July 14th, 2008 at 16:00 by Shawn Lindseth =

Awesome or Off-Putting is a weekly delve into cryptozoology, ufology,
aliens, medical marvels, scientific wonders, secret societies, government
conspiracies, cults, ghosts, EVPs, myths, ancient artifacts, religion,
strange facts, odd sightings or just the plain unexplainable.

The Bunyip is an Australian legend that started with the Aborigines, and
was subsequently spread among the white settlers. It=92s been physically
described as looking a thousand different ways - having everything from
horse parts to tentacles.

At one point a skull of the creature was thought to be found, and when
science at the time could not definitively identify it - it looked like
the
legends were all too true.

Here is a definition of the Bunyip as found in the Encyclopedia Mythica:

=93A bellowing water monster from Aboriginal legend, believed to bring
diseases. It lives at the bottom of the water holes, swamps, lakes and
rivers of the Australian outback. The creature is roughly the size of a
calf and requires calm water to live in. Unless its food sources are
interfered with, the bunyip usually leaves human beings alone. However, if
necessary it has the strength to pull a person down into the water and
drown him. The name comes from an Aboriginal word meaning =93devil=94 or
=93spirit=94.=94

Although no specific sighting or encounters with the creature seem to have
been reported, there was still plenty of fuel to feed the fire. For
instance, according to Skeptic World.com:

=93In 1846 a peculiar skull was taken from the banks of Murrumbidgee River
=
in
New South Wales. In the first flush of excitement, several experts
concluded that it was the skull of something unknown to science. In 1847
the so-called bunyip skull was put on exhibition in the Australian Museum
(Sydney) for two days. Visitors flocked to see it and the Sydney Morning
Herald said that it prompted many people to speak out about their
=91bunyip
sightings=92 =93Almost everyone became immediately aware that he had heard
=92strange sounds=92 from the lagoons at night, or had seen =92something
bl=
ack=92
in the water.=94"

The skull was eventually called that of a deformed horse or calf, but
public interest did not fade. Take the Bunyip of the Greta area, for
instance. Long had locals claimed to hear a =91loud booming sound=92
coming
from the swamp. When a search party would be dispatched, they always
reported the same thing - nothing. Eventually the swamp was drained and
the
noise stopped. Some thought the creature had been killed by the death of
it=92s natural habitat, others thought it just moved.

Perhaps the most convincing piece of evidence that the Bunyip exists is
the
fact it was shown in a South Park episode playing the role of God (season
3). Camera footage like that is very hard to fake, and thus far, science
has not been able to definitively prove it wrong.

Just you think about that for a minute.

http://www.hecklerspray.com/awesome-or-off-putting-the-bunyip/200815227.php
.

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