A hump-backed hoax: Was the 'monster' spotted gliding through Lake Windermere no more than an old tyre?

By Abul Taher


Truth surfaces: The split tyre (below) may explain the mystery of the 'Bowness Monster' of Windermere (above)


The mysterious form moving through the water appeared the most tantalising proof yet of the creature dubbed the English Loch Ness Monster.

Displaying four humps, it was described as being the ‘size of three cars’ by two witnesses kayaking on Lake Windermere in Cumbria.

They said it moved at about 15mph before disappearing beneath the water after about 20 seconds.


The photo, taken by Tom Pickles, 24, on a mobile three weeks ago, appeared in newspapers and became an internet sensation. It seemed to confirm eight other sightings of the ‘Bowness Monster’, named after a town on Windermere’s banks.

But last week a family found something by the lake which casts suspicions on the existence of the beast – a large tyre cut open which when floating on water looks rather like the four-humped creature.

‘We were walking in the area where the picture was taken and suddenly saw this tyre cut open lying on the footpath. I thought, “This looks like the creature,” ’ said John Phillips, 46, who was at Windermere for the half-term break with wife Liz and their three daughters.

Mr Phillips, of Solihull, West Midlands, threw the tyre into the water and said he was stunned by the resemblance to the photo.

‘If you looked at this tyre floating from a distance, it did look a Nessie-like creature,’ he said.

‘But in the original picture there was a wave of water behind the creature, which suggested it was moving at speed. I think it was being pulled with a rope by a person or a boat. I don’t want to ruin anyone’s fun, but maybe this tyre is the Bowness Monster.’

IT worker Mr Pickles, from Shrewsbury, was kayaking with colleague Sarah Harrington, 23, on a company team-building exercise near the lake’s Belle Isle when they saw the monster 200ft from them.

He said at the time: ‘At first I thought it was a dog, then I saw it was much bigger and moving really fast. Its skin was dark black or browny and like a seal’s, but its shape was not like any animal I’ve ever seen.’

The tyre Mr Phillips found is black and he said its tread gives it a ‘leathery’ look from a
distance, resembling the skin of a seal or a snake.

But Mr Phillips’s photo of the tyre has failed to convince everyone.

Thomas Noblett, 48, who runs a hotel in Windermere, said he got up close to Bownessie in 2009. He said he was swimming with a friend in the lake at 6.30am when he felt a sudden force brush past his legs.

‘I felt something really big and powerful go past me and at first I thought it was a boat engine,’ he said. ‘Then as it went past, all my friend and I saw were very big waves, and then it disappeared.’

He has since scoured Windermere with a sonar boat in search of Bownessie, and knows three people who claim to have sighted her.

‘I am not convinced by the tyre explanation and I still believe there is a creature out there,’ he added.

Nigel Wilkinson, of Windermere Lake Cruises, claimed Bownessie in Mr Pickles’ photo is a group of otters.

He added: ‘The problem with the tyre theory is that if it is a hoax, you don’t normally leave the evidence behind, lying around.’

Mr Pickles told The Mail on Sunday yesterday: ‘I don’t want to say anything more about this.’


Source:dailymail

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Rescued from floods: The lucky to be alive badgers weighing less than four spoons of sugar each

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Week old: Tiny badgers in the hands of Pauline Kidner. They weigh less than four spoons of sugar each - and will grow to an average of seven kilos


These super sweet baby badgers weigh less than four spoons of sugar each - and are lucky to be alive after being saved from British floods last week by their quick-thinking mother.

The 2oz cubs are just over a week old and are the smallest ever seen by Secret World Widlife Rescue in Highbridge, Somerset, and signal the approaching Spring.

And because the animals aren't normally seen until they first venture out of their sett at three months, they give a rare glimpse of what early life is like for the animals.

They were found abandoned in a barrel when floods battered Wales a week ago.
Staff say their mother detected the oncoming danger - as animals often sense disasters before they strike - and moved them to higher ground to stop them from drowning.

A local foun
d them desperately calling out while stashed inside and, with their mother nowhere to be seen, they alerted Secret World who took them in.

Because of their light weight and the need to measure them carefully the two females and one male were named Lavender, Saffron and Nutmeg after spices used for cooking.

As the badger cubs' umbilical cords had dropped off and their belly buttons had formed, Secret World charity founder, Pauline Kidner, 60, knew the babies must have been at least three days old when they reached her animal rescue centre last Sunday.

'They're the first of the year and its a nice message for everyone that Spring is just around the corner,' said Pauline.


Tiny: Three lucky to be alive baby badgers being weighed on some scales at Secret World Wildlife Rescue in Somerset


Rescue: Tiny badgers were find inside a barrel - and it is thought their mother had moved them up onto higher ground to stop them drowning


'They were very tiny - the smallest cubs we've ever had,'

'I was actually shocked to see they were badger cubs - I thought at first they must have been rabbits, which are smaller.

'The original call was from a couple in Wales who had their own piece of land.
'Some of the setts in the area were flooded and we believe the mother probably moved the cubs into the barrel for their protection.

'They were distressed so the couple moved them closer to a nearby badger sett - hoping that the mother would return. But nothing happened.

'The cubs were becoming really cold and at such a small size they can't retain their body heat alone, so they called us knowing we had the facilities to rear them.'

The baby badgers will be kept in an incubator and fed milk by members of staff for the first five weeks.

They will then be moved to a cubby hole in Pauline's kitchen where they will be provided with a heat lamp, a warm bed of fleeces and even a webcam so anyone in the world can follow their development on line.

Eventually they will out grow their cubby hole and roam in the kitchen until they are ready to be weaned from their milk.

After this the youthful trio will move to a nearby enclosure with other badger cubs to from a new family. All the badgers will be transferred to a grassy field where all human contact will be restricted -to prepare them for life in the wild.

While there they will learn survival skills such as digging and foraging.


Rare: The animals aren't normally seen until they first venture out of their sett at three months


The cubs can now look forward to a healthy upbringing before they are released back into the wild.

'They're just starting to move their ears - it's interesting to see the development as the days go by,' said Pauline.

'It will probably be another week before they can use their back legs to scratch.
'Badgers are one of the slowest maturing animal we have so it's five weeks before their eyes and ears open.

'They wouldn't normally come up above the ground until they're 12 weeks old.
'What we're seeing is obviously something that people wouldn't normally see.'
When fully grown the badgers can expect to weigh an average of seven kilograms.


source: dailymail

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An Academy Award-predicting possum? Cross-eyed Heidi's tips for the top Oscar winners

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Squinting possum: Heidi's pronounced squint doesn't prevent her from leading a full life...and she has hidden talents


A cross-eyed possum in Germany is predicting this years Oscar winners.

Following in the footsteps of Paul the octopus, who predicted the World Cup results, Heidi the possum is giving her tips for the Academy Awards.


Heidi the cute marsupial gives her tips for the Academy Awards by sniffing and touching the fake Oscar statuettes, complete with squinty eyed actors pinned to each one


Each day the cute marsupial is being released in a pen, where she comes face to face with a row of fake Oscar statuettes.

Whichever statue she touches with her paw first signifies the winner in that category.

On Tuesday night, Heidi picked Black Swan star Natalie Portman to take home the Best Actress award.

The possum made Portman her chosen one after sniffing around the trophies and walking in and out of her box.


Out of the box: Here she comes for her daily walk around her pen, ready to choose the next Academy Award winner


The hilarious footage was broadcast on Jimmy Kimmel's US chat show.

A picture of each actress was taped to each statuette - complete with cross eyes to make Heidi feel at home.

Heidi, who is believed to be two-and-a-half-years-old, was abandoned outside an animal shelter in North Carolina in the United States with her sister Naira, and has been living at Leipzig Zoo in Germany since May last year.


Which one will win? Heidi's on the prowl, inspecting all the statuettes put out for her yesterday


The zoo thinks her eye condition could have been caused by her diet before she was abandoned, or because she is overweight, leading to fat deposits behind her eyes.

Heidi, who will be picking Oscar winners on Kimmel's show all week, already has thousands of followers on her Facebook page.

Her popularity is reminiscent of Knut the polar bear, who became a global star in 2007 and even featured on the front of Vanity Fair magazine.

She has also been compared to Paul the octopus, who achieved fame when he correctly predicted the outcome of matches in last year's football World Cup. Paul died from natural causes in October.


Heidi the Cross-Eyed Possum Picks the Winners - Best Actress



source: dailymail

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