The Black Vault maintains no official stance on cases like this. It was added here in the Cryptozoology section as a new case for investigation.  Although it is largely thought to be simply a deformed lamb born by a sheep, infected by the Rift Valley Fever, however others maintain an explanation much more paranormal.

This story was originally published by The Daily Mail.  All copyrights on the material are reserved by their respective owners. This material is used here for reference purposes.

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As published by the Daily Mail on June 22, 2017:

Mutton dressed as man: Superstitious villagers living in fear after sheep gives birth to ‘half-human half-beast’ creature that was ‘sent by the devil’  

By Jamie Pyatt In Cape Town For Mailonline

Superstitious villagers have been living in fear since a sheep gave birth to this creature that was said by elders to be half-human half-beast and ‘sent by the devil’.

Many of the 4,000 residents and farmers of Lady Frere in Eastern Province, South Africa, were convinced that bestiality and witchcraft had led to the birth of the creature.

The panic got so great that the Eastern Cape Department of Rural Development sent out experts to carry out tests after pictures of it spread like wildfire through the community. 

Chief Director of Veterinary Services Dr Lubabalo Mrwebi admitted that at first glance the lamb which was born dead did resemble a human being but was not part human.

Dr Mrwebi said: ‘We can confirm this not a hoax photo but that the severely deformed lamb was born by a sheep in Lady Frere this week which at a glance resembles a human form.

‘It is not however human but a deformed stillborn lamb sired by a sheep and was subsequently infected by a Rift Valley Fever at an early stage of its pregnancy.

‘It is worth noting that a sheep has 28 pairs of chromosomes while humans have 23 pairs which is important in dispelling the myth that a union of a sheep ovum and a human sperm can lead to a development of a viable life form.

‘The deformed lamb exhibits signs that are consistent with an early foetal development that went wrong as a result of a viral infection and nothing more’ he said.

Dr Mrwebi said that the gestation period for a sheep is five months, and that meant that the particular sheep was conceived in late December 2016 or early January 2017.

He said it was a time of plentiful rainfall which brings with it many mosquitoes and midges which are carriers of viruses that cause the Rift Valley Fever in sheep.

Dr Mrwebi concluded: ‘It is fair to assume, therefore, that the sheep was infected by the RVF virus.

‘The resultant circulation of the virus in the blood found its way through the maternal blood into the uterus and the foetus, which was at a very critical stage of development.

‘The infected foetus then, as a result, failed to form properly, leading to the deformity that it became. It does look like a human form but it is not part human at all’ he said.

The department’s veterinary officials is conducting a post-mortem and its results will be communicated to the public who are fearful in the remote area that witchcraft is at play.

A villager was quoted as saying: ‘The elders when they saw it said it was sent by the devil and was born after a coupling between a man and a sheep and then there was panic.

‘Many people are afraid and will not be happy until it is burned’ he said. 

Original Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4628494/South-African-sheep-births-half-human-half-beast.html#ixzz4kkMXrPDf

Montauk Moster Similarity?

According to Wikipedia:

The “Montauk Monster” was an animal carcass, thought to be a raccoon, that washed ashore on a beach near the business district of Montauk, New York in July 2008.

The identity of the creature and the veracity of stories surrounding it have been the subject of controversy and speculation.

It is not known what happened to the carcass; it was said to have mysteriously disappeared.

Although not a match, there are similarities between the “Montauk Monster” and this unidentified creature.  Many believe the Montauk Monster to be a deformed raccoon, while others believe it is a product of experimentation by the U.S. Government.

The photograph is added here for reference:

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by Stan Gordon

Did you see anything strange in the sky last year?  Were you out in the woods and encountered a mysterious animal unlike anything that you had ever seen before? Did you experience an incident that you couldn’t find an explanation for?  If you answered yes to any of these questions, you were not alone. Many Residents from across the state of Pennsylvania reported numerous observations of strange lights and objects in the sky throughout 2015. Some claimed to have seen formations of glowing lights, while others reported encountering spherical, cigar, triangular and rectangular objects from many locations of the Keystone state.

Even stranger were reports from many locations of encounters with mysterious creatures. Sightings of  Bigfoot have historically been recorded for years, and these incidents continue to be reported annually, There were reports of huge birds with massive wingspans (thunderbirds) and even black panthers that are not common to this part of the world. Some creature reports were even stranger.

Citizens of Pennsylvania reported many types of strange incidents including seeing strange footprints, hearing frightening howls, whoops and screams from nearby woods, observing odd clouds, seeing fireballs crossing the sky, and experienced loud mystery booms that shook their homes. Some reported various paranormal experiences including capturing strange images on their cameras. As in past years, the majority of anomalies reported concern unusual lights and objects in the sky.

My interest in strange occurrences began in 1959, when I began to record and document mysterious incidents that were occurring in my home state of Pennsylvania. I was 16 years old in 1965 when the Kecksburg UFO incident occurred in Westmoreland County, and I began to document details about what  had taken place. I began to conduct in the field investigations of UFO and cryptid reports after that incident, and set up a hotline in 1969, for the public to report UFO sightings and other unusual accounts. After so many years of interest in these strange occurrences, I still have never seen a UFO or Bigfoot.

I continue to record such incidents that come to my attention yearly via phone or email. Today there are many other researchers and organizations who also receive Pennsylvania reports. Some of these  resources gathering this information include the National UFO Reporting Center, The Pennsylvania Bigfoot Society, the PA Chapter of MUFON, Jim Brown of Jim’s Destinations, and Lon Strickler of “Phantoms & Monsters.” I maintain contact with many UFO and Bigfoot investigators statewide and across the country.

When I began my field investigations many years ago into various phenomena, it became apparent that many incidents that initially sounded unusual, when properly investigated, were found to be explainable and determined to be of manmade or natural origin. Many UFO sightings are found to have logical explanations and over the years some observations were explained as bright planets and stars, brilliant meteors or re-entry of space debris, lights on aircraft, satellites, NASA high altitude tests, searchlight beams, lights reflecting off of insects, Chinese lanterns, and remote control aircraft. And now we have to deal with quadcopters (drones) with led displays.

Some Bigfoot sightings were only misidentifications of bear or large shaggy dogs. Others were camouflaged hunters in the woods. Many strange footprints were normal tracks that had been distorted by weather and ground conditions. The point is that many anomalies of various types can be explained. Not every UFO and cryptid encounter, however, can be so easily explained away.

While strange encounters are reported from many widespread locations from across the state, one of the most active areas for such unusual incidents continues to be along the Chestnut Ridge that covers sections of Westmoreland, Fayette, and Indiana Counties.

The following are some of the interesting incidents that came to my attention in 2015.

March 12, 2015- Two people had gone out to do some late night shopping near Monessen, located in the Mon Valley area. As they passed under a bridge, the car headlights struck a nine feet tall man-like creature that was covered with black hair that was standing along the side of a road.  As soon as the lights hit it, the creature squinted its eyes and turned and tilted its head. The couple stared at the creature for about 15 seconds then quickly left the area. About 50 feet away from where they saw the creature, they noticed a terrible odor. The Mon valley has had a long history of Bigfoot sightings.

March 16, 2015- Numerous sources received information of a loud boom that shook houses that evening over a wide area of Fayette County from Connellsville to Uniontown. About the same time odd lights were reportedly seen in the area, which were followed by observations of an unusual amount of helicopter activity. A similar mystery boom was reported the night before in Allegheny County.

April 17, 2015- During the evening at a rural location in Westmoreland County not far from West Newton, two people were sitting off a country road and observed a bright white light in the sky moving in their direction which began to make a circular motion. The solid round white object, which made no sound, approached closer to them and hovered over some trees. Suddenly, the car and the area around it became illuminated by a dim white light that was emitted from the hovering object. The witnesses quickly left the area.

April 18, 2015- At a rural location in Greene County not far from Waynesburg, a driver observed what looked like a tall upright figure covered with hair moving quickly up a hillside near a construction site.

April 18, 2015- During the early morning hours, a witness located in a rural area near South Greensburg saw what looked like a tall dark figure in the yard. Later at that location, a large unusual footprint was found that measured approximately 16.5 inches long and 8 inches wide. In past years, other strange creature encounters have been reported from this general area.

April 21, 2015- Around 10:30 AM, a couple was driving between Parker and East Brady in Butler County when they saw a bright flash of light in the sky. The flash appeared to have been the sun reflecting for a moment off the surface of a very large solid object that appeared to be off in the distance over the Allegheny River. The witnesses pulled over to take a better look. The object looked solid black and rectangular shaped and looked to have 4 rows of windows or indentations on its surface. The object entered a large dark cloud that was nearby. The man readied his camera to photograph the object when it exited the cloud, but after 45 minutes, the object was never seen again.

May 8, 2015- Two people driving up a hill during the afternoon in North Huntingdon Township observed a silver metallic “pill” shaped elongated object that was rounded on the ends. The object was moving rapidly across the sky and was soon blocked by trees. When they reached an open view the object was not seen again. There have been many UFO sightings reported around the Irwin and North Huntingdon areas for years.

August 28, 2015- In the distant evening sky over the Laurel Ridge near Ligonier, witnesses observed an object that looked like a clear bubble with a fuzzy looking outside edge. As the witnesses watched, the strange object suddenly dropped straight down from the sky towards the ground. They expected there to be an impact and explosion but they neither heard nor saw anything after that. Many strange events have occurred over the years around both the Laurel Mountain area and Chestnut Ridge.

Late August-Early September, 2015- This incident took place around 5 PM on a sunny afternoon as the witness was taking a leisurely drive in eastern Butler County. Suddenly, 15-20 feet ahead of the vehicle and about ¾ of the way across the road, a being that was hard to describe was moving from right to left in front of the car. Whatever this thing was, it had a skinny body, stood about 4-4 ½ feet tall, and was similar to the color of a deer.

The head looked somewhat like that of a deer but was not real pointy. It narrowed at the top then rounded off. The creature was observed only from the side. The arms were very short and were held close to the chest. The hands were quite small and looked as though they were carrying something or being held together. No legs or feet were observed. The driver said the thing just “glided” above the roadway. When the witness reached the location on the road where the creature had been, it was no longer seen. The witness could not understand how the thing was just gone in a matter of seconds.

September, 2015- A witness reported seeing a huge black bird with a wingspan estimated to be over 15 feet wide that wasn’t flapping its wings, but just soaring through the sky. The sighting took place near the Cedar Street exit outside of Greensburg.  This area has had a history of thunderbird reports. There were other reports of giant bird sightings from across the state during the year.

September-October 2015- Numerous reports of triangular objects were reported from various locations.

On September 1, 2015, a witness near Springdale located about 18 miles NE of Pittsburgh observed a very bright white light toward the west that evening.  As the light got closer, an unusual loud sound was heard unlike that of jet or propeller aircraft. As the object passed low overhead, it appeared to be huge and was not any type of aircraft the witness was familiar with. The observer looked up at the bottom of a solid boomerang shaped object that had evenly spaced dim white spotlights that were all non-blinking  along the edge of the underside of the object. The underbelly of the object had a greenish tinge. The object moved toward the east, then banked to the south and moved out of sight.

In early October at a rural location between Fayette and Westmoreland counties, a man walked outside of his home around 11 AM and looked up to see the bottom of a very large solid black triangular object that had appeared to have four exhaust vents. The object was moving very slowly about 500 feet above the ground and was completely silent. The man grabbed his cell phone which was completely charged to take a picture. When he aimed at it, the phone reportedly lost all power and would not function. This effect has been reported by other witnesses over the years.

November 23, 2015- At about 2 PM, a married couple was driving on a rural road about 2 miles from Ligonier. The driver noticed some movement in the bushes to the right of the road. Suddenly, an animal began to trot from right to left about 10-20 feet ahead of the car. The car was stopped as both witnesses watched something quite strange.

The animal was four legged and looked somewhat like a fox. However, they could only see the outline of the animal, as this creature was not solid, and no color or fur was observed. The husband told me that the animal had a “smoky veil shape” but his wife who had a longer look at it stated that she could “see through it.” She also said that there was a specific area within the body shape that was like an energy pattern. They watched as the animal entered the woods to their left and never saw it again.

December 24, 2015- At about 9 PM, a witness was outside when he noticed a solid triangular object southwest of Greensburg. There were a number of non-blinking lights on the silent object which was approaching closer to the witness location. The witness grabbed a floodlight and aimed it towards the object. As soon as the light hit the object, it disappeared and was not seen again.

December 9, 2015, was the 50^th anniversary of the Kecksburg, PA UFO crash-landing incident.

Late that afternoon in 1965, a brilliant fiery object was observed over a widespread area. That object reportedly fell from the sky into a wooded ravine near that Mount Pleasant Township community.  Soon after the object fell, many eyewitnesses reported military personnel arriving in that area to search for the fallen object.

The object was reportedly taken away from that location on a military flatbed tractor trailer truck where it was transported first to Lockbourne  Air Force Base in Ohio for a short stay over. The truck then continued on to Wright Patterson Air Force Base where it ended its journey. There have been many theories brought forth over the years as to what the object was that fell near Kecksburg in 1965. What that object was remains open for speculation.

To report a UFO, Bigfoot, cryptid, or any mysterious event from Pennsylvania, contact Stan at 724-838-7768 or email him at: paufo@comcast.net. Visit Stan’s website at: www.stangordon.info.

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This case began circulating on February 1, 2016. The following was published by the U.K.’s The Daily Mail, which is copyright protected by their respective owners. It is reproduced here under fair use, and for archival/research purposes.

By SARA MALM FOR MAILONLINE

An ‘alien fish’ caught on a small Caribbean island has left experts baffled, as they struggle to determine its species.

The creature reportedly has ‘feet’ which allows it to walk across the seabed, a ‘ perfect human nose’, and scales like a fish. 

The sea creature was caught in the port of Windward on the tiny island of Carriacou, a few miles from Grenada.

One islander said ‘Everyone crowded round to look – nobody had ever seen anything like it.

‘Quite a few people were pretty scared and thought it looked like something out of a sci-fi horror film.’

Veteran fisherman Hope McLawrence, 74, who found himself staring into the eyes of the ‘alien’ creature when he hauled in his nets, admitted he was astounded and baffled.

The foot-long beast had two feet with toes, no fin, a long bone on its back and ‘a perfect human nose immediately above its mouth’ according to Mr McLawrence.

‘I have never discovered anything like this before. The wings and tail looks extremely complicated.’

Mr McLawrence, who has more than fifty years experience in the fishing industry added ‘By the look of the creature it cannot swim but apparently walks on the sea bed.

‘This has shocked me to a considerable extent since I never thought that a creature like this even existed, much less in the harbour of these shallow, friendly waters.

‘This is like a mystery and breathes a chill with this discovery’ he added. 

The fish is believed to be a frogfish, an ambush predator that can eat almost anything that will fit into their large mouths. This includes other fish as well as crabs and shrimp.

Have an idea on what it might be? Comment below!

Possible Explanation

Although a lot of theories are beginning to circulate, and one expert in the article above called it a “Frogfish,” The Black Vault adds the following fish to this case file, which is in the oceans called a Walking Batfish.

According to Wikipedia:

The red-lipped batfish or Galapagos batfish (Ogcocephalus darwini) is a fish of unusual morphology found around the Galapagos Islands and off Peru at depths of 3 to 76 m (10 to 249 ft). Red-lipped batfish are closely related to rosy-lipped batfish (Ogcocephalus porrectus), which are found near Cocos Island off the coast of Costa Rica. This fish is mainly known for its bright red lips. Batfish are not good swimmers; they use their highly adapted pectoral fins to “walk” on the ocean floor. When the batfish reaches maturity, its dorsal fin becomes a single spine-like projection (thought to function primarily as a lure for prey). Like other anglerfish, the red-lipped batfish has a structure on its head known as illicium. This structure is employed for attracting prey.

Could this fish explain the mystery?

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The following was published by RT on July 01, 2015:

The enigmatic remains of a giant marine animal with a furry tail found in Russia’s Far East have puzzled locals and social media, but scientists have managed to identify the odd creature.

A mysterious sea animal washed ashore near the airport at Shakhtersk on Sakhalin Island this weekend, Sakhalin Media web portal reported on Wednesday. The remains, a few meters in length, featured a furry tail and a huge nose, making it very difficult to identify the creature.

Social media reacted to pictures posted online with a variety of explanations for the appearance of a never-before-seen creature in Russia. While it reminded some people of an ancient dinosaur, the most popular guess was that it was a Ganges River dolphin from India.

“Probably, our summer is so cold that even the Indian Dolphins getting into local waters are covered with fur,” a commentator joked.

However, according to experts, it would be impossible for a fresh water dolphin to survive the swim in the salty ocean. Besides, they don’t have any fur and are smaller in size.

“We have gathered a group of scientists. We studied all the versions and came to the conclusion that the fossils found ashore belong to a whale cub,” Nikolay Kim, Deputy Head of the Forecasting department of the Sakhalin Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography, told Sakhalin Media.

Kim added that the cub must have been a giant beaked whale, a species that is quite common for the region, so the discovery is a“no wonder.” Besides, all dolphins and whales are born with a hair coat that disappears with age.

Berardius bairdii, also called “giant bottlenose whales,” is the largest of all beaked whales, reaching up to 12 meters in length, and found in the North Pacific. It is listed in the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS).

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