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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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Friday, October 15, 2010

SOME ODDS AND SODS FROM CHAD ARMENT

An albino hare in the UK:
http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/8446532.Rare_albino_brown_hare_caught_on_camera/

A veterinarian suggests the Uffington White Horse chalk effigy is actually a dog:
http://www.thisisoxfordshire.co.uk/news/8447531.Why_Uffington_White_Horse_is_really_a_dog__says_vet/?ref=rss

White lions in Timbavati:
http://www.onearth.org/article/species-watch-white-lions-again-on-the-prowl

THE RSPB WANT YOUR HELP WITH THEIR CRANE PROJECT

The RSPB is currently working with the UK Crane Working Group, Natural England and the Norfolk Wildlife Trust to study the country's small resident population in the east of England. Since two birds turned up in 1979 numbers have increased to over 50 individuals and around a dozen pairs now breed annually in the country. In addition to these birds there is a current project to reintroduce cranes into the Somerset Levels and Moors....

READ ON

THE DARREN NAISH PUBLICITY MACHINE GATHERS PACE

http://chasmosaurs.blogspot.com/2010/10/darren-naish-publishes-tetrapod-zoology.html
http://stephenbodio.blogspot.com/2010/10/eevil-eagles.html
http://www.birding.uk.com/forum/best-selling-bird-books/19863-6-tetrapod-zoology-book-one.html
http://superoceras.blogspot.com/2010/10/gearing-up-for-svp-2010.html
http://archosaurmusings.wordpress.com/2010/10/07/tet-zoo-the-book/

MORE UNICORNS

A few days ago as part of his series on crypto Hallowe'en costumes Robert Schneck posted a centaur costume. So we had to top that. Here (from Corinna's archives) are my two delightful stepdaughters many years ago. And on the right is Olivia dressed as a unicorn...

THE ABSOLUTELY DEFINITIVELY FINAL UNCON RUNNING ORDER

SATURDAY 23 OCTOBER

HOGG HALL

Morning Session
10am Ian Ridpath
The Rendlesham Forest UFO Incident

11am Jan Bondeson
The Bosom Serpent

12pm Paul Devereux
Magical Mindscapes

Afternoon Session
2pm Jon and Corinna Downes
The Blue Dogs of Texas

3pm Paul Cornell
Fortean Themes in Doctor Who

4pm Helen Keen
It Is Rocket Science



CAYLEY HALL

Morning Session
10am Mike Hallowell
The South Shields Poltergeist Case

11am Rebecca Lang
Alien Big Cats of Oz

12pm Mark Pilkington
The Abuses of Enchantment

Afternoon Session
2pm Charles Foster
Wired for God?

3pm Jeremy Harte
On Having No Head

4pm Andy Roberts
Berwyn: The Welsh Roswell?





SUNDAY 24 OCTOBER

HOGG HALL

Morning Session
10am David Clarke
If You Go Down to the Woods Today: New Light on the Rendlesham Mystery

11am Richard Freeman
Return to Sumatra: On the Trail of Orang-Pendek

12pm Matthew Alford and Robbie Graham
Lights, Camera, Covert Action: The Deep Politics of Hollywood

Afternoon Session
2pm Lucy Skeaping
Have I Got News for Thee: Broadside Ballads and Broadsheets of 17th Century England

3pm Mark Chadbourn, Natasha Mostert and Adam Nevill
Panel: Forteana and Fiction

4pm Peter Brookesmith, David Clarke, Nick Pope and Ian Ridpath
Panel: Beyond Rendlesham: Ufology in the 21st Century



CAYLEY HALL

Morning Session
10am Gordon Rutter
A History of Talking to the Dead

11am Ian Simmons
UFOs and Climate Change: Paranoia, Conspiracy and Denial

12pm Jan Bondeson
Queen Victoria's Stalker

Afternoon Session
2pm Andy Roberts
Amazing Dope Tales

3pm Alan Murdie
Sex and the Poltergeist

4pm Gail-Nina Anderson
The Vampire Rabbit and its Kin

Those in blue are current CFZ bods or CFZ Press authors.

MUIRHEAD`S MYSTERIES:THE JAPANESE CRYPTID THAT WASN`T- A CAUTIONARY TALE

Folks

A few days ago I thought I`d discovered a new mystery animal in early twentieth century Japan until I dug a bit deeper. I found a reference on the net to a strange animal in Japan, mentioned in the North China Herald of March 12th 1902 quoting an issue of the Japan Times. Fortunately the British Library Newspaper Library has the newspaper for this date (which, unusually for a newspaper from that date, has a good index actually as part of the original paper itself, and I believe it really was a newspaper, not a periodical. I mention this for researchers' sake.), which was published in Shanghai.

Here is the story:

'The following tale is from the Japan Times”:- A strange animal was recently caught alive in a forest at Matsuzato-mura, Higashiyamanashi-gori, Yamanashi-ken. The animal has a body almost as large as that of an ordinary dog and is furnished with a membrane which connects each limb with the body and which is as elastic as if it were a piece of Indian rubber. The beast somewhat resembles a hare and has a white face, though it has short ears, very sharp claws, and a tail which is longer than the length of its body. It remains quiet during the day but when the night sets in it begins to display its savage nature. It is now being kept by one of the local people. Though at first the animal was afraid of human beings, it has since become tame, and acts in a manner as if to ask to be fed whenever any person comes near it.' (1)

Now when I first read this I was excited but on looking up Japanese mammals on Wikipedia it quite soon became obvious that this was actually a Japanese giant flying squirrel. Wikipedia says: 'The squirrel is endemic to the islands of Honshu, Kyushu and Shikoku in Japan and in Guangzhou in China. It eats fruit and nuts and lives in holes in large trees. The female has a home range of about a hectare and the male about two hectares.' (2)

I couldn`t locate the towns or locations mentioned in the newspaper extract so I cannot tell if its location 108 years ago was significantly different from today.

1. North China Herald March 12th 1902 p.462
2. Wikipedia Japanese Giant Flying Squirrel. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_giant_flying_squirrel%20accessed%2012/10/2010


RICHARD BILLY BRAGG

Richard belongs to Jayne
And Jayne belongs to yesterday
How can I go on
When every alpha particle hides a neon nucleus

Neil belongs to love
And love belongs to no man
How can he go on
When no one answers the adverts in his mind

There will be parties,there will be fun
There will be prizes for everyone
And hey,hey,hey,here comes Richard
There will be ladies dressed in lace
I just want to see her face
When hey,hey,hey here comes Richard

OLL LEWIS: Yesterday's News Today

http://cryptozoologynews.blogspot.com/

On this day in 1869 the Cardiff Giant was 'discovered' on a New York farm.
The Cardiff Giant hoax had a great many twists and turns and ended in a court case involving P. T. Barnum. For the full story behind the hoax, sit back and run this talk in the background while you read the news today:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VlcHCK3y9U
And now, the news:

Species Watch: White Lions Again on the Prowl
Rare albino brown hare caught on camera
Aberdeen scientists discover secrets of the deep
Redford Township dog returns to life after vet’s a...
Shellfish Surprise: Aquarium Unveils Blue, Calico ...
Badgers dig up human bones in graveyard
Russian yetis start a war with bears
Extinction threat for world's most miserable anima...
Fish had sex for fun first, Western Australian fos...
Sea lion makes like 'Jaws' on rowboat crew
Genius or grotesquery? The arrestingly strange wor...
Man claims rabbits at DIA damaged his car
Kangaroo loves cider, Vegemite - and Skippy
Strange animal found in Longview Chupacabra? (via ...
'Bigfoot of ants' found (again) (via Chad Arment)

Ants and igloos, a cautionary tale:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrryML0XVuY&NR=1