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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Thursday, September 27, 2018

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 that 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.


  • NEWSLINK: 64 teams formed to scan lions in Gir for...
  • NEWSLINK: Tiger population doubles in Nepal
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  • VIDEO: Close encounter at Taigan Safari Park in Cr...


  • NEWSLINK: Tiger scare keeps students off school in...
  • FORTEAN BIRD NEWS FROM THE WATCHER OF THE SKIES


    What has Corinna's column of Fortean bird news got to do with cryptozoology? 

    Well, everything, actually! 

    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.





    THE GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN PRAYS

    The Gonzo Daily: Thursday
     
    YER EDITOR SEZ:
     
    I realised yesterday that I had been a little over-mysterious, alluding to having been "overtaken by events" without explaining what they were. Basically, the long and the short of it all is that we have acquired a new housekeeper. Because of Corinna's illness, we decided that someone professional was needed, and - lo and behold - on Monday we acquired our very own Mary Poppins. We have also had a whole string of shitness involving computers, none of them doing what we wanted them to do. This morning I received a totally pointless letter that made me laugh. It was a (paper) letter from the Leccy Board saying that they were not going to send me any more paper letters.  That reminded me of my tongue in cheek footnote in ‘The Song of Panne’ explaining what a footnote was. However, when I did it, it was a joke.
     
    Corinna goes back into hospital next week and the cycle of tests and stress starts again. Thank you to all of you who keep on praying for us both. Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers. I am convinced that the barrage of love and blessings you have sent us so far has borne remarkable results. And being at the receiving end of such a barrage of love and healing is a truly wonderful and humbling experience.
     
    Meanwhile I continue to pretend that I am a popstar, because now I have sold six whole copies of my new album Coldharbour. If I continue at this rate I will get a silver disc sometime at the beginning of the next millenium. Coldharbour, by the way, can be found here: https://jondownes1.bandcamp.com/releases
     
    I think it is really rather good, but then again I would say that wouldn't I?
     
    ALL TODAY'S GONZO NEWS WOT'S FIT TO PRINT:
     
    THE GONZO TRACK OF THE DAY:  Steve Hillage ~ Activ...
    ERIK NORLANDER IN THE NEWS
    LEONARD COHEN NEWS
    THOM THE WORLD POET: The Daily Poem
    SPIRITS BURNING REVIEW
     
    OTHER IMPORTANT STUFF FROM THE GONZOVERSE:
     
    For those of you who are interested in such things, the Gonzo Privacy Policy is here:
     
    And the CFZ Privacy Policy is here:
    And, yes,
     
    CHECK OUT THE GONZO STORES:
     
    UK
    US
     
    AND OTHER STUFF FEATURING VARIOUS GONZO CONTRIBUTORS:
     
    Our webTV show:
     
    And if you fancy supporting it on Patreon:
     
    And by the way chaps and chappesses, a trip to the Jon Downes megastore may seem to be in order:
     
    AND THE LATEST ISSUE OF THE GONZO MAGAZINE:
     
    Gonzo Weekly #303-4
    THE BOOTS BOOTS BOOTS BOOTS MARCHING UP AND DOWN AGAIN ISSUE
     
    In another fantastically fab issue, Alan goes to  Kozfest, John goes to see Devon Allman, Graham discusses the departure of Mr Dibs from Hawkwind, Jon and Graham try to buy opioids with comedy results, Jon talks about Paul McCartney, and a kid's fantasy writer froim yesteryear, the Raz Band wow LA, and Doug goes to see Yes feat. ARW.
     
    #Hail Eris!
     
    And there are radio shows from Strange Fruit, Mack Maloney, AND Friday Night Progressive, AND there is a columns from Kev Rowlands, but all sorts of folk including Neil Nixon, C J Stone, AND Roy Weard and the irrepressible Corinna AND Mr Biffo are on hiatus.  There is also a collection of more news, reviews, views, interviews and red kangaroos who've lost their shoes (OK, nothing to do with the largest extant macropods who are in a quandry with regards their footwear, but I got carried away with things that rhymed with OOOOS) than you can shake a stick at. And the best part is IT's ABSOLUTELY FREE!!!
     
    This issue features:
     
    kaolin and morphine, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Amy Winehouse, Ozzy Osbourne, Bart, Alan Parsons, Elton John, Lenny Kravitz, The RAZ Band, Richard Freeman, Strange Fruit, Friday Night Progressive, Mack Maloney's Mystery Hour, Anna Karabessini, Malcolm James McCormick "Mac Miller", Wilson Moreira, Liz Fraser, Burton Leon Reynolds Jr., Elisa Serna, Conway Victor Savage, Randy Weston, Michael "Mike" A. Kennedy, Rene Garcia, Donald McGuire, Richard Bateman, Helen Shepherd, Fenella Fielding, OBE, Johnny Strike, Man, Binky Womack, Rick Wakeman, Essra Mohawk, Mick Farren and Andy Colquhoun, Doug Harr, Cruise to the Edge, ARW, Yes, Alan Dearling, Kozfest, The Dials, Thom the World Poet, John Brodie-Good, The Devon Allman Project, Allman Brothers Band,  Duane Betts, Kev Rowland, Widow's Peak, Witch Casket, Superstition, Robert Reed, Tom Newman, Les Penning, Diane Marino, Diane Moser, Jan Edwards, Hawkwind, Mr Dibs, Jon Downes, Coldharbour Diaries, The Wild Colonial Boy, Martin Springett, Edward Eager
     
    And the last few issues are:
     
    Issue 303-4 (kOZFEST)
    Issue 301-2 (Ringo Starr)
    Issue 299-300 (Aretha Franklin)
    Issue 298 (Alan in Hungary)
    Issue 297 (Shir Ordo)
    Issue 295-6 (Robert Berry)
    Issue 294 (Bow Wow Wow)
    Issue 293 (Stonehenge)
    Issue 292 (Rolling Stones)
    Issue 291 (Alien Weaponry)
    Issue 290 (Frank Zappa)
    Issue 289 (Misty in Roots)
    Issue 288 (Paula Frazer)
    Issue 287 (Boss Goodman)
    Issue 286 (Monty Python)
    Issue 285 (ELP)
    Issue 284 (Straqngelove)
    Issue 283 (Record Store Day)
    Issue 282 (Neil Finn and Fleetwood Mac)
    Issue 281 (Carl Palmer)
    Issue 280 (Steve Andrews)
     
    All issues from #70 can be downloaded at www.gonzoweekly.com if you prefer. If you have problems downloading, just email me and I will add you to the Gonzo Weekly dropbox. The first 69 issues are archived there as well. Information is power chaps, we have to share it!
     
    You can download the magazine in pdf form HERE:
     
    SPECIAL NOTICE: If you, too, want to unleash the power of your inner rock journalist, and want to join a rapidly growing band of likewise minded weirdos please email me at jon@eclipse.co.uk The more the merrier really.
     
     
    * 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.co.uk
     
    * 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 59 who - together with a Jack Russell called Archie, an infantile orange cat named after a song by Frank Zappa, and two half grown kittens, one totally coincidentally named after one of the Manson Family, purely because she squeaks, puts it all together from a converted potato shed in a tumbledown cottage deep in rural Devon which he shares with various fish. 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 Archie and the Cats?

    NEWS FROM NOWHERE: Thursday

    ON THIS DAY IN -  
    And now some more recent news from the CFZ Newsdesk




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  • AND TO WHISTLE WHILE YOU WORK... (Music that may have some relevance to items also on this page, or may just reflect my mood on the day)