Thursday, August 11, 2011

What The Heck Is This...?


Nothing gets the juices flowing first thing in the morning like a good mystery!

I would say that this falls into this category, wouldn't you? I'm glad I wasn't the one that found this on the road, but I'd rather find it dead on the road than alive in my camping area! Just might ruin my day, ya know?

‘What is that?' Mysterious roadkill spawns all kinds of theories



ALEXANDRIA, Minn. — An alien. An albino pig with long claws. A government experiment gone wrong. A werewolf.

Those are just some of the guesses about what a weird looking dead animal found near Alexandria last week could be.

The mystery began when Lacey Ilse and her husband were driving to Walmart about 1 p.m. last Monday, and they saw “something” lying in the middle of Douglas County Road 86 near Union Lake.

“I thought, ‘What is that? It isn’t a cat or a dog,’” Ilse said.

Intrigued, she pulled the car over to check it out.

“As soon as I saw it, I said, ‘Oh my God’ and yelled to my husband to come over,” she said. “I thought what is this — a science experiment from the government?”

The deformed-looking creature was mostly white with odd tufts of hair on its head and the middle of its back. It resembled a dog but had huge claws and an elongated snout-like mouth.

The animal appeared to have been freshly hit. There were no bugs or flies around it, Ilse said, and she could see fluids still coming out of it.

She checked with a friend who drives the same stretch of road and she didn’t recall seeing it earlier that morning.

Ilse took some photos of the creature and posted them on her Facebook page. They spread like wildfire, with her friends sending them on to other friends and media outlets throughout the country picking up the story.

Ilse has been bombarded with requests for photos and interviews. She’s heard that Jesse Ventura with truTV’s Conspiracy Theory is flying in to investigate.

“It’s just been insane,” Ilse said of the media firestorm.

The Echo Press sent the photos to Kevin Kotts, a wildlife manager with the Department of Natural Resources in Glenwood, Minn.

After showing the images to other DNR colleagues, he said his “best guess” is that the animal is a badger that somehow lost its hair.

“Badgers are found in Minnesota but are not real common in farmland areas,” Kotts noted. “They are predators, in the weasel family, and mainly eat ground squirrels.”

Kotts said the black hair and the slight upward hook on the nose are consistent with the animal being a badger.

“Also, the patch of brown, slightly grizzled hair on the back also seems to be what a badger would have.”

Kotts added the DNR can’t be 100 percent sure of what this animal is because he hadn’t seen it in person and didn’t know how big it is.

“There’s a chance that it could have been a pet of some sort, and not an animal native to Minnesota,” he said.

The animal the Ilses found also has a long tail, which badgers don’t have.

A late-breaking update: The Ilses, who put the animal carcass in a garbage bag, have since given it to DNR officials for further analysis. In the meantime, the Ilses are still wondering what exactly it was they came across.

“We don’t have a for-sure 100 percent answer,” Ilse said. “But there’s been lots of feedback.”

The mystery, for now, lingers.

The article is by The Echo Press of Alexandria, Minn.

Isn't it funny how some of the oddest things can launch the biggest discussions? One group says one thing, while another group say it's something else! If nothing else, it furnishes us with a much needed break from the idiot circus in Washington!

Let's get some fresh coffee and sit on the patio. Just a warning...it's hot!

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am going with chupacabra. Hey, it could happen!

HermitJim said...

Hey Kris...
That's as good a guess as any! Like I said, I don't know what it is...and I probably don't want to!

Some things are best left a mystery!

Hey, thanks for coming by today!

Ben in Texas said...

Seems to me that a DNA test "should" narrow it down to the species and compared to other known dog breeds, give a pretty good idea of what type of birth defected canine it is.
Everyone wants their two minutes of fame. Even if it is some blown up story on the internet.

Sixbears said...

Never mind what it is. How do they cook up?

Momlady said...

I wonder if that guy (in Australia, I think) who eats road kill would think it yummy.

Ben in Texas said...

Momlady brought up a thought, but you don't have to go to Australia,
Got one in the Good ole US

Road Kill

Dizzy-Dick said...

Looks like a cross between a pit bull, a pig, and a badger. Strange for sure, but like Ben says, get the DNA and compare.

HermitJim said...

Hey Ben...
Like I said...I'm really not sure that I want to know what it is!

As long as it stays out of my area, I'm good! Don't want to find this on the patio, especially at night!

Thanks, buddy, for coming by today!


Hey Sixbears...
I reckon I don't want to be the one that has to skin it.

I reckon that if it doesn't glow in the dark, then it's time to fire up the grill!

The way things are going, maybe it should go in the freezer!

Thanks for dropping in today, my friend!


Hey Momlady...
Seems like he eats just about everything else, he might like it!

Don't want to have dinner at that guys house!

Thanks for coming by today!


Hey DD...
Sure is something to talk about! Two or more of them together would shake up things a bit!

You don't have anything like this around your swamp, do ya?

Thanks, my friend, for coming by this morning!

Mechanic in Illinois said...

Maybe its a secret spy out of the District of Criminals? Thanks for the story and have a great Thursday.

Bob Mc said...

I saw a video of this a few days ago. It was badly decomposed; falling apart really. Definitely not a fresh kill, and imposible to identify for sure. Looking at the claws and snout, I'll go along with the badger theory.

TROUBLEnTX said...

Wanna hear the rest of the story! lolol

Dizzy-Dick said...

Just might have some strange monsters around my swamp, at least back when it was a swamp.

Anonymous said...

I guess what ever it is it´s a mutation gone wrong. I´m looking forward to the answer!

Have a great day!
Christer.

HermitJim said...

Hey Mechanic...
Could be, could be! Never know just when those types are going to show up!

You have a great day, and thanks for the visit this morning!


Hey Bob...
I'm sure that the pups would let you know right off if you had something like that running around!

Badger seems to be the most guessed!

Thanks for coming by today!


Hey Trouble...
I'll keep an eye out for the follow-up. I wouldn't mind knowing what it is myself!

Have a great day, and thanks for coming by!


Hey DD...
Is the swamp completely dry now? May take a lot of rain to put it back in shape for any critters!

In Texas I guess this year is either feast or famine, huh?

Thanks, my friend, for the visit!


Hey Christer...
Certainly doesn't look like anything I've ever seen before!

Think you might have some of these in Sweden?

Thank you for dropping in today!