Why Do So Many Pets Keep Leaping Into a Scottish Gorge? [Unexplained Phenomena]
Apr 22, 2019 6:13:12 GMT
Post by hi224 on Apr 22, 2019 6:13:12 GMT
I've been lurking around this sub for years, but never made a Reddit account until now. I'm not really the commenting type, I just really love reading and so far I've been able to find all sorts of theories on any mystery I came across. But the other day I read this article in the New York Times and I kept waiting for it to show up here so I could read people's discussions. Aaaand it just never happened. I'd pull up the top discussions and scroll through, searching for that tantalizing headline... and nothing. I searched for a bunch of keywords and still nothing. So for a week or two I debated about making an account so I could finally read all of the clever/informative/funny comments and theories, all the while continuing to check if someone else had stumbled on this article first. As of today, still nothing, so I'm unceremoniously popping my reddit cherry with a post about dogs jumping to their death.
Overtoun, a century old bridge in Dumbarton, Scotland has been named the "dog suicide bridge" by locals. Since the 1950s, hundreds of dogs have been suddenly compelled to throw themselves off the bridge into the gorge below.
Some theorize that the scent of mammals in the gorge drives the dogs into a frenzy, and in that state they unknowingly jump to their deaths. In 2010, an animal behaviorist did some experiments and concluded that dogs (especially long nosed breeds) were indeed likely drawn to the scent below, and "that the dogs’ limited perspective, their ignorance that the path changes from level ground to a bridge spanning a deep gorge and the smells wafting through the air probably enticed the dogs to jump."
However, there are many other similar positioned bridges all over the UK where dogs aren't constantly jumping to their death, so I personally feel like there's another factor that has yet to be considered about this particular location.
Also, the locals are superstitious (does anyone ever use the word "locals" to describe people who aren't?) and say the bridge is a "thin place", where in pagan Celtic mythology heaven and earth overlap. There are also some stories about “White Lady of Overtoun", a ghost that supposedly haunts the nearby grounds.
So... what do people think? Are there any animal behavior or bridge experts that can weigh in on any other factors at play? Or locals that know more about this? I've been waiting almost a month for your comments, so lay them on me, sweet mystery people of Reddit.
www.nytimes.com/2019/03/27/world/europe/scotland-overtoun-bridge-dog-suicide.html
Overtoun, a century old bridge in Dumbarton, Scotland has been named the "dog suicide bridge" by locals. Since the 1950s, hundreds of dogs have been suddenly compelled to throw themselves off the bridge into the gorge below.
Some theorize that the scent of mammals in the gorge drives the dogs into a frenzy, and in that state they unknowingly jump to their deaths. In 2010, an animal behaviorist did some experiments and concluded that dogs (especially long nosed breeds) were indeed likely drawn to the scent below, and "that the dogs’ limited perspective, their ignorance that the path changes from level ground to a bridge spanning a deep gorge and the smells wafting through the air probably enticed the dogs to jump."
However, there are many other similar positioned bridges all over the UK where dogs aren't constantly jumping to their death, so I personally feel like there's another factor that has yet to be considered about this particular location.
Also, the locals are superstitious (does anyone ever use the word "locals" to describe people who aren't?) and say the bridge is a "thin place", where in pagan Celtic mythology heaven and earth overlap. There are also some stories about “White Lady of Overtoun", a ghost that supposedly haunts the nearby grounds.
So... what do people think? Are there any animal behavior or bridge experts that can weigh in on any other factors at play? Or locals that know more about this? I've been waiting almost a month for your comments, so lay them on me, sweet mystery people of Reddit.
www.nytimes.com/2019/03/27/world/europe/scotland-overtoun-bridge-dog-suicide.html
