Expedition sets out to find Mokele

Galvasean

There it is! :eek:



Oh wait, it's a baby elephant.

just thought I'd post up the Smithsonian's Dinosaur Tracking guy's thoughts on all of this (he's not impressed):
http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/dinosaur/2012/05/a-dinosaur-expedition-doomed-from-the-start/

Adam Khor

Galvasean wrote: »

There it is! :eek:



Oh wait, it's a baby elephant.

just thought I'd post up the Smithsonian's Dinosaur Tracking guy's thoughts on all of this (he's not impressed):
http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/dinosaur/2012/05/a-dinosaur-expedition-doomed-from-the-start/

I can only say three things about the article:

1- I still don´t like this Switek. I don´t believe there is a living non avian dinosaur in the Congo, but, being more artist than scientist and a huge fan of adventure stories, I agree with the commenter below who said "This expedition will at the very least be better entertainment than 99% of the articles found (yawn) within the hollowed, peer-reviewed -to-death pages of SMITHSONIAN. There is a spirit of adventure here. They are risking life and limb to explore a mystery. Again, the scientific establishment refuses to take the local population at their word that there is something unusual in their forest. Nay-sayers such as the author of this article are a dime a dozen. Explorers who risk everything are a rarity".

2- Likouala... I remember watching a movie version of The Lost World in which they went to Likouala instead of Venezuela (and did find dinosaurs, of course, including one to which the natives sacrificed unlucky captives).

3- Even tho I don´t like Switek, I agree with him that History Channel Monsterquest shows are a waste of time.

Capt'n Midnight

If only they'd spend that money on cloning giant sloths

has any DNA been recovered from Moa's or Roc's ?

Capt'n Midnight

Adam Khor wrote: »

being more artist than scientist and a huge fan of adventure stories, I agree with the commenter below who said "This expedition will at the very least be better entertainment than 99% of the articles found (yawn) within the hollowed, peer-reviewed -to-death pages of SMITHSONIAN. There is a spirit of adventure here. They are risking life and limb to explore a mystery. Again, the scientific establishment refuses to take the local population at their word that there is something unusual in their forest. Nay-sayers such as the author of this article are a dime a dozen. Explorers who risk everything are a rarity".

In general it's pretty rare for scientists to find a large terrestrial species that the local population are unaware of, I'd ask has it ever happened ?

If they have vehicle or boats then they are not risking life and limb. Satellite phone means rescue is just a phone call away.

The remote parts of the world have never been less remote, apart from government restrictions. As for adventurers there are people queueing up to go to places that aren't warzones.

The places that are warzones are probably free of large vertebrates, most gone as bushmeat or Chinese medicine sad to say.

And let's not forget that most African adults now have mobile phones. The chances of someone moving from that area to a city and figuring out that such an animal was worth many times their annual wage ?

Adam Khor

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

In general it's pretty rare for scientists to find a large terrestrial species that the local population are unaware of, I'd ask has it ever happened ?

If they have vehicle or boats then they are not risking life and limb. Satellite phone means rescue is just a phone call away.

The remote parts of the world have never been less remote, apart from government restrictions. As for adventurers there are people queueing up to go to places that aren't warzones.

The places that are warzones are probably free of large vertebrates, most gone as bushmeat or Chinese medicine sad to say.

And let's not forget that most African adults now have mobile phones. The chances of someone moving from that area to a city and figuring out that such an animal was worth many times their annual wage ?

Maybe I should have been more specific. I mean I agree with the commenter about the thing being "more entertaining" than most scientific papers. Like I said above, I do not believe there are dinosaurs in Likouala, as cool as the idea may seem.
There's always the possibility of finding other new species- say birds, frogs, monkeys and all that-, although if they go looking for Mokele it is unlikely they will pay attention to such "lesser lifeforms"

Galvasean

Adam Khor wrote: »

There's always the possibility of finding other new species- say birds, frogs, monkeys and all that-, although if they go looking for Mokele it is unlikely they will pay attention to such "lesser lifeforms"

I think that's the problem many (myself included) have with this expedition. They clearly aren't interested in a giant soft shelled turtle or a big semi aquatic monitor lizard. I very much doubt such things even crossed their minds. They have made it clear that they are out looking for a big ol' long necked dinosaur (not to mention the fame and $$$$ associated with the publicity of such an expedition and the documentary rights).

Capt'n Midnight

Adam Khor wrote: »

Maybe I should have been more specific. I mean I agree with the commenter about the thing being "more entertaining" than most scientific papers.

Networking is a little more relaxed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_Fools%27_Day_Request_for_Comments


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