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Half a century ago, Belgian Zoologist Bernard Heuvelmans first codified cryptozoology in his book On the Track of Unknown Animals.

The Centre for Fortean Zoology (CFZ) are still on the track, and have been since 1992. But as if chasing unknown animals wasn't enough, we are involved in education, conservation, and good old-fashioned natural history! We already have three journals, the largest cryptozoological publishing house in the world, CFZtv, and the largest cryptozoological conference in the English-speaking world, but in January 2009 someone suggested that we started a daily online magazine! The CFZ bloggo is a collaborative effort by a coalition of members, friends, and supporters of the CFZ, and covers all the subjects with which we deal, with a smattering of music, high strangeness and surreal humour to make up the mix.

It is edited by CFZ Director Jon Downes, and subbed by the lovely Lizzy Bitakara'mire (formerly Clancy), scourge of improper syntax. The daily newsblog is edited by Corinna Downes, head administratrix of the CFZ, and the indexing is done by Lee Canty and Kathy Imbriani. There is regular news from the CFZ Mystery Cat study group, and regular fortean bird news from 'The Watcher of the Skies'. Regular bloggers include Dr Karl Shuker, Dale Drinnon, Richard Muirhead and Richard Freeman.The CFZ bloggo is updated daily, and there's nothing quite like it anywhere else. Come and join us...

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Thursday, June 18, 2009

PERUVIAN SNAKE UPDATE

For those of you waiting for today's update from Mike and Greg Warner re. their expedition to Peru in search of the giant anaconda... There isn't one (and the picture on the left was pinched from Wikipedia just to make the page look pretty). I received nothing this morning or yesterday evening and my emails to see if everything is alright remain unanswered. I expect that nothing is wrong and that the daily trials and tribulations of life have just got in the way, and that we will hear from them again tomorrow.

However, it has to be said that the vast majority of comments on their findings have been negative ones. Greg asked me the other day why there were relatively few comments considering the number of hits they had received and I hadn't the heart to tell him that this was because I had not posted over half of them which were purely abusive or libellous. Postings that go "Wot da f*** is this f****** s***? F*** off!" have no place on this bloggo except to illustrate the calibre of some of our recent visitors.

There are a couple of little points that I would like to make at this point. I have been publishing the Warners' data on the bloggo for one reason and one reason only. I do not agree with their findings. I think that they are nice, sincere people who are mistaken in what they believe that they have found but the CFZ was always intended as an open forum where researchers from all walks of life and adherents of a wide range of belief systems can share their data and discuss their findings in a civilised and neutral environment.
With very few exceptions (those being people whose belief systems are ones that the people who set up and run the CFZ - i.e. me - find morally reprehensible, or whose belief systems are based entirely on superstitious tenets and have no scientific base for their existence, and those which only exist to further a religious or political ideology) anyone can contribute to the CFZ melting pot and I will defend their right so to do to the death.
I have received quite a lot of abusive mail on the subject of the Warner expedition. This happens regularly and often from the same coterie of people who make no secret of the fact that they dislike me, my philosophy and what I stand for.
Once and for all:
1. I do not know Mike and Greg Warner
2. I am not financially involved with them
3. I am not intending to publish their book (because as far as I know they haven't written one)
4. I am not being paid by the BBC to examine their evidence
5. I am not an employee of the British (or indeed any other) government
6. I was not drunk when I made the decision to publish this material
All this sorry affair goes to prove is that the cryptozoological commuinity still has a few particularly unpleasant people in it.

4 comments:

Jason Pratt said...

I have taken the time to work up an analysis of Tuesday's data, which better shows the (apparent) object in the channel, in distinction from other identifiable elements of the photo in that area.

I can't say it resolves anything in favor of a superconda; but it does at least help clarify what's worth studying in the photo.

I just don't know how to submit it. {s} It's only 132K; I've added a bit more to its material since yesterday (when I posted a mention of this in an earlier thread). Halps?

(Also: giant snakes rule, rar. {gg})

JRP

Jon Downes said...

Email me on jon@eclipse.co.uk with any blog submissions..

I Doubt It said...

I think you handled this well, Jon.

Jon Downes said...

Thank you my dear :)