Mystery Animals Are an Expression of Our Fear

The video above is all over the Internet including screenshots from it. We are told that experts are mystified as to what species this animal is. There's lots of speculation that the animal is a mountain lion or even a lion. But this animal's shape does not resemble a mountain lion or a lion or for that matter any large wild cat species. The torso is too short for a start off.  Of course the pictures are indistinct because the images are grainy and there are strong shadows which appear to alter the shape of the animal.

My distinct impression is that people are too eager to look for a mystery where there is none and look for danger where there is none.  People are fearful of the dark and of dangerous large animals.

I believe this is a throwback to the early days of homo sapiens when indeed there were dangerous predators and when lions roamed Europe and when sabre-tooth tigers roamed North America.

I think people are hardwired with a fear of large predators and that fear leaks out of them when they see blurry images of a dog ambling down a suburban road minding his own business until the whole world starts analysing him and what the hell is. He's a dog that's what he is and to me it is rather obvious.

This particularly fearful predator was wandering around a place called Norwalk in the USA.  As mentioned, people thought it may have been a mountain lion but experts said, no, but it might be a lion. The lion is more stocky and has very strong forelegs and shoulders whereas the mountain lion is more slender so that makes sense because the animal in the video is quite stocky.

The experts figured that if it was a lion and then it might have escaped from a backyard.  Some people do like to keep lions in their backyard as exotic pets.

The video was taken with a resident's security camera. A lot of people were concerned about their pets being attacked by this mystery, monster predator lurking around their streets at night.  One guy said he might carry is firearm as protection.  A lady in her car said she couldn't understand why mountain lions were in the area because there are no mountains.

Then a large man with a large amount of common sense said he knew what the animal was: a large grey dog, a Rottweiler or a Pitbull.  That is what this animal looks like to me.

Nothing has happened in the way of a follow-up story telling us how it all ended up so I believe that we have to presume the animal was and is a large dog.

It is all about subliminal fear. We are afraid of some many things.

Weird Chinese Crested Dog Picture

I am creeping into the world of dogs for one page. Please forgive me. I felt I had to because this purebred dog is weird looking and I think we need to ask some questions about this. Also there is an overlap with cats here. They are both companion animals and the breeding of dogs and cats are subject to the same rules which are sometimes broken. I am not saying that it happened in this instance.

Chinese Crested Dog - Photo copyright Cuyahoga Falls Veterinary Clinic

This interesting Chinese crested dog picture comes from the Cuyahoga Falls Veterinary Clinic. This photo has been used with permission for teaching/educational purposes at this site.

There is a lot of discussion recently about the over breeding of dogs. There are far more purebred dogs than cats so there are far more over bred dogs than cats (see criticising the CFA). There is more opportunity for it. Is this Chinese Crested Dog over bred? He or she certainly looks like it (personal view). The eyes are what I noticed the most. They look extraordinarily odd and wrong. It looks like there are no eyelids. Perhaps this dog has PRA?

Eyes can be a health problem for the Chinese crested dog. It appears that this breed can suffer from one of two forms of progressive retinal atrophy (PRA). It can lead to blindness. Regular veterinary tests are recommended. Perhaps that is why the dog was at the Cuyahoga Falls Veterinary Clinic? I don't know. They can also suffer from dry eye syndrome.

The skin looks awful too. It looks chapped and dry. But it may be normal. Apparently the skin of this dog can become dry and sunburned.

Perhaps this dog is developing his or her crest (the hairy bits). The pictures I have seen have more hair around the head, which has got to be the raison d'etre of this breed of dog.