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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Unlike some of our competitors we are not going to try and blackmail you into donating by saying that we won't continue if you don't. That would just be vulgar, but our lives, and those of the animals which we look after, would be a damn sight easier if we receive more donations to our fighting fund. Donate via Paypal today...




Monday, November 11, 2013

FORTEAN BIRD NEWS FROM THE WATCHER OF THE SKIES

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 took the plunge and started a 'Watcher of the Skies' blog of her own as part of the CFZ Bloggo Network.




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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 are publishing a regular round-up of the stories as they come in. 

 The worldwide mystery cat phenomenon (or group of phenomena, if we are to be more accurate) is not JUST about cryptozoology. At its most basic level it is about the relationship between our species and various species of larger cat. That is why, sometimes, you will read stories here which appear to have nothing to do with cryptozoology, but have everything to do with human/big cat interaction. As committed Forteans, we believe that until we understand the nature of these interactions, we have no hope of understanding the truth that we are seeking. 
  • SIGHTINGS USA: Midnight big cat report in Maryla...
  • SIGHTINGS USA: BIG CAT: Bobcat Photographed In Ank...
  • SIGHTINGS USA: Mountain lion presence confirmed ne...
  • NEWSLINK: A Well-Told Tale of A Daring Big Cat Res...


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    DALE DRINNON: Manbeasts, Frontiers of Anthropology, Cedar and Willow, Benny's Blogs

    New at the Frontiers of Zoology:
    New at the Frontiers of Anthropology:
    New at Cedar And Willow:
    New at Benny's Blog for Thelma Todd:
     
    New at Benny's Other Bog, The Ominous Octopus Omnibus:
     
    Best Wishes, Dale D.
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    IS THIS THE GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN?

    The Gonzo Daily - Monday
    Greetings...Corinna here (for those of you who don't know I am Jon's wife).  We heard from Richard Freeman today, who has been out in the wilds of Tasmania, investigating reports of the thylacine.  Whilst mentioning such things, I somehow thought of 'Of Monsters and Men' whose great music I discovered last night (wonderful weird videos too). They are an indie, folk-pop band from Iceland.  Anyway, why am I writing this?  Because I am learning the ropes from the boss so that I can do all this posting whilst he is away on Thursday/Friday at the Mick Farren memorial show in good old London town. 
    Another visit to our old friend Thom the World Poet
    http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2013/11/thom-world-poet-daily-poem_11.html
    VIDEO: Women Of Steel Concert’s £50K for statue featuring John Shuttleworth
    http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2013/11/video-women-of-steel-concerts-50k-for.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:     www.gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/11/all-gonzo-news-wots-fit-to-print.html

    * We should probably mention here, that some of our posts are links to things we have found on the internet that we think are of interest. We are not responsible for spelling or factual errors in other people's websites. Honest guv!

    *  Jon Downes, the Editor of all these ventures (and several others) is an old hippy of 54 who - together with his orange cat (who is currently on sick leave in Staffordshire) and two very small kittens (one of whom is also orange) puts it all together from a converted potato shed in a tumbledown cottage deep in rural Devon which he shares with various fish, and sometimes a small Indian frog. He is ably assisted by his lovely wife Corinna, his bulldog/boxer Prudence, his elderly mother-in-law, and a motley collection of social malcontents. Plus.. did we mention the orange cat?

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    ANDREW MAY: Words from the Wild Frontier

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

    From CFZ Australia:
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    NEWS FROM THE AUSTRALIAN EXPEDITION

    join the cfz nowHi mate,

    THIS IS THE FIRST OPPORTUNITY I HAVE GOT TO E-MAIL.

    We are in a very remote area. Baiting camera traps has shown  up a healthy population of Tasmanian devils. No thylacines yet. Have seen devils, pademelons, Bennett's wallabies,wombats, echidnas, potoroos, ring tailed and bush tailed possums, tiger snakes, cockatoos, wedge tailed eagles, native hens and many others.

    Interviewed thylacine witnesses, one was a government licensed shooter who controls wallaby numbers. He saw the animal twice, he also knew a forestry worker who saw one. All these were in the north-east. The owner of a tea rooms and garden saw one in central Tasmania. Many more sightings uncovered by Tony Healy ranging from 1982 to 2012.

    The terrain is very wild and the human population near non-existent. I am in no doubt of the thylacine's continued survival.

    Talking to a guide recently who has heard the vocalizations, a high pitched yip-yip-yip. Even the once hard boiled sceptic Nick Mooney is coming around to realizing that something is here. Already planning next year's expedition. Sightings mainly in north-east and north-west but massive wilderness area with no roads or people in the south-west. Prey populations are huge, plenty of living space.

    Still hope to see a tazzy wolf.

    Rich

    PS they have chocolates called 'clinkers' over here!
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    NICK REDFERN: Seeking the thylacine

    Thylacine-retroFrom Australia’s Courier Mail newspaper… “An international team of naturalists from the Centre for Fortean Zoology has arrived in Tasmania for the first in a series of well-resourced and professional expeditions into Tasmania’s wilderness to hunt for evidence of the Tasmanian tiger. Although the animal was officially declared extinct in the 1980s, reports of thylacine sightings are still common and expedition leader Mike Williams from NSW has high hopes that they can find something. ‘The problem with a lot of the sightings from members of the public is that they’re generally caught by surprise, and their photos are taken on things like mobile phones and aren’t very good,’ he said.”
    If the Center for Fortean Zoology’s expedition does indeed uncover evidence that the thylacine really is still with us (albeit with us in an incredibly stealthy fashion!), it would be amazing news. After all, not only is the creature widely believed to have become extinct way back in the 1930s, but it was a truly weird-looking animal, too. On top of that, I’m pretty sure that such a discovery would prove to be a major step in encouraging quests to uncover additional, presumed-extinct beasts, too, as well as the definitive unknowns, such as Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster.
    So, with that said, what, exactly, was the thylacine?

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    CRYPTOLINK: Shooting occurred during “Bigfoot hunt” (Doubtful news)

    A word about cryptolinks: we are not responsible for the content of cryptolinks, which are merely links to outside articles that we think are interesting (sometimes for the wrong reasons), usually posted up without any comment whatsoever from me. 
    What’s the Harm in Bigfoot hunting? Someone is going to get shot!
    Rogers County Sheriff’s Department made multiple arrests in what appears to be an accidental shooting. Some involved say it happened during a Sasquatch hunting expedition.
    Deputies were told that two men were hunting – apparently for Bigfoot – around 177th East Avenue and Tiger Switch Road Saturday night. One of the men reportedly heard a noise, jerked and shot his friend in the back, authorities say.
    It’s not clear if alcohol or drugs were involved. But nerves get frazzled, fear is heightened and your judgements and responses are ALTERED by expectation. I’m just amazed it hasn’t happened more often with all the gun-happy people out there convinced they are going to bag a squatch.

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    OLL LEWIS: Yesterday's News Today

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