Kranky Kreatures: Beastly Encounters with bizarre wildlife
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The author indulges in the sport of tracking strange creatures to their lairs--including an unknown mammal in Bhutan, an ugly waterbird in Cambodia, a bizarre primate in Borneo--and the biggest fish in the world, encountered in the Philippines. Not zoology--more like cryptozoology--coming face-to-face with near-mythical creatures.
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Kranky Kreatures - Michael Buckley
Beastly Encounters
Michael Buckley
Published by Smashwords
Email: buckeroo555@yahoo.com
Copyright 2012 Michael Buckley
Smashwords Edition
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this story may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system without written permission by the author, except for brief quotations embedded in reviews.
Parts of this book have previously appeared in magazines--including BBC Wildlife, National Wildlife, Canadian Wildlife, Outpost Magazine, CNN Traveller, Beyond Magazine, and Perceptive Travel e-zine. Many thanks to Riina Tam for proof-reading the manuscript.
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MONSTERS ON MY MIND
I have always been drawn to stories of fantastic mythical beasts like the dragon, the gryphon, the chimera and the harpy. But I was never content to just read about them. I wanted to get closer to these magical creatures. The dinosaurs were real, after all. The woolly mammoth once roamed large parts of the northern hemisphere: today specimens turn up encased in ice. Science fiction: it may be possible to resurrect the woolly mammoth by cloning from a well-preserved specimen. Other beasts started out as mythical, but over time have been proven to be real. For centuries, there were persistent rumours of a giant ape living in the jungles of Africa: it was not until the mid-19th century that the creature was introduced to science and christened the gorilla.
In medieval times, cartographers filled in unknown areas with fanciful dragons and fantastic creatures from the deep. But perhaps not so fanciful after all: on a remote island in Indonesia a huge carnivorous lizard discovered in the 1930s resembles a dragon--and indeed is known today as the Komodo Dragon. In the 21st century, scientists in submersibles--venturing 2,000 metres underwater--have discovered fantastic new species in the deep. In 2007, a complete specimen of a colossal squid was trawled up from the depths of Antarctica--this creature may well be the source of stories about attacks on sailors by a monstrous squid known as the Kraken. In 2012, an albino all-white killer whale was photographed for the first time, off the coast of Kamchatka, far-eastern Russia: the rare orca has been christened 'Iceberg'. It was sighted frollicking in a family pod of regular black-and-white orcas. Judging by the tall dorsal fin (estimated at 2 metres high), scientists calculated the pale whale's age at around 16 years old.
There are marvellous creatures out there--the dugong, the snow leopard, the polar bear, the narwhal--that are every bit as magnificent as the mythical ones. The male narwhal sports a huge lance-like tusk protruding from its mouth--a sort of marine unicorn. The unicorn is a mythical horse--but just as striking are the zebroid, the zorse, and the opkapi.
Looking for exotic creatures like these has propelled my quests into wilderness areas--a passion that has endured over several decades, and one that has spanned the globe. Trouble is, getting to see such creatures in the wild is becoming increasingly difficult. In the 21st century, they are doing a vanishing act--on the verge of returning to mythical status. Places where you might previously have counted on observing them are not reliable any more: wildlife seasons around the world are becoming far less predictable due to the spectre of climate change and global warming. Otherwise, the blame can be laid squarely on human greed: centuries of hunting, followed by pollution, dams, and relentless deforestation. Corruption and greed proceed unabated even in national parks and protected wildlife regions like the Galapagos. The impact of uncontrolled tourism in the Galapagos and Antarctica is significant. When large animals disappear, it's an early warning sign that the delicate eco-systems that support them are in imminent danger of collapsing.
This book details zany forays to the remote reaches of the planet, looking for near-mythical species, on a quest to track down each creature to its lair. Each chapter links the species to its extreme environment--and what is changing in that environment to endanger these species. A future edition of the book will see more chapters and more illustrations. Stay tuned.
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chapter one
THE BEAST OF BHUTAN
In quest of an unknown mammal--a monsoon trek in the Himalayas
Running the gauntlet. That's the only way to describe it. My heart is pounding at the wrong speed, my shirt is dripping with sweat, my legs feel like they're made of lead. We have endured slippery trails and oppressive humidity by day, followed by far too many biting bugs at twilight--insects that get in your mouth if you leave it open, or into your ears if you let them. The only way to get rid of them is to stand with your face close to a fire made extra-smoky by burning green branches. After that, hair full of smoke, you make a mad dash for your tent and zip yourself into your sleeping bag: nights are freezing. Day in, day out, running the gauntlet--huffing and puffing, fried by the altitude, exhausted by the steep inclines. But this will all be worth it if I get to see a wild takin. More than worth it.
In the mountains of Bhutan resides a beast that has achieved legendary status. For starters, its shaggy golden coat is thought to be the source of the fabled Golden Fleece of ancient Greek myth, although nobody can pinpoint the exact origin of this link. The origin of the mammal itself is somewhat clear in Bhutanese lore: its creation is attributed to the crazy yogi Drukpa Kunley.
Drukpa Kunley was a 16th-century Tantric master famed for exorcising nasty demons with his penis--particularly through the medium of chaste nuns, who explained away liaisons with him as encounters with the divine. Drukpa Kunley's ribald sense of humour--and practical jokes of the Tantric kind--have gained him a wide following in Bhutan over the centuries. Painted on many farmhouse walls is a huge stylized phallus, symbolic of Drukpa Kunley and thought to ensure good luck and fertility--and guaranteed to ward off evil spirits. A startling choice of home décor to the foreign eye, but the Bhutanese don't bat an eyelid.
The takin creation story runs along the following lines. After a lavish