This is a related story by the same local TV station which aired about a week after the first roadkill story. This story is about some teens who witnessed this creature alive and roaming, prior to the first roadkill story. Apparently, they connected their strange siting of this animal after the story ran.
(FYI, Montello is approx. 25-30 east of Elroy, WI, with the Wisconsin river about midway between the two.)
Another Mysterious Creature Spotted
Creature Found Dead Last Week In Juneau County
http://www.channel3000.com/news/28699088/detail.html
MONTELLO, Wis. -- There's yet another claim that a mysterious, unknown creature is roaming around south-central Wisconsin.
Last week, a Juneau County man claimed he found a hairless, mysterious looking creature along side a highway just outside Elroy. A debate ensued -- was it just a sick animal, the legendary goat-sucking Chupacabra, or something else?
Whatever it is, a group of children in Montello said they have one living in their neighborhood. They claim they saw the same creature -- alive -- roaming around last week.
"The head looked like a rat, and then the body looked like a fox. It had fangs and it had really long toes," said Shane Turner, who said he came within five feet of the creature.
Turner said it ran through the outfield while he and friends were at baseball practice.
Another group of children said they saw it near their house less than a mile from the baseball diamond.
"It was really short and skinny, and it was hairless," said Casey McNamara, who saw the creature when she and her family were pulling into their driveway.
Ciara Neeb, who also saw the creature at the baseball diamond, said the animal was so strange looking, she ran toward it to get a closer look.
She said it ran off, but she knows it was like something she had never seen before.
"It wasn't until after they had seen it that we found out about your story," Ciara's mom, Cyndi Neeb said. "She said, 'Mom, that's it. I know that was it!'"
No one got any pictures of the creature, but the children claim something very strange is hanging out in their woods.
Based on pictures from last week's find in Elroy, experts said they think it's likely a manged raccoon. But the children said they just don't buy it.
"I know what mange looks like. It's like patchy," Ciara Neeb said. "It's not like [that], all the fur is gone."
Ciara said there's just no other explanation, except the hypothesis she's formed.
"I think it's a new species," she said. "Or a hybrid of animal that maybe we don't know about."
Jeff Potter, who found the dead animal in Elroy last week and still has that animal preserved in his freezer, said he continues to search for help to determine exactly what the animal is.
Potter said a scientist from Ohio has gotten in touch, and he has plans to do a DNA test in an attempt to get to the bottom of the mystery.
Witnessing this animal in a live state seems to dispel the hairless, bloating, decomposing conclusion; but would help to have photos or video footage, since not everyone will take kids seriously.
What seems strange to me...you'd think the DNR and researchers would be all over this trying to determine what this animal is; new species? possible, but what if it IS a disease affecting WI wildlife?... you'd THINK they would want to understand it ASAP.
Interestingly, these two occurrences also happen to be within 30 miles of the abandoned Badger Ammunition Plant,
In 1941, the U. S. Army acquired[actually, it was seized from the Ho Chunk nation] 7,354 acres of farm land in Sauk County, Wisconsin, to build what would become the Badger Ammunition Plant, the largest such facility in the world. The Badger plant remained active until 1975, employing, at its peak, more than 23,000 people. In 1997 it was declared surplus property by the Army. A decade-long process was begun to clean the site of toxic materials and determine its future.
Also, from this report:
Response to WDPH’s Health Advisory Level for DNT Mixtures
Environmental Stewardship Concepts
On Behalf of
Citizens for Clean Water Around Badger
November 15, 2007
http://www.cswab.org/DNT%20HAL%20formal%20comments%20to%20WDPH%20final.pdf (this link requires a password; google: "Citizens for Clean Water Around Badger", which is how I found this pdf)
PCBs are present at Badger, and there is evidence that prior exposure to PCBs (specifically Aroclor 1254, the Aroclor most commonly found at Badger) can promote the mutagenic toxicity of DNT by as much as four-fold by increasing the number of genotoxic metabolites produced by the liver (Chadwick et al 1993). The study by Chadwick et al that identified this synergy focused on the genotoxicity of DNT[dinitrotoluene], and it is more than possible that non-cancer endpoints could be affected as well because the changes in genetic structure that may lead to cancer also affect the ability of the liver to process lipids (Wintz et al 2006). Regarding the PCB occurrence at Badger, while the drinking water levels of PCB’s are non-detect, the exposures of the population in the immediate vicinity[including animals?] is greater because Badger is a PCB source. Other investigations on exposures related to proximity to sources indicate that human exposures and body burdens of PCB’s and dioxins are elevated in people living in the vicinity of known PCB or dioxin sources. The lesson for Badger is that the people in the area likely have elevated levels of PCB’s in their bodies.
The authors of this report basically are urging for the study of the effects of these toxins in the combination they are found, rather than relying on the toxicology reports of each toxin individually.
"There is evidence that prior exposure to PCBs can promote the mutagenic toxicity of DNT by as much as four-fold by increasing the number of genotoxic metabolites produced by the liver"
It may be speculative to try to make a connection here, but worthy, IMO, to tuck this information away as a possible source of toxic exposure to animals that can't read the KEEP OUT signs around Badger and most likely drink from the numerous springfed waters in the area. Anyone unfamiliar with this beautiful
tourist-attracting part of Central WI should also know this is relatively close to The WIsconsin Dells recreational area as well as Devil's Lake State Park (Baraboo). In fact, these two areas are in the triangular region formed by Elroy, Montello and the Badger Ammunition Plant.
My point, being...shhhhhh, we don't want to tarnish our tourist industry!
Money talks, mutants walk?...
and the WI DNR (who now reports to the Gov'na directly) seems to be gagged.