MONSTERS OF TEXAS PRESS RELEASE

Monsters of Texas
By
Ken Gerhard & Nick Redfern

PRESS RELEASE, June 28, 2010

Texas, or the Lone Star State as it is affectionately and widely known, is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, spanning no less than an astonishing 268,820 square miles, and with an ever-growing population that is currently in excess of 24 million. Houston is its largest city and the fourth largest in the United States, while Dallas–Fort Worth is the biggest metropolitan area in the state, and the fourth largest in the nation. Other major cities in this diverse and multi-cultural state include San Antonio, and the capital: Austin.

But that is not all: all across Texas there lurks a wide array of monsters, mysterious beasts and diabolical creatures that science tells us do not exist – but that a significant percentage of the good folk of Texas certainly know otherwise.

In Monsters of Texas you will learn a great deal about countless bizarre critters, including the following:

· Giant winged-things: feathered batmen, huge birds, pterodactyl-like beasts, and glowing-eyed gargoyle-style entities that haunt the Texas-Mexico border;
· Texas’ very own version of Puerto Rico’s infamous vampire-like monster, the Chupacabras;
· Blood-thirsty, predatory werewolves said roaming the wilds of Texas by the eerie light of a full moon;
· Texan equivalents of the famous Loch Ness Monster of Scotland: water-based beasts of unknown origin and identity that occasionally surface from the murky depths;
· The legend of the hairy wild-man, and wild-woman, of the Navidad that struck terror into the minds and souls of the people of the area way back in the 1800s;
· Encounters of the distinctly Bigfoot kind in central and east Texas; as well as in the state’s legendary and mysterious Big Thicket woods;
· Out-of-place animals: those creatures that are found within the Lone Star State, yet that have apparently strayed – sometimes inexplicably so - far away from their normal habitats;
· Those truly ominous beasts that may be far less than flesh-and-blood in nature, and far more paranormal and supernatural in origin;
· The diabolical, cloven-hoofed Goat-Men that haunt the dark woods of Lake Worth, the old Alton Bridge at Denton, and Dallas’ White Rock Lake;

· PUBLISHED BY CFZ PRESS (www.cfz.org.uk)
· AVAILABLE FROM ALL GOOD BOOK-SELLING OUTLETS!!!
· ISBN: 978-1-905723-57-7

ROBERT SCHNECK TAKES THE CFZ TO TASK

Robert Schneck writes regarding the unknown insect blog the other day:

Hi Jon,
I think it's an ichneumon fly (or wasp) but no idea what kind. Those swollen back legs have me stymied.
Also, hate to complain, but the Biggles related news has been rather thin lately.
Sincerely,
Robert

Well, apart from the unfortunate incident with the Fire Prevention Officer, Biggles has been out of the limelight recently, but as Corinna reports over on her blog, he has still been the life and soul of the party. In the meantime, here is a picture of Biggles running the office in Corinna's absence....

AUBREY MENEZES: Kestrel update

Hello once again Jon.

Here is an update on the baby kestrels. After doing a Google search I found that indeed my three little babies are indeed American kestrels, also called sparrow hawks. Two have since flown off and I witnessed the last one flying off after he spent part of the afternoon with me.

He/she was absolutely beautiful and it made me feel so proud watching it take to the sky then land on the roof of our company and jostle with its two other siblings. The last few weeks I acted as kind of a guardian of sorts watching over the three babies so no one at my work would harm them. We have over 4,000 employees and people's kindness could kill them: one day I witnessed an older gentleman offering a baby a chuck of polish sausage. Another person was offering a baby a piece of apple. These were all acts of kindness but are not the preferred foods for baby kestrels.

The three babies are all gone now and this moment in my life will always be remembered. It is hard work caring for small creatures so I can't even imagine how hard it is for your dedicated team at the CFZ to look after all the animals that you do. Keep up the good work, my friend.

P.S. Corrina, I just love the `watcher of the skies`. You're wonderful.

NEW ONLINE JOURNAL

This morning I received details of a new online journal. Sas Istvan wrote:

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to announce the on-line publication of the first issue of 2010 of the North-western Journal of Zoology (Vol.6,No.1). Full texts areavailable for free. The current issuecontains 20 research papers. Back issues are alsofreely available online. You can access the full text papers at the journal main and secondary web page: Main page:http://herp-or.uv.ro/nwjz/content/v6n1.html

OLL LEWIS: Yesterday's News Today

http://cryptozoologynews.blogspot.com/

On this day in 1898 American conman and gangster Soapy Smith was gunned down. Soapy Smith was a truly fascinating character and also involved in the manufacture of a ‘petrified man’ among other cons and humbugs. More information can be found on Jeff Smith’s great website on Soapy here: http://www.soapysmith.net/index.html
And now, the news:

New species discovered in Atlantic Ocean
Curry fed to sheep could curb global warming
Four legs and a cool head in the midst of 7/7 chaos
Popeye's big arms found on neanderthals
Super squid sex organ discovered
London’s Elephant Parade Raises $1.5 Million
Trigger to be auctioned

It could ‘Trigger’ a bidding war….

MAX IS THE BEES KNEES

Max really has been a hard-working young fellow. The new issue of The Amateur Naturalist of which he is the guest editor is now available on Amazon.co.uk, and I recommend it highly. I have now - by the way - made him editor, so give him your support....

Over on his blog Max has written an excellent article about bumble bees, which is illustrated with some stunning photographs, so check it out!!