A bizarre 'alien' creature found on a sidewalk in Australia, an effort to revive the Tasmanian Tiger, and a sacred 'mermaid' set to be studied in Japan were among the strange and unusual stories to cross our desk this week.
In a particularly promising story for those hoping to see long-lost creatures someday roam the planet again, a university in Australia announced the creation of a world-class research facility which will attempt to bring the famed Tasmanian Tiger back from extinction. While such an idea has long been bandied about by imaginative scientists, this new endeavor has more going for it than merely good intentions as it has been made possible by way of a multimillion-dolllar philanthropic donation. With that kind of serious funding and expected advancements in technology, researchers behind the project are optimistic that we just might see a living thylacine in the not-too-distant future.
This past week saw a pair of jaw-dropping videos which came about thanks to alert individuals who happened to notice something truly strange at their feet. First, a jogger in Australia filmed a bizarre 'alien' creature that he stumbled upon during a run following several days of torrential rain. The curious critter is so weird that even wildlife experts are uncertain as to what exactly it could be. Later in the week, a snake seemingly sporting a bushy coat of green fur was captured by a man who noticed it while walking outside his home in Thailand. Fortunately, this creature was a bit less mysterious as experts determined that the reptile was most likely a water snake that somehow found its body covered in lemon grass.
Folklore and science crossed paths this past week via a fascinating story out of Japan where researchers are conducting a forensic study on a centuries-old mummified 'mermaid.' The peculiar oddity is said to have been captured by fishermen in the 1730s and ultimately made its way to a Buddhist temple where it was kept as a sacred relic until recently being discovered by a folklorist. Amazingly, the enterprising researcher managed to convince both a university in Japan as well as the keepers of the creature to allow it to be studied in order to determine what, exactly, the mysterious 'mermaid' might have been.
For more strange and unusual stories from the past week, check out the Coast to Coast AM website.