IMAGES OF THE UNKNOWN
Mysterious entity spooks zoo while UFO photobombs the Jubilee flypast
AMARILLO ENIGMA
Security cameras at Amarillo Zoo captured an image of a mysterious entity outside their perimeter fence at 1.25am on 21 May, with city officials admitting bafflement and asking the public to help identify it, saying: “Was it a person with a strange hat who likes to walk at night? A large coyote on its hind legs? A Chupacabra? It is a mystery – for Amarillo to help solve.” Needless to say, the image went viral. Predictably, many people agreed it was probably a Chupacabra, which, since its debut in 1995, has become the go-to explanation for any vaguely weird entity in the Americas from pretty much anywhere south of Missouri. Others suggested it was someone in a “Furry” suit out for a night walk, while more sober commenters thought it might be a jumping coyote caught at a weird angle, and there were of course many who were certain it was an alien.
The Demogorgon from TV series Stranger Things, Marvel’s Rocket Racoon, and the infamous horned hat-wearing “Qanon Shaman” from the 6 January attack on the US Capitol (see FT402:4) have also been suggested. It seems that the zoo has very primitive security cameras, reliant on taking a still image every second or so, not continuous video, and the images taken either side of this one, which might give some context, have not been released. Because of slow shutter speeds on this kind of camera, there is potential for blurring and distortion if something is moving fast, and it looks possible that it was actually shooting in the infrared spectrum. This makes anything radiating heat, such as a human or animal body,
show up as an undifferentiated white shape, which means all the detail is blurred out, further complicating identification. As a result, it is almost certain that no definitive identification will ever be made, and it still remains a possibility that the whole thing was a social media stunt to promote Amarillo Zoo. chron.com, 9 Jun 2022; today.com, 10 Jun 2022.
JUBILEE UAP
During the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee fly-past over London, several viewers claimed to have spotted a UAP gatecrashing the Red Arrows’ performance. They pointed out what they thought was a small fast-moving object crossing the plume of coloured smoke emitted by the jets. While some media dismissed the object as dust on the camera, the object, described as shiny on top and dark below, was caught from at least two different angles, by Sky News and BigJet TV, which makes that an unlikely solution.
Social media commenters swiftly went online to share their opinions, saying, “It goes across the screen in a second,” and “this goes WAY too fast to be a drone or balloon in the wind”, but this view was not universally accepted. Others took a more analytical approach saying, “Helicopter filming is flying to the right. Almost static balloon is smaller and a lot closer to the camera than the jets in the background, giving the effect it’s travelling super-fast,” and “You can see the balloon shape as it bobs side to side, exactly as you’d expect a balloon that’s several hundred feet off the ground to do. Also, there’s hundreds if not thousands of people with balloons on the ground here…”
Some saw it as a significant alien intrusion. One poster said: “That seems like a warning to me. More than 70 military aircraft flew during the celebration. They’re buzzing their acrobatic jets.” Another added: “Disclosure now, they’re giving the signal, it’s time.”
Of course, even if the object was a UAP, there is nothing to suggest it was of extraterrestrial origin. ladbible, 4 Jun; D.Star.com, 6 Jun 2022.