Ooooh, a Mystery!

I love mysteries. Since my earliest childhood, I've dreamed of being a detective. Unfortunately for me, I'm quite possibly the most unobservant person in the whole world. Also, I have the attention span of a gnat. Obviously, these qualities do not make an ace detective.

I love CSI & think that would be the world's coolest job (yes, I know that no real police force actually goes to that much trouble for any case). Sadly, I also know that as a CSI, I would quickly be fired for having trampled through the crime scene like a bull in a china shop, missing crucial & obvious evidence, sneezing away trace, etc.

As a kid, I'd make up elaborate mysteries where none existed, just for the oportunity to "solve" them. Of course, that was always a disapointing end, since there was no mystery & none ever spontaneously appeared in my investigation.

That leaves me with writing as my only chance to solve mysteries, since the only ones I ever encounter are the ones I can dramatically conceive in my own imagination. But every now & then, I do get lucky & come across a genuine puzzle that requires investigation. Now if only I could actually get to the bottom of one successfully . . .

But I digress. My current favorite case is regarding the mystery beast recently found dead in Maine. If you haven't seen the headlines, check out this strange tale on MSN, "Is dead beast the marauding 'hybrid mutant'?" Residents have been reporting sightings of the mysterious creature for about 15 years & the article interviews some who've seen it up close.

It's described as having "chilling cries", glowing eyes, an unbearable stench & an "evil" presence. Pretty severe, huh? Guesses of it's origin include fisher, coyote, dingo or wolf-dog hybrid but one look at the photo makes it pretty clear that this animal is not of the canine family as we know it.

For starters, it's got disproportionately tiny ears that stand straight up, more bat-like than canine. And where wolves & the like have elongated, narrowing muzzles this thing has a wide, snub snout more remniscent of a pig. Eyewitnesses claim it had protruding fangs which curled over the lips, which is also not a typical canine characteristic. In most species of that family, the fangs are mostly straight with a slight inward curve.

What's truly remarkable about this story is that the humane services & wildlife officials of the area declined to view the carcass. Ummm, hello, but when a strange mutant creature just appears in your town, isn't that your job?

A few years ago, a hunter killed an animal that could not be identified although officials claim that DNA testing revealed it to be a wolf-dog hybrid. Well, if you've ever seen a wolf, a dog or a hybrid, this is quite obviously not one of those.

My thirst for answers here is insatiable & I plan to google this diligently until I find out more. I'll kepp you posted & please contact me if you have any information on this story.