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, August 14, 2017

TODAY'S BIG CAT NEWS

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.

  • SIGHTING, UK: ‘Big cat’ spotted crossing road in S...
  • ARTICLE: What it's like to walk with lions in Zimb...
  • NEWSLINK: Mountain lion killed in south-central Id...
  • NEWSLINK: Human-wildlife conflict in India: 1 huma...

  • NEWSLINK: French police search for 'big cat' spott...
  • 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.




    CRYPTOLINK: That ol' Oarfish/Earthquake story rises again

    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.

    Tourism Saint Bernard, Southern Leyte
    on Wednesday
    Oarfishes found yesterday were put safely (buried) at the area near PASAHIMAPA Mangrove Park. Activity started at 10:00am today, however preparations started as early as 7:00am. This was spearheaded by Bantay Dagat personnel Elso Sobrio and attended by local DA staff. By the advice of Tourism Office, the guts were opened prior to burial to check if there are unusual finds - NONE were found. The bigger fish was female and a good volume of fish eggs were found.
    Documentation/Photo Credit: Tourism Office
    Image may contain: one or more people, shoes and outdoor
    Image may contain: one or more people and shoes
    Image may contain: food
    Image may contain: one or more people and food
    Image may contain: one or more people, food and outdoor
    +15
    Jane Araneta added 19 new photos — with Florentino Alfaro and 7 others.
    Oarfishes found yesterday were put safely (buried) at the area near PASAHIMAPA Mangrove Park. Activity started at 10:00am today, however preparations started a...
    See More

    http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/08/oarfish-earthquakes-deep-sea-spd/

    CRYPTOLINK: The Golfing Chupacabras

    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.


    Stewart has received nearly 700 responses so far, and many have remarked that he happened along the Chupacabra, rumored to be roaming the wild ...
    Full Coverage 

    As monsters go, the chupacabra is a fledgling monster myth, with its origins as “the Hispanic Bigfoot” going back only 30 odd years to Puerto Rico.
    Google Plus Facebook Twitter Flag as irrelevant

    BIGFOOT NEWS IN BRIEF




    Blue Mountain Bigfoot Research
    Blue Mountain Bigfoot Research is a scientifically based research group dedicated to the discovery and classification of. North America's Great Apes.


    And yet, that's apparently what Gawain MacGregor, of Minneapolis, told authorities in North Carolina after a report circulated about Bigfoot sightings in ...

    THYLACINES IN THE NEWS





    Not surprisingly, this footage has been received enthusiastically by other thylacine-watchers, including Neil Waters, the founder of the Thylacine ...

    NESSIENEWS (Caveat Lector)




    Professor Neil Gemmel's Mission
    Gemmell said that people don't believe in the Loch Ness monster as such. However, there is always an inner child that hopes that you find evidence ...

    Professor Neil Gemmel's mission: Find the Loch Ness monster once and for all
    One man wants to settle a question that has been asked many times before; does the Loch Ness monster exist? Neil Gemmell lives in New Zealand, ...


    ANOTHER WEEK FOR THE GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN

    The Gonzo Daily: Monday/Tuesday
     
    And so another week begins. For the past seventeen years, this would have been the busiest week of my year as I prepared fpr the annual Weird Weekend. But this year we are on hiatus - temporary or permanent I don't know - and (surprisingly) I don't feel more than the slightest bit wistfull about it. This is a ood thing, of course, but (being me) I feel a tiony bit wistful about not feeling wistful if that makes any sense. No? Well it doesn't make sense to me either. But then again, very little in 2017 does. The Dark Ages approacheth..
     
     
    But now, here is the news:
     
    THE GONZO TRACK OF THE DAY: Nico Sings Chelsea Gir...
    YES IN THE NEWS
    BARBARA DICKSON IN THE NEWS
    THOM THE WORLD POET: The Daily Poem
    FAIRPORT CONVENTION IN THE NEWS
     
    Gonzo Weekly #247
    THE CLIMB EVERY MOUNTAIN ISSUE
     
    In which we meet the legendary Don Airey, who tinkles the ivories for Deep Purple (amongst others) and talks about his mountainous solo album, John talks about Cary Grace, the Luck of Eden Hall, Steely Dan and Pye Hastings, Alan gives an Observer’s Guide to Lithuanian Pop Music, Jon critiques the best novel he has read all year and presents the latest news from The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu.
     
    Yup, and it’s all free!
     
    And there are radio shows from Mack Maloney, Strange Fruit, Canterbury sans Frontieres and Friday Night Progressive. We also have columns from all sorts of folk including Roy Weard, C J Stone, Mr Biffo, Neil Nixon and the irrepressible Corinna. There is also a collection of more news, reviews, views, interviews and numbats with the right to choose (OK, nothing to do with small marsupials who have become eligible to vote, 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:
     
    The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, RAZ Band, Paul McCartney, Foo Fighters, Ronnie Wood, Patti Smith, Alice Cooper, Joe Perry, Strange Fruit, Friday Night Progressive, Canterbury Sans Frontieres, Mack  Maloney's Mystery Hour, Chantek, Jessy Serrata, Glen Travis Campbell, Janet Seidel, Arleta, Rick Wakeman, Ashton, Gardner and Dyke, Third Ear Band, Atomic Rooster, Deep Purple, Don Airey, Alan Dearling, Laura Remeikiene, Neda Malunaviciute, Rugile, Boris and the Gopnik tour of Vilnius, John Brodie Good, Cary Grace, The Luck of Eden Hall, Caravan, Pye Hastings, Steely Dan, Donald Fagen and The Nightflyers, Kev Rowland, ESP, Eternal Wanderers, Gentle Knife, Horseneck, Immolation, Integrity, Jam It!, Neil Arnold, Mr Biffo, Roy Weard, Hawkwind, Xtul, Nathan Kuzak, Lemmy, James Brown, Michael Jackson, Ringo Starr, Charlie Watts
     
    Read the previous few issues of Gonzo Weekly:
     
    Issue 246 (Steve Hackett)
    Issue 244-5 (Summer Special)
    Issue 243 (Galahad)
    Issue 242 (Steve Miller Band)
    Issue 241 (Carol Hodge and Steve Ignorant)
    Issue 240 (Midsummer Madness)
    Issue 239 (Miss Peach)
    Issue 238 (Hawkwind)
    Issue 237 (Hawkwind)
    Issue 236 (Manchester)
    Issue 235 (Jon Anderson)
    Issue 234 (Al Atkins)
    Issue 233 (Richard Strange)
    Issue 232 (Roy Weard)
    Issue 231 (Allan Holdsworth)
    Issue 230 (Curtis Womack)
    Issue 229 (Larry Wallis)
    Issue 228 (Space Pharoahs)
     
    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 57 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 - Monday/Tuesday

    ON THIS DAY IN - 1248 - The rebuilding of the Cologne Cathedral in Cologne, Germany, began after being destroyed by fire. 
    And now some more recent news from the CFZ Newsdesk

  • Ecuador firms sell rare frogs to save them from po...
  • Snakes in full force in high temperatures (Azerbai...
  • Supreme Court asked to hear endangered frog case (...
  • Reintroduced Przewalski's horses have a different ...
  • 'Tail-Standing' Sperm Whales Snooze in Stunning Ph...

  • Slimy slugs inspire 'potentially lifesaving' medic...

  • 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.