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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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Tuesday, August 18, 2009

RICHARD FREEMAN: NEWS FROM RUSSIA

Over the Weird Weekend our old friend Dr Lars Thomas brought us news of the samples that his colleagues had been analysing. We brought back a shard of thick human-looking skull and some dung from our almasty expedition in the Russian Caucasus. The dung turned out to be mountain goat mixed with hedgehog! The skull was that of a modern human. It was unusually thick but still within excepted parameters.

Grigory Panchenko recently e-mailed me with news of his ongoing cryptozoological work.

“Our group (I, Anatoly and Alexey) this summer had organized [sic] a small "cryptoarachnological" expedition trying to obtain an information about an existing in the Ukraine scorpion-like creatures. There was only one very unpleasant "success": one day Anatoly was stinged by some arachnida or insect (he had not seen it in the grass, but it was small creature: arthropoda, not a snake). Now he is OK but during 2 days his ankle was swelled as a log. There is almost no such "official" venomous arthropoda in the Ukraine! Only 2 "official" candidates: tarantula and hornet (but any of them - very unlikely or even impossible). Maybe there really was a scorpion?

In the end of this month we two (Anatoly and I) will try to go to this place once more for 2 - 3 days.

In September I shall go to Crimea (as a year before, after our Caucasian expedition) for 10 - 12 days. There is some information about hominoid and large boa-like snake.”


I had asked about a rare book in the Moscow library about the almasty and the probability of doing a translation. He answered…

“To translate this giant and very complex book, especially with modern commentaries (they are necessary: some parts of the book are old-fashioned now) is a HUGE work. But maybe it (or part of it) is made now by D. Bayanow or M. Trahtengertc. I shall ask them is it so.”

I am very interested in returning to Russia with Grigory for a second almasty expedition, possibly next year.

“Yes I'll be ready. There are two main (more perspective) places: Baksan valley in Balkaria and some minor canyons in the head of Malka valley in Kabarda (summer) and the other minor canyons near Malka (winter). In any interesting for us parts of Balkaria during the winter is too unsafe but Kabarda is lower and there is not so many snow avalanches.”

2 comments:

Retrieverman said...

In America, "organized" doesn't require a [sic], but "organised" does. (In fact, my browser just underlined "organised" as misspelled.)

Two people divided by common language, as Shaw once wrote.

But the way I speak is closer to that of Shakespeare and Queen Elizabeth I.

Eibhear said...

Your friend might have just had an allergic reaction to an insect bite. It's not uncommon