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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Monday, January 14, 2013

D.R.SHOOP: Coyote walks on water



I captured these face-freezing images Sunday, January 13th 2013 at 4:30pm U.S. Central time from the Ford Parkway Bridge, which spans the Mississippi River (approx. 200 ft above the river – yikes) Between St Paul and Minneapolis (Minneapolis to the left and St Paul to the right,  respectively) as these photos are looking north. The raw temperature was 7 f.  With wind-chill and based on my red and painful face along with watering eyes. I’m going to say it was minus 10 f. Sheesh, the things I do to get a photo.

This crazy but smart coyote has obviously learned he can walk on water during winter.

CARL MARSHALL: Bizarre moles found in Berkshire

These oddly pigmented moles were both killed last year at the same location in an agricultural field in Newbury, Berkshire and sent [by the farmer who wishes to remain anonymous] to a taxidermist based in Wales who just so happens to be one of my fathers friends; who also is a taxidermist. Martin Bennet, the taxidermist who mounted these wondrous Talpids, has already assured me that they are not taxidermic forgeries, as they arrived at his workshop in this exact condition, and he has not altered their appearance in any way.

I thought they were possibly partial (mosaic) albinos, however I was not entirely convinced with this identity due to the vivid colouration they displayed, so I contacted Dr Karl Shuker. After conversing with Karl it seems more than likely they are actually exhibiting flavistic mosiacism; two rare phenomena where an unusual golden orange mutation (flavism) has only developed in patches (Mosiacism) ie patches of abnormal golden pigmentation amid an otherwise typical pelage. 

Karl himself said that he had not seen comparable specimens like these before, and agreed with myself in that they were likely very closely related, probably siblings, sharing the same genetic makeup for this abnormality. Karl also informed me that the European mole has actually yielded quite a wide range of colour mutations to be on the lookout for.

I also contacted Richard Muirhead who informed me of an ethnoknown mole in Cheshire from the 19th century, named the Nosrow, and wonders if this animal may be similar to these Berkshire moles.

Its also safe to assume that there will be more moles displaying this cryptic colouration at this [hidden] location in Newbury.

If any blog readers know of any other British moles displaying similar physical traits please comment.

BLUE COLOUR MORPH OF SILVER Y MOTH

butterflies/Moths/silver_y_moth_melanistic_laddJanuary 2013. The Silver Y moth is common in the UK, and is a well-known moth (at least in mothing circles.). They are mostly a mix of light brown and grey with a distinctive silver-coloured Y shaped mark in the middle of each wing.

Read on...

(Normal colouration below)


KARL SHUKER - A TRIBUTE TO IVAN MACKERLE


Karl Shuker presents a personal tribute to Ivan Mackerle, who died earlier this week.

Read on...

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

Yesterday evening, in a break between doing other things I sat down with Corinna and Mother and watched the new BBC adaptation of P.G.Wodehouse's 'Blandings Castle' stories and was pleasantly relieved to see that they had got it almost spot on! Timothy Spall was (to my surprise) a jolly good Lord Emsworth, and I am just waiting to see whether they get Galahad (always my favourite character) right. Adaptations of one's favourite books are almost invariably horrid, and so it is very nice to find an exception to this rule!
The new Gonzo Newsletter (#8) went out last night. Over the next few issues I may be experimenting with different time slots, in order to see which posting secures most readers. Please bear with me, while I continue to work out how to get the best out of this new format, and produce the best magazine that I can. THIS WEEK WE BRING YOU YES, JON ANDERSON, CHRIS SQUIRE, STEVE HOWE, ASIA, DAEVID ALLEN, SPIRITS BURNING, CORKY LAING, MOUNTAIN, WILKO JOHNSON, ANT-BEE, THE GREEN VIOLINIST, ATKINS/MAY
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2013/01/gonzo-newsletter-8.html
An interview with Al Atkins from the mighty Atkins/May Project
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2013/01/link-singer-al-atkins-i-wish-that-judas.html
Our daily visit to our friend Thom the World Poet, who is someone of whom I am really getting rather fond.
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2013/01/thom-world-poet-daily-poem_6532.html
Another work of genius from the ever wonderful Helen McCookerybook
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2013/01/just-part-of-reason-that-i-am-so-fond.html
Today's Gonzo Track of the Day is from Jimmy Carl Black (the Indian in the group)
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-gonzo-track-of-day-jimmy-carl-black.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 - imaginatively - 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 which he shares with various fish and batrachians. He is ably assisted by his lovely wife Corinna, his bulldog/boxer Prudence, his mother-in-law, and a motley collection of social malcontents. Plus.. did we mention the orange cat?

OLL LEWIS: Yesterday's News Today

Yesterday’s News Today

On this day in 1872 Greyfriars Bobby died. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greyfriars_Bobby
And now the news:

  • Humans Visit Huge Penguin Colony for First Time
  • National Wildlife Crime Unit under threat for the ...
  • Hudson students give baby turtles a head start (Bl...
  • America's Newest National Park Declared
  • Banded Mongooses Structure Monosyllabic Sounds in ...
  • Dugong found off India’s north-west coast
  • A Snapshot of Pupfish Evolution
  • Bengali Forests Are Fading Away

  • Dogs are ace: