A Glimpse of the "Yardley Yeti"?

WPVI (Philadelphia) ^ | 10/5/2006 | Don Polec

[WestNJersey]

There have been increasing reports of a feral creature roaming the rurul reaches of Bucks County that no one can explain

OK, So calling it a "yeti" is sort of overhyping it, I admit, but when the local police keep getting reports like this, civic promoters feel, why not exploit it? Let's face it, it's a marketting goldmine. I mean who ever heard of Loch Ness BEFORE the monster showed up? And besides, "Yardley Yeti" has such an alliterative ring to it... (presumably winning out over the "Bucks county Bigfoot" or the "Solebury Sasquatch") Anyway, I can personally attest to the authenticity of these sightings, since I'VE seen this creature first hand. It's noteworthy when you almost hit a creature with your car ... THAT YOU CAN'T IDENTIFY.. When it dashed across Eagle road in Upper Makefield and into the woods, I was at a loss not only as to what it was, but as to how I would even describe it to anyone... "Well, it sort of looked like.................. uh. ........ "

The best I can do is say it was a quadruped, grey in color, about the size of a large german shepherd, skinny, really ratty looking, body parts that seemed oddly out of proportion, too large for a fox, legs too long for a coyote or dog, head too small for it's size, and REALLY in need of some grooming and big dish of alpo.

This is similar to reports that have been coming in to Lower Makefield police headquarters over the past several months, although some reports cite a smaller tan-colored animal. The creature in the photos looks like some bizarre cross between a mangy golden retriever and a kangaroo, but is exactly like the gangly thing that ran in front of my car. Sort of like a dog put together by a committee that couldn't agree on what it should look like.

By the way, the digital pictures were taken in a parking lot near New Hope by a local author named Jonathan Maberry who works at the Writer's Corner in Doylestown and -- get this -- writes HORROR novels... And also non-fiction works about the paranormal involving odd and unexplained creatures. Talk about having inspiration plopped right into your lap. Wow.

[To Hell With Poverty]

Definitely a fox! See the little white tip on the end of the tail in the last picture? Very foxy. Poor little thing. :(

[dirtboy]

It's a mangy-assed fox.

[Caramelgal]

Yep. You're right on the white tip. I also think the shape of the head looks like a fox to me.

I've seen foxes up close in the back yard at my old house. There was one that used to like to regularly sun it's self on top my picnic table when he thought no one was looking –they can be bigger than you think. And there was one that used to tease my neighbors’ dog and steal his toys, depositing them in my yard for fun: foxes can be playful and have a sense of humor too.

I also saw a few sickly ones with mange that looked a lot like this picture. This poor thing has a really bad case of mange and is close to starving to death. I hope it doesn't suffer too much longer or spread the disease to other animals in the area.

The problem is really all the city and mid-suburbia folks who move to the new burbs and into their big McMansions on land that until very recently was rural farmland; these folks have no idea about what they’re looking at.