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According to Cornell's update the mobile team departed Homestead, Fla. on March 22, with part of the team headed to South Carolina through "early May" --- a bit longer stay in S.C. than originally indicated, unless there are intermediate stops in N. Florida or other locales along the way.
I've never been terribly keen on South Carolina, but others find it promising due to the quality and size of habitat, many claims over the years, and sounds and signs found there in recent times, including just about this time of season last year. South Carolina has been, in my experience, the most tight-lipped of the various official state searches, so I've little clear idea if anything of greater substance has been gleaned from the current scaled-back season. But if anything significant were happening there now I suspect the entire mobile team would be headed that way instead of only part of the group (...unless of course they were splitting up to investigate two locales with significant results... unlikely).
By mid-May efforts in at least 5 states should be wrapping up, if not already well over (though there may be many remote automatic camera shots yet to be reviewed), but no clue when any results of those efforts might be released.
Meanwhile, Mike Collins has departed the Pearl in La. for this season and Richard Lyttle is departing from a lengthy sojourn in the Congaree/Santee region of S.C., while other less-publicized independents continue efforts for now. We're headed into the time when leaf-out, heat, and bug-out makes searching difficult, but also when any successfully breeding Ivorybills may begin moving around in family groups.
Gee, how surprising an end to the scaled-back season would this be: a few possible sightings, sounds, and signs found, and all summarily dismissed in some quarters for lack of a clear photograph....
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5 comments:
South Carolina is the current focus, due to three especially credible sightings in the past month, including one by a previously devout skeptic.
well, Cornell was always scheduled to go to SC in March regardless (it's a handy locale for ending the search season on the way back to Ithaca), and there have been several sightings/sound encounters for the state all along (as there have been for other states) -- the sad ridiculous fact is, in the public domain, 'sightings' no longer carry much weight unaccompanied by photos. I wish them luck in attaining those.
The sad ridiculous fact is, in the public domain, Bigfoot 'sightings' no longer carry much weight unaccompanied by photos.
Reality can be sad and vexing at times.
Just to keep all enterprises going I think IBWO searchers should only go into the woods wearing theater-quality Bigfoot costumes (and not tell anyone). Since both the IBWO and Sasquatch searches are now entertainment rather than science the media, motels, tour guides, etc. would all be happy.
People who like to spend time analyzing images could have all sorts of suspect pixels to critique. NPR could commission someone to write a song about Sasquatch. TNC could buy up even more land, etc. The public may love woodpeckers but they tend to love primates even more.
As the air is going out of the IBWO rediscovery the IBWO searchers could at least breath life into another segment of cryptozoology.
Who was the previously devout skeptic who saw an Ivory-bill in South Carolina?
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