Miami Beach 'Montauk' Monster washes ashore in Old Lyme, CT

This unidentified specimen was discovered January 11, 2016 in Old Lyme, CT

Edit: First named after the Montauk Monster, this new creature's legend shall live on its own rite and heretofore shall be dubbed The Miami Beach Monster!

This is a bit of an odd topic for this blog but seems worth writing nonetheless. My wife and I are between homes right now and have been renting in the beautiful Hawk's Nest Beach in Old Lyme, CT.

It's been an unseasonably warm winter this year and much has been said about the effects of El Niño. I happen to be a climate change believer (are there any left who aren't?) and think the effects of El Niño are compounded by the changing climate caused by manmade activities. Either way, it is obviously a warmer winter to this point. Last year in this climate, things were a bit delayed as well.

Sunrise on Sound View Beach
Old Lyme, CT

As a result of being between homes and living by the Long Island Sound, we've been spending a lot of time walking on the beach. Coastal Connecticut is absolutely gorgeous and many people from the nearby cities of New York, Boston and Hartford have summer homes here.

Each morning I've enjoyed taking our dog for a walk on the empty beach, watching the sunrise and looking for treasures that the tides may have brought to the shores. We have a growing collection of shells, smoothly polished stones and beautifully-etched sea glass.

But what I happened upon the brisk morning of January 11, 2016 is anyone's guess. It was an unusual morning on the beach, as a higher than normal tide overnight was caused by a storm the day prior. The freshly-smoothed sand rose much higher on the beach and with it was, frankly, a lot of garbage. I spotted children's beach toys, tangles of monofilament line, a plethora of plastic bottle caps and water bottles, glass beer bottles and soda cans in varying stages of decay.

This was not the worst of it, however. Peeking out of the sand was this beast. Measuring about 18"-20" in length with fierce fangs and claws, this monster had washed up overnight.

I showed the photos to a friend, Pete Garvin, who has lived in the area for years and he quickly identified this as similar to the Montauk Monster, first spotted in 2008. Unfamiliar with this legend, I did some research and I guess that turned out to be a raccoon... In 2012 the Brooklyn Bridge Monster was found. The folklore and the legend live on in 2016 with this latest sighting, the Miami Beach Monster!

WHAT IS THIS?!

Miami Beach Monster Characteristics:

• Wispy white tail like a badger or skunk
• Fangs like a bear or a fisher cat
• Claws like a badger or bear
• About 18"-20" in length

In case folks are worried about this rotting away on the beach, I did take the proper steps of calling the officials to remove it. The DEEP's website suggested contacting the town's Public Works department and so I did. As of yesterday evening, January 12, 2016, this specimen has been removed from the beach and we may just never know what it is!

Additional Photos:


For fun, I sent the photos to WFSB, who posted them online and on their Facebook page.

News Coverage:

• 1/12/16 - WFSB - Creature washed up on Old Lyme beach (Slideshow)
• 1/12/16 - WFSB - WHAT IS THIS? (Facebook Post)
• 1/13/16 - WFSB - Experts weigh in on creature found on Old Lyme beach (Reported by Kevin Hogan)
• 1/13/16 - WNEM - Experts weigh in on creature found on Old Lyme beach
• 1/14/16 - LymeLine.net - Mystery of the Beast on the Beach
• 1/16/16 - International Business Times - Unknown species: Giant jellyfish, pink blobs and a fish with teeth - Top five creatures that scientists do not understand

Remember this creature we showed you yesterday? Well Kevin P. Hogan WFSB did some digging today and has some answers for...
Posted by WFSB - Channel 3 Eyewitness News on Wednesday, January 13, 2016

WHAT IS THIS? A viewer sent us photos of a strange creature that washed up on the beach in Old Lyme over the weekend. See more photos here --> http://tinyurl.com/joj3m95
Posted by WFSB - Channel 3 Eyewitness News on Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Chasing Ice

If there are still any climate change skeptics out there, I highly recommend a documentary called Chasing Ice. It's the story of a National Geographic photographer James Balog who captured hundreds of thousands of images over a span of 3 years from 25 cameras mounted in extreme conditions around glaciers in the northern hemisphere. The purpose? To create time lapse videos that put a visual to the retreating glaciers that are indicative of a changing climate and ultimately contributing to sea level rise that scientists have been predicting for years. Not everyone responds to data. The imagery is undeniable.

Watch James talk about the film here: http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/news/james-balog-chasing-ice-vin

Now, he's set up 8 time lapse cameras in Antarctica to see what's happening at the South Pole.

Just like the video of NFL player Ray Rice punching his then fiancé in the face in an Atlantic City casino elevator - the visual evidence is a metaphorical punch in the gut. You need to see this to better understand the changes that are happening beyond the focus of our daily lives.

I'm late to the party on this. Chasing Ice came out in 2012. Who knows how much more has changed since then. Please check it out, it's on Netflix and is a little over an hour long - well worth the time.