews with Chien Si, Tot's son, she illuminates Tot's life, first in Vietnam, and then through her risky escape to the United States, her adopted home.  Tot lives again in these moments as we listen, and we hear how much she did, how many people's lives she touched, and how her family loved her.  How her disappearance has left a hole in their lives.

As you listen to these episodes, Tot will live again, and be remembered.  And maybe, someday, if the right person comes forward, her family will finally find out what happened to her.

If you have any information about the disappearance of Tot Harriman, please contact the League City PD (TX) at (281)332-2566.

Thank you Tot, for teaching me.  And thank you Kristen!!!

Flying Saucers! Well, not that kind...

Hi everyone!  While things have been quiet here on the blog, I've been busy fitting in research around my foolish work schedule (too much overtime, bleah).  But in my delvings, I found a couple of things the other day that caught my eye.  I thought you all might like to see them too.  😄 

I'll transcribe the article in case the images don't load.  This one is from a winter 1958 article in the Bangor Daily News.

Warning Issued to Coasters By Old Town Chief

Old Town Police Chief Robert Lee reported today that one motorist who spotted a "flying saucer" while driving along Brunswick Street today was terrified but the chief reports it was no joke.

The "flying saucer" was a small child riding atop a saucer sled coasting from a steep bank across the busy street.  Luckily, he was not struck.

Lee issued a warning against such dangerous practices asking parents to tell their children not to use any grades for sliding that might end up in a street or intersection.

And in another winter issue of Bangor Daily News I found this photo, from two years later in 1960, which aptly illustrates the irresistible joy of sailing through the air on FLYING SAUCERS!!!

Caption reads:   

FOR REAL "FLYING" SAUCERS -- The man on the business end of a shovel might not display the enthusiasm for the season's snowfall that these two youngsters do.  But Mark Pooler and Susan Purinton of Bangor, both 11, beam with joy about the whole situation as they sail out into the air on their flying saucers over a bank of the wonderful white stuff.  (NEWS photo by Maher)

I hope everyone is having a great winter, and enjoying all the white stuff out there.  Before you know it, spring will be here! 

Bigfoot in Maine: Q&A

 

Hi everyone! We had a great talk last night hosted by the Maine Historical Society on Zoom. I'll be posting a link to the recording as soon as it's available for those who missed it.

I will probably be receiving questions from attendees over the next few days, and I thought other folks might be interested in hearing the answers too, so I'll be posting them here as well as emailing responses directly.

 

Here's the first one:

 

Q: Have any remains have ever been found, or a skeleton, of one one of these 'creatures.' Any fossil evidence by chance?

 

A:  In answer to your question, to my knowledge no one in Maine has unearthed a known Bigfoot skeleton here. 

 

You may be interested to know that in the 1886 book An Historical Sketch of the Town of Deer Isle, Maine on page 10 mention is made of the discovery of a giant skeleton some years before. We talked about that early on in the discussion. You can see that account on Google Books using this link -- just scroll ahead to page 10 and start reading from the top of that page.

 

https://books.google.com/books?id=UUUsGkMSq24C&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Discovery of remains is a compelling question for those of us inquiring into the existence of an unknown species in Maine. Does it mean that they bury or otherwise dispose of their dead in places where they won't be found? Or is it simply one more large animal that the efficient natural process of devouring and decomposition takes care of in the normal course of things?

 

Big questions! 

For fans of Maine deer!

 This comes from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife today!  Check it out, sounds like two fun ways to get involved! 

1.  Join us for an informative virtual presentation by Maine's White-tailed Deer Biologist Nathan Bieber as he discusses the history of deer management, the status of Maine's deer herd, and the current strategies used to manage deer in Maine.

Streaming live on YouTube Tuesday, July 27 at 6pm. The presentation will be recorded and available at the same link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jr_-ksS5xxw

 

2.  Enjoy watching deer?

Become a citizen scientist for the Maine Deer Spy project! Volunteers are needed across the state and everyone can participate.

 

Participating is easy! When you see deer between August 1 and September 30,  all you need to do is make simple observations:

• Location
• Date and time
• The number of does (adult female deer with no antlers), bucks (deer with antlers), and/or fawns (young deer).

You can submit data online or by postal mail. Data recording instructions and examples of how to correctly record data are available online at mefishwildlife.com/deerspy

EVENT: Virtual talk June 24 at the Thompson Free Library

 

WHAT: A virtual author talk about the book "Bigfoot in Maine"

WHERE:  Via Zoom https://networkmaine.zoom.us/j/84699881006

Event info is also posted on their Facebook page:  https://fb.me/e/LYOeioe2

Hosted by the Thompson Free Library in Dover-Foxcroft, ME.

WHEN: Thursday, June 24 at 7:00pm

FMI:  Contact the library at 207-564-3350 or via email at thompsonfreelibrary@gmail.com

Come join us!  Jon Knepp is going to interview me and I will discuss the book (and more!) with him.  We'll wrap up with some audience Q&A at the end.

A little podcast interview about Bigfoot in Maine

Hi everyone!

Just wanted to put this link out there -- I did an interview with an author podcast which my publisher puts out, and it was really fun.  Hope you enjoy listening!

https://authorconversations.podbean.com/e/bigfoot-in-maine/

Don't worry, if you haven't read the book yet, there aren't any spoilers, we were really careful about that.  Just some interesting conversation, and a good Q & A session!

If you'd like to buy a signed copy of the book from me, you can do it through my website here:

https://greenhandbookshop.com/products/preorder-bigfoot-in-maine-by-michelle-souliere-signed

Hope you're all having a great week!

Tomorrow (FRI)! Black Bear coffee chat

 Do you live near black bears in Maine?  Probably.  Wouldn't you like to know more about them?  I know I do!

Join MDIFW's Black Bear + Canada Lynx Biologist, Jen Vashon, for coffee tomorrow morning (Friday)! Jen will be discussing Maine's robust bear population and how to avoid conflicts with bears.

 Click here to watch, or set a reminder to participate in this live video chat on YouTube!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBx7Pj_D79w

WHAT: Coffee chat with Maine Dept of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife Biologist Jen Vashon about Black Bears and how to avoid conflict with our big neighbors

WHERE:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBx7Pj_D79w

WHEN: 9:30am on Friday, Mar 26, 2021

COST:  Free!

What a year! Bigfoot in Maine update etc

 Hi everyone--

This update note is long overdue, as are so many other things in this completely bonkers year.  The good news is, although I'm still fighting to keep my shop (The Green Hand Bookshop) afloat in the midst of all this, my upcoming book, Bigfoot in Maine, has meanwhile been quietly moving ahead.  It is making its way through the maze of editors and formatting designers at the publisher, and if all goes well we'll be looking at a release date in the first half of 2021.

All the illustrations are done, photos are tweaked, chapters written, and everything indexed.  Phew!!!  There was a lot of back and forth about how long it could be, and in the end I had to cut almost half of what I had written, but I fought to keep in the bulk of the most important part, in my view -- the oral history of eyewitness accounts. 

Some of the parts I had to pull out will show up here or in print as articles, so that they still see the light of day.

I am still talking with folks about their encounters, and with those out in the field investigating current activity, even though Covid has restricted my own travels for the foreseeable future (again, trying to keep the shop going has been intense, and we're not out of the woods yet).

Just for fun, I also recorded a short adaptation of the Maine story "Hobgoblins of the Wild North Woods" by Winthrop Packard, published in the Boston Evening Transcript, back on Dec 31, 1902. While it is ostensibly fictitious, it contains many elements of Bigfoot sightings reported even today.

You can listen to it here for free -- enjoy!

https://soundcloud.com/mys-648503636/a-hair-raising-bigfoot-yarn

I hope you have all stayed safe and well in these trying times, and I wish everyone better days ahead.

Bigfoot in Maine update, summer musings!

Hi everyone! The warm weather is finally here (mostly), and even the sporadic rainy days are good days to get out into a part of Maine you haven't seen yet.

I'm plugging away on the book, and excited to report that I'm working on the last major chapter (Durham Gorilla!), then all I have to do is add a few bits and pieces in to catch up with some last minute interviews and site visits elsewhere... and then the illustrations!

It's pretty exciting to finally be closing in on what is at this point a decade-long project. It's also exciting that it has been well worth it. I've met a lot of amazing people, and gotten to poke around in corners of Maine I might never have seen otherwise.

It has also become obvious that finally packing the manuscript off to the publisher when I've finished and done a final edit is NOT going to be the end of the work. This project has started what looks to be a lifetime's worth of recording Maine's Bigfoot-related oral history and scattered accounts. I have a feeling that I'll continue exploring this Strange Maine topic for many years to come, even after the book is done.

Skowhegan region driveabout on a rainy day!

Most recently I've been up in the Skowhegan region, where a series of late-1970s sightings occurred. It was a rainy day, but we covered a lot of ground, albeit in a truck because it was pouring rain and there were many meandering miles to traverse, many of them on dirt roads. Many thanks to those of you out there (you know who you are) that helped make this happen.

One of the most important things I've learned throughout this whole process is to be patient, and to be careful. If what I'm hearing from people is as real as it seems to be, we have neighbors that need our respect and possibly someday our protection. It's an intriguing thought to chew on.

I've also learned how important it is to be able to talk openly about the unexplained, because many people encounter it in their lives, always unexpectedly, and if we can't listen to others respectfully about their experiences, we can be sure that if we ever find ourselves in the same situation, ridicule will await us as well.

So please stop and think before you disparage or slap someone down just because they're trying to sincerely share something with you that they can't explain, but need to talk about. Small steps towards making this a better world for all of us. It doesn't take much, guys!

Maine Wildlife in the Snow - Part 2

I'd better post this before all the snow is gone here in southern Maine (oh, I know there will be some more, but tomorrow is the first day of spring, and I'm perennially optimistic). Back in February I had a chance to go out tromping with a friend, and it being the day after a snowstorm, we found a smorgasbord of animal tracks.

Even in winter some streams keep flowing.

In the post before this one, we looked at coyote and skunk prints. You can read about it here: Maine Wildlife in the Snow - Part 1

This time we'll look at some other tracks and traces left in the snow from that same trip.

The first set wound up being a bit of a joke on us. At first we came across what at a distance looked like the flurry a grouse might leave in the snow.

But on closer inspection, it was pretty clear that it was the sign of a very busy rabbit or hare (not sure whether it was cottontail or snowshoe, but more likely cottontail). Note the telltale droppings, like little punctuation marks!

Next we saw plenty of little mice tracks, with tail marks evident, this one heading toward the safety of a tree:

Last but not least, we found evidence of porcupine nibbling on some of the soft young pines in the area:

Pretty soon all that will be left are pockets of snow in the shadowy areas, and some ice here and there. Come May the leaves will be budding, and eventually leafing out. Not long now! Happy spring, everyone.

Maine Wildlife in the Snow

It might not be "strange," but it is rather magical to be able to see the tracks of animals in the Maine winter snow. Back in February I had a chance to go out tromping with a friend, and it being the day after a snowstorm made for a bumper crop of tracks.

A network of tiny critters making their way from seed to seed.

Here are just a few:

Above is a coyote track (there were a lot of these), in which you can see the telltale two-claw dots at the front of the foot (look at the red arrow directing you to the 6:00 point of the photo).

To the right, you can see the full trackway, where the coyote carefully pads along the raised, packed runner left by snowmobilers in the fresh snow, very daintily stepping within the same spots as it moves along. You can see our bootprints along the edge of the coyote's runway to get an idea of scale.

The last track set for this post (I'll come back with more later) was a real puzzler at first. You can see them below. The lateral footpads set behind long toeprints, with prominent claws showing on many of the tracks, indicated a number of species possibilities, but the size, only a few inches long, could only match one thing, if I am not mistaken -- a skunk! So I'm glad we only saw his tracks and not himself.

1. Trackway          2.  Lateral footpad visible          3.  Clawmarks visible

Ermines everywhere!

It sounds like this winter has had a bumper crop of little ermines (short tailed and long tailed weasels in their lovely white winter coats) running amuck in Maine's woods and neighborhoods. Our first post about this phenomenon was back in 2006, and there has been a running commentary on the subject ever since. You can read that earlier post here: Mystery White Critter

We have heard reports from a bunch of places over the years: Poland, Troy, Brewer, Crawford, Casco, Harmony, York, and Naples for starters.

Today I have a treat for you -- one of the folks, Dave Taylor, who had an ermine as an unexpected houseguest earlier this year, had this to say: "We just recently caught a pure white weasel in our home with a live trap. Released him back into the woods on about 50 acres. Have several good photos and videos. Cute little guy." He was kind enough to send along some photos. I never realized exactly how petite they are!

Here is a glimpse of the little fellow in Dave's kitchen, so you can get an idea of his size:

And here he is, safely stowed in his trap, ready to be released back into the wild, just as devilishly cute as ever!

If you want to learn a little more about ermines, here are a couple of good resources -- an article on the Harpswell Heritage Land Trust site: https://hhltmaine.org/nature-notes/nature-notes-weasels/
and another on the Natural Resources Council of Maine site: https://www.nrcm.org/nrcm-creature-feature/ermine/

REPORT: International Cryptozoology Conference 2018, Day 2

Hi everyone! This post will run down the second day of the weekend's worth of speakers, and my photos will give you a glimpse of the folks involved, if you weren't able to be there. Click on any of the photos below to see a larger version of it.

If you missed the post about the first day's speakers, you can find that here:
http://strangemaine.blogspot.com/2018/09/report-international-cryptozoology.html

The 3rd Annual International Cryptozoology Conference was held on Sept. 1 & 2, 2018, here in Portland, Maine. Like the others before it, it was a great experience -- a chance to hear from experts on a variety of topics, and an opportunity to meet other people as interested in and as excited by the field of cryptozoology as I am.

Loren Coleman, founder of the International Cryptozoology Museum, and his crew put together a terrific lineup of speakers. I wanted to hear every presentation, which works out great since the conference runs as a single-track schedule, allowing attendees to go to all of the talks without missing any of them.

Day 2 started with a very welcome announcement from Loren Coleman that there would be another conference in 2019.
[NOTE: There is a GoFundMe in progress to raise funds to assist with that now, with access to VIP tickets etc, at https://www.gofundme.com/cryptozoology-conference-2019]

This exciting news was followed by Colin Schneider, giving his talk "Bloodsucking Beasties & Shadowy Stalkers: A Study in Cryptid Predators."

Colin is one of the youngest cryptozoologist working in the field today. He is the representative for the Centre for Fortean Zoology in his home state of Ohio. You can find his blog here: http://paranorm101.blogspot.com/

Colin walked us through a smorgasbord of intriguing historic accounts of cryptozoological predators. Culprits included the inevitable Chupacabra, and lesser known ones such as the Vampire Beast of Bladenboro NC, the Abominable Chicken Man of El Reno OK, The Monument City Monster of Indiana, the Phantom Gobbler of Canton Township MI, and a number of other cases as well.

Various theories for each were explored, and Colin alerted the audience of hoaxy oddballs such as photos of bloody handprints and appropriated photos from unrelated incidents, just a few of the problems facing researchers using online sources to find information about these bygone cases and others. Always fact-check your sources, in other words!

Most often, these cryptid predators exhibit patterns related to either feline or canine predators. During the audience Q&A session following, fellow speaker Dawn Prince-Hughes asked if it was known whether habitat loss would trigger surplus killing (a common side-effect of these mystery creatures). A good question to puzzle over.

Next on the docket was Andy McGrath, traveling far to give us his take on the Beasts of Britain!

Although the UK is a closed system, so to speak, as it is predominantly a large island, that does not seem to restrict its variety of cryptozoological cases. For most of the talk, Andy focused on the water monster sightings, including multiple recent (August 2018) Loch Ness photos that have had UK cryptozoology fans very excited, earning 2018 the nickname "Year of the Dragon."

One thing was clear -- for those who think all the UK lake monster photos are from the 60s and 70s (or earlier), they are missing out on all the current ones! For examples you can look up Bownessie, the Dragon of the North, the River Aeron Monster, and the Plymouth Crocodile, among others.

From lake monsters Andy moved on to hairy ape men, again exhibiting a wide array of timeframes for historic traces and new evidence, from designs in heraldry and the Wodewose roof boss in Selby Abbey, N. Yorkshire, all the way up to the Box Hill Ape (2012) and Sussex Ape Man (2015). It should come as no surprise that UK Bigfoot cases are very controversial, and Andy pointed out that what some Bigfoot hunters may take as treesigns in the countryside could well be signals left by the existing gypsy communities traveling through out-of-the-way areas.

Another point of discussion was the spate of Dogmen sightings, which Andy postulated may just be a way of re-branding the werewolf tradition to make it seem less embarrassing, more modern and believable. All in all, a lot was packed in to his talk! You can find him online at http://beastsofbritain.blogspot.com/ or on Facebook.

Next up was Aleksandar Petakov, who gave a terrific account of his latest work, filming the documentary Champ, about the legendary monster of Lake Champlain, as presented by Small Town Monsters. Katy Elizabeth, founder of Champ Search, stepped in and added her own viewpoint about investigating this particular lake monster.

He spoke about the principles that motivate his filmwork, and how important it is to go to the site of the events being documented, and the vitalness of allowing eyewitnesses to speak for themselves. He is a firm believer that you should not try to influence their telling of their account; it should not be scripted. You will find his website at petakovmedia.com, and Small Town Monsters at https://www.smalltownmonsters.com/

Next was my talk about Bigfoot in Maine. I almost skipped myself here, because I didn't have any notes about the talk, being in the process of giving it at the time. Ha!

This talk was the first time I had attempted to summarize everything I've learned from talking to eyewitnesses about their encounters with inexplicable hairy hominids in the state of Maine, from York County all the way up to Aroostook County. I talked about the environment and biology of large mammals in Maine -- what makes anyone think they might be here, and how they could survive. In short, the potential is clear for anyone who has studied Maine's known large mammal species, such as the black bear.

I followed this with examples of incidents from my files, to give the audience a feel for what these Mainers have encountered in the wild and in their back yards. Lastly, I summed up what we know from these accounts -- appearance, eating habits, where encounters have occurred, behavior, etc. All of this will be in my book, which I'm finishing up in 2018. I hope to have it in the publisher's hands by the beginning of 2019. Stay tuned! If you want to stay up to date with my Strange Maine work, you can also follow my site on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/strangemainebook

Last but certainly not least, the final speaker of the conference was Dr. Jeff Meldrum, a name well-known to anyone with a serious interest in the field of primate cryptozoology. Dr. Meldrum spoke about the Patterson-Gimlin footage, and why he believes it remains the most compelling photographic evidence to date, attesting to the physicality of a biological entity, and providing a baseline from which to establish a scientific context.

He spoke about the shifts that have occurred in views of evolution and anthropology, and how the old paradigm of the field caused preconceptions, which in turn conditioned the collection of evidence for decades. Newer paradigms are slowly coming into place, causing the reexamination of available information. The taxonomy in the field is rapidly changing and readjusting to discoveries initiated by these reevaluations.

Dr. Meldrum also demonstrated his theories of possible hominid foot anatomy, as footprint casts and footprint fossils are among the few forms of evidence being brought forward for examination. Another anatomical aspect he discussed was the deep jaws and flat face (also visible in the Patterson-Gimlin footage), which he postulated to hold massive molars, smaller incisors and cuspids. As he explained, their teeth are their primary tools/utensils. Such a large jaw, with its accompanying massive musculature and the cheekbones housing it, would necessarily obscure the visibility of neck vertebrae, creating the famous "no neck" look ascribed to mystery hominids.

All in all it was a fascinating talk, which gave the audience much to think upon.

The weekend was terrific! I met a lot of interesting folks, both fellow speakers and conference attendees, and also caught up with many friends I hadn't seen in ages.

After all was said and done, I still had time to go over and check out the latest additions of the International Cryptozoology Museum, just across from the conference location. I also got to catch up with my old friend and neighbor, the Crookston Bigfoot.

I hope this has given those of you unable to attend the conference a glimpse at what went on. Maybe we'll see you there next year!

EVENT: Strange Maine at Wells Library for Halloween Eve!

Whoohooooo! I'm giving a spooky-season talk down at Wells Library soon! Come on by if you're in the neighborhood. 👻💕 Cross your fingers there's no hurricane this time!!! ;)

For more information visit the Facebook event page:
https://www.facebook.com/events/404884133377856/
or call Wells Library at (207) 646-8181.

REPORT: International Cryptozoology Conference 2018, Day 1

Hi everyone! The 3rd Annual International Cryptozoology Conference was held on Sept. 1 & 2, 2018, here in Portland, Maine. Like the others before it, it was a great experience -- a chance to hear from experts on a variety of topics, and an opportunity to meet other people as interested in and as excited by the field of cryptozoology as I am.

Loren Coleman, founder of the International Cryptozoology Museum, and his crew put together a terrific lineup of speakers. I wanted to hear every presentation, which works out great since the conference runs as a single-track schedule, allowing attendees to go to all of the talks without missing any of them.

This post will run down the first day of the weekend's worth of speakers, and my photos will give you a glimpse of the folks involved, if you weren't able to be there.  Click on any of the photos below to see a larger version of it.

Loren kicked off the conference by announcing this year's Cryptozoologist of the Year, reminding everyone that cryptozoology is an active field pursuit for scientists around the globe.

Cryptozoologist of the Year, Dr. Anna Nekaris - BBC photo

This year's honored cryptozoologist is Dr. Anna Nekaris. A professor in Anthropology and Primate Conservation studying the unique group of evolutionarily distinct primates known as the Asian lorises, her work encompasses all eleven loris species, including six she named or elevated from subspecies. Anna is the Course Tutor for the highly acclaimed MSc Primate Conservation at the Oxford Brookes University, Director of the Little Fireface Project and Convenor of the Nocturnal Primate Research Group. The Little Fireface Project (http://www.nocturama.org/en/welcome-little-fireface-project/) performs outreach and education to raise public awareness of the plight of lorises.

A short film about her work, "The Jungle Gremlins of Java," aired on the BBC recently:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01bcp7z

Maybe in some future year, the CzCon can get permission to screen this film at the conference!

First on the speakers schedule was the team-up of Vermonsters Joe Citro and Stephen Bissette, author and artist respectively of The Vermont Monster Guide and many other works.

Author Joseph Citro

Joe Citro started us off, discussing among other things his own sighting of a big cat in Vermont in the 1990s. He described the process eyewitnesses go through when they encounter a strange animal: how each of us has a mental index of animals known to us, and in the moments following the encounter, how we "flip through" all the index cards in search of a correlating species, sometimes coming up empty-handed.

He also discussed his decades of work researching local legends and rumors, and how some of them do turn out to be wild goose chases, while others turn out to be even stranger than expected. In short order we were brought up to date on all sorts of anomalous sightings, including human-faced bats, man-swallowing stones, giant buried bullfrogs, Old Slipperyskin, and the giant birds of Butternut Hill.

Anyone interested in a good read should check out Citro's books, especially my favorite, Passing Strange: True Tales of New England Hauntings and Horrors.

Artist Stephen Bissette - Art on the right is his, for Champ DVD

Steve Bissette tag-teamed, following Citro with his own take on Vermont's monsters of legend. He emphasized the relevance of input from people who are great observers as amateur naturalists, and discussed his own process as an artist illustrating cryptids. He reminded the audience of the important concept that no cryptid exists in a void -- they fit into an ecosystem; they have neighbors; they move through and take part in the local environment.

Fans of Bissette will be pleased to note that he is working on the second volume of his Cryptid Cinema book series, which will focus on The Legend of Boggy Creek (if I heard correctly)!

Next on the roster was a preview of clips from the upcoming film The Cryptozoologist (2019), and a screening of Swan Song of the Skunk Ape (2015).

Following this was Hayley Eldridge's presentation "La Bête du Gévaudan."

image from Bibliothèque nationale de France, via Wikimedia Commons

This case remains sensational even centuries after its record (1764-1767), and still excites speculation and research. Hayley gave a detailed and engaging survey of what we know about the historic record and what might be guessed about the beast from these traces, including her favorite theory, that the creature was a hybrid wolf and Dogue de Bordeaux, a theory that allows for multiple beasts from any given litter, a possible source of the many attacks in different locations.

The talk that followed next featured a person I had never heard of, but she made a profound impact on me, even in such a small amount of time. Dawn Prince-Hughes is a primatologist, and author of Songs of the Gorilla Nation, among other books. Her discussion of gorilla ways was eye-opening and encouraging. Following in the footsteps of Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey, she focuses more on the natural behavior of gorillas and less on how we want them to behave. When she works with them, she prefers to match her gestures and communication to their own innate methods as a means of creating rapport.

While her breakthrough work focuses on gorilla ethnography, she has also explored other sideroads in her own research, including observations on some very interesting relationships between habitual snow monkey movement patterns and the roots of Muay Thai martial art techniques, and more.

Please consider picking up a copy of her book, Songs of the Gorilla Nation, if you would like to learn more about her work! I'm reading it right now, and it is fascinating.

Todd Disotell was the star speaker brought in to wrap up a great first day of the conference. His presentation was titled "DNA and Cryptozoology, or How I Survived 10 Million Dollar Bigfoot Bounty." While he is best known for his work processing DNA on that show, which aired on Spike-TV in 2014, in the real world, Dr. Disotell has been busy training the new generation of DNA specialists while teaching at NYU (http://as.nyu.edu/faculty/todd-disotell.html).

His graduates are active in the field, and have identified new subspecies of gorillas and chimpanzees, and at least 3 new species of monkeys, including the elusive Lesula (Cercopithecus lomamiensis) in the Democratic Republic of Congo. (more info: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0044271)

His talk focused on the potential for researchers to utilize the recent advances in DNA technology to accomplish species surveys. Using environmental DNA drawn from topsoil, local bodies of water, etc, labs can now determine what species are in a given area, and how long ago they were there in the case of past or transient populations. This is huge news!

We leave traces of our DNA everywhere we go, and so does every other species on earth. This new methodology, environmental DNA metabarcoding, is transforming how we survey animal and plant communities. With this and other tools, Disotell urges us: "Those of us in the cryptozoology field need to do way better than we have done up to now." Up until now, he states, he has seen zero data to convince him of the existence of legendary cryptids, but he is hopeful that access to new DNA technology will advance efforts, especially as the cost has plummeted now.

In other words -- work hard, learn well, and use new tools -- and always keep in mind that DNA is the keystone of species identification.

Also, it's always fun to be wearing the best pair of sneakers at the conference. 😉

UP NEXT: Day Two of CzCon 2018! Stay tuned...!

Maine Bigfoot encounters - still interested!

A quick note to say YES, I am still interested in hearing from anyone with Maine Bigfoot sightings.

Latest focus of interest is Livermore to Northport corridor, including a swath north and south of this east-west corridor -- for instance China, Unity, Camden, Turner, Leeds, and everything in between.

Please email me (see link in sidebar to right), or call (207)450-6695 and leave a message with a good time to call you back, if you or someone you know has had encounters with something they can't explain in this region, or anywhere else in the state.

EVENT: International Cryptozoology Conference 2018!

A note for those of you interested in cryptozoology in general, and Maine Bigfoot -- I will be joining the star-studded line-up of speakers at the International Cryptozoology Museum Conference for its 3rd annual event here in Portland, Maine, at the beginning of September! Last year tickets sold out in advance, so if you really do want to attend, please be aware that it is better to buy your tickets sooner rather than later to avoid disappointment.  😉

I'm really excited to talk about my research on Maine Bigfoot, and to hear the other speakers, including Jeff Meldrum, Todd Disotell, Paul LeBlond, and of course Loren Coleman himself! It's also a great opportunity to visit the International Cryptozoology Museum (practically right next door to the conference), never mind being able to stock up on the latest cryptozoology books and films, plus pick up some fantastic artwork, all available right from the source in the vendors room!

I'm including a few pics below from last year's conference, featuring artist Stephen Bissette speaking on Vermont's Pigman and other creatures, Bruce Champagne's discussions of sea serpent types, Robert Schneck's revealing illumination of the dark corners of the historic Ape Canyon episode, Linda Godfrey's research on dogmen/wolfmen (including the Palmyra, ME, encounters), and one of many amazing creations from Kim Parkhurst at Toadbriar.com found in the vendor room.

FMI: http://www.cryptozoonews.com/icc2018-x/