From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Panama Creature
Panama Creature
Panama Creature fore leaving the area. They later returned and took pho-
(Panama Monster, Panama ET, other names) tographs of the creature’s corpse, before sending the pic-
tures to Telemetro, a Panamanian television station.[7]
Virginia Wheeler, writing for The Sun, claimed that the
discovery "sparked fear and confusion" in the town.[6]
According to some sources, subsequent photographs
were taken of the creature after it had further decom-
posed;[8] however, doubts have been expressed about
whether the later photos were of the same specimen.[4]
A few days after the photographs were taken, one of the
teenagers gave a different account in an interview with
One of the original photographs of the Panama Creature, Telemetro Reporta, saying "I was in the river and I felt
showing its strange appearance
something grabbing my legs ... We took it out of the wa-
Creature ter and started throwing rocks and sticks at it. We had
never seen anything like that."[3] The photographs show
Similar Montauk Monster, Brown-throated
creatures Sloth a pale creature that is mostly hairless, with a rubbery
body. It has "revolting features"; a snub-nose and long
Data arms.[3][7] Writers for the Huffington Post said that while
First reported September 2009 the head is clearly animal, the torso is "strange", while
the limbs are reminiscent of thin human arms.[5] Writ-
Country Panama
ers for WBALTV.com compared it to both a "small, port-
ly" version of the alien in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and The
The "Panama Creature [1] (also variously referred to as
Panama Creature"
Lord of the Rings’s Gollum’s "long-lost cousin".[9]
the "Panama Monster [2] "Panama ET [3] "Cerro Azul
Panama Monster", Panama ET" Cerro
Monster", Blue Monster" Blue
Monster "Blue Stream Monster or "Blue Hill Hor-
ror [4]) refers to a creature photographed near the town
ror" Speculation
of Cerro Azul, Panama, in September 2009. After the crea- The story and the photographs circulated the Internet,[2]
ture was discovered and reputedly killed by a group of including various cryptozoology blogs,[7] with a great
teenagers, photographs of the corpse were given to amount of speculation about possible explanations.[2] A
Telemetro, a Panamanian television station. The story video showing the original photographs, as well as some
and pictures circulated, and comparisons to the Montauk footage of the further decomposed corpse, became very
Monster were made. There was speculation about the popular on the web, being one of the most viewed videos
identity of the creature, with suggestions including a over the course of a day.[10] In addition to its prevalence
hairless sloth, an alien species and a creature new to sci- on the Internet, the story was covered on television and
ence. A biopsy performed by the National Environmen- radio.[2] Comparisons were drawn to the Montauk Mon-
tal Authority of Panama on the remains a few days af- ster found in Montauk, New York in June 2008.[7] A pop-
ter the creature’s discovery concluded that the corpse ular theory was that the Panama Creature was a sloth
was in fact that of a male Brown-throated Sloth. The odd (perhaps an albino) that had somehow become hairless;
appearance had been caused by underwater decomposi- proponents of the hypothesis cited the hooked claw visi-
tion, which had resulted in hair loss. Once identified, the ble in one of the photographs.[7][9] Science author Darren
corpse was buried. Naish, writing for ScienceBlogs, supported the sloth hy-
pothesis, but had a "difficult time" explaining the crea-
Events ture’s hairlessness.[5] The sloth theory was generally con-
sidered most credible; in 1996, similar photographs were
A group of four or five teenagers aged between 14 and
taken of a creature found on the coast between Panama
16 claim to have been playing near a cave in Cerro Azul,
and Costa Rica that was later confirmed to be a sloth that
Panama when the creature emerged.[3][5][6] They say that
had started to decay.[11] Further Internet speculation led
it approached them, and, fearing for their safety, they
to some proposing that it was in fact a dolphin or a pit
attacked the creature with sticks, killing it. They claim
bull terrier,[4][11] an example of a species previously un-
that they then threw its corpse into a pool of water be-
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Panama Creature
known to science,[5] or "some sort" of genetic mutata- [2] ^ Booth, Billy (20 September 2009). "Panama
tion.[4] Some Panamanian zoologists said that it appeared Monster Fuels Speculation". About.com.
to be a fetus of some kind.[5] In addition to naturalis- http://ufos.about.com/b/2009/09/20/panama-
tic explanations, Billy Booth of About.com reported that monster-fuels-speculation.htm. Retrieved 5 April
"there has been speculation that it is alien, and thereby 2011.
the connection to UFOs, undersea bases, the whole ball of [3] ^ Valle, Sabrina (9 November 2009). "Panama
wax."[2] "Alien" Really a Dead, Bloated Sloth". National
Geographic.
Necropsy http://news.preview.nationalgeographic.com/
news/2009/11/091109-panama-alien-et-creature-
sloth.html. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
[4] ^ Naish, Darren (18 September 2009). "The
Panamanian Blue Hill Monster (or Cerro Azul
Monster)". ScienceBlogs. http://scienceblogs.com/
tetrapodzoology/2009/09/
panamanian_blue_hill_monster.php?utm_source=networkbanner
Retrieved 5 April 2011.
[5] ^ "Unidentified Creature: Panama Teens Discover
Alien-Like Animal". Huffington Post. 19 November
2009. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/
19/unidentified-creature-pan_n_292515.html.
Retrieved 5 April 2011.
The Panama Creature was shown to be a decomposing Brown- [6] ^ Wheeler, Virginia (17 September 2009). "Mystery
throated Sloth. beast terrified kids". The Sun.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/
The creature’s corpse was recovered four days after the weird/2642152/Mystery-beast-terrified-kids.html.
encounter, and a biopsy was performed by the National Retrieved 6 April 2011.
Environmental Authority of Panama (ANAM). The biopsy [7] ^ "New ’Montauk Monster’ spotted in Panama". The
concluded that the corpse was in fact a male Brown- Daily Telegraph. 17 September 2009.
throated Sloth, a species common in the area. André Sena http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/
Maia, a veterinarian who works at Niterói Zoo, Rio de centralamericaandthecaribbean/panama/6201333/
Janeiro, Brazil, explained that "most people know how New-Montauk-Monster-spotted-in-Panama.html.
a dead animal looks like in a dry environment", and Retrieved 5 April 2011.
claimed that "the body must have got stuck under the [8] "’Gollum-like’ monster emerges from lake". Metro.
water, and the movement of the currents gave [the boys] 17 September 2009. http://www.metro.co.uk/
the false impression that it was alive."[3] A necropsy re- weird/739578-gollum-like-monster-emerges-from-
vealed that severe trauma had been inflicted on the body lake. Retrieved 6 April 2011.
of the sloth, and Melquiades Ramos, a specialist from the [9] ^ "Teens Find, Kill Unknown Creature In Panama".
ANAM Department of Protected Areas, estimated that the WBALTV.com. 18 September 2009.
body had been in the water for "about two days" prior to http://www.wbaltv.com/news/20980556/
discovery. The hairlessness was probably caused by the detail.html. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
fact it was submerged in water, which can lead to acceler- [10] "Mystery ’Gollum’ creature found in Panama:
ation of fur loss, resulting in smooth skin.[3] A post-mor- reports". Illawarra Mercury. 21 September 2009.
tal bloating further contributed to the unusual appear- http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/news/
ance of the corpse.[1][3] After the sloth was identified, its world/world/general/mystery-gollum-creature-
body was buried by ANAM staff.[3] found-in-panama-reports/1628994.aspx. Retrieved
6 April 2011.
[11] ^ "Kids kill Panama ’Montauk monster’ by lake".
See also PerthNow. 18 September 2009.
• Globster http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/world/kids-
kill-panama-montauk-monster-by-lake/story-
References e6frg1p3-1225776476121. Retrieved 6 April 2011.
[1] ^ "The Montauk Monster". Snopes.com. 18 May
2010. http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/
montauk.asp. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Panama Creature
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Creature"
Categories: Sloths, 2009 in Panama, Debunked cryptids, Alleged UFO-related entities, 2009 animal deaths, Viral videos
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