Overtoun Bridge Dog Suicides

Overtoun Bridge
Photo by Lairich Rig

Overtoun Bridge near Milton village in Dunbarton, Scotland is the site of a very odd phenomenon. It would seem as if something is causing the dogs of the area to “commit suicide” by jumping off of the bridge. Reports state that somewhere between fifty and six hundred dogs have died this way. The “suicides” supposedly began in the 1950's or 1960's. If the latter number of dogs reported to have died is correct, it would mean that dogs are jumping off of this bridge at a rate of one per month.

Overtoun Bridge is part of the Overtoun Estate. The bridge spans the Overtoun Burn, a tributary of the river Clyde. The Overtoun Burn is very shallow and its bed is very rocky. It is rare for a dog that jumps to survive the fall. Astoundingly, some of those that do have been known to climb back up to the bridge and jump off again. Most of the “suicides” occur on days when the weather is clear. Most of the jumps are made off of the same side of the bridge. Another odd similarity between the canine “suicides” at Overtoun Bridge is that they are almost all committed by dogs of long-nosed breeds.

Dogs are not generally known for committing suicide. Yes, they are capable of becoming depressed and can become ill as a side effect of depression. However, it has not been proven that they will actually do something that results in their death as a means of escaping life. It’s virtually unheard of. Nonetheless, these dogs are climbing onto the parapets of Overtoun Bridge, over the thick, solid walls and jumping to their deaths. What could possibly be causing this?

We can almost say for certain that these animals are not committing suicide in the way that one might think. If canine suicide were as common as that, it would be occurring in far more places and it simply isn’t. There have been some theories that Overtoun Bridge is haunted and that a ghost drives the animals to jump. Another theory is that the bridge is simply evil in some way for dogs and that they become depressed when on it. This seems unlikely. Again, canine suicides are not common, by a long shot, and if either of these theories were true, it would probably happen elsewhere as well. Just like hauntings that supposedly affect people, there would be more than one on the planet. There is another theory regarding the dog “suicides” at Overtoun Bridge that seems to make the most sense.

There are minks living on the banks of the Overtoun Burn. Minks give off a powerful scent with their anal glands that is very enticing to dogs. A dog on the bridge, on a clear day, would be given a very strong whiff of that scent. They would be naturally curious and try to get to the source of the smell. It is highly unusual for a dog not to realize that they can’t survive a jump, but it may be explainable. Seeing that the walls of the bridge are solid, these dogs may not know that they are getting ready to jump to their deaths until they have already made the decision to jump. There is another possible gap in the theory as well. Why would dogs that have made it down to the source of the smell immediately return to the bridge to jump again? For now, it is unexplainable.

*Dogs being walked in the area of Overtoun Bridge should obviously be leashed for their own safety. At this time, there are no protective measures up at the bridge. It is the owner’s responsibility to keep their pet under control.

Sources

The Overtoun or “Dog Suicide” Bridge, retrieved 2/2/10, atlasobscura.com/places/overtoun-bridge

Overtoun Bridge, retrieved 2/2/10, absoluteastronomy.com/tpics/Overtoun_Bridge

The Dog Suicide Bridge, retrieved 2/2/10, scotclans.com/bletherskite/?tag=overtoun-bridge

Bizarre Animals: Zebroid

A Zebroid at the Mt. Kenya Safari Club
Photo by Olliver: Public Domain

The zebroid is one of those creatures that happens rarely in the wild and happens sometimes with the help of people. It is a hybrid zebra that goes by several different names, depending on its parenthood, but essentially comes down to one thing, crossing a zebra with a horse, mule or donkey. The resulting creatures are quite bizarre and often beautiful.

In most cases, the fathers of zebroids are the zebras and the mothers are the horses, donkeys or mules. On occasion, the mother is the zebra, but this is far rarer. There have been some recorded instances of a zebroid producing offspring, resulting in another form of hybrid. However, zebroids are typically infertile or close enough to infertile that it is pointless trying to make them breed.

Zebroid characteristics depend on the characteristics of the non-zebra parents. In most cases, the animal has the stature of the non-zebra parent and has a touch of dwarfism. There are always stripes, though they are often not over the entire body and are sometimes only faint, depending on the animal's coloring. In some of these bizarre-looking zebroids, the animal looks, quite literally, like half a zebra. It may have several areas of very clear zebra markings or have them on approximately half of its body. This often happens when the zebroid is the offspring of a zebra and a horse.

The Peabody Hotel's Red Carpet

The Duck March at the Peabody Hotel
Photo by Mandy

The Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee is home to a bizarre ritual that has been occurring there since 1932. The ritual takes place every morning at 11 a.m. and every afternoon at 5 p.m. This ritual involves five residents of the hotel that live in a penthouse on the roof known as the "Royal Duck Palace." These residents stroll out to the hotel's travertine marble fountain in the lobby on a red carpet amidst spectators and then stroll back to their palace, also along the red carpet, after having spent the day frolicking in the fountain. The red carpet V.I.D.'s are trained North American Mallards. Yes, ducks.

The practice of marching ducks out to the fountain of the Peabody Hotel began as something of a joke. The hotel's general manager and his friend thought it would be funny to put three ducks in the fountain. It turned out that the entertainment was a success. People enjoyed the novelty so much that the three were replaced by five North American Mallards and it has been five North American Mallards ever since.

Initially, there were just ducks in the fountain. Well, the word "just" does not really describe it, but that was the extent of it, nonetheless. That was, until the hotel got its first Duckmaster. Edward Pembroke was initially a bellman for the hotel. He was a former animal trainer and used this skill to get a more prestigious job as Duckmaster at the Peabody Hotel. He is the one who trained the animals to walk the red carpet until he retired. Several celebrities have been named "honorary Duckmasters." However, let's give credit where credit is due. None of these celebrities has trained multitudes of wild animals to behave in a crowded hotel.

The Peabody Hotel Ducks are not just five ducks that are replaced over the years. They only work for three months, after being raised on a farm. After the three months is up, they go back to the farm, where their novel skill as red carpet strutters becomes useless.

Bizarre Animals: Pinocchio Frog

The Pinocchio frog is an interesting little creature with a nose not unlike that of Eva Ernst in "The Witches." It is a small tree frog species with a wiggly piece of flesh at the end of its snout. Paul Oliver, who could find no other specimens at the time of discovery, found it. The area in New Guinea in which it was found boasted a number of other previously unknown species. No one knows for sure why this little dangler exists on the Pinocchio frog's face, though it probably has something to do with reproduction. Most weird appendages do. There are very few pictures available of this little guy. Click here to see one on National Geographic. As soon as more is known about this frog, we will try to post something on That is Bizarre.

Bizarre Creatures: Hairy Frogs

By Gustavocarra

Hairy frogs, also known as "horror frogs" are African frogs that possess two very bizarre physical attributes. Nearly every member of the frog genus Astylosternus possesses these bizarre features. Science has yet to explain either of them fully.

Male hairy frogs produce strange masses of arteries and skin when they are breeding. These snarls of gross yuck appear on external parts of their bodies and look like hair. They seem to have some connection with the biological function of breeding. However, it is uncertain what that connection is. Scientists who study hairy frogs have postulated that they may be mechanisms to increase oxygen intake during breeding time. It may also be to help them breathe underwater.

The second bizarre attribute of hairy frogs is what got them the epithet "horror frogs." These frogs have claws on their back feet that look like cat claws. However, it appears that they are very different. When the frog has need of these claws, bones break and release the claws, which puncture the skin on their way out. Furthermore, they are purely bone, which cat claws are not.

Unfortunately, at this time, frogs are going through mass extinctions. Thus far, no one has come up with a plan to stop it or even a reason that it is happening on such a large scale. If we want to study hairy frogs further to find out why they have these strange features, we have to protect them. Just how we are going to do that is anyone's guess.

Source

"Horror Frog" Breaks Own Bones to Produce Claws, retrieved 5/23/11, newscientist.com/article/dn13991-horror-frog-breaks-own-bones-to-produce-claws.html

Bizarre Creatures: Camel Spiders

Copyright Aur-Aelion

This planet is virtually chock full of strange creatures - humans included. Today, we are going to talk about a creature that has come into the spotlight since the Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom began. Soldier came back from the desert with tales of these disgustingly huge, eerily fast and utterly creepy looking creatures. What we are talking about here is the camel spider.

Camel spiders are also known as solifugae. This is not one species of spider, but many, each bizarre enough to be worthy of terrifying legends. The truth is they can have up to a 6-inch leg span. Sure, that does not sound like much, but do you want to encounter an arachnid (they technically are not spiders) that is bigger than your hand? I thought not. They can run up to 10 miles per hour. That might not sound fast, but your top speed is probably around 14 miles per hour. A small child probably could not outrun them. However . . .

Stories have circulated that camel spiders have powerful venom and that they eat chunks of human flesh. This is not true. Yes, they can bite you and it probably hurts like a son of a gun, but they have no venom. That is right. There is nothing to fear from these bizarre creatures excepting their horrendous, phobia worthy appearances.