Cochrane, Charles Stuart (1825) Journal of a Residence and Travels in Colombia During the Years 1823 and 1824, Vol. II, p. 390

From a small chain of hills, near to this range of mountains [the Cordillera Occidental near Cartago], with a good glass, have been seen numbers of the carnivorous elephants, feeding on the plains which skirt these frozen regions: their enormous teeth have occasionally been seen; but no one has yet succeeded in killing one of these animals, or, indeed, in getting near to them.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Doke, Clement M. (1931) The Lambas of Northern Rhodesia: A Study of Their Customs and Beliefs, p. 352

They [the Lamba] say that the ichisonga is a water animal which resembles a rhinoceros, having a horn on its forehead. It is said to inhabit the Kafue river. When it hears the hippo in a pool it comes out of the river, lest it be scented, and goes along the bank. When it reaches the pool it enters the water again, chooses the biggest bull hippo it can see, and stabs it with its horn. It does not eat the hippo, but merely kills it. It eats grass. The Lambas say, further, than when people kill an elephant near by the ichisonga roars and drives the people away. It then comes and remains near the dead animal, maybe for several days, until the people get tired of waiting and the dead animal rots. This creature is said to be prompted by ... jealousy.
Read more

Wolf, Tom & Sparks, Barbara (1995) Colorado's Sangre de Cristo Mountains, University Press of Colorado, p. 157

In their dual capacity as foresters and wildlife officers, the rangers of the 1920s and 1930s kept meticulous records that make riveting reading ... An early supervisor wrote: On several occasions this summer, Ranger Paul Gilbert has discussed with me the matter of there having been found in Lily Lake, in the southern end of Blanca district, from two to four or five "Duck-bills." I have not been anxious to report this earlier, thinking that some mistake might have been made in the identity of these mammals. However, on my last trip to his station, and in a a trip over his district, I found that the existence of the mammals is known to several men and that several men are making an attempt to trap them. As I understand it, these are egg-laying, burrowing, aquatic mammals and are supposed to exist largely, and possibly only, in Australia. I have read somewhere that North America has none of these mammals, and if this be the case, I think the matter should be immediately invest
Read more

Schafer, Louis S. "The Deepstar 4000," The Compass: A Magazine of the Sea, Vol. 56, No. 1 (1986)

The bright illuminating lights were turned on as he [Joe Thompson] maneuvred the craft [the Deepstar 4000 ] along the San Diego Trough at a depth of 4000 feet [in June 1966]. Suddenly, as Thompson looked out the pilot's viewport, a giant fish swam into view under the port. He looked directly into one of its eyes, which later he described as the size of a dinner plate. As the fish quickly moved on, Thompson could see the silt swirling from the bottom of the ocean. Finally as the enormous fish passed, he saw its serrated tail and he judged it to be nearly 40 feet in length: Joe Thompson was also certain that the fish had possessed scales
Read more