OLL LEWIS: Yesterday's News Today

http://cryptozoologynews.blogspot.com/

On this day in 1962 ruminant-obsessed computer programmer Jeff Minter was born.

And now the news:

Ravens Remember Relationships They Had With Others...
DDT Linked to Long-Term Decline of Insect-Eating B...
Dr Who's sonic screwdriver 'invented' at Dundee Un...
Lactating Tsetse Flies Models for Lactating Mammal...
Pass me another mammoth rib: Why eating meat was t...
Sea Lions May Be Removed from Endangered Species L...
Bacon prices could soar by 20% after new EU pig we...
Birds, bees and Claude Monet: How the famed artist...
Record spring respite for rare butterflies
20 – 30 new frogs discovered in Madagascan forest
XNA is synthetic DNA that’s stronger than the real...
Dawn of Polar Bears Far Earlier Than Thought
Chicken without an egg born in Sri Lanka

Minter's classic 'Lamatron' in all it's glory (Oh Yeah!):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SM2TZTGc5F8

THE CO. DURHAM POLECAT

JAN EDWARDS WRITES: This is the location the polecat was found. It is close to Heights Quarry on the A 689 – the main road through Weardale. There is the river Wear, just 100 yards away to the south – near the tree-line across the road. The quarry is about a quart-mile up hill and to the north of the junction where the animal was found.

DATE FOUND: 28th Sept 2011 (been frozen since then apart from photos.)
TIME FOUND: Approx 8:40am, and the body was still warm to the touch, indicating that death had occurred recently.
WHERE FOUND: On the junction between the A689 and Heights Quarry , DL13 1PF, Side of the road nearest the river (IE south)

And this is the polecat. Blood and grime are leaching into the preservative, so we will wait for it to precipitate out before changing the medium...

(The chicken wire is to old it in place pro tem)






Many thanks to Jan Edwards for securing us this irreplaceable specimen, which is, as far as we are aware, the first wild polecat specimen from Co. Durham in many years, possibly since WW1....

THYLACINE GENETIC DIVERSITY STORY

I find this fascinating; not just the latest claims that the thylacine had particularly low genetic diversity, but that this story has proliferated across the Internet in a remarkably short time, with all sorts of different spins being put upon it...

Thylacine DNA reveals lacks of diversity ABC Online Tiny gene pool The Tasmanian tiger, or thylacine, had very limited genetic diversity before it died out, according to a new study, which suggests a similar fate for the Tasmanian devil. Hunted to the brink of extinction, the last known thylacine ... See all stories on this topic » ABC Online

Scientists find Tasmanian Tiger limited in genetic diversity ABC Online MARK COLVIN: A team of international scientists has found that the Tasmanian Tiger, or Thylacine, had very limited genetic diversity before it became extinct. The scientists isolated DNA samples from museum specimens that were up to 160 years old. See all stories on this topic »

Lack Of Genetic Diversity Put The Tasmanian Tiger In Danger RedOrbit The Tasmanian tiger, also known as the thylacine, was as large as a medium-sized dog that roamed across both Australia and Tasmania and had no natural predators. It was one of only two marsupials, along with the water opossum, to have a pouch in both ... See all stories on this topic »

Study Confirms Limited Genetic Diversity in Thylacine Sci-News.com An international team of scientists has confirmed the Tasmanian Tiger or thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus) had limited genetic diversity prior to its extinction. The Tasmanian Tiger, Thylacinus cynocephalus (Benjamin A. Sheppard) “The latest study ... See all stories on this topic » Sci-News.com

Cautionary tale in tiger DNA study ABC Online The team combed the world's museums for thylacine specimens, testing 12 different tasmanian tigers for genetic diversity. Scientists extracted DNA from bone, pelt and tissue samples, with some almost 160 years old. They found significant parts of the ... See all stories on this topic »

Research Reveals Low Genetic Diversity of Thylacine French Tribune Named as thylacine, it is believed that it might have died in 1936. For the research, it was claimed that genetic fragments from the 14 Tasmanian tigers were collected in order to check their genetic diversity. "If we compare this same section of DNA, ... See all stories on this topic » French Tribune

Scientists Confirm Limited Genetic Diversity in the Extinct Tasmanian Tiger Science Daily (press release) ScienceDaily (Apr. 18, 2012) — A team of international scientists including from the University of Melbourne have discovered the unique Tasmanian Tiger or thylacine had limited genetic diversity prior to its extinction. The results published April 18 ... See all stories on this topic »

Tasmanian tiger suffered low genomic diversity Phys.Org Credit: Photo courtesy of The Tasmanian National Museum and Art Gallery The enigmatic Tasmanian tiger, known also as the thylacine, was hunted to extinction in the wild at the turn of the 20th century, and the last one died in a Tasmanian zoo in 1936. See all stories on this topic »

Tassie tiger study sounds warning Ninemsn Professor Marilyn Renfree, who was part of a team that cloned a thylacine gene in 2008, says the result supports an earlier finding that the Tasmanian devil is also of limited genetic stock, a factor that may be making the fight against its facial ... See all stories on this topic » Thylacine DNA reveals lacks of diversity | High technology News Share Print News in Science › Environment and Nature Thursday, 19 April 2012 Liz HobdayABC Despite the lack of genetic diversity, a bounty on. yeuanhkhong.com/?p=8750 The Prince of Amber | ecocides: The thylacine (Thylacinus... ecocides: “ The thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus, Greek for “dog-headed pouched one”) was the largest known carnivorous marsupial of modern times. theprinceofamber.tumblr.com/.../ecocides-the-thylacine-thylac... Extinct Tasmanian Tiger Subject of Study HispanicBusiness.com The unique Tasmanian Tiger, also known as the thylacine, had limited genetic diversity prior to its 20th century extinction, Australian scientists say. Researchers at the University of Melbourne analyzed the genetic health of the thylacine before it ... See all stories on this topic » Tasmanian Tiger may have been victim of inbreeding The Australian The last known Tasmanian tiger, or thylacine, died in captivity in 1936 but specimens of Australia's carnivorous marsupial are preserved in museums around the world. It was even the subject of a 2011 movie, "The Hunter," in which Willem Dafoe plays a ... See all stories on this topic » Island living may have been a death sentence for the Tassie tiger: is the ... ScienceAlert However, the island of Tasmania stands out from this record: it has not lost a single mammal species since the demise of the Tasmanian tiger, or thylacine. The Ireland-sized island has long acted as a refuge for its platypuses, echidnas, devils, ... See all stories on this topic » Life Science Log :: Thylacine DNA reveals lacks of diversity TINY GENE POOL: The Tasmanian tiger had very limited genetic diversity before it died out, according to a new study. www.lifesciencelog.com/cluster621707220/

BIG CAT NEWS: From around the world

Rarest leopard making comeback
China Daily
[Photo/China Daily]
"Thanks to (China's) enormous efforts to protect forests and crack down on poaching, the big cat appears to be rebounding in China," said Jiang Jinsong, an official from Jilin provincial forestry department.

Urban sprawl blamed for Squamish cougar encounters
CTV.ca
The witness who reported the big cat believed it had recently killed a dog, but conservation officers have not confirmed that. Officers were unable to locate the cougar during a search of the area and local trails have been closed, although many hikers ...

Backyard mountain lion habitat
myfoxny.com
But De Rosa says he doesn't have a zoo; he has an educational program called Ghost Cat Habitat Center. He has a state license and gives educational tours. He gave us one as well. De Rosa says he wanted to educate kids about the big cats that used to ...

BIG CAT NEWS: Hale, and Gloucestershire

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 in some way by us, so we should have a go at publishing a regular round-up of the stories as they come in.

It takes a long time to do and is a fairly tedious task so I am not promising that they will be done each day, but I will do them as regularly as I can. JD

Big cat-like animal spotted in Hale
Messenger Newspapers
A FATHER and son got a shock when they caught sight of a mystery cat-like animal in Hale. Mark Jackson was driving home from a party with son Jay, aged 14, when he saw the creature on Belmont Road. The 43-year-old described the brown-coloured animal as ...

The first report this time is one an animal with a 'hooked tail' near Manchester, but soon we go back south to Gloucestershire, where Rick Minter neatly plugs his book whilst answering claims that these big cat reports make the locals seem like yokels.

Gloucestershire big cats: Reports don't make us rednecks
This is Gloucestershire
RICK Minter, author of BIG CATS – Facing Britain's Wild Predators, considers Gloucestershire's big cat reports. "THE big cat reports make us look like yokels," read a comment on the TIG website recently. But far from being rednecks, people who report ...

And, yes, there are more Gloucestershire reports...

New A38 big cat sighting
This is Gloucestershire
BIG cat sightings in Winchcombe have prompted one man to reveal he had a similar experience near Tewkesbury. Following Echo stories earlier this month about a panther-like beast having been spotted in Winchcombe, Cheltenham resident Ian Nicholl said he ...

I'M THE GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN

A Happy Saturday to all of you out in bloggoland. We have some jolly good stuff for you, but first apologies for yesterday. It turned out that the Jon Anderson video that we linked to should not have been let out of its cage, so we withdrew the link. There will be another one up in a day or so.

Today's goodies lead off with Graham Inglis getting massively enthusiastic about the new Hawkwind album:
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/04/hawkwind-onward.html

We have a link to a great review of the Atkins/May Project:
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/04/link-good-review-of-atkinsmay-project.html

And another one to a great review of Wally:
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/04/link-wally-review_20.html

We have news about the movie of 'Round Ireland with a Fridge' which is now streaming online:
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/04/tony-hawks-round-ireland-with-fridge.html

And a link to a eulogistic account of an evening with Martin Stephenson:
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/04/link-blogpost-on-martin-stephenson-and.html

Not bad for a chilly saturday morning in the latter half of April...

ANDREW MAY: Words from the Wild Frontier

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

From Nick Redfern's "There's Something in the Woods...":

• Does the Thylacine Still Live? — New evidence unearthed by Lars Thomas...
• Bigfoot in Oklahoma — Report on the Cross Timbers Creature Conference...

From CFZ Australia:

• Croc comes the raw prawn with fisherman — Amateur angler snags a crocodile..
• The Observer Tree - fight to save a Tassie forest — Miranda's arboreal home...

From CFZ New Zealand:

• Flight of a Kakapos key to survival — A critically endangered NZ parrot...