Top 10 Strange and Unique Forests

10

North Sentinel Island Forest

North Sentinel Island is one of the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal. It lies to the west of the southern part of South Andaman Island. North Sentinel Island is unique because it is surrounded by coral reefs and lacks natural harbors. For this reason, the area was never settled by Europeans and deforested. The island is almost completely covered in old growth trees and is 72 km² (27.8 sq mi). Due to the isolation, North Sentinel Island has become home to the last pre-Neolithic tribe known as the Sentinelese.

The Sentinelese tribe consists of 50 to 400 individuals. The group strongly rejects any contact with the outside world. On January 26, 2006, two men were illegally fishing for mud crabs near North Sentinel Island when they were attacked and killed by Sentinelese. The Indian coastguard attempted to recover the bodies using a helicopter, but they were met by a hail of arrows. It was reported that the fisherman’s bodies were buried in shallow graves and not roasted and eaten. However, the idea that the tribe would eat the men is very real.

During the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, North Sentinel Island was greatly damaged. The tsunami sank some of the surrounding coral reefs and raised others. The coastline of the island was completely demolished. The Sentinelese fishing grounds were disturbed, but the tribe has since adapted to the current conditions. The Sentinelese maintain an essentially hunter-gatherer society, obtaining their subsistence from the forest through hunting, fishing, and collecting wild plants.

Their agricultural practices and methods for producing fire are currently unknown. The Sentinelese weaponry consists of javelins and a flatbow, which has an extremely high accuracy against human-sized targets up to nearly 10 meters (32.8 feet). The Sentinelese has even been known to use untipped arrows for warning shots. There food consists primarily of plantstuffs gathered in the forest, coconuts which are frequently found on the beaches, pigs, and presumably other wildlife (which apart from sea turtles is limited to some smaller birds and invertebrates).

Selected Quote: “I believe our biggest issue is the same issue the whole world is facing, and that’s habitat destruction.” Steve Irwin.

9

Crooked Forest

The Crooked Forest is a grove of oddly shaped pine trees located outside the village of Nowe Czarnowo, in western Poland. The forest contains about 400 pine trees that grow with a 90 degree bend at the base of their trunks. All of the trees are bent northward and surrounded by a larger forest of straight-growing pine trees. The crooked trees were planted around 1930 when the area was inside the German province of Pomerania.

It is thought that the trees were formed with a human tool, but the method and motive for creating the grove is not currently known. It appears that the trees were allowed to grow for seven to ten years before being held down and warped by a device. The exact reason why the Germans would want to make crooked trees is unknown, but many people have speculated that they were going to be harvested for bent-wood furniture, the ribs of boat hulls, or yokes for ox-drawn plows. It is a bizarre case that still can’t explain.

Selected Quote: “A chief event of life is the day in which we have encountered a mind that startled us.” Ralph Waldo Emerson.

8

Red Forest

The Red Forest or the Worm Wood Forest is located within the 10 kilometer (6.2 mile) area surrounding the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, near the city of Pripyat, Ukraine. After the Chernobyl nuclear accident on April 26, 1986, the Worm Wood Forest turned a ginger-brown color and died. In the cleanup effort, most of the trees were bulldozed and buried in a collection of “waste graveyards.” The trenches were covered with a carpet of sand and planted over with new pine saplings. Today, the Red Forest remains one of the most contaminated areas in the world. It holds a mixture of old growth pine, along with the new saplings planted in 1986. More than 90% of the radioactivity of the Red Forest is concentrated in the soil.

The accident at Chernobyl has offered scientists an unparalleled opportunity to fully understand the passage of radioactive debris through an urban, rural, and natural environment over time. In a remarkable turn of events, the wildlife in the Red Forest has adapted to the changes and not only survived, but flourished. The forest has been labeled a “Radiological Reserve” and is a hotbed for endangered animals. A large collection of species has moved into the forest and biodiversity in the area has greatly expanded since the accident.

Since 1986, the population of wild boar in the Red Forest has exploded. The area is home to a large collection of wild species, including storks, wolves, beavers, lynx, elk, and eagles. Birds have been observed nesting in the old nuclear reactors and many endangered species have been spotted. In 2001, the tracks of a brown bear were photographed in the streets of Pripyat. In 2002, a young eagle owl, one of only 100 thought to be living in all of Ukraine, was seen on an abandoned excavator in the Red Forest, also an endangered white-tailed eagle was radio-tagged within three miles of the plant. In 2005, a herd of 21 rare Przewalski’s horses escaped from captivity, bred in the area, and have expanded to 64.

The Red Forest still holds some unnatural behavior. The flora and fauna in the area has been dramatically affected by the radioactive contamination. In the years following the disaster, there were many reports of mutant animals, but no cases have been confirmed to influence the genetic evolution of a species, except for the partial albinism in swallows and stunted tail feathers in birds. It should be noted that mutant animals usually die quickly in the wild, so the creatures affected by the explosion are long dead. The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone now encompasses more than 1,600 square miles of northern Ukraine and southern Belarus, a ragged swatch of forests, marshes, lakes, and rivers.

Selected Quote: “A light wind swept over the corn, and all nature laughed in the sunshine.” Anne Bronte.

7

Chestnut Hills

The chestnut blight is a devastating disease that has struck the American chestnut tree and caused the mass extinction of the tree from its historic range in the eastern United States. The disease was accidentally introduced to North America around 1900, either through imported chestnut lumber or through imported chestnut trees. By 1940, almost all of the American chestnut trees were gone. These marvelous trees once grew as tall as 200 feet (61 meters), with a trunk diameter of 14 feet (4.2 meters).
The chestnut tree is known to grow beautiful flowers in late spring or early summer. The blight was caused by the C. parasitica and destroyed about 4 billion American chestnut trees. The fungus kills the tree by entering beneath the bark and killing the cambium all the way round the twig, branch, or trunk. After the blight was first discovered, people attempted to remove the effected trees from the forests, but this proved to be an ineffective solution.

The largest remaining forest of American chestnut trees is named Chestnut Hills and sits near West Salem, Wisconsin. Chestnut Hills holds approximately 2,500 chestnut trees on 60 acres of land. The chestnuts are the descendants from only a dozen trees planted by Martin Hicks in the late 1800s. The trees are located to the west of the natural range of American chestnut, so they initially escaped the onslaught of the chestnut blight. However in 1987, scientists found the fungus in the trees and the blight has been slowly killing the forest. Scientists are working to try and save Chestnut Hills, as there is a strong desire to bring the American chestnut back to the forest.

A large collection of surviving chestnut’s are being bred for a resistance to the blight by The American Chestnut Foundation, which aims to reintroduce a blight-resistant American chestnut to its original forest range in the early 21st century. The disease is local to a range, so it is possible for some isolated trees to exist if no other chestnuts with the blight are within 10 kilometers (6.2 miles). A small stand of surviving American chestnuts was found in F. D. Roosevelt State Park near Warm Springs, Georgia on April 22, 2006.

Selected Quote: “Under the spreading chestnut tree I sold you and you sold me: There lie they, and here lie we, under the spreading chestnut tree.” George Orwell.

6

Sea of Trees

The Sea of Trees or Aokigahara is a forest located at the northwest base of Mount Fuji in Japan. The forest contains a number of hidden caverns and giant trees. It is very dark and has thick growth, so the only light that can be seen inside the forest is a collection of sunbeams. Aokigahara holds an absence of wildlife and is known for being an eerily quiet place. In modern times, the Sea of Trees has gained a reputation for two things, a breathtaking view of Mount Fuji and suicides. There is currently no reliable statistics for the total number of suicides in the forest. However in 2004, 108 dead bodies were found in Aokigahara.

In recent years, the Japanese government has stopped publicizing the number of suicides in the forest. In 2010, it was reported that 247 people attempted suicide in the Sea of Trees, but only 54 succeeded. The suicide rate has caused officials to place signs in the forest, in Japanese and English, which urge people to reconsider their actions. Every year, a collection of police and volunteers conduct an annual body search of the land. During the event, corpses are always discovered, usually hanging from the trees. The Sea of Trees is reportedly the world’s second most popular suicide location after San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge.

Japan’s suicide rate is a major problem and has been rising after the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami. The country has been experiencing a large wave of social withdrawal. Hikikomori is a Japanese term that refers to the phenomenon of reclusive adolescents or young adults who have chosen to withdraw from social life, often seeking extreme degrees of isolation. It is estimated that around 1% of the entire Japanese population is living as hikikomori. In Japanese mythology, the Sea of Trees has always been linked with morbid myths and legends. It is widely believed that the custom of ubasute, where an elderly relative is left to die in a remote location, was widely practiced in the forest.

Selected Quote: “The prevalence of suicide, without doubt, is a test of height in civilization; it means that the population is winding up its nervous and intellectual system to the utmost point of tension and that sometimes it snaps.” Henry Ellis.

5

Trillemarka – Rollagsfjell Forest

Trillemarka – Rollagsfjell is a 147 km² (57 sq mi) nature reserve located in Buskerud, Norway. It was created on December 13, 2002 and is located in the mountain areas between Nore in Numedal and Solevann in Sigdal. Trillemarka – Rollagsfjell holds the last ancient wilderness forests of Norway. The land has all the qualities of the original Norwegian forests, including untouched valleys, rivers, lakes, and very old trees. Trillemarka – Rollagsfjell is home to 93 red list and endangered species.

Trillemarka – Rollagsfjell holds a large amount of animals that are dependent on the forest dynamics. The area is one of the few untouched woodlands in Norway. Some of the endangered species that frequent the forest are the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Tree-toed Woodpecker, Siberian Jay, Stock Dove, and Golden Eagle. The forest is also home to endangered lichens, mosses, and fungi. Currently, about 75% of Trillemarka – Rollagsfjell has been protected by the government, and there is a controversy in Norway over how much of the remaining land should be set aside for future generations. It appears that Norway is lagging behind neighboring countries in forest protection.

Selected Quote: “A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people.” Franklin D. Roosevelt.

4

Dark Entry Forest

Dudley Town (the Village of the Damned) is a ghost town in Cornwall, Connecticut. It was founded as a small settlement in the mid-1740s and was a thriving community by the 18th century, known as Owlsbury. The town was primarily fueled by the region’s iron industry. It was a popular place to visit until people started to report strange sightings, unexplained murders, and mass suicides. In some cases, the town residents experienced hallucinations which included demons who commanded them to commit suicide. It was also a regular occurrence for sheep and heard animals to go missing in the town.

Many early settlers of Dudley Town began to think the area was cursed. By the middle of the 20th century, everyone in the town had either died or moved away. Today, Dudley Town looks like it did when Thomas Griffis first settled it some 250 years ago. It is a very thick forest with rocky terrain and it sits in the shadow of three separate mountains: Bald Mountain, Woodbury Mountain, and The Coltsfoot Triplets. Because of the dense and tall woods, the forest has been given the name “Dark Entry Forest.” The land is not officially located in a Connecticut state forest, but sits on private land near the Mohawk State Forest and Mohawk Trail.

The ruins of Dudley Town and the Dark Entry Forest are patrolled by the Dark Entry Forest group, which prosecutes anyone who trespasses on the land. Hundreds of people have been arrested for visiting the site. The area is also known for a large collection of orbs, unexplained lights, and bizarre sounds. Similar to other strange forests, visitors claim that the trees are unusually quiet and without wildlife. Contemporary researchers have suggested that the town may have succumbed to mass hysteria or that the groundwater could have been contaminated with lead which caused the deaths.

Selected Quote: “An idea, like a ghost, must be spoken to a little before it will explain itself.” Charles Dickens.

3

Ardennes

The Ardennes is a region of extensive forests, rolling hills and ridges in Belgium, Luxembourg, and France. The land is covered by thick forests and rugged terrain. The region is rich in timber, minerals, and wild game. The Ardennes holds a strategic position in Europe. For this reason, a large number of famous battles have been fought on the land. The Ardennes has changed hands on many different occasions. In the 20th century, the Ardennes was thought unsuitable for large-scale military operations, but in both World War I and World War II, Germany successfully gambled on making a passage through the area to attack France.

The Ardennes was the site of three major battles in the 20th century, the Battle of the Ardennes (1914), the Battle of France (1940), and the Battle of the Bulge (1944). During the Battle of the Ardennes, French and German troops literally stumbled into each other on the battlefield due to the thick fog. In the winter of 1944, the Third Reich launched a major offensive through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium. The event has become known as the Battle of the Bulge.

Before the Battle of the Bulge, the snow-covered Ardennes was so quiet it was termed “the Ghost Front.” The United States placed its greenest units on the wooded hills, along with combat-shattered troops. Hitler valued the Ardennes and arranged for two full Panzer armies and 300,000 troops to conduct a surprise attack designed to shatter the American front. Many of the towns in the region were badly damaged during the battle, including the historic city of La Roche-en-Ardenne. The forest wasn’t completely taken back from Nazi rule until early 1945. Today, the beauty of the Ardennes and its wide variety of outdoor activities, including hunting, cycling, walking, canoeing, and historic landmarks make it a popular tourist destination.

Selected Quote: “Everything in war is very simple. But the simplest thing is difficult.” Karl Von Clausewitz.

2

Hoia-Baciu Forest

The Hoia-Baciu Forest is located near Cluj-Napoca, Romania and is locally referred to as the Bermuda Triangle of Romania. The forest was named after a shepherd that disappeared in the area with two hundred sheep. Most people who live near the forest are afraid to enter. They believe that those who visit the site will never return. Many of the locals who have gone into the forest complain of physical harm, including rashes, nausea, vomiting, migraines, burns, scratches, anxiety, and other unusual bodily sensations.

The Hoia-Baciu Forest has a reputation for paranormal activity. People have witnessed several strange events on the land. The most common phenomenon includes seeing mysterious orb-like lights, female voices, giggling, apparitions, and cases of people being scratched. In the 1970s, the area was a hotbed for UFO sighting and unexplained lights. Visitors to the forest have reported a strong sense of anxiety and the feeling of being watched. The local vegetation in the forest is bizarre and some trees hold an unexplained charring. On August 18, 1968, a military technician named Emil Barnea captured a famous photograph of a saucer-like object over the Hoia-Baciu Forest.

Many people who live near the Hoia-Baciu Forest have reported a large collection of orb-like lights inside the tree line. When using a thermal, these lights don’t seem to be producing any heat signatures. Some people who enter the forest suddenly remember all of their past experiences in the trees, but then forget the memories after leaving the land. Specialists from around the world are fascinated by the forest. Scientists from Germany, France, the United States, and Hungary have managed to capture bizarre material structures on film, including faces and apparitions. Some of the structures are seen with the naked eye and others only in photos or videos.

Selected Quote: “Authoritarian political ideologies have a vested interest in promoting fear, a sense of the imminence of takeover by aliens and real diseases are useful material.” Susan Sontag.

1

Ancient Wuda Forest

In February of 2012, scientists in northern China announced that they had finished reconstructing an ancient forest that was found buried under a thick layer of volcanic ash near the Mongolian district of Wuda. The 20 square kilometer (12.4 mile) forest was completely preserved after a large volcano erupted 298 million years ago and dropped a large amount of lava and ash on the site. The discovery was reminiscent of the destruction of the Roman city of Pompeii in A.D. 79. It was determined that the blast came from a large volcano around 100 kilometers away. The destruction left a layer of ash that is now 66-cm (about 40 inches) thick. The blast ripped leaves from branches, knocked down trees, and buried the forest.

Scientists from the University of Pennsylvania, Shenyang Normal University, and Yunnan University have been able to reconstruct 10,000 square feet (3,048 meters) of the subtropical forest. They have identified a large collection of plant species and flora that has been extinct for centuries. It is believed that the forest sat on the edge of a large tropical island off Pangaea’s eastern shore. It was swampy land, with a layer of peat and a few inches of standing water. In all, six different species of trees have been identified in the preserved forest, including the tall Sigillaria, Cordaites, and the smaller spore-bearing Noeggerathiales, which is believed to be related to the fern family. Scientists haven’t found any evidence for animal life, such as ancient amphibians.

Top 10 Strange and Bizarre Dead Bodies

10. Persian Princess

On October 19, 2000, authorities in Balochistan, Pakistan received a tip about a man named Ali Aqbar and a videotape that showed an ancient mummy.  The mummy was said to have been placed on the black antiquities market for $20 million.  After interrogation, Aqbar led police to the house of Wali Mohammed Reeki in Kharan near the border of Afghanistan.  Reeki told the officers that he had received the mummy from an Iranian man named Sharif Shah Bakhi who found it after an earthquake near Quetta.  In a press conference on October 26, 2000, archaeologists from Islamabad’s Quaid-e-Azam University announced that the mummy appeared to be the body of a princess dated circa 600 BC.
The mummy was found in a gilded wooden coffin.  It had cuneiform carvings on the breast plate and a stone sarcophagus (funeral receptacle).  The body was placed atop a mixture of wax and honey.  It had an elegant golden crown, with an inscription that claimed the woman was named Rhodugune, a daughter of King Xerxes I of Persia and a member of the Achaemenid dynasty.  The Persian princess was immediately hailed as a major archaeological discovery.  No other Persian mummy has ever been found and the process of mummification is thought to be unique to ancient Egyptians.  After the discovery, the governments of Iran and Pakistan fought over the ownership of the mummy.
Official Explanation 
The story of the Persian Princess inspired many archeologists to investigate the case.  It was soon discovered that the inscriptions on the mummy’s breastplate had some grammatical errors.  A series of x-rays revealed that several operations common to Egyptian mummifications had been omitted.  Pakistani professor Ahmad Dani studied the item and realized the corpse was not as old as the coffin.  Ibrahim concluded that the Persian Princess was in fact the mummified body of a modern woman about 21–25 years of age, who had died around 1996, possibly killed with a blunt instrument to the neck.  On August 5, 2005, it was announced that the body will be given proper burial rights.  However, as of 2011, it remains unburied due to bureaucratic delays.

9. Chilean Blob

In July of 2003, a giant 13-tonne mass of rotting grey tissue was discovered on Pinuno Beach in Los Muermos, Chile.  The carcass was 41 feet (12.5 m) long and 19 feet (5.8 m) wide.  The discovery made international headlines and biologists were initially unable to identify it.  Many articles were written speculating that the gelatinous sea creature was a species of giant octopus that was previously unknown to science.  Other people were convinced that the blob was the remains of a basking shark or sperm whale.  After the discovery, the body was preserved by scientists in Chile, who unfortunately used a formaldehyde solution that destroyed the lab’s ability to maintain certain DNA sequences.
Official Explanation
In June 2004, it was reported that fragments of DNA found in the blob matched that of a sperm whale.  Adult sperm whales can reach the size of 20.5 meters (67 ft) long and weigh up to 57,000 kilograms (63 short tons).  Similar cases of giant globsters have been documented in history.  Often times the remains are interpreted as that of a giant sea creature.  Some examples include a carcass discovered in Tasmania (1960), The Gambia (1983), Nantucket, Mass. (1996), Newfoundland (2001), and two in Bermuda (1995 and 1997).  The pictures of the Chilean Blob are similar in nature to the St. Augustine Monster, which was a large unidentified carcass that washed ashore near St. Augustine, Florida, in 1896.

8. Trunko

On October 25, 1924, people on a beach in KwaZulu-Natal, Margate, South Africa, witnessed a sea battle between a giant, white colored sea creature and two whales.  One of the witnesses, Hugh Balance, said that the animal looked like a “giant polar bear.”  The monster used its lobster-like tail to strike the whales in an attempt to escape.  It jumped out of the water as high as 20 feet (6.1m) and was viewed for over three hours.  Later that night, the bloodless carcass of a sea creature washed ashore.  The body was measured at 47 feet (14.3m) long, 10 feet (3m) wide and 5 feet (1.5m) high.  It had an unusual lobster-like tail that was 10 feet (3m) long and the entire body appeared to be covered in white fur, which was 8 inches long.
The creature didn’t have a distinct head.  In its place, there was an appendage similar to an elephant’s trunk that was 5 feet (1.5m) long and 14 inches in diameter.  The presence of the trunk is what spawned the nickname of Trunko.  Scientists never examined the carcass and it was left on the beach for 10 days, until the tide pulled it back out to sea.  The information regarding the event was published in the December 27, 1924, edition of London’s Daily Mail, under an article titled Fish like a Polar Bear.  In September of 2010, a German cryptozoologist named Markus Hemmler discovered a collection of lost photographs of Trunko.  The discovery provided evidence that a large white colored carcass did wash ashore in the 1920s.
Official Explanation 
Many people have tried to identify the carcass.  Originally, the most common explanation was that Trunko was a large whale, basking shark, or whale shark that got a white texture due to water exposure and decay.  It was also suggested that Trunko was a new species of whale, or an unknown pinniped, or sirenian.  One of the more skeptical explanations was that the carcass is an albino southern elephant seal.  In 2010, after the photographs of Trunko were examined, it was determined that the carcass is probably a globster, or a massive, tough skin-sac of blubber containing collagen that is sometimes left behind when a whale dies and its skull and skeleton have separated from the skin.

7. Kitchenuhmaykoosib Monster

On May 8, 2010, two women were taking a walk in the vicinity of Big Trout Lake, in northwestern Ontario, Canada.  The women became alarmed after their dog retrieved the corpse of a small mammal, about 1 foot (0.3 m) in length.  The women decided to photograph the bizarre looking creature and quickly left the area.  After analyzing the pictures, it was determined that the carcass holds some bizarre facial features, which have been compared to a warthog.  It has long fanged-teeth and a rat-like tail.  The body shape of the carcass is similar to an otter.  Several days after the initial encounter, the two women returned to the area to retrieve the body, but it was gone.  In the aftermath of the report, several news agencies picked up the story and published articles on the unidentified body.
Official Explanation 
People have made comparisons between the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Monster and the legendary mammalian cryptid Omajinaakoos (the ugly one).  According to the folklore of certain Native American tribes in central Canada, the Omajinaakoos is a rarely scene creature that lives in the creeks and marshy areas of Canada.  The traditions say that it is an omen of misfortune to witness the carcass of an Omajinaakoos.  Investigations into the photographs have subsequently determined that the body was a decomposed American mink.  The conclusion has been challenged by some, due to the fact that no fur can be seen around the face of the creature, which should be evident on a decomposed mink species.

6. Taman Shud Case

On December 1, 1948, an unidentified human body was discovered on Somerton beach in Adelaide, Australia.  After an autopsy was performed on the corpse, it was determined that the man was of British heritage and aged 40-45.  He was in top physical condition and was 180 centimeters (5 ft 11in) tall.  The body was dressed in “quality clothing,” including a white shirt, a tie, brown trousers, socks, shoes, and a fashionable European grey and brown double-breasted coat.  All labels on the clothing were removed and the man was clean-shaven.  The corpse had an unlit cigarette behind the ear and a half-smoked cigarette on the right collar of the jacket.
The coroner was unable to determine the man’s identity or cause of death.  His organs displayed intense congestion and his spleen was strikingly large.  During the investigation, a tiny piece of rolled-up paper with the words “Tamam Shud” printed on it was discovered sewn within the dead man’s trousers.  The paper was neatly trimmed.  The phrase Tamam Shud was identified as meaning “ended” or “finished.”  It is found on the last page of a collection of poems called The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.  The theme of the poems is that one should live their life to the fullest and have no regrets when it is over.  With pressure to solve the case, the Australian police decided to have the mysterious corpse embalmed on December 10, 1948.  It was the first time in history that such a situation had occurred.
Official Explanation 
The discovery of the note was made public and a man came forward to reveal that he had found a rare first edition copy of Edward FitzGerald’s translation of The Rubaiyat in his unlocked car in Glenelg on the night of November 30, 1948.  The book was missing the words “Tamam Shud” on the last page.  Also found in the book was a telephone number belonging to a former nurse.  The woman was tracked down and denied all knowledge of the man’s identity.  In a TV program on the case, the woman’s name was given as Jestyn (which is an alias used for the show).  The name was apparently obtained from the front of the book.  Researchers investigating the case have attempted to track down the woman named Jestyn and found that she died in 2007.  Evidence recovered in 2009 linked the images of the Somerton Man to the family of Jestyn.

5. Lyuba

In May of 2007, a reindeer breeder and hunter named Yuri Khudi discovered the carcass of a frozen woolly mammoth calf in Russia’s Arctic Yamal Peninsula.  The carcass was named Lyuba and weighed 50 kg (110 lb).  The woolly mammoth is 85 centimeters (2.8 feet) high and measures 130 centimeters (4.3 feet) from trunk to tail.  It was determined that the calf died approximately 42,000 years ago at the age of one month.  She is by far the best preserved mammoth carcass in the world.  The body’s eyes, trunk, fur, skin, and organs were all found intact.
Official Explanation 
Scientists were able to identify milk from the mammoth’s mother in her stomach, and fecal matter in Lyuba’s intestine, including evidence that, like some modern young elephants, the creature ate adult herd members feces.  It was determined that Lyuba died in a healthy state.  The animal’s organs and skin are in perfect condition.  It is believed that she died after getting bogged down in deep mud and suffocating.  The clay-like substance “pickled” the mammoth’s remains and preserved the carcass in a nearly pristine state.
Scientists around the world were stunned by the discovery of the body.  By examining Lyuba’s teeth, researchers hope to gain insight into what caused Ice Age mammals, including the mammoths, to become extinct at the end of the Pleistocene era around 10,000 years ago.  A team of Japanese researchers are currently experimenting with the process of obtaining an intact woolly mammoth DNA sample from Lyuba in hopes of possibly cloning her.  The discovery of the carcass has spawned a wave of modern research into the mystery of what caused the last glacial period and the extinction of the woolly mammoth species.

4. Montauk Monster

The Montauk Monster is an unidentified carcass that washed ashore near the business district of Montauk, New York in July 2008.  A woman named Jenna Hewitt, 26, of Montauk, and three friends said they found the creature near the Ditch Plains beach, which is owned by the town of East Hampton.  Hewitt’s story was published by a local newspaper.  The paper speculated that the creature might be a sea turtle or some mutant experiment from the Plum Island Animal Disease Center.  The article quoted Larry Penny, who is the East Hampton Natural Resources Director.  Penny concluded that the carcass was a raccoon with its upper jaw missing.
Official Explanation
After the Montauk Monster was photographed by Jenna Hewitt, the carcass disappeared.  The picture of the creature quickly spread across the Internet and a large collection of media outlets picked up the story.  One newspaper quoted an unidentified woman who said the animal was the size of a house cat.  Initially, people speculated that it was a sea turtle.  However, this is unlikely as a turtle’s body cannot be removed from the shell without damaging skin tissue.  Some have suggested the carcass is a water rat, while others have claimed it is a decomposed dog or coyote that has lost all its hair due to water exposure.  Palaeozoologist Darren Naish studied the photograph and identified the carcass as a raccoon.  On March 14, 2011, National Geographic aired a program that examined the Montauk Monster.  The show concluded that the creature was a raccoon.

3. Zuiyo Maru Carcass

On April 25, 1977, a Japanese trawler named Zuiy? Maru was sailing east of Christchurch, New Zealand, when a strange, unknown creature became tangled in the vessels trawl at a depth of 300 meters (984 feet).  The crew pulled the massive creature to the surface and discovered a foul-smelling, decomposed carcass that reportedly weighed 1,800 kg (3,960 pounds) and was about 10 m (32 feet) long.  The creature had a 5 foot (1.5 meter) long neck, four large, reddish fins and a 7 foot (2.1 m) long tail.  According to the original reports, it lacked a dorsal fin and had no internal organs.
After the discovery, the crew of the Zuiy? Maru became convinced that the carcass was an unidentified sea creature.  Despite the potential significance of the find, the captain, Akira Tanaka, decided to dump the carcass back into the ocean.  Before the body was lost, a collection of photographs were taken.  The crew removed samples of the creature’s skin for analysis.  After the pictures were developed, several newspapers in Japan published articles on the event.  Japanese citizens became intrigued by the carcass and a “plesiosaur-craze” swept across the country.  Professor Tokio Shimaka from Yokohama University was convinced that the remains were an extinct plesiosaur.
Official Explanation 
On July 25, 1977, the Taiyo Fish Company issued a preliminary report on the creature’s tissue samples.  It indicated that the sample was “similar in nature to the fin ray group of living animals,” which includes the basking shark.  The basking shark is the second largest fish in the sea.  They can grow to a length of more than 30 feet (9.1m) and specimens have been discovered over 40 feet (12.1m).  After death, the carcass of a basking shark loses its lower head, dorsal fin, and caudal fins first, making them resemble a plesiosaur.  Despite the evidence, some have studied the photographs and found oddities, including a symmetrical pair of upper fins on the creature.

2. San Pedro Mountains Mummy

In October 1932, two prospectors named Cecil Mayne and Frank Carr discovered a bizarre room while blasting for gold in the San Pedro Mountains, about 60 miles southwest of Casper, Wyoming.  The enclosure was approximately 4 ft. (1.22 m) tall, 4 ft. (1.22 m) wide and 15 ft. (4.57 m) deep.  After entering the room, the miners were surprised to see the mummy of a tiny man.  The carcass was found sitting in an upright position with its arms and legs crossed.  It sat perpendicular to the floor on a small ledge and weighed approximately 12 ounces.  The mummy was around 7 inches (0.17 m) tall sitting and 14 inches (0.35 m) tall standing.  Its skin was brown and wrinkled, the cranium was flattened and the eyes of the carcass were heavy-lidded and bulged.  The mummy displayed a flat nose, a wide mouth, and thin lips.
The body was so well preserved that even the fingernails were visible.  The head was covered in a dark, gelatinous substance and the mummy appeared to have been preserved in a liquid.  Upon its discovery, the carcass was given the name Pedro the Mummy.  Scientists came from all over the country to take a look at the remains.  In 1950, x-rays were performed on the mummy and it was reported that a fully formed “manlike” skeleton was inside.  Some of the bones were broken, including the spine, collarbone and skull. These injuries and congealed blood at the top of the head insinuated a violent death.
Official Explanation 
The carcass was examined by a man named Dr. Henry Shapiro, who was a biological anthropologist from the American Museum of Natural History.  After studying the x-rays, Dr. Shapiro came to believe that the mummy was the body of a 65-year-old man at the time of death.  The mummy contained particularly large canines in comparison with the rest of the body and was reported as almost vampire-like.  In the 1950s, these findings were substantiated by Harvard University.  However, 30 years later, Dr. George Gill, a forensic anthropologist proposed another theory.  He feels the body is an infant of an unknown tribe of Indians.  Years after the mummy was discovered, a second, similar body was found in roughly the same area.  This time it was a female mummy, who was only 4 inches (.10 m) high.
Nearly every Native American culture tells of a race of little people.  Oral traditions from the Arapaho, Sioux, Cheyenne, and Crow, examine a race of “little people” who stand from just 20 inches (.50 m) to three feet (.91 m) tall.  In some tribes they are known as “tiny people eaters.”  The Nimerigar are a legendary race of little people found in the folklore of the Shoshone people.  According to Native American lore, the Nimerigar lived in the San Pedro Mountains in south central Wyoming and fought constantly with the average sized humans using poisoned arrows.  It is said that when one of the Nimerigar became sick or old, they were killed by their own people with a blow to the head.
Most of these claims were considered folklore until the discovery of Pedro the mummy.  The carcass of Pedro ended up in Meeteetse, Wyoming, at a local drug store where it was shown as an attraction for several years.  On July 7, 1979, an article was published in the Casper Star-Tribune that stated the mummy was passed to a man named Leonard Wadler, who was a New York businessman.  The carcass has not been seen since.  Until Pedro the mummy is found, it will be impossible to determine if it is real.  There is currently a $10,000 reward for the recovery of the remains.

1. Panama Creature

The Panama Creature refers to a carcass that was photographed near the town of Cerro Azul, Panama, in September 2009.  According to a collection of articles published about the event, the rubbery beast was spotted by a group of teenagers crawling out of a cave.  The kids said the creature was hairless and had a leathery body with sharp teeth.  It had “revolting features,” a snub-nose, and long arms.  The teenagers claimed the animal approached them, so they beat it to death with some sticks.  Some accounts of the event say the kids tossed the body into a pool of water and left the area.  They later returned to the site and photographed the carcass.
Official Explanation 
The teenagers sent the pictures of the carcass to a Panamanian television station and the story was picked up by networks around the world.  Many different stations speculated about the identity of the creature, with some suggesting it was a hairless sloth, an alien, or an animal new to science.  Some Panamanian zoologists have said that the carcass appeared to be a fetus of some kind.  Four days after the event was reported, a biopsy was performed by the National Environmental Authority of Panama.  It concluded that the corpse was in fact that of a male Brown-throated Sloth.  The odd appearance of the animal was caused by underwater decomposition.  Once identified, the corpse was buried.
The simple fact that the creature was positively identified as a living carcass is remarkable.  Different accounts of the story have told nothing of the teenagers throwing the body in water.  Some people have become confused over the fact that the children should have recognized a Brown-throated Sloth.  The animals are not threatening and on the ground the maximum speed of the three-toed sloth is 2 m or 6.5 feet per minute.  In order for a sloth to become hairless, it would have to be completely submerged for a long period of time.  In the original photographs, no water is visible around the animal.  Writers for the Huffington Post have said that the head is clearly animal, but the torso is “strange,” and the limbs are reminiscent of thin human arms.

10 Truly Bizarre Deaths

Death is a part of every person’s life; in this article we explore ten of the strangest deaths that have occurred in recorded history.

1. Francis Bacon (22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) 

Manner of death: Stuffing snow into a chicken

Francis Bacon; statesman, philosopher, creator of the English essay, and advocate for the scientific revolution (he established “The Scientific Method” still used today), was one of very few people to die as a result of one of their own experiments.

In 1625, whilst gazing out the window at a snowy afternoon, Sir Francis Bacon had an epiphany of sorts. Why would snow not work as preservative of meat in much the same way salt is used? Needing to know and unheeding of the weather, Bacon rushed to town to purchase a chicken, brought it home and began the experiment. Standing outside in the snow, he killed the chicken and tried to stuff it with snow. The experiment was a failure; the chicken didn’t freeze, and as a consequence of standing around in the freezing weather, Bacon developed a terminal case of pneumonia. Trying to stave off the inevitable, Bacon roasted and ate the chicken. That too was a failed experiment. He died.

2. Horace Wells (January 21, 1815 – January 24, 1848) 

Manner of death: Used anesthetics to commit suicide

An American dentist, born in Vermont and educated in Boston, Horace Wells was one of the pioneers in the field of anesthesia. Weary of screaming patients, (it was known to upset him terribly, he often debated leaving the field of dentistry altogether), he was one of the first practitioners to see the value of nitrous oxide or laughing gas as an anesthetic.

After a failed experiment and falling out of favor with the medical community, Wells became a traveling anesthetic salesman and European expert for his former partner, Gardner Quincy Colton. His ‘investigations’ led to a chloroform addiction that would be his down-fall. In 1848, delirious and deranged after a week of self-experimentation, Wells ran into the street and assaulted two prostitutes with sulfuric acid. He was arrested and confined at New York’s infamous Tombs Prison. Recovering from the drug induced psychosis; the true horror of his actions came home to roost. Unable to live with this shame, Wells committed suicide by first inhaling a substantial dose of chloroform and then slitting his femoral artery.

3. Tycho Brahe (December 14, 1546 – October 24, 1601) 

Manner of death: Didn’t get to the toilet in time

Famous as an alchemist and astronomer, Brahe’s pioneering observations of planetary motion paved the way for Sir Isaac Newton to develop the theory of gravity.

Unfortunately brilliance and common sense do not always go hand in hand, the manner of his death being the case in point. Known to have a weak bladder and knowing that it was very bad form to leave the banquet table before the festivities concluded, Brahe still neglected to relieve himself before dinner. To compound matters, he was known to drink excessively, and this particular banquet was no exception. Too polite to ask to be excused, his bladder strained causing a protracted (11 day), agonizing death. Whether he died of a burst bladder or hyponatremia (low levels of sodium in the blood) or mercury poisoning is now debated.

Note: this is very similar to an event in which a lady died recently in a competition entitled “Hold Your Wee for a Wii”. She died of hyponatremia.

4. Attila the Hun (406 – 453) 

Manner of death: He got a nosebleed on his wedding night

History’s most brilliant tactician, warlord, and notorious villain, Attila the Hun conquered all of Asia by 450 AD. Using a combination of fierce combat and ruthless assimilation, Mongolia to the very edge of the Russian Empire fell to Attila and his armies.

Known for his frugal eating and drinking habits, Attila must have thought that his own wedding was an occasion to celebrate. Marrying a young girl named Ildico, in 453 AD; he over-indulged in both food and drink. Sometime after retiring for the evening, his nose started to bleed. Too drunk to notice, it continued to bleed, ultimately drowning him in his own blood.

5. Aeschylus [Αἰσχύλος] (525 BC/524 BC – 456 BC) 

Manner of death: An eagle dropped a tortoise on his head

Considered the founder of tragedy, Aeschylus is the first of the three ancient Greek playwrights whose work still survives. He expanded the characters of a play so that there was conflict between them instead of actors solely interacting with the chorus. Sophocles and Euripides famously followed in his footsteps.

While visiting Gela on the island of Sicily, legend has it that an eagle, mistaking Aeschylus’ bald pate for a stone, dropped a tortoise on his head killing him. Some accounts differ, stating that a stone was dropped on his head, the eagle mistaking his shining crown for an egg. This is not as far-fetched as it seems. The Lammergeier or Bearded Vulture is native to the Mediterranean, and is known to drop bones and tortoises on rocks to break them open.

6. King Adolf Frederick of Sweden (May 14, 1710 – February 12, 1771)

Manner of death: Eating too much pudding

Adolph’s Frederick was the titular King of Sweden from 1751 – 1771. The omnipotent Riksdag or senate held the reins of power despite Adolphus’ best efforts to wrest it from them.

Another victim of personal excess, Adophus Frederick is known by Swedish children as “the king who ate himself to death”. On February 12, 1771, after partaking of a banquet consisting of lobster, caviar, sauerkraut, smoked herring and champagne he moved on to his favorite dessert, Semla, a traditional bun or pastry made from semolina/wheat flour, served in a bowl of hot milk. One or two portions would have been sufficient; 14 servings was excessive. He died shortly thereafter of digestion problems.

7. Grigori Rasputin [Григо́рий Ефи́мович Распу́тин] (January 22, 1869 – December 29, 1916) 

Manner of death: Drowning after being poisoned, shot, stabbed, and bludgeoned

The Mad Monk, Grigori Rasputin, was a peasant and mystic healer who found favor with the royal court of Russia by providing relief to Crown Prince Aleksey, a hemophiliac and heir to the throne.

Wielding much influence on the royal court, the unkempt, vulgar, and amazingly resilient Rasputin made many political enemies. He had to go; much easier said than done. The conspirators first tried poison, enough poison to kill a man three times his size, but he seemed unaffected. Next they snuck up behind him and shot him in the head. This should have done it, but no; while one of the assassins was checking his pulse, the mystic grabbed the conspirator by the neck and proceeded to strangle him. Running away, the would-be assassins took up the chase, shooting him 3 times in the process. The gunshots slowed him down enough to allow his pursuers to catch-up. They then proceeded to bludgeon him before throwing him in the icy cold river (Russian winter). When his body was recovered an autopsy showed that the cause of death was drowning.

8. Isadora Duncan (May 27, 1877 – September 14, 1927) 

Manner of death: Strangulation and a broken neck

Isadora Duncan is widely considered as the mother of Modern Dance. Born in San Francisco, California, Dora Angela Duncan was the product of divorced parents; her father a disgraced banker and her mother and pianist and music teacher. Her free form style was never very popular in her home country, but she found great success after immigrating to Paris. She founded three schools of dance and her likeness is carved over the entrance to the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées.

Isadora Duncan died of a broken neck and accidental strangulation when her scarf caught on the wheel of a car she was traveling in. The New York Times, succinctly and brutally described it thusly:

“The automobile was going at full speed when the scarf of strong silk began winding around the wheel and with terrific force dragged Miss Duncan, around whom it was securely wrapped, bodily over the side of the car, precipitating her with violence against the cobblestone street. She was dragged for several yards before the chauffeur halted, attracted by her cries in the street. Medical aid was summoned, but it was stated that she had been strangled and killed instantly.”

9. Christine Chubbuck (August 24, 1944 – July 15, 1974) 

Manner of death: Suicide on live TV

Christine Chubbuck was the host of “Suncoast Digest” a well regarded public affairs program on WXLT-TV in Sarasota, Florida. Breaking format, her guest was waiting across the studio at the news anchor’s desk; Christine read eight minutes of national news stories before the tape reel malfunctioned while describing a shooting at the Beef and Bottle restaurant. Seemingly unfazed by the technical glitch, Christine looked into the camera and said:

“In keeping with Channel 40′s policy of bringing you the latest in blood and guts, and in living color, you are going to see another first: an attempted suicide.”

Taking a revolver out from under her desk, she placed it behind her left ear and pulled the trigger (she learned this was the most effective way to commit suicide from the police while researching a project for her show). She tumbled violently forward as the technical director slowly faded to black. Some viewers called 911 while others called the station to see if it was real. Camerawoman Jean Reed later stated that she didn’t believe it to be genuine until she saw Christine’s body twitching on the floor.

10. Sharon Lopatka (September 20, 1961 – October 16, 1996) 

Manner of death: Volunteered to be tortured and murdered

Sharon Lopatka was an internet entrepreneur and one sick puppy. Living in Hampstead, Maryland, USA, Sharon was killed by Robert Frederick Glass in a case of consensual homicide.

While advertising unusual fetishist pornography on her web site, Sharon began her hunt for a partner willing to torture and kill her for their mutual sexual gratification. After many false starts, of course most replies were not serious, she finally found Robert Glass; more than willing to fulfill her fantasy. They exchanged many messages, culminating in their meeting in North Carolina. Glass tortured her for several days before strangling her with a nylon cord. He was later convicted of voluntary manslaughter and possession of child pornography.