CRYPTOZOOLOGY ONLINE: Still on the Track: 11/26/12

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...

Monday, November 26, 2012

ANDREW MAY: Words from the Wild Frontier

News and stories from the remoter fringes of the CFZ blogosphere...

From Nick Redfern's World of Whatever:

Lair of the (Very Weird) Beasts — Concerning the Fortean overtones in some of the cryptozoological cases detailed in Nick's Monster Diary...

TODAY'S BIG CAT ROUND UP

The hunt for British Big Cats attracts far more newspaper-column inches than any other cryptozoological subject. There are so many of them now that we feel that they should be archived by us in some way, so we should have a go at publishing a regular round-up of the stories as they come in. In September 2012, Emma Osborne decided that the Mystery Cat Study Group really deserved a blog of its own within the CFZ Blog Network.

MATT SALUSBURY: Huge feral cat in Oregon

STRANGE SIGHTING ON DARTMOOR

Dear Mr Downes

I thought an incident that occurred several years ago on the edge of Dartmoor may be of some interest to you. I have never really been able to make much sense of it but thought you may be interested.

I’m writing this account around 12 years after it occurred however I can remember it quite clearly, I think it was around 1998 – 1999, I was staying at the Haldon Lodge caravan site near Kenford in Devon.

I spent a great deal of time in the Haldon hills especially around the Bird of Prey watching point and the surrounding pine woods. On one occasion while alone I explored a really dense area of pine trees, literally moving on hands and knees to get through the area. I was heading for a clearing on the hill side that was visible from the caravan park. After maybe half an hour or more I came across a huge clearing surrounded by trees. It was in this area that I encountered something that I could not really work out.

Shortly after emerging from the tree line I immediately spotted what looked like a large hairy shape sitting on a tree stump. At first I thought it looked like a man in a fur coat however it was a blistering hot day. What ever it was I believe I was seeing it from behind. I was a little on edge but decided to move a little closer. On doing so I noticed what looked like the back of a head although only the top, again this appeared to be hairy and connected to the main body and I noted that its colour was a brown/ grey colour. I could not tell if it was fur or hair but could now get a good gage of its size. What ever it was it was big, easily the size of a very large man and very wide. It was at this point that I took one step closer and what I presumed was the back of the head moved down and slightly to the side as if moving around. It was at this point I had had enough and moved back towards the trees what ever it was it had now changed position and appeared to be looking in my direction. Once in the trees I ran as quick as could towards the road.

As I have noted the clearing was really hard to get to, took a great deal of time to reach and surrounded by dense trees on all sides so I was at a loss as to what this was, I can’t really see this as a man in a costume as this was not an area people visit and again it was vey hot.

I re visited the area several years latter and located the tree stump in question. It was apparently clear that what ever it was was huge. When working out the distance between where I was standing and the size of the stump, it was Cleary very big, bigger than an average sized male.

Do you no if there have been any other or similar sightings in the area or parts of Devon if so I would be interested to hear of them?

Kind regards

Ben

INTERESTING, BUT ABOUT AS MUCH OF AN ALIEN AS I AM

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DALE DRINNON: Bigfoot as owl/Cedar and Willow

New at Frontiers of Zoology:

http://frontiersofzoology.blogspot.com/2012/11/vermont-trailcam-bigfoot-owl.html

New at Cedar And Willow:

http://cedar-and-willow.blogspot.com/2012/11/star-trek-apollo-and-chickie-daphne-in.html

http://cedar-and-willow.blogspot.com/2012/11/lucas-garrets-theory-on-origin-of-time.html

FORTEAN BIRD NEWS FROM THE WATCHER OF THE SKIES (CFZ)

In an article for the first edition of Cryptozoology Bernard Heuvelmans wrote that cryptozoology is the study of 'unexpected animals' and following on from that perfectly reasonable assertion, it seems to us that - whereas the study of out of place birds may not have the glamour of the hunt for bigfoot, or lake monsters - it is still a perfectly valid area for the Fortean Zoologist to be interested in. So, after about six months of regular postings on the main bloggo, Corinna has taken the plunge and started a 'Watcher of the Skies' blog of her own as part of the CFZ Bloggo Network.

I'M YER GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN

And so another week begins, and a vista of possibilities lies before us. Hopefully, by the end of the day, my computer will be up and running again and things will be relatively back to normal. In the meantime check out Judy Dyble's fantastic new album which sounds exactly what one would have hoped from someone who has warbled with both King Crimson and Fairport Convention. I am pleased to report that Karl Shuker's long awaited book on mysterious cats (our first full-colour tome) will be available to preorder in a few days. In the meantime I intend to take mother out to Asda...

We start off this jolly week with our daily visit to the Texas home of Thom the World Poet
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/11/thom-world-poet-daily-poem_26.html

And now to some pictures of Martin Stephenson and Helen McCookerybook on stage in Darwen last weekend
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/11/helen-mccookerybook-and-martin.html

What were the members of Hawkwind doing 40 years ago today?

http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/11/link-40-years-ago-hawkwind-release.html

The latest news from Gordon Giltrap
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/11/gordon-giltrap-november-2012-news-update.html

A mini biography of the ever wonderful Judy Dyble
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/11/judy-dyble-at-real-world.html

A sneak preview of the wonderful new album by Barbara Dickson
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/11/barbara-dickson-sneak-preview-of-new.html

The Gonzo Daily is a two way process. If you have any news or want to write for us, please contact me at jon@eclipse.co.uk. If you are an artist and want to showcase your work, or even just say hello please write to me at gonzo@cfz.org.uk. Please copy, paste and spread the word about this magazine as widely as possible. We need people to read us in order to grow, and as soon as it is viable we shall be invading more traditional magaziney areas. Join in the fun, spread the word, and maybe if we all chant loud enough we CAN stop it raining. See you tomorrow...

The Gonzo Daily is - as the name implies - a daily online magazine (mostly) about artists connected to the Gonzo Multimedia group of companies. But it also has other stuff as and when the editor feels like it. The same team also do a weekly newsletter called - imaginitavely - The Gonzo Weekly. Find out about it at this link: http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/11/all-gonzo-news-wots-fit-to-print.html Jon Downes, the Editor of all these ventures is an old hippy of 53 who - together with his orange cat - puts it all together from a converted potato shed in a tumbledown cottage deep in rural Devon. He is ably assisted by his lovely wife Corinna, his bulldog/boxer Prudence, and a motley collection of social malcontents. Plus.. did we mention the orange cat?