The Blue Hill Horror
Posted by: Loren Coleman on September 17th, 2009
What is “It”? For now, it is “The Blue Hill Horror.”
“Shocking photographs of ‘something’ that has washed ashore in Panama is sending chills up the spines of Central American readers for a creature rivaling the Montauk Monster has invaded their land.”
Well, that’s a caption I created of what I imagine some editors are feeling they would like to have written about the photos published this week in Panama.
Instead, here is Cryptomundo correspondent Harris Eisenberg and my rough translation of the text accompanying the images above:
“The finding of a strange Blue Hill creature has awaked controversial among the population, because while some assert that it is a being of another planet, others think simply that it is an animal. Four adolescents between 14 and 16 years of age, discovered it in the Blue Hill Spurt, this past Saturday [September 12, 2009], while they were amusing themselves in the area. According to what they related, one of them suddenly saw the creature leave a cave located behind the water spurt. When it saw their appearance, it began to climb on rocks towards them; one [of the teens] was scared, so he began to stone it and to throw sticks at it, causing it to be killed; then they threw it into the water and they fled.”
Telemetro, September 15, 2009.. (Smoother translation text will be welcomed and used to replace the one above.)
It looks like another mundane animal washed ashore, and a story has been created to explain it.
But what species of animal could it be?
++++++
UPDATE:
New photo added of the decayed body, allegedly.
Thanks to Alex & Tansky.
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It’s a tree sloth that’s been in the water for quite some time.
Dear flightsuit…yes, I see your point but until we have firm DNA confirmation, perhaps a more tentative, “I think it’s a tree sloth” would be more in keeping with this site. That is, unless, of course, you have inside info we don’t know about?
Geez that really does look freaky Loren! Supposing it’s not a hoax (and there’s no reason to believe it is I guess) i’ve no idea what that could be, but flightsuit’s suggestion is interesting.
My guess was a sloth without hair as well
I would like to know the size of it before beginning to guess. A sloth would be a very interesting answer, however, from my brief scrolling through images, a Sloth has a darkened snout, with a rather dark nose, like a dark colored dog. I am giving myself room to be incorrect, but small, possible clues, lead me to think it’s not a sloth. Perhaps in some case it is a sloth? Could it be rather young? Are there offspring born hairless?
Look at his hand in the first pic, it has claws just like a sloth. See?
It could be a different type of sloth that we don’t know about yet…
or, a completely hairless new creature. I gotta say, I shivered when I saw the pics, creepy as hell.
junior gollum – obvious when it was found living near a waterfall.
Looking for ‘my precious’ no doubt.
New to the site. First post. Greetings.
I’ve really no idea what a turtle looks like without its shell, and all bloated and waterlogged…..but the face sort of looks turtle-y. Gollum sort of works too.
the kids were playing by the sea, saw the creature emerge from a cave, the creature began climbing the rocks towards the children, the kids threw rocks and sticks at it until it was dead, and then it was thrown back into the ocean only to be found again right away?
story doesn’t add up for me. this animal does not seem suitable for the environment if the carcass is as fresh as claimed. the skin has an odd sheen to it, lacks any hair (looks mammalian), and is very uniform in color. almost plastic-like in my opinion.
it could be an older carcass of a real animal that washed up and the kids’ story is just rubbish. i would expect a little more decay in the facial area though. as to what it would be? beats me. really long upper forelimbs, long neck, small teeth, ears on the side, and a nose like a sheep? won’t even attempt it.
I also submitted this story to Loren, and I have to say this is the first cryptid in my 24 years on earth that has genuinely made me feel uneasy. I can look at half rotted basking sharks and hairless raccoons all day, but this. Maybe its because it looks more humanoid, I don’t know. I hope that the kids were lying and this thing wasn’t alive and moving around, otherwise I am moving out of my riverside apartment tomorrow! Even if I do live in Wales!
another conundrum is that Cerro Azul (where it was supposedly found) is not anywhere near the ocean…
I have no idea what this thing is, but given the bloating and bluish tinge, I have my doubts, assuming these photos were supposedly taken soon after the event. It appears to be something that’s been dead a while. And why would you take photos of only the upper portion of the ‘creature’?
I see no obvious wounds from the supposed stone and stick attack, either. So, I’m tempted to cry foul on this one.
To be honest, this does not scream “Hairless Tree Sloth” off the top of my head—but hey, what do I know, right??? 🙂
I agree with Loren. Let’s wait for the DNA test to be sure.
I DO agree…
Whatever this IS or is NOT—very creepy pictures. “Shiver.”
Some kids found a tree sloth with pink skin under the fur, (or perhaps somehow de-melanized portions of the skin, after removing the fur,) either alive or already dead, removed its fur, (full body wax?,) and made up a bogus and not particularly believable story, to hoax the public. Seems the most likely explanation, to me. I note the unmistakeably sloth-like features, including the claws, as mentioned here already.
It looks like who ever took the photo deliberately left out the ends of the “arms” and the bottom of the body. It seems like it could be some sort of seal whose neck was elongated due to decomposition. This might also explain why the body appears to be so “fat” because lurking just outside the picture frame are its flippers…
A sloth seems very probable. If you look at one of the “hands”, you can even see the long thin sickle-claws of the sloth. And there is no need for a DNA-Study. A simple look into its mouth would show the dentition, which is very typical in sloths. Furthermore, an X-ray-examination would bring full light to the true structure of the skull and the rest of the skeleton. What I find strange again – and very typical for cryptid photos – there is no size comparison, there is no picture of the whole animal. And a further notion, why are the to photos on the left side from the same position but not symetrical? This means the lower photo was reflected to the other side on a PC, for what reason I don´t know.
There is an associated picture {added above ~ Loren} from the set which is said to show the creature in a later stage of decay. The claws suggest a sloth in that picture.
Yes the thing odingirl said about being no wounds hits me as the story being fake, but still couldnt tell what the creature is, if the story was to be true i’d feel sorry for it the kids could just run it looks harmless haha.
Tree Sloths are common in Panama. The claw looks like a sloth claw. Head shape, pretty sloth-like. The story sounds false…as the creature appears to have been dead for some time. Similar to other washed ashore creatures..there appears to be some fur left. I’ve written to family in Panama looking for more info.
I’m thinking it’s a hoax. No shots of the feet and all of you seem to share the idea of it being a sloth. Hopefully in this hoax the sloth was truly found dead and not killed for the hoax.
Have any of you watched the movie Eraserhead? Honestly it struck me right away. It looks a lot alike the deformed baby in Eraserhead and if this isn’t a sloth I can see how a movie may have helped someones creative side.
ha! thats me in luaghlin last week for labor day. i was a little bit more sunburnt and hungover looking but yeah that was me.
its obvious, at least to me that its a tree sloth.
Yes, the claws are a dead giveaway as are the long arms. It sure looks like a tree sloth that’s lost its fur.
Come on People! This one is easy!
Aren’t there any fans of director David Lynch’s movie “Eraserhead” out there? In the movie Eraserhead had a deformed baby. The producers of the movie used a real dead unborn calf wrapped in gauze as the baby and made it move like a puppet.
Here is a link to some photos of the “Eraserhead” baby. Looks like it’s twin right down to the neck! My 2 Cents!
[CRYPTOMUNDO EDITOR: THESE IMAGES MAY BE TOO GRAPHIC FOR YOUNG CHILDREN.]
That last picture is kinda weird, it has no real legs? Almost resembles a mermaid in a way.
Actually there is debate as to if it was an unborn calf or an unborn sheep that was used in the movie. Either way whatever was used is the same species as what washed up on that shore!
Tim
Looks to me that ET fell out of the basket on the bike he was riding in.
I do have to say though when i first saw these pictures the other day and seeing the claw-like hands then considering the area around which it was found I thought sloth. Now whether it had no hair or the kids did something to remove the hair would be interesting to know. Good find and creepy none the less
tree sloth look at the claws
Could it be a sloth with no hair? Does anyone know if Sloths loose there hair after dying? The children killed it rite? Was it hairless or did it have hair before its departure? Who knows. But it is creepy and freaky.
i agree, it appears to be a sloth. the decomposed photo only proves it more- the claws on the hind leg in the foreground are rather obvious.
sloth skeleton
and i feel the need to point out that the article mentions “smoother translation text will be welcomed and used to replace the one above”, so all of the facts may not currently be accurately translated 😛
Nothing more than a tree sloth,yawn…
Greetings All!
Well, well, well!! Today, boys and girls, we’re going to learn about the power of suggestion! All it takes is for someone to say it is hairless, and everybody sees no hair! Au contaire! The top left corner of the top left picture of the foursome shows… hair! And whadda ya know, it looks like sloth hair to me! And they would have gotten away with it, if it weren’t for us meddling kids!
The story about the alleged kids allegedly killing the alleged sloth-monster sounds way too much like the “4 inch alien found in Lahore, Pakistan” story, as wells the “Snake with claw stuns Chinese scientists” story which is currently making the rounds. In all three cases we have odd, but inconclusive photos supported by stories of backwoods folks discovering an extraordinary creature and immediately killing it.
Interesting how memes repeat themselves.
My money’s on sloth.
Sloths do not live in caves as far I know, they are strictly arboreal and often have difficulty moving about on land.
That being said, this does look like a bald sloth to me. You can see the long, curved claws in some of scenes in the first image, and definitely in the second where the carcass is fairly decayed. The face reminds me of a sloth as well, short face, wide nose.
Unfortunately, you cannot see a good view of the skull in the second image, would have been helpful.
If this was a sick sloth, mange perhaps, that would explain the lack of hair. A sick sloth might be on the ground, as sick animals do not always behave normally.
Here is a better translation of what was written… it says nothing about any ocean, btw…
“The discovery of a strange creature in Cerro Azul (Blue Hill) has caused controversy among the population of the area. While some assert that it could be a being from another planet, others believe that it is simply an animal.
Four adolescents, between 14 and 16 years of age, encountered the creature at the Cerro Azul Stream, last Saturday, while playing in the area.
According to the account of one of the youth, they saw the creature come out of a cave located behind the stream. Upon seeing its appearance, and that it started to climb over the rocks toward one of them, they became frightened and started to throw stones and sticks at it, managing to kill it, after which they threw it in the water and fled.”
I am extremely suspicious of this story, there are a lot of holes in this story. They took photos but conveniently left out photos that show what we would need for a positive I.D. I doubt the part where they say they killed it , I see on injuries that would suport that , also it appears to have died long long before the photos.
Did anyone even get tissue for a DNA analysis? If so who has it and which lab is it going to, too many inconsistencies.
I agree that the most likely identification is a sloth.
Hmmm it came out and it was thrown rocks and sticks… I wonder if the rocks were big enough to kill it. Plus it could of died out of shock when the objects were hitting it. Especially if it was a baby or a Scared, Frustrated or Sick animal.
Second: if it was hairless in the beginning i don’t understand how it could be a sloth.
Third: I can see the body sorta resembling a sloth, but the head and face does not resemble a sloth which leads me to think it’s an unknown bipedal animal. Sure i’m not ruling out a sloth nor i’m not ruling out a Unknown Sloth Kind. But as of now i can’t say it’s a sloth.
of course. Someone trying to deny it’s existance would claim it’s a sloth after taking DNA test. I believe that Some people who take dna test can deny it’s an unknown new animal and say it’s some known animal and give us the name of the known animal.
This must be a sloth. Panama, hooked claws, come on.
They do not swim well. I know because I have rescued a few while in Costa Rica. I have spent months in their enviroment.
My daughter just spent six months in Brasil and she also rescued one. Like father like daughter. LOL
Correct me if I’m wrong but doesn’t Sloths live in the jungle in trees? If that’s the case why would this thing be coming out of a cave?
This sums up my opinion on this.
With the new picture I would definitely put my money on sloth too.
Looks like a Sloth!!
It looks like something from outer…three toed sloth
I think this is the definitive answer.There’s your creature.
THIS IS A THREE TOED SLOTH.
It is very common that carcasses will loose hair as a result of decomposition, especially if the carcass was for some time in the water. So there is no need to think about the riddle how a living sloth lost its hair, because this carcass was very probably for some time floating in the water. It looks at the first pictures also a bit bloatet at all parts of the body, and the skin looks also a bit wax-like, what are typical results of a dead body which was for some time in the water. Without predation by scavengers, a carcass in water needs about two times as long as on the air to decompose, and the grave wax which develops conserves the body for a longer time.
If objects large enough to kill it were thrown, would there not be bruises or cuts?
it look’s like a sloth however i myself have never shaved one to see 🙂
Lol, my first thought was the Eraserhead baby as well. As for the story, of course they would kill it, “oh no, something that looks a little weird that we don’t understand, let’s kill it”, typical.
Apes and Monkeys have long arms like a Sloth. They have 2 legs and a body like a Sloth. They love trees and climbing. Yet they’re not Sloths. They’re very different animals.
Whales can not mate with Sharks, but they both have fins.
Sharks can not mate with Fish, they both have gills. Eagles and Ducks both have feathers and can fly, but they’re not the same kind of fowls. Both Sloths and this animal both have curved claws and long arms, but that doesn’t mean it’s the same kind of animal. For all we know, it needs this claws for defense and climbing.
socialcryptid: I agree. If this were a sloth, i can understand that it couldn’t swim.
Bamaboy: i agree completely. I personally don’t wanna say it’s a sloth. But it may be, at least an unknown kind. We can say it’s a Cave Dwelling Sloth (new kind). Can’t rule out the possibility that someone brought the animal to the cave and left it there. I’m sad the animal is dead, cause it could of been harmless. When it approached the kids, it probably want to play with them or thinking that it can help it somehow, or just passing by. Poor thing. ;( But i still don’t think it’s a sloth.
Dambert: Never thought of that. Good point. Then again, the kids probably throw rocks in it’s back region. Notice in the picture it’s laying on it’s back, you only see it’s face and stomach region. And as i said before it was probably scared and/or frustrated so it died out of shock when the object hit it. That means that the objects don’t have to be big enough to bruise it.
As for the curved Claws… well, let’s just say if this were not a sloth or not an unknown sloth, that is is a unknown animal, it’s possible that it can posses a curved claw. Lots of animals that are not the same kind, can posses something that the other animals have.