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Selected items from Mike & Greg's extensive research archives.

AH Juan Pablo Event November 2009, Iquitos, Peru

Video Now Available!

In November 2009 we commissioned and released photographs of the trail left by a giant snake outside Iquitos, Amazon, Peru.

Now we have located video coverage of the same event complete with more eye-witness interviews. The video is in Spanish but we have provided a full translation to English below.

TRANSLATION

After seeing Lucho Llosa's Anaconda movie, panic has -in some way- generalized against this giant snake, and myths grew around this animal, that is why we believe that if the Peruvian movie maker Lucho Llosa had heard the story lived by these persons, he would have to re-write Anaconda and roll a second part.

In the human settlement 24 de Mayo, today's dawn, the dwellers got into panic when seeing that on the enormous swamp located at the posterior part of the settlement, a huge silhouette of dragged grass and mud was drawn; attributing the event to the Sachamama, although others said that it a was gigantic boa that guarded a small pond of the place.

Presenter- Before the rain fell, was there this here?                                              

Woman- Yes, there was a cocha here

Presenter- A cocha… but was it a cocha that size or…

Woman- All this is water, don’t you see where you are walking?

Presenter- ok, but was there this entire open field?

Man with hat- No, no, there was not… there was not

Woman in white- The neighbors who live near here inform that , they said that there was not; it was just a swamp, water, grass; that is why they are surprised to see all this today.

Presenter- To get to the sinuous path made by the alleged gigantic boa, we had to walk over the mud, only then we could see what remained from the night before, after heavy rains accompanied by lightning and thunder, according to the version of these persons, they felt small tremor at the time the enormous beast got out of its hiding place, to slide to the nearest river opening a trail of more than 5 meters wide, although it has to be said that nobody, but nobody saw the boa.

Man in green- It started to move like this, circulate, until it found a way out over there; and you cannot say that there is a channel over there because everything was plain, as you can see it was plain, all this is a trail that it made, look, it looked like it wanted to get out that way but turned over there, it took all this way, (woman: and it made all this, didn’t it?) it took all this;  if you keep walking that way you can see, it remained like this. But before it was not like that.

Presenter- People, you say that before people used to throw their garbage here

Woman- Everything, here. Look, it is all clean. (Woman in white)

Presenter- But you consider that that made the animal furious,

Woman in gray- yes because they were throwing broken glass for it to go away…because here there was a cocha, like a lagoon, which never dried out. And where there is a cocha that never dries it is because there is an animal, it has a mother.

Presenter- Did you feel the same tremor, earthquake?

Woman in gray- That was at night, we could not see.

Presenter- But, have you felt a tremor or something?

Woman in white- yes the neighbors say

Woman in gray- there are Aguaje trees over there that were moved like this from one side to the other.

Presenter- But you did not get to see the animal, you assume that it was a boa that got out of here?

Woman- Yes.

Presenter- This family lives in front of this swamp and like their neighbors they found themselves surprised with the event and attest that since before they used to feel small tremors that they supposed it caused by this gigantic boa.

Woman in orange- I did not imagine if the animal, the boa was going to get out.

Presenter- But you supposed that an animal was living there?

Woman in orange- Yes, we supposed there was an animal here because we are living here for 4 years, but every time the animal moved we felt like the earth was moving.

Presenter- Ah.. You say then that the earth felt like moving?

Woman in orange- Yes, yes, we felt like the earth was moving.

Presenter- Rain or no rain?

Woman in orange- Yes, rain or no rain. Like an earthquake. Ground moved.

Presenter- All these people were witnesses of an event like this without getting to see the animal for which we had a doubt of the possible existence of a boa who reaches up to 5 meters in width,  doubt that took us to consult Pedro Perez, Biologist, specialist in ophidian and reptiles; and from a professional point of view  answered the questions:

Pedro Perez- (“Herpetologist”) Firstly, it doesn’t, it doesn’t exist a reptile, and in this case, a boa of such magnitude of such width, there can exist a 7 meters boa but in length not in width. Well, normally this types of stories are related to… to… torrential rains that fall over determined types of soils, soft soils; where it can generate a… a… sliding of this types of soils. So this makes the idea that an animal of this magnitude has passed by, but in reality it is more related to… to… strong rains, types of soft soils, and sliding more than to an animal very wide that… that does not exist in the Amazonia.

Presenter- Things seemed to be clear but this dweller (woman) has another testimony.

Presenter- So, so, you always thought that there was something here because of a lagoon.

Woman in gray- Yes, young man, because over there, a friend, from his very side walk another black boa came out leaving a trail around 2 ½ 3 meters more or less, the width of that trail over there…,

Presenter- In that occasion, did you see the boa?,

Woman in gray- Yes, it was a black boa. Yes, it was at 4:00PM

Presenter- did you see it

Woman in gray- breaking all his entire sidewalk. Moved everything in his house. Like it was a quake, in his house. But that one went that way by that channel there.

Presenter- And the specialist responded:

Pedro Perez- Definitely, a big animal needs to eat a lot of food … no? For it to maintain its enormous body, if it is a big animal it needs to eat big animals: (wild pig) Sajino, (other  type of wild pig) Huangana, (Capibara) Ronsoco, and I don’t think they are in this place, there are not that kind of animals there. At the most there are, maybe, little rats, little frogs, but it is not going to be enough to maintain this, this enormous animal.

And, and in some cases, it has been observed that big serpents, big boas can eat people but in very extreme cases where there are no food.

If, in case, there could be an animal so big of that dimensions, then it would have been eating persons in that place.

Presenter- For the most specialized explanations that exist; beliefs or popular myths, many times, overcome the scientific criteria. Since before seeing it many believe that the Sachamama, Gigantic boa or how you want to call it, keeps more live than ever in all the lakes of the jungle and the Human Settlements.

And you, what do you believe?

Our Contact in the Amazon says:

I am sure he did not go to the site to see it. Mud slide…. How would mud slide from within a patch of water plants, and not from the higher areas?

Sajino,  and Huangana are almost always over terra-firme (higher terrain) jungle, not near flooding areas. Ronsoco, he is ok with this one since it is an amphibious rodent.

He is ok when he says that big animals need to eat big pray, but what does he know what is in its domains? There could easily be an underground tunnel that feeds or used to feed into its pond bringing food like other boas or cat fish, etc.

(November Report & Photos follows)

AH Juan Pablo Event November 2009, Iquitos, Peru

This news was received from our friend and co-researcher in the Amazon on the Friday 13th November! We sent him in the next day to get first hand photos and eye-witness accounts of the event from the locals in the settlement of AH Juan Pablo on the edge of the jungle city of Iquitos (where our expedition base was in March 2009).

This event took place only 1.3KM from the Moronococha event which we reported in June 2009 where a giant black boa dragged a floating island  across a lake to destroy a house (on stilts).

This gives the evidence provenance. The Moronocha account can be found further down this page.

We have already published our connection between the Sachamama (mother of the earth), Yacumama (mother of the water) and the Minhocao (S. American Cryptid) stating that we believe these all to be the same animal, a giant black snake, known for its burrowing behaviour and propensity to leave large channels and trenches in its habitat.

It turned out that the photographers from El Popular newspaper went in the day of the event (Monday, 9th November) and we were able to obtain their photos and add them to those we commissioned privately 3 days later on Monday 16th November.

We believe that this is the first time that a Minhocao 'trench' has been photographed and released to the world!

The story started here:

El Popular Newspaper, Iquitos, Amazon, Peru 13^th November 2009  (TRANSLATION)

GIANT BOA FRIGHTENS VILLAGERS

"Dwellers are afraid at AH Juan Pablo de la Luz in the district of San Juan Buastista, because they are sure that a giant boa is round the area.

When heavy rains were falling, the neighbours said they heard sounds similar to those of a tractor, but no one dared to leave their house to see what it was.

In the morning there was a track 20 meters long and 5 wide, enough proof for the people of the presence of a boa who now fear for their lives."

AH Juan Pablo

Photo 1, Day1:

The snake comes up from the ground in a grass field on the edge of the settlement.

AH Juan Pablo

Photo 2, Day1:

The channel/trench begins. Note how the grass is forced to the sides of the channel and a small tree is even dislodged.

AH Juan Pablo

Photo 3, Day1:

The trail continues away from the settlement and towards the swamp at the edge of the Nanay River, a tributary of the Amazon.

AH Juan Pablo

Photo 4, Day1:

The snake veers right towards firmer ground and then turns back on itself to continue towards the swamp.

AH Juan Pablo

Photo 5, Day 8:

The channel approaches the swamp at the edge of the tree line.

AH Juan Pablo

Photo 6, Day 8:

The channel joins with the swamp as the snake reaches its destination.

AH Juan Pablo

Photo 7, Day 8:

The snake enters the swamp here. Note the trees knocked down to the left and damage to the edge of the bank as it enters deeper water.

AH Juan Pablo

Photo 8, Day 8:

Close-up of picture above. The trail ends here over 500M from where it began. Beyond is the Nanay River and Moronocha is just over 1KM downstream.

AH Juan Pablo

Aerial Photo 1, Annotated Google Earth™

AH Juan Pablo

Aerial Photo 2, Annotated Google Earth™

AH Juan Pablo

Eye-witness account 1:

Carlos was one of the residents at Juan Pablo close to the event which he describes below:

Carlos Zumba Reategui- neighbour who lives right near the site 45-50 meters away. (lot 26, AH 25 de Mayo, San Juan Bautista)

“for us, here in this place, for the first time it was a big surprise. as it was getting dark that day we had a big rain, we could see that a big storm was forming, thundering in the distance…wind and rain was falling.. We got very preoccupied.. Time passed.. 8PM- 9PM it was raining already hard, in this sector and also rays were falling hard, hard. And it was lightening immense like flames, we were scared, I didn’t even want to go out, because I was scared indeed.

This happened on Monday, last Monday, because on Sunday it was all normal on this sector..  not like you see now... like a road.

But on Monday when I got up at 5:00AM, because near here there is a little store, I got up to buy for breakfast, but I did not noticed it because I went straight to the store; I have another neighbour here to my right, she calls me and says: ‘neighbour, have you seen what they have worked on last night?’ –She was joking-. So I looked around –it was 5:30AM -is was visible now- and now I saw that really looked like a road. So we both sat down and watched; the other neighbours did not get up yet, it was still silence in the village. 

That night we felt quickly that our houses moved like a.., there was movement like it was in that precise moment a quake, in this zone, and we got worried because we thought it was going to be an earthquake for several  minutes but it was not so, the  movement was rapid.

And... in that precise time perhaps the animal… that snake, as we can call it…that... that wild beast was coming out of that place as you can see over there to the right side to the other village close to their back yard.

And we started to follow it through what looked like a road, us too… when the reporters came because we called them, we called first the Karibena; and almost in 5-10 minutes later the reporters got here . They were stamping here; they also wanted to know everything what happened.

So we had to get it and took the reporters to where the animal (fiera) sunk.

We here, among several the neighbours and other people that have also talked to us said that there was a fiera (wild beast) who lived there for years and years in that poza (waterhole).

J.L. Says:

The above was an interview with this man who lives right there at the place of the great event. 

I went to the area yesterday Monday morning and took pictures after 8 days of the time of the event. Still we can see the course of the track. Started at the waterhole and made like a double S to get to where the jungle swamp was deep enough. On its way to get out the place, 80 meters or so from the waterhole, the animal (Yacumama?) turned  right but as it hit hard ground came back to soft soil and stirred a big area to turn a bit to the right and keep going, for another 100 meters or so and turned left; -the swampy soil was getting softer and deeper in water-. Some other distance and turned right to where the track disappeared because it was deep enough to just go under the flooded this time swampy jungle.

At the waterhole where the track started you will see a species of arum? Water plants; you will also see some of these plants where the track ends… these plants, people said, were moved from the waterhole by the animal.

Also you can notice that the track, as it gets to deeper water, turns more straight and narrower–meaning the snake did not have to force its way here as it did at the beginning. –my opinion-

I am trying to compress the photos to send them to you in their original size.

Really surprising to find this track after a storm overnight!

First see the pictures I took 8 days after the event and, and then, only then see the photos taken by the reporters the very next day of the event.

The whole area was green with this tall grass until the animal broke its way through!!

8 days later and you can still see the track, and some neighbours staring at it and talking about it.

Also a small tree has been pushed off its roots and is dying.

Track starts right from within arum plants.

 The area is still difficult to walk on unless you go knee-deep. Feels like walking on a floating mattress (?) so to speak.

Passed the background jungle (picture: stirred and right turn) around 2KM is the Nanay river.

<photos= david boa gigan……(#) are the ones from next day; other photos are from 8 days later>

An aerial photograph of the track would just be great, if it could be taken.

It would be hard to try to get something for DNA at this time, everything has been stirred and maybe washed away by the rain of that night.

<I think I will have to send you the pictures one by one 'cause they are big for better view> if I reduce size they won't be as good as they are now.>> got around 15 pictures all together....

JL, Iquitos, Peru

AH Juan Pablo

Eye-witness account 2:

J.L. Says:

The morning I went there was another guy who was commenting that that night the water got high in an unusual way, higher than normal floodings after a heavy rain. Also thunder and and lightning were abundant and very low.

A week earlier the whole population agreed on burning that area to clean the area for more houses; they want to rise the ground; a week later they get this event of the "beast" moving to a deeper area.

There used to a shaman, ayahuasquero,  in the area, and he once said that in that area there is a wild beast but that he does not exactly where the beast was but there is one beast here; the shaman said that there will be a day when the wild beast will have to leave.

And now seeing what happened, he was right.  he said. 

JL, Iquitos, Peru

"The Giant Anaconda & Other Inland Sea Serpents" chapter 13 of Bernard Heuvelmans "On the Track of Unknown Animals"

Bernard Heuvelmans makes many references to similar events to that which were witnessed at AH Juan Pablo and attributes them to an animal described as the Minhocao.

These reports include:

The last report we can find of such an event is in the early 1960s. However, there have never been any photographs, until now.

===AH Juan Pablo Report Ends===

Major Percy Fawcett

Nueva Tacna Incident, Peru 1997

Nueva Tacna Incident, Peru 1997 - Eyewitness Reports

Received 28th September 2009

“This person was working as a teacher near Oran and heard all the story about the giant snake. What this person told me was that the snake came towards the river Amazon breaking its way through the forest pushing mud, trees, and palms trees; looked like it had vegetation and small trees growing on most part of its back. It was this vegetation on its back that went into the river like 40 meters in following the length of the snake and then sink! There are people who said they have seen the snake.  People were so afraid to go around that area for like a month. Perhaps this friend has some details he heard about the event.”

J.L.

Nueva Tacna Incident, Peru 1997

Nueva Tacna Incident, Peru 1997

Pernambuco Incident, Brazil 1948

Google Earth™ Image of Giant Snake

Google Earth™ Image of Giant Snake & Channels

Hi-Resolution Satellite Image of the Google Earth 'Snake Shape':

The shed skin of the giant snake as it passes through the Napo/Amazon jungle; creating a channel as it moves.

(White water does not exist in this part of the Amazon, ever.)

 Napo/Amazon

Moronococha Incident, Peru 2009 - Cronicas Newspaper, 2nd June 2009

Moronococha Incident, Peru 2009

"Tears down house (floating) and starts panic in two settlements", "Giant Boa at Moronacocha", 'people say the monster has big eyes, scales, and horns". "Destroyed  her house and devoured her domestic animals", "Sachamama scares a couple of elders".

"An event almost unexplainable was what happened to a couple of elders dwellers of the sector 11 of the Human settlement Micaela Bastidas since all of a sudden we were swung from one side to the other by something big that came out of the river, from the depth it came out like a hurricane that destroyed my poor hut, which over 50 meters now from where it used to be located, I was scared to death because I saw it, I saw it's gigantic dark black head that was going to kill me, manifested the Mrs.

Dlores Shuna, who is sure that the cause that she is homeless and only with one canoe is the mother of the island that is in front of us, there she is on the aguaje tree, finalized Mrs Dolores. that together with her spouse Artemio were helped by the neighbours of the area...........

Moronococha Incident, Peru 2009 - El Popular Newspaper, 2nd June 2009

Moronococha Incident, Peru 2009

Gigantic Boa Unleashes Terror.

Dwellers of the settlements El Porvenir y Micaela Bastidas, located on the Morona Cocha sector are afraid because of the presence of a gigantic boa. Antonio Mayta Aricaya, 46, fisherman of the lake Moronacocha, said that months ago in the zone there was a lot of fish but that there is non now because of the reptile.

The island always get animated at night and noise is heard on the river, everything is mysterious. Looks like the gigantic animal has the forest as camouflage to slither without being seen (noticed?), stated Mayta Aricaya.

Admin Perez Gutierrez, 26, related that all the time the island was quiet and now happens all the contrary. Even a house which was in the middle of the lake has been put down. It is the first time that this happens and the river has risen too much. In the meantime, dwellers of the two settlements don't get near the edge of the river by fear to the appearing of the animal that has been catalogued as a monster with big eyes, horns, and scales." 

Moronococha Incident, Peru 2009 - Artemio

Moronococha Incident, Peru 2009 - Artemio's Niece

Eyewitness report 1 verified and reported by our researcher in the Amazon:

Hi Mike & Greg,

Well, I am still looking for Dolores Shuna. They moved to another place. I will keep trying to get her. I got a phone of her daughter -not answering yet, so soon I will find her.

I talked to Artemio and his niece. They live at the area.

What actually happened was that it was raining around 6:30-7:00PM the day of the event.

Dolores house was built on stilts over the water. The whole area was and still is flooded which is unusual for this time of year.

This is the highest flood they had in many years.

She pointed out a big area of massive vegetation and said that it moved towards Dolores's house and like pushed the house out the ground. There were waives. The vegetation moved like 40 meters to get to Dolores's house and pushed the house another 60 meters away.

The amazing is that this massive vegetation moved back to its original location. How could that happen? asks Artemio's niece. The Sachamama is not seen very easily -she says- Sachamama lives underground, burrowed -she ends. Only with dynamite people can kill it, says she.

Don Artemio was the one who helped the elders to safety. Don Artemio said that only the elders saw the fierce animal, it looked like a huge dark tree floating then disappeared.

Dolores could see the eyes, they were so big they looked like a boats spot lights. He also wonders how it was possible that this massive mass of vegetation moved back to its original site.

Something has moved the vegetation, it possibly has a mother -he continues- if it was a simple vegetation it would've stayed where it pushed the house to, but not return to its original site.

Something that amazed me was that Don Artemio asked me -you must remember about what happened in Oran? when Chavez Sibina was the Mayor? That the  Anaconda came out.

It came dragging the trees like a tractor to the Amazon. (Wow this was something. The Anaconda.) He said that the Anaconda at Oran came from the high jungle into the middle Amazon River near the Napo area. I guess Nueva Tacna is in Oran. He did not know.

We will get first hand information when I find Dolores Shuna and then we will know what happened to her house and how it was the animal that she
saw.

Regards,

Joe

Moronococha Incident, Peru 2009

Eyewitness report 2 verified and reported by our researcher in the Amazon:

Hello Mike & Greg,

I found Mrs. Shuna after a couple of days of tracking her and gathering information of her whereabouts. This is her story (her husband talked more):

Around 5:00 pm, Mrs. Shuna was taking a bath at the side of her house and saw this animal floating up at the edge on this vegetation around 40 meters from
where she was. It was a huge part of the boa, part of the head. It was black and the floating part seemed like 0.60 mts. above the water level.

She turns around (husband was eating inside) to call her husband to see it-he was inside the house-but he gets to where she was the animal was gone. Oh! no, it is not there anymore!

Heavy rain and wind started to form. Her husband urged her to stop taking the bath to get
inside to safe. We may need to get on the canoe to go to the other side onto land. -He said.

It rained hard with some heavy wind, but when the rain and wind was stopping, Don Manuel -her husband- noticed that the mass of vegetation started to move slowly towards the house.

Her husband was asking Mrs. Shuna to get on the canoe to leave, the mass of vegetation (floating island?) (Calculated by her husband 200 sq meters) The elders had a raft by the house; the island pushed the raft against the underside of the house.

Mrs. Shuna was still in the house refusing to leave her house because she was afraid the animal was going to eat her. It was very confusing. The house was collapsing now, and at the last minute her husband managed to get her on the canoe and left. They heard the house crack as the island dragged it like 50 meters away.

Surprisingly the island floated back to its original site.

They think maybe the house was in its way, because some time ago they -the water was even higher- could hear something huge bumping to the stilts of the house under water. They also used to smell heavy reptile smell those nights of the bumping against the stilts of the house. Smell like when a boa urinates.

They also said that this animal wanted to take us out of there. Also, they say around a month ago people were dynamiting the river to get fish.

It is then when they realized that this island started move around to finally stop where it was before their house gets trashed.

There were times with heavier winds but the island did not move, they wonder why it did what it did to them.

Mrs. Shuna does not want to go back there. Her husband wants to
go back there to recuperate his farming land.

I asked them... what would happen to the animal? Would it follow the water as it goes lower? He answered: ahhh maybe but where it stays, it will just dig the ground and burrow in there.

This is what they do. And in doing so the animal keeps water in the area where it is burrowed. There is a creek right there that has water all the time, they said.

They heard some people saying that the Army and Navy will go there when it is dry and burn the whole area (island).

Comment
I don't know if this real or it was just a rumour they heard or people just said that to comfort the elders. (About the Army & Navy). This makes me remind Mr. Chavez Sibina calling the Navy at Nueva Tacna.

My friends this is the end of my work on Mrs. Shuna case.

Kind regards,

Joe.

Moronococha Incident, Peru 2009

Moronococha Incident, Peru 2009

Artists Impressions - Sachamama/Minhocao/Quetzalcoatl

Atum and Snake Apep

In Egyptian mythology, Apep (also spelled Apepi, and Aapep, or Apophis in Greek) was an evil god, the deification of darkness and chaos (isfet in Egyptian). Apep was seen as a giant snake/serpent, crocodile, or occasionally as a dragon in later years, leading to such titles as Serpent from the Nile and Evil Lizard

Site 2, The Search for the south American dragon

Hamburgo Lake, Pacaya Samiria Reserve, Peru

Related Research Data

Ishtar Gate - Ancient Babylon (reconstruction)

The Ishstar gate features ferocious animals known to exist at the time of ancient Babylon  such as Lions and Aurochs. The purpose of which was to strike terror into the heart of slaves & captives as they entered the walled city of Babylon. The Babylonians may have even kept living specimens in the city. The message being 'If we can tame these fearsome creatures from around the world, we can tame you'.

Why then would they feel the need to add a fictional creature like the Sirrush? It's stands to reason that this was a known dragon-like creature.

The apocryphal Aramaic writings of 'Bel and the Dragon' provide detailed accounts of the dragon like Sirrush which was revered by the Ancient Babylonians. This account also appeared in the original 1611 King James bible.

Ishtar Gate - Aurochs

Ishtar Gate - Lion

Ishtar Gate - Sirrush (S. American Dragon, Mokele-mbembe)

The creature investigated at Site 2 is similar in description to Mokele-mbembe. We have tagged it the South American Dragon to avoid confusion.

Bernard Heuvelmans made mention of such a creature in 'On the Track of Unknown Animals' and refers to a dinosaur-like creature in Africa which was also reported in the UK Daily Mail.

There have been other sightings and reports in areas such as Bolivia, Equador & Peru. Some of these events have been attested to by Dr Karl Shuker, renowned Zoologist & Crytozoologist.

Walter Winans also made the connection between the Sirrush of the Ishtar Gate and Mokel-mbembe.

The account which inspired us to search for the South American Dragon at Site 2 of our expedition deep into the Pacaya Samiria Reserve was the encounter described by Franz Herrmann Schmidt & Rudolpf Phleng in 1907.

We successfully located the thermal lake they described in their account and have published photographs which may indicate the presence of a large aquatic creature in the area. We are preparing to release video footage of site 2 with a commentary of the Schmidt/Phleng encounter.