Follow up to Mystery Creature in Raleigh Area Originally posted 3/06
I reported on here a few weeks back about a strange animal that has been spotted in the Raleigh area. I called my story “The Wampus Cat Lives” http://www.illinoiswaters.net/heartland/phpBB2/weblog_entry.php?e=581
which is a mythological animal from Appalachian folk lore. Lots of media outlets picked up this story as well as one tabloid Sploid http://www.sploid.com/news/2006/03/mystery_beast_c.php
Well now National Geographic has weighed in;
[quote] Perry Sumner, a biologist with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, said it’s likely a red fox with a rare genetic condition known as Sampson, an abnormality in which the animal lacks a layer of fur called guard hair. Without this thick outer coat for protection, the normally nocturnal fox would be forced to hunt during the day when it’s warm and sleep under heated buildings at night.
In recent years, Sumner said, other Sampson foxes have been spotted in urban areas around the state. [/quote]
Don’t think for a minute that part of the story will solve this mystery because another state biologist also went on to say this;
[quote] State wildlife biologist Brad Gunn also believes it’s a Sampson fox. But he doesn’t rule out the possibility that it’s an animal with mange—a hair-loss disease—or that it’s someone’s escaped exotic pet.
“There’s always an outside chance that something like this is an exotic that was brought in from Africa or Asia,” he said.
But without seeing the animal up close or conducting a DNA test, Gunn said, it’s hard to tell from just photographs what it really is.
The biologists said they have no plans to capture the animal, since the Sampson abnormality can’t be treated, and the creature isn’t posing a threat to people or wildlife.
“Frankly, the animal would be put through a lot more stress and suffering just to be caught and handled,” Gunn said.
Back at Tyco, the employees are divided on what to do.
“Half the people want to hunt it and study it postmortem,” Durazo said. “The other half says it looks skinny and we need to feed it.” [/quote]
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/03/0321_060321_tyco_fox.html
I guess we may never know. The Tyco plant has kept all sightseers and news people away from the area. I’m sure they just hope this story and this animal what ever it is just slinks back into the woods. My home is not far from the area this creature has been spotted maybe I should have my wife take the trash out after dark so I can avoid a run in with a Wampus Cat.
[...] It wasn’t that long ago we had a mystery animal of our own here in North Carolina. ( Original Post Follow Up ) The Black Bear Blog has the story of the creature that looks like could of come out of a Stephen King novel. [...]
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