The Amarillo Zoo Cryptid

[Paul_Exeter]

Dogman caught on camera…?

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1530944123099918337

via The Anomalist feed:

https://www.anomalist.com/

 

[Mythopoeika]

A furry in a fursuit, lurking around a zoo.

 

[Paul_Exeter]

If you follow the legs up to where the posterior (bum/fanny etc) should be there is not enough torso for an upright figure. It looks more like someone leaning away from the camera, possibly as a result of slipping/tripping

 

[Yithian]

The Amarillo Zoo captured a strange image outside the zoo in the dark and early morning hours of May 21 (around 1:25 a.m.). Is it a person with a strange hat who likes to walk at night? A chupacabra? Do you have any ideas of what this UAO- Unidentified Amarillo Object could be?

Source:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1534692757293391875

Some more detail on the image here:
https://www.newsweek.com/werewolf-costume-creepy-figure-filmed-outside-zoo-puzzles-internet-1714019

 

[SimonBurchell]

More discussion here:
forums.forteana.org/index.php?threads/dogman-werewolf.58790/post-2184533
Discussion in the Dogman thread has now been moved here.

 

[Yithian]

More discussion here:

forums.forteana.org/index.php?threads/dogman-werewolf.58790/post-2184533

Quite right.

Apologies, it wasn't showing up in SEARCH because the text was embedded in a link.

 

[Ronnie Jersey]

Mr. R said it looks like a wolf or some type of dog standing on his hind legs.
I see a tail as well.

 

[ghughesarch]

I can't help feeling I've seen these images before, probably a few months ago?

 

[BS3]

The fact only one image has been posted leads me to think that any others from the same camera showed up the 'figure' as something mundane.

 

[Yithian]

The fact only one image has been posted leads me to think that any others from the same camera showed up the 'figure' as something mundane.

The claim (see last link) is that the camera is of the trail-cam type that takes only single shots, and that this image turned up in a review with nothing else shown in any temporarilly proximal images.

 

[ChasFink]

Has anyone worked out the size of this thing? Seems to me it would be easy to figure if you knew the properties of the camera, the spot where it was standing and the size of the fence. Zoo employees should be able to do it or supply the relevant info.

 

[BS3]

Without the scale it's difficult to tell, and I'm still not 100% convinced the 'figure' is all one object.

However it seems possible that it's simply a person walking past the fence from right to left and facing to the left and away from the camera. Most of the upper part and right of the figure, possibly including the oddly placed right hand 'arm' is just stuff they are carrying and which is hanging behind them, maybe a sleeping bag or coat draped from their head / shoulders, maybe a bag too. The very similar tone of the blob that looks like a left 'hand' and the 'blob' at the top far left suggests the latter could be the side of their head. The pattern of the fence on top of everything makes it all less clear and contributes to the 'dogman' effect.

 

[SimonBurchell]

I would also point out that the legs are jointed like a person, not an animal. I think it is someone walking by, seen in a slightly odd position.

 

[Tunn11]

Mr. R said it looks like a wolf or some type of dog standing on his hind legs.
I see a tail as well.

Except the back knees are wrong. They look as if they bend the same way as human (or elephant) back legs. Genuine dogman or werewolf or a chap (or an elephant ) in a suit.

Edited to add - Sorry just noticed Simon Burchill has made the same point To be fair he hadn't considered the elephant option.

 

[catseye]

All I can see is a person wearing a heavy rucksack that sticks up over the back of their neck, being forced to walk a bit crouched by the weight. I think he's wearing an ordinary trilby style hat, and there are things hanging off the rucksack that give the illusion of a tail. As it seems to be walking exactly like a human, albeit a bit crouched, I would say that's exactly what it is. Of course, once they put the words 'strange image' 'unidentified' and 'chupacabra' in the post, that is precisely what everyone will see, suggestibility being what it is.

 

[BS3]

All I can see is a person wearing a heavy rucksack that sticks up over the back of their neck, being forced to walk a bit crouched by the weight. I think he's wearing an ordinary trilby style hat, and there are things hanging off the rucksack that give the illusion of a tail. As it seems to be walking exactly like a human, albeit a bit crouched, I would say that's exactly what it is. Of course, once they put the words 'strange image' 'unidentified' and 'chupacabra' in the post, that is precisely what everyone will see, suggestibility being what it is.

Yeah this is very close to what I was seeing.

 

[Paul_Exeter]

Amarillo zoo is not that far (by USA standards) from Paris, Tennessee which will host the first annual Dogman/Cryptid Conference in August:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/parano...4TRrKato7shXdwTVPEOqRhUcONGL0JFyel-4Cwy3y1fz4

Paranormal author and CFZ member Nick Redfern is a resident of Texas and it would be 8nteresting to hear his thoughts on this image, likewise Dogman ‘expert’ Linda Godfrey

 

[EnolaGaia]

Amarillo zoo is not that far (by USA standards) from Paris, Tennessee which will host the first annual Dogman/Cryptid Conference in August ...

It's 869 miles - roughly 13 hours' travel time with good progress.

 

[Vardoger]

Looks like it is looking at the camera. Is it carrying something in the left hand? Is it someone in a furry costume?

 

[Mythopoeika]

Might it be a native American dressed as a shaman or dog soldier?

 

[catseye]

Looks like it is looking at the camera. Is it carrying something in the left hand? Is it someone in a furry costume?

View attachment 56059

So pixellated as to be almost more of a design than a picture - but it just looks like he's carrying a carrier bag.

 

[EnolaGaia]

Looks like it is looking at the camera. Is it carrying something in the left hand? Is it someone in a furry costume? ...

The closer I look at the image, the more I think I see a baby in a papoose / backpack carrier.

 

[ChasFink]

Looks like it is looking at the camera. Is it carrying something in the left hand? Is it someone in a furry costume?

View attachment 56059

Might it be a native American dressed as a shaman or dog soldier?

There is a LOT of pareidolia going on with that blown-up image.

Mythopoeika's suggestion comes close to one interpretation I have: someone standing - or tipping over - with some sort of animal skin on him, possibly with the animal's still-attached head worn on top of his own head. My knowledge of native American dress and customs is weak; do either Mythopoeika's images or my interpretation match a known practice of any native groups in the Amarillo area?

 

[EnolaGaia]

The Amarillo Zoo is located in an open area of parkland and recreational facilities. There are streets and large parking lots around it. There's nothing restricted about the area outside the zoo's perimeter fence.

https://zoo.amarillo.gov/plan-your-visit/directions/

 

[Mythopoeika]

There is a LOT of pareidolia going on with that blown-up image.

Mythopoeika's suggestion comes close to one interpretation I have: someone standing - or tipping over - with some sort of animal skin on him, possibly with the animal's still-attached head worn on top of his own head. My knowledge of native American dress and customs is weak; do either Mythopoeika's images or my interpretation match a known practice of any native groups in the Amarillo area?

Amarillo - mostly Sioux, Cherokee or Iroquois. Those pictures I posted were Sioux dog soldiers.
Edit: Sorry, the first one was - the second was some other tribe.

 

[Tunn11]

Rather off topic but the first pic I think represents the practise of the warrior pinning themselves to the ground, via that cloth strip, which is attached to his clothing during a battle so that he is rooted to the spot. https://www.facebook.com/crazyhorse...cheyenne-hotamétaneoo-are-/10155601672382353/
Usually associated with the Cheyenne, although they allied themselves with the Lakota (Sioux) in the mid 1800s

 

[catseye]

What are these cameras like for capturing movement? Because I think what I thought was something hanging down is just an arm, moving If these cameras typically capture movement as a 'blurred' effect, then it could just be someone carrying something on their back and moving, so their head is blurred, as are their limbs. The legs seem fairly sharp, so maybe they are walking slowly whilst arms and head are moving more quickly - as might happen if they are looking around?

 

[BS3]

What are these cameras like for capturing movement? Because I think what I thought was something hanging down is just an arm, moving If these cameras typically capture movement as a 'blurred' effect, then it could just be someone carrying something on their back and moving, so their head is blurred, as are their limbs. The legs seem fairly sharp, so maybe they are walking slowly whilst arms and head are moving more quickly - as might happen if they are looking around?

I think it's something hanging down, otherwise it's got very strange proportions for an arm (which don't really fit with the other 'arm' - which I think actually is an arm).

 

[Sharon Hill]

I'm going to start calling these events where everyone wildly guesses about what an obscure, distorted object is "mass opinionation events". It seems to be an internet phenomenon that gets the attention of even mainstream news outlets. (We love distractions these days!)

First, why was it called a "cryptid"? (Not just here, but lots of places. It's not hidden, we have no information to be able to make any determination of whether it's a normal animal or a person.) People readily jump to mysterious conclusions without any thought about the situation. Unfortunately, I don't think they are at all interested in what it really is. They just want to have some fun speculating and making goofy comments. The sillier comments, the better.

I got a laugh out of the very serious discussion on Reddit about how it can't be a dogman because of the legs (not digitigrade) and then the subsequent discussions about what "real" dogman legs supposedly look like (because let's apply fake logic to a fantastical creature).

I have a game camera like this in my yard and I have gotten dozens of really weird, distorted animal pics. Do I assume they are a supernatural creature, or manifestations from another dimension? No. The blurring and lack of detail is a product of how the machine captures the image in low light. The speed is slow and any movement results in this distortion - that should be a primary consideration but it's hardly mentioned in the comments and news stories. Because, again, no one wants to really know what it is, especially the Amarillo zoo who is getting beaucoup publicity for this silly non-story.

Why assume it's even a person who deliberately dressed as a furry? That's a big assumption. It's far more likely to be a regular animal (like a jackrabbit) whose movement is blurred by the camera. Yet, here we all are, engrossed in wild-ass guessing. I think that's the bigger story here.

 

[IbisNibs]

To me it looks like one of countless individuals who have lost the means of maintaining a stable way of life, and may be stuck living outdoors as outcasts and pariahs until they OD or die of exposure. I've seen so many people who resemble this silhouette, and they look miserable and vulnerable.