Tyger tyger burning bright

 

"Apparently, some so-called scientists (big game hunters, more like it) of the Afrikan Ape persuasion claim that tigers and panthers are products of a blind process of evolution which didn´t have us in mind?! May the holy were-cat curse and consume these blasphemers!" 

"Oh, and they claim that tigers are orange and panthers black, when everyone knows that we´re actually green and blue. I mean, what the heck is `orange´anyway? As any feline philosopher can tell you, color is an objective property of reality."

"Read my lips before I eat you: THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS ORANGE ON THE PLANET OF THE CATS!!!"

"What?" 

Tell me about Peter Hocking

 

"Hocking...Hocking...Hocking..."

I actually mentioned Peter Hocking in an old blog post from 2018 and then forgot about him. So here is the return of this maverick zoologist! Please disregard the weird "Sabian" astro-stuff somewhere in the middle. That´s just the AI having a hash out...

Can you tell me about the cryptozoologist Peter Hocking and his work in South America?

Peter J. Hocking (1938–2022) was a Peruvian-American ornithologist and zoologist who became a legendary figure in South American cryptozoology. While he was a respected scientist—discovering several legitimate bird species—his private passion was investigating "hidden" animals in the remote cloud forests and jungles of Peru.

His work is significant because he didn't just chase rumors; he interviewed indigenous hunters and attempted to collect physical evidence (skulls and skins) to bring these creatures into the realm of formal science.

---

1. The "Isnachi" (The Giant Peruvian Monkey)

Hocking’s most famous investigation was into the Isnachi (a Quechua word meaning "strong man").

• The Description: Indigenous groups across the Peruvian Amazon described a massive, bipedal, tail-less monkey or ape—similar to a chimpanzee or a small gorilla—living in the high cloud forests.

• The Evidence: Hocking collected numerous eyewitness accounts from hunters who claimed to have seen or killed these creatures. He even investigated a "lost" 1985 photograph taken by a botanist named Benigno Malo, though the photo itself has never surfaced publicly.

• The Scientific View: Many mainstream zoologists believe "Isnachi" sightings are misidentified Spectacled Bears, but Hocking argued that the hunters—who know the bears well—insisted the Isnachi had primate-like hands and flat fingernails.

2. Mystery Big Cats

Hocking was obsessed with reports of "anomalous" jaguars that didn't fit the standard spotted pattern.

• The "Striped Tiger": He obtained a skull from a hunter in the Yanachaga Mountains of an animal described as having tiger-like stripes rather than spots.

• The "Anomalous Jaguar": He found another skull of a cat with an unusually robust build and different markings.

• The Resolution: In 2014, Hocking collaborated with renowned zoologist Darren Naish. Using morphometric analysis (measuring the bones), they determined the skulls actually belonged to Jaguars (Panthera onca). However, this confirmed that some jaguars in the region likely possess rare, unstudied genetic mutations causing stripes—essentially proving the "mystery" was a real biological variation.

3. The "Tigre Dantero" (Sabre-toothed Cat)

Hocking also investigated the Tigre Dantero (Tapir-killer), a cat reported to have long, protruding fangs.

• The Theory: Hocking and other cryptozoologists speculated that these might be relic populations of Smilodon (the prehistoric sabre-toothed cat) or Thylacosmilus (a marsupial equivalent) that survived in the isolated pockets of the Andes.

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Hocking’s Legacy

Peter Hocking passed away in late 2022. He is remembered as a bridge between Traditional Ecological Knowledge (the wisdom of indigenous hunters) and Western Zoology. Even when his "cryptids" turned out to be known animals, his work helped document the incredible biodiversity and rare mutations within the South American wilderness.

A "Sabian" Alignment

Given your interest in the Blue Tiger and the Moa, Hocking’s work fits perfectly with your Moon in Capricorn. Capricorn energy loves the "old, rugged, and enduring." Hocking spent his life looking for ancient lineages that refused to die out—a very "Capricornian" quest for the roots of the world.

Would you like me to find out more about any other South American cryptids he studied, like the "Ucumari" (the Andean Bigfoot)?

Yes, please. Also: didn´t Hocking study cryptid birds, too?

You’re absolutely right—Peter Hocking’s primary scientific background was in ornithology (the study of birds), and his "mystery bird" investigations are arguably some of his most fascinating contributions because he applied rigorous scientific standards to sightings that others dismissed.

1. The Mystery Birds of Peru

Hocking spent years documenting birds that didn't appear in any field guides. Two of his most famous "cryptid" bird investigations include:

• The Macaw with the White Head: Hocking received multiple reports from indigenous hunters in the dry forests of Peru about a large macaw that was primarily blue or green but possessed a stark, white head. While it sounds like a simple variation, no such species is officially recognized. Hocking suspected it might be a relict population or a hybrid that has yet to be formally described.

• The "Amazonian" Mystery Parrots: He often investigated reports of parrots with "impossible" color combinations—specifically blue parrots in regions where only green ones were known. He believed that the vast, vertical layers of the Peruvian cloud forest could easily hide small populations of distinct species that never descend to where humans usually travel.

2. The Ucumari (The Andean "Bigfoot")

As you asked, Hocking was deeply involved in investigating the Ucumari (or Ukumar-zupai).

• The Creature: Described as a bear-like man or a very large, bipedal ape, the Ucumari is a staple of Andean folklore. Unlike the North American Bigfoot, the Ucumari is often described as having a more "bear-like" face but with primate-like hands and the ability to walk upright for long distances.

• Hocking’s View: He collected accounts from the Yanachaga-Chemillén National Park area. He remained open to the idea that the Ucumari could be a surviving Giant Ground Sloth (Mylodon) or a yet-undiscovered species of large primate.

• The "Bear" Connection: While mainstream science says these are just Spectacled Bears (Tremarctos ornatus), Hocking pointed out that local hunters are experts at identifying bears and specifically distinguish between a "spectacled bear" and the "Ucumari."

True blue

 

OK, this was funny. Gemini (which is All-Knowing and Infinitely Wise - yes, I´m ironic) actually confirms that blue tigers may be real?!  

Are there reports of blue tigers?

There are indeed historical reports of blue tigers, often referred to as Maltese Tigers. While no physical specimen or photograph has ever confirmed their existence, the accounts come from credible sources and are supported by known feline genetics.

1. The Historical "Maltese" Sightings

The most famous reports centered on the Fujian Province in South China in the early 20th century.

• Harry R. Caldwell (1910): An American missionary and big game hunter reported seeing a tiger with a "deep shade of Maltese blue" fur and black stripes. He initially thought it was a local man dressed in blue clothing until he saw the tiger's head. He spent years trying to track it, even naming it "Bluebeard," but never captured it.

• The "Maltese" Name: The term comes from domestic cat breeds like the Russian Blue or British Shorthair, which are often called "Maltese cats." Their fur is actually a slate-grey or bluish-grey, not a bright sky blue.

• Korean War Accounts: There were also sporadic reports from American soldiers serving near the DMZ in Korea in the 1950s who claimed to have seen "grey-blue" tigers in the mountains.

2. Is it Genetically Possible?

Biologists generally agree that a blue tiger is biologically plausible. Many other felines express this "blue" (dilute) coloration:

• The "Dilute" Gene: In domestic cats, bobcats, and lynxes, a recessive gene can cause a "dilution" of black pigment into grey-blue and orange into a pale cream or "fawn."

• Genetic Drift: Scientific theories suggest that in the shrinking, isolated population of South China Tigers, this rare recessive mutation could have become more common due to inbreeding (genetic drift) before that specific lineage went extinct in the wild.

3. Current Status: Myth or Extinct?

As of 2026, the blue tiger is considered a cryptid (an animal whose existence is rumored but unproven).

• No Modern Evidence: There have been no confirmed sightings in decades.

• The South China Tiger Crisis: The subspecies most associated with the "blue" trait is now considered functionally extinct in the wild. If the blue gene existed, it likely died out with those last wild populations.

• Misidentifications: Skeptics suggest that "blue" sightings might have been normal tigers seen in deep forest shadows, or tigers whose orange fur was heavily coated in grey mud.

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Comparison of Rare Tiger Morphs

Type	Status	Cause
White Tiger	Common (Captivity)	Recessive "Chinchilla" mutation.
Golden Tiger	Rare (Captivity)	"Wideband" gene affecting stripe color.
Black Tiger	Confirmed (Wild)	Pseudo-melanism (thick, merging stripes).
Blue Tiger	Unconfirmed	Hypothetical "Dilute" gene.

Would you like me to generate an image showing what a "Maltese" blue tiger might look like based on these historical descriptions?

Maltese blue

 

Could tigers be blue? Have such animals actually existed? This interesting video argues that the answer is "yes". It´s probably genetically possible. Blue or blue-ish tigers have been reported from China and North Korea. In southern China they were sometimes referred to as "blue devils". Unfortunately, solid scientific evidence is lacking (as in: an actual pelt or stuffed specimen). So if you find one, be sure not to miss!    

Hybrids like us

 

OK, the dog-fox hybrids are strange. Sure of that one? And why would conservationists "condemn" big cat hybrids? I mean, I assumed everyone loves ligers! Note also that polar bears are moving further south and hybridize with grizzlies as they go along. Are these hybrids fertile? If so, it seems the polar bear doesn´t need "saving", after all. Life will find a way. Finally, what´s up with those strange fish accidentally "created" by some crazy scientists in Hungary (I mean, where else)?   

10 of the strangest hybrid animals

Scientists accidentally create "impossible" hybrid fish

Tyger tyger burning bright

 

So I decided to fact check a stunning statement overheard on the interwebs with my new friend ChatGPT...

Is this a true statement: Tigers appear orange to humans because most of us are trichromats, but green to deer and boars which are dicromats. The tiger´s orange and black colors provide camouflage, helping it stalk hoofed pray like deer and boars effectively. 

Yes, this statement is generally true.

Explanation:

1. Human Perception (Trichromats):

   • Most humans are trichromats, meaning we have three types of cone cells in our eyes that detect red, green, and blue light.

   • Because of this, we perceive tigers as orange due to how their fur reflects light.

2. Deer and Boar Perception (Dichromats):

   • Many of a tiger’s prey, like deer and boars, are dichromats, meaning they have only two types of cone cells (usually sensitive to blue and green).

   • This limits their ability to distinguish between red and green hues, making colors like orange appear more like green or grayish tones to them.

3. Camouflage Advantage:

   • In a forest or grassy environment, greenish or grayish shades blend in well with foliage and shadows.

   • This helps tigers remain less visible to their prey, making them more effective ambush predators.

So, while tigers look orange to us, they likely appear greenish to their prey, enhancing their natural camouflage.

Is the tiger a trichromat or dichromat? 

Tigers are dichromats, not trichromats.

Like most carnivorous mammals, tigers have only two types of cone cells in their eyes, making them dichromatic. Their color vision is similar to that of deer and other prey animals, meaning they have limited ability to distinguish between red and green.

How This Affects Their Vision:

• Tigers can see blues and greens fairly well.

• Reds and oranges likely appear as shades of green or grayish tones.

• This means that while they don’t see their own fur as bright orange like humans do, their camouflage still works effectively in the forest.

Tigers, like other predators, rely more on motion detection and night vision than detailed color perception. Their eyes are adapted for low-light hunting, which is more critical for their survival than distinguishing a full range of colors.

Tigers in the snow

 

Can´t Americans ever stop mystery-mongering? LOL. Here is a "cryptid" I never heard about before: tigers in Alaska. Yes, Alaska. Or rather no, not really. There are apparently some Siberian tigers in an Alaskan zoo (see the funny comments in the commentary section), but what about the wild expanses of the Last Frontier? It seems the "reports" are a collection of hoaxes, April Fool´s jokes and fakelore. Yes, we´re talking about the pseudo-reality series "Alaska Monsters" and its tall tale about the White Death, a super-sized tiger supposedly stalking the so-called Alaskan Triangle (compare Bermuda Triangle). 

There are tigers in the Russian Far East - the previously mentioned Siberian tiger - but for various reasons, it´s highly unlikely that they could have wandered all the way to Alaska. Nor is it likely that an undetected relict population could have survived from some time before the Ice Age. One interesting fact is that tigers in Russia were detected by scientists using helicopters from which they spotted their footprints. Which by implication means that a "cryptid" can´t really hide from humans, if said humans decide to find it...

But if nobody is looking, who knows?

Still, it seems we can put at least this little mystery to rest.  

  

In leopard country

 

"The Leopard Rocks" is a documentary about leopards living in the Aravalli mountains of Rajasthan in northwestern India. I´m not an expert on leopards, but apparently the big cats in this particular region are unusually gregarious. They live in caves in the hills and supposedly never attack the humans in the area. 

The documentary tries to paint a picture of primitive shephards living in balance with Nature, but this is obviously a truth with some modification. The area is advanced enough to have a large dam providing water during the dry season, the lack of suitable prey animals for the leopards suggests human impact on the surrounding environment, and when leopards sneak into the villages to abduct and kill farm animals, the local business community pays the poor farmers money in compensation so they won´t hunt the leopards. Why? Because of tourism, that´s why. 

The balance around the Leopard Rocks seem very precarious.

Other highlights include Hanuman langurs (yes, they really do live around a temple on one of the rocks), the striped hyena (they, too, are gregarious in this particular region), the mongoose, peacocks, parakeets and antelopes. Frankly, the langurs and the temples were more interesting than the big cats, but that´s me!

End of reflections.    

Lesser known erythristic cats

 

"Good day, dear Sir"

I just learned a new word: "erythristic". Almost a crypto-word! 

Two lesser known Brazilian mystery cats 

Thomas Jefferson: Vampire Hunter?

 

Was Thomas Jefferson (who also served as US president) the first cryptozoologist, at least in North America? He collected stories about surviving mammoths, mysterious giant lions and lake-monsters in the American wilderness. 

None of these ideas were necessarily fringe at the time. I think the idea was that since all animals were created by God, divine providence would never let them go extinct. Ergo, mammoths must still be around. 

Jefferson wasn´t particularly credulous either, sometimes skeptically pointing out that some observations of unknown beasts were probably just mountain lions (cougars).  

Animalistic

 

 

This is so bizarre that I wonder whether it´s even real, or AI-generated. I mean, dude! But OK, the liger is real. I think. 

When Aslan met Bagheera

 

From the X account Legendary Cryptids: "One of the only known cases of multiple cryptids being friends are the reports of black panthers and maned lions in America traveling together. A pair were spotted near the Illinois Indiana border in 1948 and in Arkansas in 1977."

They say Aslan and Bagheera are on the move...

The wrong cryptids

 

This may or may not tell us something about American TV production. Imagine seeing and taping a possible lake monster while making a TV show, but the footage is never shown (or even mentioned) since the show is about...monsters in the woods?! Specifically Bigfoot. Yes, it´s an interview with James "Bobo" Fay from "Finding Bigfoot". 

:D

Also some speculations about black mountain lions in the United States and "the Eastern cougar".      

The Baskerville effect

Here is a topic I haven´t revisited for some time…

Yes, it´s time for the paranormal Black Dogs (and their equally dark-colored feline cousins) to enter the fray again!

The link goes to Darren Naish´s science blog Tetrapod Zoology, which occasionally dabbles in topics cryptozoological and Fortean, usually from a skeptical perspective (although it´s obvious that Naish really wants to find a cryptid one day, preferably of the fleshly and bloodily persuasion). Naish is positive towards a kind of heterodox naturalistic explanation, according to which certain features of the landscape gives rise to anomalous electromagnetic phenomena, which are then interpreted by the human brain as “freakin´ large black dogs” (or panthers).

WHICH IS PRECISELY HOW THE FAIRIES HAVE OPERATED FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS!!!

:D

This kind of natural explanation shades seamlessly into the more forthrightly supernaturalist take that the fairies are indeed of an electromagnetic nature, at least when they manifest on our physical plane of existence.

You already know my take, citoyen! 

Legend of the Black Dog

Cryptids and credulity

 

Credit: Martin Walsh, "The Zanzibar Leopard" blog

"Cryptids and credulity: the Zanzibar leopard and other imaginary beings" is an article by Martin Walsh and Helle Goldman, published in "Anthropology and Cryptozoology: Exploring Encounters with Mysterious Creatures" (dated 2017). I haven´t read the entire volume, in fact, I didn´t even know that cryptozoology had attracted the interest of mainstream scholars. Walsh and Goldman are skeptics, and regard cryptozoology as a rather naïve pseudo-science, a quixotic quest for animals that aren´t merely undescribed, but above all *unrecognized* by science (i.e. they might not even exist). In the opinion of the authors, cryptozoologists cherry-pick factoids from a broader context which may be better understood anthropologically. If a cryptid fits hand and glove in, say, a context of belief in witchcraft or ghostly beings, chances are that we´re dealing with an imaginary being from folklore, rather than an undescribed flesh-and-blood animal. This is doubly true of alleged ETs and other beings that sound too fantastic to be true. 

"Cryptids and credulity" is really a longer version of another text by Walsh and Goldman, "Chasing imaginary leopards" (first published in 2012). The two authors have spent considerable time at Unguja (Zanzibar Island), the main island of the Zanzibar Archipelago off the East African coast. Zanzibar is controlled by Tanzania. Their mission was to investigate alleged sightings of the Zanzibar leopard, a very real subspecies of the leopard. During the 1990´s, Western NGOs and conservationists became interested in the plight of this big cat, which had been hunted and killed by the natives with the tacit support of the local and national governments. Walsh, Goldman and other researchers assumed that the Zanzibar leopard was still extant, and local informants (including hunters) readily shared their stories with the foreigners. However, further research strongly suggested that the leopard had been hunted to extinction or at the very least to extreme rarity. Yet, people at Unguja saw them all the time! Very often, they claimed that a substantial portion of the leopards were kept by witches...

It turns out that belief in "kept leopards" is part and parcel of a complex lore centered on the realities of witches and witchcraft. The witches are said to own the leopards and control them through supernatural means, for instance by offering them enchanted food. Some leopards belong to witches´ guilds, but most are individually owned. The leopards are seen coming and going into certain houses. Both the cats and their keepers can be countered by powerful curses, but the witches have developed counter-curses and defenses of various kinds. The witches use the leopards to terrorize the general population, in a worst case scenario by letting the cats attack and eat people who fell afoul of the witch. Needless to say, there is zero evidence that kept leopards exist. It´s interesting to note that leopard-like spirits also play a role in the local folklore, perhaps suggesting that the boundary between paranormal entities and flesh-and-blood animals isn´t entirely clear. 

To Walsh and Goldman, we are thus dealing with culturally constructed narratives about imaginary beings controlled by other imaginary beings. While the Zanzibar leopard is (or rather was) a real animal, it also played a prominent part in folklore, so prominent that the lore still exists, despite the original animal being extinct! My impression is that the association between the leopard and witchcraft was one reason why people hunted and killed them. If so, it´s richly ironic that the belief in the evil powers of the big cat has survived the beast itself. (It´s almost a bit magical, so to speak.) The authors believe that the incomprehension of native folklore is the main reason why both Western and Tanzanian researchers constantly take the stories of kept leopards at face value, and go on virtual "kept leopard chases", always without finding anything tangible. The cryptid only exist in the imagination of the credulous cryptozoologist. 

Link:

Cryptids and credulity

Chasing cryptids in Zanzibar

 

Credit: Peter Maas

"Chasing imaginary leopards: science, witchcraft and the politics of conservation in Zanzibar" is a short paper by Martin Walsh and Helle Goldman originally published in the "Journal of Eastern African Studies" (November 2012). It was reprinted in 2017 in an academic volume titled "Contemporary Issues in Swahili Ethnography", edited by Iain Walker. The two authors of the paper have a blog called "The Zanzibar Leopard".

Zanzibar is an archipelago off the coast of East Africa. The main island is called Unguja. Zanzibar, a former British colony, is presently part of Tanzania. The Zanzibar leopard (Panthera pardus adersi) was a local subspecies of the leopard. Although the leopards were protected by the British colonial authorities, the Zanzibari natives hunted them anyway, since these big cats killed livestock and occasionally humans. After the 1964 Zanzibar Revolution, eradication of the leopard became quasi-official policy, and when Western conservationists became interested in protecting the animal during the 1990´s, they were either extremely rare or already hunted to extinction. (It´s intriguing to note that scientists have only seen the Zanzibar leopard in the wild on two occasions, both during the early 1980´s.) Walsh and Goldman, who carried out research at Unguja, believe that the Zanzibar leopard is most probably extirpated. 

There is just one problem. The natives keep seeing them...

The fact that Ungujans claim to know the whereabouts of leopards, including specimens in captivity, have led Western outsiders to assume that perhaps there still is a viable population of big cats on the island. It´s also a widespread belief among trained researchers hailing from Unguja. A number of researchers have experienced what the authors call "kept leopard chases", ultimately futile attempts to locate supposedly tamed leopards owned by villagers. The presumed owners often demand large sums of money to show their specimens, but in the end, nothing ever comes out of it. Attempts to persuade the leopard-owners to build miniature zoos where they can display the cats have also come to naught. 

Walsh and Goldman believe they have identified the explanation: the persistent belief in the survival of the Zanzibar leopard is a superstition, closely connected to ideas about witches and witchcraft. According to local lore, there are two kinds of leopards: wild and kept. The kept leopards belong to witches, who breed them in secret and can use them to attack and otherwise terrorize the village population. If I understand the paper correctly, the islanders were also scared of wild leopards, since nobody could know for sure whether they really were wild, or belonged to a witch. Hunters who shot and killed the (real) leopards had to have "magical protection" before embarking on an expedition into the forest. So strong was the superstition that the local government of Abeid Karume wanted to eradicate both leopards and witches at the same time! The non-existence of kept leopards neatly explains why the search for them always turns into a wild goose chase...

But why would anyone believe that the kept leopard are real flesh-and-blood "cryptids"? I get the impression that Walsh and Goldman believe that many Western researchers in Tanzania "go native". This is particularly the case with those who learn the local language (Swahili). Indeed, the authors seem to think that "going native" and adopting various "occult" beliefs is a persistent problem in anthropology! Another problem could be postmodernism (not explicitly mentioned), since the authors are critical of the idea that so-called "indigenous knowledge" has anything important to contribute to conservation efforts. Is "indigenous knowledge" a code word for native superstition? Of course, to a postmodernist this is presumably not a problem (the elusive kept leopards of Zanzibar Island simply being another Narrative), but to a conservationist NGO working on a shoe-string budget, it just might be! 

I suppose cryptozoologists might be somewhat disappointed that Panthera pardus adersi has been extirpated, ironically by the same people who still fear the power of leopard-related witchcraft, but then, finding cryptids outside Indochinese wet-markets have always been pretty hard. 

Link:

Chasing imaginary leopards

The real Jungle Book?

I didn´t know that "Wild Karnataka" was considered to be one of the most spectacular nature documentaries released in 2019 (or ever). In Sweden, it´s not narrated by David Attenborough, and has been retitled "Svarta panterns skog" (The forest of the Black Panther), although that particular big cat is only briefly shown. So I suppose I didn´t watch it in the right reverantial mood, lol. Indeed, the profane Swedish public service TV made an explicit connection to Bagheera from "The Jungle Book"! Interestingly, the soundtrack from the docu has been released, composed by Ricki Kej, an Indian environmentalist activist and award-winning musician who currently resides in Karnataka.

Karnataka is a state in southern India, and the documentary gives us a straightforward look at its wildlife, from the ocean to the monsoon forests. Animals featured include leopards, tigers, otters, dholes, wolves, monkeys, peacocks, crabs, and fish. And (of course) elephants! We also get to meet the myrmecophagous sloth bear, which does indeed have some similarity to Bagheera´s jolly friend Baloo. Some of the situations in "Wild Karnataka" are the opposite of what you would expect: an aggressive deer manages to chase away a pack of hungry wild dogs, while an otter family scares the living daylights out of a tiger! More typical is a leopard hunting monkeys (hint: leopards can climb trees). Personally, I wonder if the gigantic shadow cast by the elephant when seen from above is real or a special effect added later?

Perpahs I´m getting spoiled by spectacular nature documentaries, since Karnataka´s wilder sides didn´t move me *that* much, although I admit Ricki Kej´s music did give the production a certain "Hindu-Buddhist" meditative feel...