Maine Mystery Beast Back?
Posted by: Loren Coleman on June 5th, 2007
Two major attacks in which over 26 sheep have been killed in central coast Maine have occurred. These killings have taken place in a pasture in Wiscasset, Maine, over the last weekend and on Monday, June 3-5, 2007.
Read full details here.
Dogs are being blamed, at the moment, but hair samples and bite marks are being examined to make a better determination of what animal or animals are behind these attacks. The killings do not match coyote kills.
This is a breaking story in Maine, and I’ll update developments later, as more news arrives.
The Downeast Maine location is well-known for having Black Panther sightings during the last 20 years.
About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct).
Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015.
Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.
Even for a hungry canine, 26 sheep in one weekend seems a bit high! LOL
Everyone knows there are werewolves in Maine. Just look at the lunar calendar – fairly close match!
Otters, attacking in a line.
Canis lupis on a weekend visit from Canada.
omg,.. lol at fuzzy. otters are quite viscious, y’know? im only half joking.
anyhoo,.. onto maine. well, its not unheard of for large predators such as coyotes, puma, and bear to occassionally go overboard. im not trying to say its one of those predators, but its not out of question. also, feral dogs tend to go on these gleeful killing sprees much more often than wild born animals.
i remember out in montana, one cougar was held responsible for killing 17 sheep in one night.
im still betting on huge, angry, non-cuddly, terrestrial otters. that would just be so much cooler.
i can dream.
I’m inclined to blame this on free running domestic dogs. seemes like the “mystery beast” would most likely eat the kill like a coyote or wolf …or even feral dogs with no other food source would. when wild predators go on “killing sprees” it is usually due to the prey being confined in a small space and unable to escape, the close proximity of so many panicked prey animals keeps the predator’s “killer instinct” switched on and it keeps killing. based on what i’ve seen the sheep killed in this attack were enclosed in a field rather then a small pen. being a resident of Wiscasset however, i will be watching this story as it develops.
In overhunted areas like Greece – where I’m from – it’s not uncommon for a small pack of wolves to kill 100 sheep during an attack. They don’t steal the animals. They bite them in the neck drinking blood and leaving the carcass. Intense hunger and fear of getting shot drives them to do that. But in Maine where deer populations are very healthy I don’t see why wolves would go in killing frenzies.
I found it very interesting that the sheep were not eaten. I would love to find out more about the strange animals that I am sure roam the Maine woods, but I also love the allure of the mystery. I do hope that we find out what animal is responsible for this attack, as the family that owned the sheep are out about $10,000!
fuzzy…stop….i am laughing so hard it hurts! 🙂
“a dog’s been worritin’ th’ sheep” in fake Yorkshire Herriot-speak.
I see that someone else has read the novel Duende about (relatively) giant land otters on the Amazon side of Venezuela.