Ground Sloths and the Virginia Trail Cam Bigfoot, Part 2

We've received numerous emails about our recent examination of the Virginia trail cam "Bigfoot", in which we speculated that the shaggy creature captured on video may be the (supposedly) long-extinct ground sloth. Feedback to our theory has run the gamut from supportive to downright hostile (who knew that folks were so passionate about unidentified hairy objects?). Evidently, this mystery creature from Virginia has aroused the passions and imaginations of many, ourselves included. As a result, we feel compelled to expound on our theory that the ground sloth is alive and well, and lurking in the forests of North America.

Let's turn our attention to sightings of the supposedly extinct ground sloth and other compelling evidence which supports our theory that this creature still roams the wilds.

1886: Argentine explorer Ramon Lista, who would later become governor of Santa Cruz, claimed to have seen a ground sloth during a Patagonian expedition.

1897: Dr. F.P Moreno of Argentina's La Plata Museum was exploring a cave in Patagonia near Last Hope Inlet when he saw a hide from a ground sloth. Upon questioning the natives, the expert paleontologist learned that the hide had been left behind by Argentine officers two years earlier. (New-York Tribune, Nov. 4, 1900)

Side by side comparison- Bigfoot vs. Giant Sloth

1897-1900: Evidence of ground sloths were found near Last Hope Inlet by several other leading scientists of the day, including Dr. Nordenskjold, Dr. Rudolph Hauthal, Dr. Ameghino and explorer C. Arthur Pearson. These men found droppings, tracks, skins, and other evidence of ground sloths. Several of these specimens were displayed at the South Kensington museum in London. (New-York Tribune, Nov. 4, 1900)

1900: Professor Ray Lancaster, a leading paleontologist of the early 20th century, gave a lecture in London in which he stated, "I believe the giant ground sloth still exists in some of the mountainous regions of Patagonia."

1937: On August 18, a newspaper article described a sighting of a ground sloth in Indiana. The creature's blood-curdling screams and shrieks are eerily reminiscent of alleged Bigfoot vocalizations (coincidence?). The article stated: A stranger who declined to identify himself strolled into the newspaper office here today and declared that the weird, mysterious beast whose screams and prowlings have terrified residents of the Ohio river valley is simply a giant sloth... When a sloth is hungry and frightened, he said, it will give vent to blood-curdling shrieks and yells such as terrified river valley residents have reported they have heard intermittently since Friday night... At that time Mrs. Ralph Duff reported she caught a fleeting glimpse of the animal and said it looked like an ape.

1975: A miner named Mário Pereira de Souza claims that he came face to face with a giant sloth on the Jamauchím. He heard a scream and saw the creature coming towards him on its hind legs. The animal emitted a terrible stench. (It is interesting to note that many sloth sightings are accompanied by a strong, foul odor- much like the odor said to be emitted by Bigfoot)

1994: Dr. David C. Oren, an American ornithologist employed by the Goeldi Natural History Museum in Brazil, launches an expedition into the rainforest in the hopes of finding a ground sloth. He returns with voice recordings of minute-long yelps and howls, not unlike the sounds said to be emitted by Bigfoot.

2011: A resident of Ware County, Georgia, claimed to have seen a ground sloth.

From the 19th century to the present day, leading scientists, elected officials, and ordinary citizens have encountered evidence which seems to suggest that the ground sloth never became extinct, thus shedding an interesting light on the mystery creature filmed in Virginia.

The Hunt for the Osage River Monster

It's spring of 1844 in St. Clair County, Missouri. A mile or so from the banks of the muddy Osage River a pioneer settler named Matthew Arbuckle is plowing his field when he hears a banshee-like wail in the distance, coming from the direction of the river. Shrill and unearthly, the demonic howl fills the farmer with terror. Wasting no time, he unhitches his plow, jumps on the back of his horse and heads for the hills.

One hour later Arbuckle arrives in Papinville, a town fifteen miles from his farm. The exhausted horse is white with foam; its rider white with terror. In a gasping voice he tells of making an escape from an awful monster. Although he had not seen the beast, he had heard its voice, from which he could tell that it was a monster of immense proportions.

Those who heard Arbuckle's story were bewildered, and those who did not know the pioneer personally could tell, just by the bloodless pallor of his trembling skin, that the man was not telling a lie. Whatever terrify…

The Ticking Tombstone of Landenberg

If you look closely at a map of Pennsylvania, you'll see an anomalous semi-circular border at the extreme southeastern part of the state. This circle, known officially as the "Twelve Mile Circle", serves as the border between the Keystone State and Delaware. Much of the strange circle is surrounded by Chester County, one of the three original Pennsylvania counties created by William Penn in 1682. While there are many historical points of interest in Chester County, few are strange or as steeped in legend as the Ticking Tombstone.

Near the London Tract Meeting House in Landenberg is an old graveyard which contains a tombstone which is said to make eerie ticking noises, much like the ticking of a pocketwatch. Landenberg locals claim that the ticking is the result of two very famous surveyors who arrived in town during the 1760s- Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon. A young child supposedly swallowed a valuable pocketwatch owned by Mason and later died, and the boy's head…

The Incest Capital of the World?

At the far eastern edge of Kentucky, nestled in Appalachia, resides Letcher County. In spite of its isolation and poverty (approximately 30% of the county's population lives below the poverty line), Letcher County has managed to grow at an impressive rate, from a population of just 9,172 in 1900 to a present-day population of nearly 25,000. However, even if Letcher County tripled or quadrupled its present population, there's still a pretty good chance that virtually all of the county's inhabitants would be related to each other-- thanks to one particularly fertile family whose astounding rate of reproduction can put even the friskiest rabbit to shame.

Around the year 1900, Letcher County was the home of a man by the name of Jason L. Webb, who made national headlines for having the one of the largest families in the world. According to newspaper reports of the era, Jason had 19 children, 175 grandchildren, and 100 great-grandchildren. Perhaps even more impressive was his b…

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