Very strange old record

Discuss natural history subjects not strictly related to birds. Reports of interesting mammal, reptile, and invertebrate sightings are welcome.
SomesBirder
Posts: 1401
Joined: Wed Dec 05, 2012 4:02 pm

Very strange old record

Postby SomesBirder » Sat Sep 28, 2013 3:20 pm

From "Living Wonders", by John Mitchell and Robert J. M. Rickard; page 104:
"Two dead elephants were washed ashore near Wellington, New Zealand, in April 1955".
Does anyone here know of any further details on the subject?
Olwen
Posts: 247
Joined: Tue Mar 13, 2012 9:14 am

Re: Very strange old record

Postby Olwen » Sun Sep 29, 2013 10:41 am

Hi SomesBirder,
I found this quote on a list of 'wierd' facts;
" Los Angeles Examiner of 11 April 1955 reported that two dead elephants had been washed shore near Wellington, New Zealand. None had been reported missing and the nearest land was 1,200 miles away."
I also found a site called "Australasian Zoo & Circus Animals Historical Journal". I hope this might give you some further leads. The Historical Journal seems to hold a lot of information.
Olwen
Posts: 247
Joined: Tue Mar 13, 2012 9:14 am

Re: Very strange old record

Postby Olwen » Sun Sep 29, 2013 10:42 am

Sorry I spelled 'weird' wrongly.
Olwen
Posts: 247
Joined: Tue Mar 13, 2012 9:14 am

Re: Very strange old record

Postby Olwen » Sun Sep 29, 2013 11:15 am

Possibly it was meant to be '2 dead elephant seals'.
SomesBirder
Posts: 1401
Joined: Wed Dec 05, 2012 4:02 pm

Re: Very strange old record

Postby SomesBirder » Sun Sep 29, 2013 1:29 pm

Olwen wrote:Possibly it was meant to be '2 dead elephant seals'.

That seems to be far more likely.
SomesBirder
Posts: 1401
Joined: Wed Dec 05, 2012 4:02 pm

Re: Very strange old record

Postby SomesBirder » Tue Mar 30, 2021 8:31 pm

I now realise that the original report must actually have said that two dead sea elephants were found; "sea elephant" being an archaic name for elephant seals that is a lot more ambiguous and probably a lot more prone to being confused with actual elephants.

It's no wonder that a cryptozoology book would be all over this "fact" without considering the possibility of miscommunication, really.

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