WELCOME TO THE CFZ BLOG NETWORK: COME AND JOIN THE FUN

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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Wednesday, July 28, 2010

WEIRD WEEKEND 2010: The Latest news

* Lars Thomas will, as you know, be talking about the arcane art of identifying hair samples. However, throughout the weekend he will be doing just that, and has asked you to bring along samples of hair for him to identify. You wouldn't want to disappoint our favourite Great Dane would you?

* I owe an apology to Sheridan Thayer, who we added to the line-up yesterday. She is not a he! Whoops! It is nice to add another female speaker to the lineup....

With less than three weeks to go, now might be a good time to buy your tickets to the best crypto-fortean event of the year....

Buy Your Tickets here

ANOTHER GIANT TESTUDINE FROM MUIRHEAD



REDFERN THE VAMPIRE SLAYER , ER... MONSTER HUNTER

http://www.dfw.com/2010/07/21/308627/welcome-mat-why-we-need-the-chupacabra.html

Chupacabra. Chu-pa-ca-bra. Other than feeling the occasional, inexplicable need to utter the word, I never gave much thought to the phenomenon known as the chupacabra. But then an odd convergence got me thinking about this mysterious beastie.

Yes, there was the recent news out of Hood County: two separate sightings of hairless canines, which many liken to the folklorish creatures from south of the border. But just about the same time those stories were breaking, I made the acquaintance of Nick Redfern, a British-born writer who lives in Arlington.
Nick chases monsters.

Read on

D. R. SHOOP WRITES: Baby Moose in Sprinkler

I think this is fairly normal in Alaska. Turn the music down unless you can tolerate, well ack, gushing over sentimentality…yuck, but the video is cute.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNy9jTeolUk

apparently the same twin moose a little more grown up

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MGDKinDIGU

CFZ AUSTRALIA WRITES...

During the compilation of the opus that is Australian Big Cats: An Unnatural History of Panthers, we were handed lots of intriguing video footage - and possibly one of the most puzzling was that of what appears to be a lioness roaming the Northern territory Outback.

'Shot' by NT resident Jan Donovan, this still from the footage (left, which featured this week on the front page of the Northern Territory News) could lend weight to the notion feral exotic cats are running around in Australia's wilderness. What do you think?
http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2010/07/28/167481_ntnews.html

YOKAI OF THE WEEK: Uwabami



A giant snake capable of swallowing a man on horsback whole. One was slain by Egara no Heita was a military hero of the Kamakura period (1185-1333). While on a hunt with Minamoto no Yoriie Egara no Heita slew a huge snake deep in a mountain cave. His exploits are portrayed in Noh theater. This was said to have happened in June 1207.

Another hero Yamato Take is credited with slaying a giant smake in Omi.

Mt. Tsurugi, is the second highest peak on the island of Shikoku, is steeped in mystery. According to one local legend, the mountain is actually a giant man-made pyramid, and another legend says that a hoard of King Solomon’s secret treasure lies buried within. A giant snake believed to be guarding that treasure has been sighted on many occasions.

In May 1973, a group of 4 forestry workers reportedly encountered a 10 meter (33 ft) long snake as big around as a telephone pole. The creature was described as having shiny black scales, and it reportedly made a loud chirping sound. Local officials organized a large-scale hunt for the snake, enlisting the help of hundreds of volunteers. The serpent remained elusive, but the searchers did find what appeared to be giant snake tracks that measured 40 centimeters (16 in) wide and passed alongside fallen trees.

A local history museum has in its collection a large jawbone measuring 34 centimeters (13 in) across, which many believe belongs to the giant snake. The author has seen a photograph of the jaws and they clearly belong to a shark

No snakes of this size exist in Japan but on mainland Asia pythons of huge size exist. It is possible that one of these great snakes was imported into Japan and is the basis for this legend. We know that the Tower of London menagerie kept all kinds of exotic animals many centuries ago. Indeed on English dragon legend, the dragon of Wormingford / Bures, seems to have been based on the escape of a crocodile from the collection.

As Japan is much closer to China than England is to Africa the idea of a python being imported then escaping form captivity is not too far fetched.

OLL LEWIS: Yesterday's News Today

http://cryptozoologynews.blogspot.com/

On this day in 1588 the beard of the king of Spain was more than singed when Sir Francis Drake, Lord Charles Howard and the rest of the Navy, when the Spanish Armada was defeted.

Uncommon hybrid of zebra and donkey born at north ...
Kitten causes havoc in police chase
Mouse jumps from bowl in restaurant

And now a vaguely related song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOzphMgOETA