Expanded Perspectives

Where the Jungle Remembers

72 min
Feb 6, 20262 months ago
Listen to Episode
Summary

This episode of Expanded Perspectives explores cryptozoological and paranormal phenomena across multiple continents, featuring accounts of Bigfoot sightings at Marine Corps Base Quantico, mysterious creatures in the Amazon and Congo rainforests, and various supernatural encounters reported by listeners. The hosts discuss historical expeditions, indigenous testimonies, and the possibility that undiscovered or thought-to-be-extinct creatures may still inhabit remote wilderness areas.

Insights
  • Repeated sighting patterns in specific geographic locations (Quantico, Shenandoah) suggest either genuine unknown phenomena or significant reporting bias worth investigating
  • Indigenous populations' consistent descriptions of cryptids across generations and continents indicate either shared ancestral knowledge or genuine encounters passed down through oral tradition
  • Modern technology like LIDAR has validated some historical explorer claims (lost cities in Amazon), lending credibility to other historical accounts of unknown creatures
  • The correlation between military bases and cryptid sightings raises questions about classified research, environmental factors, or electromagnetic anomalies affecting perception
  • Documented cases of misidentification (large known animals mistaken for unknown species) suggest some reports may be explainable while others remain genuinely anomalous
Trends
Increased public interest in cryptozoology driven by social media sharing and podcast platforms amplifying historical accountsScientific validation of indigenous knowledge systems through archaeological discoveries (LIDAR mapping of Amazon civilizations)Growing intersection between paranormal research and military/government facility investigationsResurgence of interest in historical explorer accounts (Percy Fawcett) as modern technology validates their claimsPattern of three-toed footprint sightings across geographically disparate regions suggesting either unknown species or shared folkloreListener-submitted paranormal accounts becoming primary data source for cryptozoological research communitiesIncreased documentation of giant arthropod sightings (spiders, centipedes) in tropical regions correlating with habitat lossConnection between electromagnetic anomalies (compass disorientation) and cryptid encounter reports
Topics
Bigfoot sightings at Marine Corps Base Quantico VirginiaCompass disorientation anomalies during cryptid encountersMapingari creature reports from Amazon rainforest BrazilPercy Fawcett expeditions and Lost City of ZGiant anaconda and Yakumama serpent sightingsMokilombembe dinosaur-like creatures Congo BasinGlimmerman entity sightings and invisibility phenomenaThree-toed footprint evidence and cryptid trackingIndigenous testimony and oral tradition validationLIDAR technology revealing lost Amazon civilizationsGiant spider sightings Chabafofi Congo regionPterodactyl sightings Kongamoto AfricaParanormal home intrusions and entity manifestationsElk mutilation incidents and predator behavior analysisSkinwalker folklore and shapeshifter theories
Companies
Emilio Goeldi Museum
Institution where anthropologist David C. Oren led expeditions searching for Mapingari evidence in Amazon
Royal Geographical Society
Organization that employed Percy Fawcett as elite land surveyor for Amazon expeditions
Smithsonian Institution
Funded expeditions into Congo Basin searching for Mokilombembe and other cryptids
People
Percy Fawcett
British explorer who documented giant creatures in Amazon and theorized lost City of Z; disappeared 1925
David C. Oren
Anthropologist at Emilio Goeldi Museum who led multiple Mapingari expeditions collecting evidence
Carl Hagenbeck
Big game hunter who first documented Mokilombembe creature accounts in 1909 publication Beasts and Men
Ivan T. Sanderson
Cryptozoologist who explored Congo region in 1932 discovering massive tracks and witnessing creature
Roy Mackle
Biologist who led 1980s expeditions into La Coala swamps documenting Mokilombembe evidence
Bernard Heuvelmans
Cryptozoologist who theorized Mapingari could be surviving giant ground sloth Megatherium or Milodon
Graham Hancock
Researcher who used LIDAR technology to uncover ancient Amazon roads and cities validating Fawcett claims
Joseph Menges
Naturalist who consulted on Mokilombembe creature and theorized it might be surviving brontosaurus
Hans Schomburg
German adventurer who documented Mokilombembe killing hippos at Lake Bengualu
Quotes
"The jungle never changes. It waits, and it remembers."
Kyle FilsonEnd of Amazon segment
"Percy Fawcett may not have been chasing myth. He may have been chasing a memory."
Kyle FilsonPercy Fawcett discussion
"What we saw was not a black bear of any known animal in the area...The figure did not resemble a person in any way."
Marine witness accountQuantico 2005 encounter
"The woods went completely silent. No warning, just dead air."
Glimmerman witnessOxford Ohio cabin encounter
"If all these native tribes have all these legends and myths, are they all making it up? Or were there dinosaurs in their ancestry?"
Cam HillCongo creatures discussion
Full Transcript
Thank you. We'll be right back. What is going on, everybody? And thank you all so very much for joining us here on Expanded Perspectives. It's with me, Cam Hill. And as always, the man behind the keyboard over here, working his fingers down at least to the first nuggle, Mr. Kyle Filson. How's it going, everybody? Yes, I'm here in Skellicon Studios. on a slightly warmer day than the last time we were in here. So nice. The snow is almost all gone. You still see parts of it in the shadows and the shade under some thick trees, but it's almost all gone and it's already warming up. It's so nice. I'm so glad that we didn't run out of power. I mean, it was, other than being annoyed because the kids were, everybody's got cabin fever from everybody being in the house for like five days. Yeah, we're good. It was good. That's why, I mean, I had to walk one day because I like, I got to get out of the house. These kids are driving me crazy. Well, you told me you had hope for humanity after you walked to work. Yeah. You had three people stop and ask if you're good. Yeah, that's right. You're like, mentally, no. That's why he's out in the cold. At least Southern hospitality still exists. What is it? He said from Red Dawn is the hate keeps him warm, folks. That's what he was. The hate keeps him warm. You know, the weather has been amazing. It's amazing now. Yeah, I watched Red Dawn the other day. Oh, yeah. The original one. The new one's garbage. I've never seen the new version. Don't waste your time. Okay, yeah. That's not good. The old one is still pretty good. Dude, it's a murderous row of who's who in Hollywood in the 80s, right? Like, what did they call him? The Brat Pack? There's a lot of those dudes in it. Like C. Thomas Howell and what's his name? Charlie Sheen. Tiger Blood. Tiger Blood Sheen. Isn't that who it was? It is weird, though, how slow the RPGs actually fly. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. And they make that cringe. But that's the best part. That's not the way they sound. Bullet Grenada! Whatever it rolls down and lands beside them. Yeah. Yeah, it's cool. Okay, look. I got a story for you. All right. We're going to dive into this whole thing. My buddy John sent this to me. I looked into it. This is something that just dropped. It was submitted, I think, in January of this year. People are talking about it. It's online. If you haven't read it, I'm going to bring you up to speed. This took place in the summer of July in 2005 in Stafford County, Virginia, y'all. Yeah. If you're asking, it's about a Marine on night maneuvers. It saw about an eight foot tall Bigfoot up in the trees just on Quantico Marine Base. Listen, it occurred on the Marine Base of Quantico in a restricted military training area near the Mount or the military operations in urban terrain training town. The patrol originated from the Mount town and they give times where they were at goes into all this coordinates, says that this is the location where we initially experienced the compass disorientation anomaly. while attempting to navigate out of the area at night. After realizing we had somehow looped back to our starting area, we cut a new azimuth and moved towards a different pickup location. The encounter with the creature occurred approximately 15 to 20 minutes later in a wooded area near, and of course there's more coordinates. Now it goes into breaking it down, what they were doing, that this siding of the location was approximately within 200 yards of the second coordinates in dense woods. Break all this down. The nearest road was a 200-yard-away dirt road. I'm going to break it. Here we go. In the summer of 2005, I was stationed at the Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, working as part of the opposing force for the basic school infantry officers course. I was there for over three years. During one of the multi-week field training exercises in the Mount training area, myself and two other Marines were instructed to leave the town at night and move on foot through the woods to link up with a vehicle at a designated pickup point approximately 500 to 700 meters away. The area was considered active, an active training area with students operating and using blank ammunition. Because of this, we were moving quietly with flashlights off. There was little to no moonlight, and none of us had night vision devices. All three of us were non-commissioned officers with several years of training and experience, and we had operated in these woods many times before. We cut an azimuth on our compass and began moving in what should have been a nearly straight line towards the pickup point. After walking for what felt like an unusual long time, we reached a clearing and found ourselves at a road. To our surprise, we realized that we were back near the same area we had originally departed from. All three compasses had indicated we were moving correctly, yet we had somehow looped back to our starting point. This was disorienting and unsettling. We decided to cut a new azimuth to a different reference point and then adjust course towards a different pickup spot further down the road. Approximately 15 to 20 minutes into the second movement, we heard a loud sound off to our left, like a tree cracking or falling. Concerned about the possibility of a falling tree, we turned off our flashlights and then looked in that, I'm sorry, turned on the flashlights and looked in that direction. What we observed, two trees next to each other, bending towards one another. When we looked up approximately 20 to 30 foot above the ground, We saw a large, hairy creature with its back facing us. The creature appeared to be pulling the two trees together. The hair was brown or reddish-brown. I could not determine whether it had climbed the tree or was already in it, but it was clearly manipulating both trees with great strength, as these were not small trees. The creature was large, approximately eight plus feet in height, and a large body, far larger than a person. and its proportions and movement did not resemble a human. At that moment, I froze. I was the third person in our file. The Marine in front of me immediately started running. The second Marine shouted something and also started running. I turned my flashlight off because we were still in the training area and began running after them. As we ran, we heard a very heavy thud and then fast-moving pursuit behind us. They were loud crashing and breaking sounds like something large moving rapidly through the dense brush. No, no, and all they got is blanks. That's it. It doesn't even sound like, yeah, that's it. If these guys even had any, because they were just moving down through there. Says that this continued for approximately 20 to 30 seconds. At that point, I yelled for the Marine in front to turn on his light so we could move fast as possible without falling. We turned on our lights and ran at full speed in the general direction of where we believed the road and pickup point were, no longer using our compass. After approximately five minutes of running, we reached the vehicle, jumped in, and urgently told the driver to leave immediately. What we saw was not a black bear of any known animal in the area. Black bears in Quantico are relatively small. That would not explain the size and the way this creature was holding onto the trees with very long arms and the strength required to bend the trees together and the speed and power of the movement we heard pursuing us through the dense forest. The figure did not resemble a person in any way. I do not believe a human could have been in that position or moved that way. The distance from us to the creature when we observed it was approximately 20 yards. This event has stayed with me for 20 years. I've never encountered anything before or since that and explains what we saw that night. Nothing. And the other odd thing was the compass issue. Man. So that's what got dropped recent. Now, I want to say that because I have something that's interesting. I'm just going to add to the top of this. This took place in 1977 in Quantico, Virginia. This is a headline on one of the papers there that says some Marine centuries standing guard here late at night are seeing some strange sights and hearing strange sounds. Is it a Bigfoot? Well, that's what some of them think. The thing has made its presence known in the dark shadows of a tree line outside of an ammunition storage area at the Quantico Marine Base in northern Virginia, said Sergeant Alan Pultz of base's public information office. Marines who have seen or heard it have dubbed it the Asa Monster. A few Marines claim to have seen the brown things walking on two legs. Others say that they have heard strange shrieking screams, and some claim that they've heard something climbing a fence. I remember the night I saw it very well, said a Marine who was asked that his name not be used. It was about 2 a.m. I was walking my post when I heard something in the woods. I stopped and looked in the direction of the noise. I could see a dark figure beyond the fence just in front of the tree line. So I shone my flashlight at it. I couldn't believe what I saw. It was some type of creature that looked like a cross between an ape and a bear. The first thing I noticed was its large glaring eyes. Then I noticed it had arms and was covered in dark brown hair. The Marine said that he went for help when he or but when he and the sergeant of the guard search the area, come back and search the area. We found nothing except for some very large tracks with a pattern that resembled those of a dog. Yeah. He estimated the creature was between six and eight foot tall and resembled an artist's conception of Sasquatch or Bigfoot. Noises heard by Marine sentries usually occur in the summer, said St. Christian Stolpa, Sergeant of the Guard of Physical Security Platoon. He said the noises have developed a pattern. Occurring between the hours of 11 p.m. and 4 a.m., the noises will be there for two days, then go away for two days in a continuous cycle. Stolpa said one night one of his men reported a loud screaming noise, But when he investigated, he heard nothing until nearly a half hour later. It sounded as if someone were being mutilated. Many of the Marines who claim that they have heard strange noises are hesitant to believe there's no logical explanation for them. They believe the noises must be coming from housing or recreational areas, although there are some distance away, Pult said. That right there came, of course, from the Salisbury, Maryland, the Sunday Times, from February 6th. So there's a long history of sightings in and around that area. And what is it about Bigfoot sightings in and around military bases? I don't know, man. There's so many strange, I covered it. I've covered this where there's so many strange things around military bases. It doesn't make sense. It's even wilder, though, that there's a long history of it. Yes. So like the guys in 2005 or whatever are seeing the same thing they were seeing in 1976. Yeah, yeah. So is there a family of Sasquatch out there? Is it something else? I mean, I don't know. Well, speaking of stuff up in the trees, when you were telling that story of the bending of the trees. Yeah. And with the Olympics coming up, I'm picturing like a Sasquatch doing like an iron cross. Now you're talking. You know what I'm saying? Now you're talking. Sadly. Well, what would it be in the Winter Olympics? What would that be? What would the Sasquatch be really good at in the Winter Olympics? Curling? Yeah. I like to picture Sasquatch curling in the cold up in the frozen north. I like the Winter Olympics way more than the summer because of all the cool events. It's like because of hockey. Listen, it's because of hockey. Stop lying. Well, that's one of the events, but I like luge, skeleton. Because you're a luger. Bobsledding. I would have been. That's crazy. What's the one where they ski and then they stop and shoot their rifles and they ski some more? Like the biathlon or whatever. Yeah, the decat. I forgot what they call it. Yeah, that is pretty awesome. Because you talk about exhausted. I know. That's what makes you shooting so hard. I got those rad .22 long rifles. Yeah, and they're shooting. Oh, it's so cool. I love it. Speaking of trees, though, and things in the trees. I got a possible Glimmerman sighting sent in. Yes. Check this out. It says, my mom and I went to Oxford, Ohio for what was supposed to be a quiet extended weekend getaway. We rented a secluded cabin near Houston Woods State Park. By the time we left, we both knew something had followed us there, something that never wanted to be seen. Uh-oh. The cabin had been remodeled a few months earlier. It was built into the side of a hill, with a garage underneath and a screened deck that hung out over the trees. From the outside, it looked like a second floor. From the inside, it was the main level. The deck had a table, a few chairs, and a large hot tub. The way it was elevated gave us a clear view into the forest canopy. Too clear, someone would say. That first night, I turned on the hot tub to warm it up. I got in while my mom sat at the table behind me. Steam rose into the cold air. The woods were alive with the sounds of crickets, frogs, leaves moving in the dark, you know. Then my mom raised a finger. She said, do you hear that? I didn't. The water was too loud in the hot tub. She used the flashlight on her phone, scanning the tree line, but saw nothing, just darkness pressed up against the edge of the deck. A few minutes later, I got out and dried off. We sat together at the table, drinking hot cocoa. That's when I noticed my mom wasn't relaxing. She kept looking past me into the woods. I asked her, what was wrong? She said, did you notice that the forest stopped? And when I listened, she was right. No crickets, No frogs, no wind, nothing. Just silence. We went to bed not long after this, telling ourselves it was nothing. The next morning, the ground was damp from the overnight rain. We walked about 100 feet from the cabin when my mom froze. In the mud, there were two footprints. Not animal, not human. Whatever it was had three toes. They were large, spaced several feet apart, as if whatever made them didn't need to rush. That night, we went back into the hot tub, trying to pretend we were still on a nice vacation. That's when the scream came. It wasn't an owl, and it wasn't a fox. It was loud, sharp, and wrong. I immediately turned off the deck light. I didn't want whatever was out there to know where we were. My mom shut off the hot tub so we could hear more clearly. Branches began snapping, but not on the ground. No, they were above us. Something heavy was moving through the trees, climbing. The sounds came from the canopy, not the forest floor. Whatever it was, it was big, and it was close. We backed up against the wall near the door, barely breathing. Then we saw the eyes, yellow, kind of like glowing. They were level with the deck, almost 30 feet away. We ran inside and slammed the door, locking everything. We sat there for over an hour, listening, waiting for something else to happen. Eventually, the sounds stopped. The next day, we found broken branches near where we heard the noise, thick ones too, snapped like twigs. That evening, just before full dark, we were on the deck again, playing cards. Dusk pressed in around us, and then it happened again. The woods went completely silent. No warning, just dead air. Branches began breaking, closer this time. We shut off the light and watched the trees, and that is when we saw it. At first, it looked like nothing, just movement, distortion, like heat rising off of asphalt. Then the shape became clear, tall, human-shaped, but almost invisible, like the air itself had learned how to walk. It moved through the trees without sound, bending branches beneath its weight. We didn't move. We didn't speak. We didn't breathe. We didn't know if it could see us or not. After several minutes, it drifted away, melting back into the forest. We debated leaving that night, but decided it was safer to wait until morning. Around 4 a.m., I woke up to use the bathroom, and on my back, I heard footsteps. Heavy ones, above me. It was on the roof. I woke my mom, and we sat on the couch in the dark, praying for daylight. When morning finally came, we rushed outside, throwing our bags into the car. That's when I saw it. A dirty, three-toed footprint on the hood. As I pulled away, I looked back at the cabin. The yellow eyes stared from the trees. When I got home, I searched for answers, and that's when I found reports from state parks across the country describing the same thing. An almost invisible entity Tall silent watching They called it the Glimmer Man And I know one thing for sure I know we were there I sorry It knew we were there So a crazy Glimmer Man sighting. I like how they said it looked like the air learned how to walk. Yeah. I like that. People talk about it. And not just in state parks for this person who sent us a story. They're seen all over. In fact, I know people are asking right now, when's the book coming out? I was told it should be out in the next two months. I don't know if that's accurate. First time making a book. But, yeah, it's in the works. And you'll be the first to know when it comes out. Yeah, 100 percent. You guys will be the first to know. Well, let's take a break. And when we get back from the break, I'm going to be talking about some impossible creatures that people have seen. Yes. In both the Amazon and the Congo. Stick with us, folks. You're listening to Expanded Perspectives. This episode of Expanded Perspectives is brought to you by IQ Bar, our exclusive snack and hydration sponsor. Look, life is hectic, especially this time of year. Between work, family, the studio, and everything else pulling at you, it's easy to forget to eat right or get the protein your body actually needs. But that's where IQ Bar comes in. Now before I head out for the day, whether I'm going to work, Skellicon Studios, or even sitting in a tree stand, I always toss a couple IQ bars and hydration packs in my bag. It's quick, it's easy, and I know I'm fueling my body the right way. Now I know what you might be asking. Kyle, what exactly is IQ Bar? Well, IQ Bar is the better-for-you plant protein snack made with brain-boosting nutrients designed to refuel, nourish, and satisfy your hunger. without that brutal sugar crash later on. IQ Bar products are completely free of gluten, dairy, soy, GMOs, and artificial sweeteners, making them a clean, natural snack that you can reach for anytime. This new year gives all of us a clean slate, a time to turn over, a chance to turn frustration into fuel and power your days with intention, and IQ Bar makes that job easy. Their ultimate sampler pack is the perfect place to start, and that's what I would recommend. It comes with nine IQ Bar protein bars. It comes with eight IQ Mix hydration sticks, and it comes with four IQ Joe mushroom coffee sticks. Everything IQ Bar makes is clean label certified, packed with ingredients that support both mental and physical performance. Things like magnesium, lion's mane, and other brain-boosting nutrients. Throw IQ Bar's plant protein bars in your bag. They're loaded with fiber, packed with protein, and have zero added sugar. Hitting the gym this year, make sure you rehydrate with IQ Mix, a zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix that helps improve mood, focus, and clarity. And if you're ready to upgrade your morning routine, check out IQ Joe. It's a mushroom coffee designed for mental clarity with 200 milligrams of natural caffeine. And it comes in flavors that are honestly better than most brewed coffee. We've tried just about every brand out there. Some of my favorite flavors include salted caramel chip, chocolate sea salt, banana nut, and wild berry. And my favorite hydration mixes come in flavors like Arnold Palmer, Peach Mango, and Passion Fruit. And the IQ Joe Instant Coffees, well, I like the Toasted Hazelnut, the Cafe Mocha, the Vanilla Spice, and sometimes Original Black. Head on over to their website and take a look around and grab a variety pack. You'll save when you bundle. Right now, IQ Bar is offering our listeners 20% off all products plus free shipping. Just text the word EXPANDED. That's E-X-P-A-N-D-E-D to 64,000. That's expanded to 64,000. Message and data rates may apply. See turns for details. Fuel your brain, fuel your body, and start your day the smarter way with IQ Bar. Thank you. Before there were maps, before borders, before science decided what was possible and what was not, there were places the world did not understand. Places where the forest does not simply grow, it remembers. On today's show, I'm talking about jungles, so vast they swallow history whole. Rainforest, where ancient roads vanish beneath vines, where cities rot into soil, where creatures described only in whispers, long thought gone, may still exist. Not extinct, extant. The Amazon and the Congo Basin. These are not empty places. They are crowded, with stories, with warnings, with things that refuse to stay buried. Explorers entered these jungles, convinced they were charting the unknown, only to realize they were trespassing into something very old. Men vanished, expeditions failed, and those who returned spoke carefully. Because once you've heard the jungle move around you, once you've seen something too large to name slip back beneath the black water, you understand why some truths are passed down as legends instead of facts. Today, we're following some of those legends. The roaring beasts, the giant serpents, the cities swallowed by green, and the unsettling idea that the world may still be hiding things it never meant for us to find. The Amazon rainforest is not merely a place on a map. It is a living, breathing expanse of shadow and sound. A green ocean, if you will, stretching across South America. Covering most of the Amazon basin, this vast region encompasses some 7 million square kilometers. Roughly 6 million of those cloaked beneath dense rainforest canopies. Much of it remains untouched, unmeasured, and unseen by the outside world. It is the largest rainforest on Earth, a sanctuary of unparalleled biodiversity, and a place where countless species remain undiscovered. Yes, even today, there are undiscovered animals and insects. And among them, so the stories go, are creatures that should not exist at all. From the depths of this emerald labyrinth comes whispers of giant snakes, monstrous spiders, aquatic humanoids, and even living dinosaurs. Beings that stalk the waterways and undergrowth like echoes from a forgotten age. Perhaps the most infamous of these is the Mapingari or Mapipingari, known local amongst the peoples by the name Cape Lobo or Mao de Pialo, even Pede Garrafa. The Mapingari roughly translates to the roaring animal or the field beast. It is said to roam the remote jungles of Brazil and Bolivia, towering over six feet tall, sloth-like in form, with reddish fur and long, wickedly curved claws. Witnesses describe an ear-piercing scream that freezes the blood, accompanied by a suffocating stench so powerful it leaves grown men dizzy, even disoriented, and sick for days. The creature reportedly trails herds of peccaries, avoids water, and generally shuns humans until its territory is threatened. Its hide, some say, is so thick that bullets simply glance away. So what is this Mopengari? Indigenous tribes have long known the Mampengari as a nocturnal vegetarian forest giant, ripping open trees to feast on its inner pulp. Outsiders, too, have crossed paths with it. In 1975, hunter Mario Piera de Souza encountered a shambling, clawed beast along the Jaumchim River. Its odor was so overpowering, it left him reeling long after the encounter ended. Another hunter, Manuel Vittorio Pinheiro dos Santos, had his own terrifying experience in the late 1990s. While tracking white-lipped peccaries, around here they call them javelina, he and his companions were struck by an overwhelming stench and a gurgling cry rising from the jungle. Panic took hold. He fled toward a river as a thunderous roar erupted behind him, shaking the very trees, he claimed. Chest deep in water, he waited until the screams faded. When he finally glimpsed the creature, he described it as a hulking, armored body like a bear's, crowned with a monkey-like face and a massive, armadillo-like claws. Science has not entirely ignored these tales. Since 1994, our anthologist David C. Oren of the Emilio Goeldi Museum has led multiple expeditions into the Amazon, enduring disease, venomous wildlife, and relentless jungles in search of the Mopengari. Though he's never seen one, he collected nearly a hundred compelling accounts, along with hair samples, footprints, and scat, evidence that tantalizes but refuses to conclude. Now, some dismiss the Mopengari as folklore, a cursed shaman, punished for discovering immortality, doomed to wander as a beast. Legends describe backward feet, a single eye, even a mouth in its stomach. Others believe it could be a surviving giant ground sloth. Megatherium, or Milodon, extinct, according to science, for 10,000 years. Cryptozoologist Bernard Helvomans championed this theory, noting the striking similarities. But the Mopengari is only the beginning. There is another mystery beast, the Tapir Arora. It's described as a cow-sized animal with fur of red, gold, or black, and a jaguar-like face, donkey-like legs, and hooves. Now, this beast is highly aquatic. Its glossy coat sheds water like feathers. Though strange, it is reportedly hunted by locals as a nuisance, suggesting something tangible lurks behind this legend. But then, of course, there are the snakes. Explorer Percy Fawcett, often likened to a real-life Indiana Jones, recorded encounters that strain belief. If you don't know who Percy Fawcett is, you should really check him out. Percy Harrison Fawcett was not a man chasing fantasy. He was a decorated British artillery officer, an elite land surveyor for the Royal Geographical Society, and one of the most experienced jungle explorers of the early 20th century. Born in 1867, Fawcett came of age at a time when large portions of the world, especially the Amazon, were still unmapped by Western science. Beginning in 1906, he led multiple expeditions into South America, charting borders between Brazil, Bolivia, and Peru. Now, these journeys earned him a reputation as a man who could survive where others failed. But the jungle, seemed over time, changed him. Deep in the Amazon, Fawcett encountered ancient earthworks, vast mounds, strange stone artifacts, and indigenous legends that spoke of large, advanced cities swallowed by the forest. These weren't the myths of simple tribes, he believed. He believed that they were memories. Fawcett became convinced that an ancient civilization once thrived in the Amazon basin, long before European contact. He called it the Lost City of Z. Not a single city, but a remnant of a forgotten world. At the time, this idea was heresy. The scientific consensus claimed the Amazon could never support complex societies. Fawcett disagreed. He believed the jungle had grown over history, hiding it in plain sight. Over the years, his reports grew stranger. He described encounters with aggressive tribes, unknown animals, and massive creatures glimpsed along rivers and in swamps. He warned future explorers not to underestimate the jungle, not because it was empty, but because it was full. In 1925, driven by obsession and conviction, Fawcett returned to the Amazon one final time. He was 57 years old. He brought only two companions, his son Jack and Jack's friend Raleigh, Rimmel. Lightly equipped, they vanished into the Mato Grosso region of Brazil, following a trail Fossett believed would lead directly to the city of Z. They were never seen again. No bodies were ever recovered. No definitive evidence of their fate was ever found. Over the decades, rumors surfaced. Stories of murder, ritual killing, starvation, madness. Some claim that Fawcett lived on the Amazon among some of the other tribes. Others said he found the city and never left. What is known is this. Dozens of expeditions later attempt to find Fawcett. Several ended in death. Others simply disappeared. And in a quiet, unsettling twist, modern archaeology has since confirmed that large, complex civilizations did exist in the Amazon, complete with roads, cities, and engineered landscapes, exactly where Fawcett said they would be. By the use of LIDAR, I believe Graham Hancock has uncovered several of these roads. It's pretty interesting stuff if you ever want to check it out on YouTube. Percy Fawcett may not have been chasing myth. He may have been chasing a memory. While in the Amazon, Fawcett made several claims about some of the creatures he encountered while there. Among accounts of acid-spewing ants and unknown hominids is his most famous claim, a colossal anaconda, shot in 1906 along the Rio Abuna. He described it in chilling detail, and I quote, we stepped ashore and approached the reptile with caution. It was out of action, but shivers ran up and down the body like puffs of wind on a mountain tarn. As far as it was possible to measure, the length of 45 feet lay out of the water and 17 feet in it, making a total length of 62 feet. Such large specimens as this may not be common, but the trails and the swamps reach a width of 6 feet and support the statements of Indians and rubber pickers that the anaconda sometimes reaches an incredible size, altogether dwarfing one shot by me. The Brazilian Boundary Commission told me of one killed in Rio Paraguay exceeding 80 feet in length. Now natives speak of an even greater serpent. The Yakumama, the mother of waters, is said to reach lengths up to 50 meters, with heads wider than a man is tall. It is described as horned, booming, and capable of altering rivers themselves. Such stories echo through time. In 1922, Father Victor Hines claimed to see a snake thick as an oil drum drifting downriver. In later decades, reports surfaced of massive serpents, killed by gunfire and dragged by tugboats, then quietly discarded. Linked to these tales is the Minohako, a colossal worm-like creature said to tunnel beneath the earth, collapsing terrain and reshaping landscapes. Beyond snakes and sloths, darker legends surface from the water itself. The Igpupiara is the one who lives in the water. It is described as a brutal humanoid aquatic being. For now, Kardim wrote in 1583, They look like men of good stature, but their eyes are very hollow. The females look like women. They have long hair and are beautiful. These monsters are found on the bars of sweet rivers. Others speak of the water cabaloco, a bulletproof and wrathful appeased only through offerings. Even outside the jungle, mysteries persist. In Colombia's Lake Toda, sightings of the Diablo Bellina, or Devil Whale, stretch back centuries. Described as a massive black serpent with shining eyes, it was revered as a god by the Musica and feared by the Conquistadors. And then, my favorite, there are the spiders. Reports from deep within the Amazon speak of arachnids, with leg spans of six feet, bodies the size of dogs, and venom capable of killing horses. Expeditions like Monster's Quest and Man vs. Monster sought proof, uncovering only enormous but known tarantulas. Yet even modern science has stumbled upon creatures that feel unreal. Entomologist Pyotr Nesreki Nesreki recalled his encounter with a Goliath bird-eater. He said I could clearly hear its hard feet hitting the ground and dry leaves crumbling under its weight I pressed the switch and pointed the light at the source of the sound expecting to see a small mammal a possum a rabbit maybe or a rat And at first, that's exactly what I thought I saw, a big hairy animal the size of a rodent. But it wasn't a rodent. It was a ginormous spider, a huge spider. Finally, the most unsettling stories of all are the living dinosaurs. From Peru to Brazil, witnesses describe surropod-like creatures moving through rivers and swamps. Percy Fawcett himself wrote in 1919, I quote, A friend of mine, a trader in the rivers and for whose I can honestly can vouch for, saw in somewhere about latitude 12S and long 65 West, Bolivia-Brazil borderland, the head and neck of a huge reptile, of the character of a brontosaurus. It was a question of who was scared most, for it precipitatedly withdrew, with a plunging which suggested an enormous bulk. The savages appear to be familiar with the existence and the tracks of this beast, although I've never come across any of them myself. These swamps over immense areas are virtually impenetrable. So what are these people seeing? Is it really a dinosaur? Or is it like a hippopotamus or something like that? You know, a manatee in the river, and they're just confusing it for something else. The same thing with the aquatic humanoids. Sounds similar to like sightings of mermaids. But what do I know? Maybe mermaids are real and they swam up river. I don't know. I find these stories cool. Other explorers echoed similar horrors. massive tracks, roaring jungles, creatures impervious to gunfire. Now, whether misidentification, myth, or something science has yet to name, these accounts linger. The Amazon does not give up its secrets easily. Beneath its canopy, time bends, history blurs, and the line between legend and reality dissolves. Whether these creatures exist in flesh and blood, or are only the collective memory of those who dared to enter, one truth remains. The jungle never changes. It waits, and it remembers. But the Amazon is not the only place said to hide giant creatures. What about across the pond, over to the continent of Africa? One of the last truly uncharted wildernesses left on Earth lies in the heart of Africa, the Congo Basin, often referred to simply as the Congo. It is a vast, suffocating expanse of jungle and swamp stretching across Central Africa. It encompasses Angola, Gabun, Burundi, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, and Zambia, and contains the second largest tropical rainforest on the planet, surpassed only by the Amazon. Here, the forest grows thick and hostile, swallowing light, sound, and history alike. This is a land where maps fail, where the canopy closes like a lid and where entire regions remain untouched by modern science. According to generations of witnesses, this is a place where monsters still live. Among the most persistent and unsettling legends of the Congos are those of living dinosaurs, just like in the Amazon, relics of a prehistoric age, said to have survived extinction by retreating into the deepest, wettest corners of the world. Now, while the idea sounds impossible, reports of such creatures continue to emerge from isolated regions all across Africa, told with a consistency that refuses to fade. Nowhere are these stories more entrenched than in the Congo Basin. The most famous of these alleged survivors is a creature known as, and I'm sure you're saying it to yourself, Mokilio Bembe, a name that translates ominously as the one who stops the flow of rivers. It is said to dwell deep within, boy this is a tough one, the Lakuawala swamp region, a nightmarish maze of flooded forest, black water, and suffocating heat where few outsiders have ever tread. Mokilio membe is described as larger than an elephant, with a long sinuous neck, a small reptilian head, and thick pillar-like legs, and a massive tail. It's semi-aquatic and rarely seen. It is said to rise from the water like a memory made of flesh. Though reportedly vegetarian, witnesses describe its presence as overwhelming, its roar said to inspire paralyzing fear. A detailed description appeared in a 1980 issue of Science in an article titled Living Dinosaurs, which states, In the swampy jungles of Western Africa, reports persist of an elephant-sized creature with smooth brownish gray skin, a long flexible neck, a very long tail as powerful as a crocodile's, and a three-clawed foot the size of frying pans. Over the past three centuries, native pygmies and western explorers have told how the animals feed on the nut-like fruit of a riverbank plant and to keep in the deep pools and subsurface caves of waters in this largely unexplored region. Now, although local tribes have spoken long about Mokilombe, it wasn't until the early 20th century that these accounts reached the outside world. For the first time in 1909, famed big game hunter Carl Hagenbeck wrote of the creature in Beasts and Men, describing native stories of a terrifying animal said to be part elephant, part dragon. Now, Hagenbeck consulted naturalist Joseph Menges, who believed the creature might represent a surviving dinosaur akin to a brontosaurus. German adventurer Hans Schomburg added that locals blamed Mokiliumbembe for killing hippos at Lake Bengualu. But the sightings of this brontosaurus-like being are the same in the Amazon as they are the Congo. It makes you wonder. Maybe they don't exist now, but maybe in the early 20th century, they still did. The animal is said to be of brownish-gray color, with smooth skin. Its size is approximately equal to that of an elephant, and at least that of a hippopotamus. Canoes coming near it are said to be doomed. The animal is said to attack these vessels at once, and kill the crews, but without eating the bodies. These reports ignited public fascination. Expeditions followed, some funded by the Smithsonian. Cryptozoologist Ivan T. Sanderson explored the region in 1932, discovering massive tracks and witnessing something enormous vanish beneath the water. In the 1980s, biologist Roy Mackle led multiple expeditions into the La Coala swamps. Though he found no physical remains, he documented crushed vegetation, strange footprints he could not describe, and countless native testimonies, compiling them in his book, Living Dinosaur. Other explorers claimed photographs, recordings, and even brief sightings, grainy glimpses of something large moving beneath the surface of Lake Tili. Yet Mokiliumbembe is not alone. In the La Qualla region, it's said to harbor another prehistoric horror. The Nisanga, a massive crocodile-like creature with oversized claws. The Emilia Natuca, or Elephant Killer, a tank-like beast with a single horn and a reputation for slaughtering elephants and hippos alike. Lucian Blanco wrote of it in 1954. He said the presence of a beast which resembles sometimes disembowels elephants is also known. My question with all of these sightings is a giant elephant-killing beast with a single horn sounds an awful lot like what? A rhinoceros, right? The same thing with the Mokile Mbembe. Is it some kind of large aquatic hippopotamus or something? It's not a dinosaur. You know, maybe these are misidentifications. But the other part of me says, if all these native tribes have all these legends and myths, are they all making it up? Or were there dinosaurs in their ancestry? and the stories of those dinosaurs that don't exist anymore were just passed down from generation to generation, so they still know what these things are, but there hasn't been any living dinosaurs for millennia. I don't know. But there are other creatures. Still, deeper in the swamps lurks the, oh boy, this is a tough one, Miblou, Miblou, Miblou, an almost fully aquatic creature whose back is said to bristle with armored ridges slick with algae. Nearby rivers are haunted by the Nguma Muene, a colossal ridged reptile reported to attack hippos on sight. Other regions tell of their own monsters. Cameroon has a Maku Mikbimbu, whose head alone is said to rival the hippos in size. The Sudan has the bizarre Lao, described as a donkey with flippers, measuring up to 100 foot long. And in the Kasai Valley, stories of a terrifying bipedal predator dubbed the Kassai Rex is said to stalk elephants and rhinos. Even the skies are not free of terror. Across the Congo and neighboring regions, witnesses describe a flying beast known as the Kongamoto, the breaker of boats. European explorers recorded accounts dating back to the 1700s. Frank Welland wrote in 1932, The evidence for a pterodactyl is that the natives can describe it so accurately. The natives do not consider it to be an unnatural thing at all, only a very awful thing. So that's exactly what I'm saying. The natives know what this thing is. They can describe it and its description matches or mirrors what we know of dinosaurs. So, man, maybe there was a pterodactyl. We even have pterodactyl sightings here in America. And then again, as always, my favorite, gigantic spiders. In the impenetrable jungles of the most remote parts, primarily of the Democratic Republic of Congo, also Cameroon, Uganda, and the Central African Republic, are said to be enormous ground-dwelling spiders, which the natives of the region refer to as Chabafofi, which literally translates to giant spider. The Chabafofi is said to be reminiscent of a tarantula in both form and color, with adults exhibiting a dark brown coloration. But the real difference is in the size, as the Congolese giant spiders are said to attain leg spans of anywhere between 4 and 6 feet. This shockingly immense size allows them to allegedly prey on a variety of small animals, including birds, jungle antelopes, monkeys, and various reptiles. which they trap in an elaborate pattern of webs strung out between trees and devour after pouncing forth from a shallow depression, camouflaged by leaves in a manner very similar to a trapdoor spider. Reports from missionaries in the region, and natives, have suggested that these spiders are even known to kill humans on occasion, and that their venom is extremely potent. Although explorers, missionaries, and natives have long told of seeing these massive spiders in the depths of the African jungle, perhaps the report that most thrust the Chaba Fofi into the spotlight was the sighting by Rinald and Margatyle Lloyd in 1938. Chronicled by cryptozoologist George Ebert, according to this account, the Lloyds were exploring a remote region of what was then known as the Belgian Congo, when they spied a dark-shaped skitter out from under the underbrush across the road in front of them. Now, at first, the couple thought it was merely some sort of cat or monkey or other, some other common jungle animal. They stopped their truck to avoid hitting it in order to let it pass. It was then that it became apparent to the horrified explorers that the creature was a gigantic spider with a reported leg span of at least four or five feet. Before either of them started, startled eyewitnesses could get a camera or even really overcome their own shock at seeing such a nightmare sight, the spider had already scampered into the thick brush on the other side of the track and was gone. They wanted to take a picture, but who's going to follow that thing, right? I wouldn't. I'd keep driving. Another report of a giant spider comes from Uganda in the 1890s when an English missionary named Arthur Seams was exploring along the shores of Lake Nysa. As Seams and company were trekking along, several of his porters allegedly became hopelessly entangled in a network of webbing that hugged the ground and was too strong to break with any means that they possessed. It was not long before at least two giant spiders, with leg spans of around four feet across, pounced on them, the ensnared men, and bit them before Symes was able to drive them off with his pistol. Moments after being bitten, the porters were reportedly to have become feverish, delirious, with their extremities swelled up considerably, and death followed shortly after. Well, yeah, you got bit by two spiders the size of dogs. Can you imagine that? There are other accounts of giant spider sightings from several expeditions into the region in search of yet another cryptid, the saurian, dinosaur-like Mukilionbembe, like we discussed. There's another animal similar to that that seems to be a real-life living dinosaur. I'll tell you this, after all these sightings of, you know, dinosaurs don't really scare me, but giant spiders do. That's why I know I will never go to the Amazon, and I will never go to the Congo. Looks like a cool place, but I think I'm going to stay in Texas. So what do you think? Are there still living giant spiders, giant snakes, giant dinosaurs living in the remote parts of the world in these really dense forests and jungles? Or is it misidentification? Or are there just the natives that live there are just making these stories up? I don't know. I don't know. I'd like to believe that, maybe not now, but I'd like to believe in the early 20th century, late 19th century, that there were giant spiders, that there were dinosaurs living there. I don't know. Whether these creatures exist in flesh and blood, or only in the shared memory of those who dared to look too closely, one truth refuses to disappear. Again and again, explorers describe the same things. The same shapes, the same warnings, the same creatures. Percy Fawcett was mocked for believing in lost cities until archaeology proved him right. Indigenous stories were dismissed as myth until roads, earthworks, and ancient civilizations were found exactly where the legends said they would be. So, maybe these other stories aren't made up. Perhaps the jungles of the Amazon and Africa are not haunted by monsters at all. Perhaps they are simply untamed. These are places where the world never agreed to play by the jungle's rules. Places where extinction is not always final. Where a memory takes physical form. Where something can still be watching from the waterline. From the trees. And from just beyond the reach of light. I'm Kyle Filson. You're listening to Expanded Perspectives. Ik snap dat je je podcast wil luisteren, dus ik zal het kort houden. Want als jij het belangrijk vindt om duurzamere keuzes te maken, kan ASR misschien helpen. Now I hear you think, how then? Well, for example, when you buy expensive things that you love, you want to know more about the insurance where expensive expensive expensive expensive is? Go to asr.nl slash duurzamekeuzes. This is ASR for you and a expensive community. ASR does it. So, we can listen to your podcast. Shopify helps millions of business sell online. Build fast with templates and AI descriptions and photos, inventory and shipping. Sign up for your 1 euro per month trial and start selling today at shopify.nl. That's shopify.nl. It's time to see what you can accomplish with Shopify by your side. I know you're listening to your podcast. I'll keep it short. Because if you think it's important to make a cost-effective choices, maybe Acer can help. Now I think, how then? Well, for example, when you're paying a cost-effective money for your love. Want to know more about the insurance where a cost-effective choice is? Go to acer.nl. This does Acer for you and a cost-effective community. Acer does it. So, now you can listen to your podcast. Starting a business can be overwhelming. You're juggling multiple roles, designer, marketer, logistics manager, all while bringing your vision to life. Shopify helps millions of business sell online. Build fast with templates and AI descriptions and photos, inventory and shipping. Sign up for your one euro per month trial and start selling today at Shopify.nl. That's Shopify.nl. It's time to see what you can accomplish with Shopify by your side. And we back with expanded perspectives crazy stories i still like to believe that somewhere deep in the jungle there are some of these mysterious giant spiders giant centipedes like you talked man yeah crazy things like that i know it's probably not doesn't exist but i just think it's a cool story. Well, and I remember we did several years back a whole thing about the giant stuff that was even seen in Australia. Yeah. That people had seen giant lizards, like big lizards. I'm not talking like four footers. I'm talking stuff that's like 18 foot long, big, looks like it was a throwback. You know, I don't know if it's the child in me. I don't know what it is, but the idea of being able to see like a dinosaur era thing, right? You're It's just like, it's the land of, not land of the lost, what is it? Like one of the missing worlds or the island of missing time, whatever. It just, that's it. The island that time forgot. Yeah. Well, I mean. Something like that. I just, I love the idea of it. Dude, in the Northern Territory of Australia, there are dinosaurs there. Those are like 25 foot crocs. Yeah, those. Those are dinosaurs. Yeah. I'm glad you brought up Australia because I got a story from Australia. Oh, sweet. This was sent to us from one of our Australian listeners. I think you're going to like it, Cam. It says, this happened when I was about 16. I was still in high school. It was early in the week, maybe a Monday or Tuesday. I remember because I really didn't want to be there. So I did what a lot of teenagers do. I skipped school. Word. My mom left for work before I woke up. She made me breakfast and left it on the counter. As soon as I heard the car pull away, I felt that small guilty thrill. No school. I was meeting some friends later. The house was mine. I jumped into the shower, relaxing, smiling, and that's when I heard her voice. Hey, Will, are you still at home? Clear as day from inside the house. My stomach dropped. I thought, well, I'd been caught. I rushed to turn off the water, already rehearsing my apology. I said, Mom, I'm sorry. I said, I just didn't want to go. The words echoed back at me. There was no response. That's when it hit me. I was standing alone in the bathroom. talking to nobody. My mother had already left. The house was empty, or at least it should have been. I stood there for a moment, heart racing, then convinced myself that it was just my mind playing tricks on me. Maybe I was half asleep. Maybe I was overthinking. That's what I like to tell myself. I turned on the CD player for background noise and sat down to eat my breakfast. A few minutes later, the music changed, not to another track. It started playing backwards. I went in the living room and started the CD player again. I changed the song and it went back to the kitchen. Seconds later, it happened again. This time I didn't touch anything. I walked back slowly and turned the player off completely. No music, no sound. I sat down and that's when I felt it. A whisper right in my left ear, quiet at first, but then persistent. You didn't brush your teeth. Then louder. I couldn't make out the words. It sounded like a language that I didn't recognize. Soft, fast, intimate, like something was leaning close to me, speaking just for me to hear. Then the whisper moved. It drifted upward into the ceiling above me. Without thinking, I stood on a chair trying to hear it better. And instantly, the whisper started again, this time in my right ear. That's when panic set in. I rushed to my bedroom to get dressed, desperate to leave the house. As I pulled on my clothes, I felt it, that unmistakable sensation of being watched, of something standing just behind you. I turned around. Above the doorway, hovering where nothing should have been, was a figure. Small, thick, misshapen. It looked like a gnome. It had a long gray beard, an oversized nose, heavy boots with rounded toes, a pointed cap pulled down low. Its body wasn't solid. It shimmered and warped like heat rising off asphalt on a hot road. Its eyes were the worst part. They didn't blink. They flashed like glass marbles filled with energy. I don't know where the courage came from, but I shouted at it. I demanded to know what it was doing in my house, calling on God's name without really thinking. In less than a second, it moved. Its shape snapped, froze for a brief instant, then shot out of the room toward the living room. As it went, it laughed. Not deep or menacing. It was high-pitched, mocking, like a clever child who knew it got away with something. I searched the house and nothing was there. Later, I told a friend and his mother. They came back with me and prayed through the house. asking for anything unwanted to leave. After that, nothing else happened. I didn't tell many people, just my parents and a few close friends. Even now, I know how it sounds. People will say I imagined it all, that I was tired, that something was wrong with me. All I know is this. That morning, something spoke in my mother's voice. Something whispered in my ears, and something watched me from above my bedroom door. I'm 33 now. I work as a carpenter in Sydney. My life is normal. But every so often, when a house goes quiet, a little too quiet, I remember that laugh. William. A gnome jacking with him. You know, when he talked about his mother talking to him in the house, it reminds me of the story you said that you plainly heard your wife's voice. Yeah. And she wasn't here. Clear as day. Man, that's crazy. But it makes sense. Look, you're up to no good as a kid, right? and mischievous. How old was he at the time? He was in high school, so probably like 16. So we've already established that's a prime time for strange things to interact with boys and girls, right? Like paranormal things happen to them around that time. Yeah, he says I was about 16. Yeah. So, I mean, it could have been there this whole time or in one of these gnome areas. And then, yeah, then you're messing around like that. He's like, oh, I've caught him. Yeah. Right? Up to no good. Now I'm going to mess with them. Dude, that's cool. That is cool. The whole idea. Look, I've got one that's pretty well took place in the Shenandoah National Park. It says, my father worked for the National Park Service until three years ago. His responsibilities included guided tours along the Appalachian Trail, forestry maintenance, monitoring wildlife habitat within the Shenandoah National Park. Now, this incident occurred during the summer of 2003. My father and a colleague, referred to here as John, were tasked with locating a mature male elk known locally as Billy. The animal was usually tame, frequently observed near residential areas, but it had not been seen for more than a week, and this absence was considered highly unusual. So, the two men split up to cover more ground. My father was dropped off along the trail while John drove the service truck approximately five miles further down to search from another access point. After hours of searching with no results, this final area was intended to be their last stop before nightfall. So after walking the trail for about an hour, my father heard a loud noise to his left, including branches snapping under heavy pressure. Now, believing the sounds could be the missing elk, he moved off trail to investigate. As he approached the source of the noise, he detected a strong foul odor and immediately suspected a dead animal. In a small clearing, he discovered the carcass of a large elk. The ear tag confirmed it was Billy. What shocked him was the body's condition. The elk had been severely mutilated. The eyes and tongue were missing, the throat had been torn open, and the abdomen was ripped apart with the insides exposed. Portions of flesh were missing from the torso and the entire front right leg had been removed. Now, while he initially considered predators such as black bears or coyotes, the size of the elk and the manner of which the mutilation was done did not align with typical predation patterns that he'd encountered during his career. Disturbed by the scene, my father radioed John, provided his approximate location. John informed him that he would be close to an hour to return to the truck, so my father instructed him to remain where he was. As daylight faded, he grew increasingly uneasy. He says although he carried a flashlight and bear spray, he felt very vulnerable alone in the forest. Approximately 15 minutes later, he heard movement again. It's his footsteps, branches snapping, occasional low growls were coming from dense brush ahead of him. And he goes on to describe slow, heavy breathing and the sound of something pacing the forest floor. He became convinced he was being watched. At intervals, he swept his flashlight towards the noise and then shouted in an attempt to scare it off, or scare off what he even assumed was a predator. The activity continued and appeared to become more agitated, though whatever it was never fully revealed itself or would even move closer. For more than an hour, this went down, says, and then headlights appeared. As John approached, the unseen presence abruptly just completely retreated and the sound of movement fading into the forest. OK, after loading the elk's remains in the truck, remains in the trucks, says my father felt compelled to investigate the area where the noises had originated. John accompanied him behind a fallen log. They discovered the partially eaten leg of an elk. Nearby were discarded candy and chocolate wrappers, a short length of rope and a further into the tree line, a pair of blood covered nitrile gloves. They also observed human shoe prints leading away from the site, remnants of a small fire and a comic book left behind. The realization was immediate and terrifying. A person had mutilated the elk. A person had been watching him from the darkness growling. The two men agreed never to report or discuss the incident. My father has said that not a day passes without him thinking what happened. He cannot comprehend who would do such a thing, how they managed to even kill the animal or what their intentions might have been if given the opportunity. Our family relocated to the Richmond area in 2005. My father has never returned to the Appalachian Trail and has stated he never will. Yeah, right. Some kind of crazy serial killer out there. But what could do it? Experimenting on elk. I'm thinking more like a skinwalker. The dude just morphed into some monster, some werewolf, jumped on this thing to take it down. Yeah. Did all this and then was changed back. He was in his Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde state over there behind the thing. But he had the wherewithal during this fugue state of monstrosity attacks to wear his rubber gloves. Yeah. And eat candy. You can eat some. You got to get your sugar up to fight an elk, man. Come on. You don't know. You haven't fought an elk, have you? See, that's a wild story that doesn't really fit into any category, right? We get those sometimes. Yeah. We're like, I don't know what that is. What could it have been? And he said, the way it sounds, he could hear it. So that's what I'm getting at is maybe it was a man at one point. It's like a dang skinwalker. Like, I don't know. Well, like back to the Glimmerman sighting in the beginning of the show, three toes. How many of these strange footprints have we found? A bunch of them down in this area. Not us, but people have found where it's three toes. Yeah. Especially like in Louisiana. Yeah. Was it the Rougarou? You're supposed to have three toes or something like there's a whole area in East Texas and down in that area where the three toed thing comes from. And according to the BFRO, there's 91 sightings in the Shenandoah area. Wow. And they call it the wood booger up there. Hey, what's up? Right. Dude, it's just like we talked about at Quantico. When you start getting these repeated stories in this area, you kind of have to be like, so is everybody that visits there out of their mind or is something really going on? Right. Yeah. I think something's going on. If you have any crazy stories you'd like to share with Cam and I, as well as the listeners, you can email the show expandedperspectives at yahoo.com. You can call the hotline 888-393-2783. Let's not forget about our wonderful sponsor, IQ Bar. Right now, IQ Bar is offering our listeners 20% off all products, plus free shipping. All you do is text the word EXPANDED. That's E-X-P-A-N-D-E-D to 64000. That's right. Just text the word EXPANDED to 64000. If you want more Expanded Perspectives, don't forget about Expanded Perspectives Elite. Just go to patreon.com slash expandedperspectives elite, and you can get more shows as well as helping us out and getting ad-free versions of this show. Kim, what do you got planned for the rest of your week? I got to paint the bedroom. Oh, yeah? Yeah. My wife's going out of town, and she asked that I paint the bedroom. So I have chores while she goes on vacation. Of course. Let me ask you this. When you go hunting, like when you went to Kansas. The answer is I'm going to start doing it. We went to Arizona Mule Deer Hunting. Do you ever give your wife a list of stuff to do? I'm going to start giving them, like, you go in there, and I need to make sure. Well, and it's never, like, demanding. It's like, you know what I really like? Well, and to be honest, on this one, I kind of offered it, but she jumped at it real quick. I said, you know where you're going? I could easily get everything out of there and knock it out. She's like, yeah, you know what? That sounds good. I'm like, I was hoping she'd say, no, you just don't worry about it. But nope. She's like, what about the flooring? And then the next thing I know, I was like, this may turn into a whole thing. Yeah, that's what you do next time you go to town. You're like, why don't you retile the kitchen just to see what she does? You're like, what? She's going to laugh, and then she's going to go by the tile and ask me to do it. Yeah. That's what's going to happen. So, yeah, that's what I got going down. But the house will be empty. Okay. It'll just be me getting stuff done. That'll be about it. I'm looking forward to the Olympics. Let's see. I'm hoping the USA pulls off the gold medal this time. I'm still bitter about the last time Canada beat us. You can just say you're still bitter, period. You don't have to follow it up with why. The world listening knows you're just bitter. Yeah. See? He's thinking about it now. He gets off. I have a lot of high hopes, though, at least the first game. The first game we played Latvia, and then the second game we played Denmark. So I think we could win those. Are they? I don't know anything. So I'll have to keep, I'll refer to you. I let, he texts me with the scores and keeps me posted on all of it as it's going on, because I don't know, and I'm like, I have no idea what team's good. And then when other teams are playing, I'm like, which one of these guys are good? And then he's like, you got to watch this guy on this team, these two guys on this team. I don't even know how he keeps up with all of it. Well, because most of them are in the NHL. So it's Rain Man over here is going to be watching the Olympics this whole time. Yeah, and all the other cool things, like you mentioned earlier. like the curling and the biathlon and all that stuff. I wish there was a place to go curl close to us. There is. Yeah, but I don't want to have to drive all the way over in that mess. Oh, you mean like right here in town? Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. They have curling over in the DFW. Yeah, yeah. I think it would be fun. I always wanted to do it. I used to watch the guys like we were waiting for a game. You just stand around with all your gear on, staring at the dudes curling? Because they had like most of the star centers and what is it? in Addison. They call it Addison Square Garden instead of Madison Square Garden. Okay. And they have hockey rinks and curling rinks. And there's literally a bar upstairs and you can just sit there and drink Miller Lite and watch guys curl. I think most of them are guys that are... You hear the fondness he had in his voice when he just described what was happening there, folks? Oh, it was amazing. He could just drink beer and watch guys curl and then get ready to go play pickup hockey. Yeah. Back in the day, right? Back in the day. Hey, good news is he still has his fronts. We used to always make bets that he wouldn't, but he still does. Yeah, I've had my nose broken like five times. Yeah, but we were thinking about teeth. I do have teeth. All the other guys in the friend group always had money behind his back waiting on seeing if he was going to come out with them or not. Like the end of each season, like, oh, I lost 10 bucks. All right, folks, that's about enough of this. Hope everybody out there has a good week. Till next time, I'm Kyle, he's Cam. Peace, y'all. Thank you. Thank you. Starting a business can be overwhelming. You're juggling multiple roles, designer, marketer, logistics manager, all while bringing your vision to life. Shopify helps millions of business sell online. Build fast with templates and AI descriptions and photos, inventory and shipping. Sign up for your one euro per month trial and start selling today at shopify.nl. That's shopify.nl. It's time to see what you can accomplish with Shopify by your side.