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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Wednesday, June 21, 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.

  • ARTICLE: Cats Domesticated Themselves, Ancient DNA...
  • ARTICLE: There's nothing more terrifying to the mo...
  • NEWSLINK: Ringling’s big cats could be headed for ...

  • NEWSLINK: Can at least this tiger be saved in Nelw...
  • MUIRHEAD`S MYSTERIES: There was a wee lizard near Kirkaldy,which found itself in a wee quandry...

    I found the following strange story in a cutting kindly sent to me by American Fortean Gary Mangiacopra a few days ago. It`s from The Daily Commercial Register (Ohio) of 22nd December 1852, a case of an entombed "lizzard" (sic) 

    " EXHUMATION OF A LIZZARD - A short time since, as David Virtue, mason at Auchtertool
    ​, a village four miles from Kirkaldy,in Scotland, was dreesing (sic) a millstone from a large block, after cutting away a part, he found a lizzard embeded in the stone.it was about an inch and a quarter long, of a Brownish yellow color, and had a round head, with bright sparkling eyes.It was apparently dead, but after being about five minutes exposed to the air, it showed signs of life.One of the workers very cruelly put snuff in its eyes, which seemed to cause it much pain. it soon after ran about with much celerity, and after half an hour was brushed off the stone and killed. When found, it was coiled up in a round cavity of its form, being an exact impression of the animal. There was about 14 ft of earth above the rock, and the block in which the lizzard was found was 7 or 8 ft deep in the rock, so that the whole depth of the animal from the surface was 21 or 22 ft. The stone had no fissure, was quite hard, and one of the best to be got from the quarry of Cultaloe, reckoned perhaps, the best in Scotland." 



    The photo above shows Auchtertool

    THE LAST WEEK AT THE CFZ-USA BLOG

    CFZ-USA

  • NEW FROG SPECIES
  • BURBANK BAT LIGHT
  • PEACOCK ON THE RAMPAGE
  • BIGFOOT: THE DIFFERENT TYPES
  • FISHERMEN WATCHED BY BIGFOOT
  • ENORMOUS FROG ATTACK
  • DID MOTHMAN JUMP ON HORSE?
  • SEARCH FOR LIFE ON MARS
  • 3-FINGERED HUMANOID (MUMMIFIED)
  • KOBOLD - GOBLIN OF GERMANIC LORE
  • WHAT ARE THESE BONES?
  • DOGMAN CHASES CAR
  • BIGFOOT CHASES BOYS
  • NEWLY DISCOVERED CHAMELEON SPECIES
  • STRANGE ENCOUNTER IN NEVADA DESERT
  • DOG-HEADED PIG MONSTER
  • SEARCH FOR UCAMAR
  • CAN YOU MARRY AN ANIMAL?
  • ZOMBIE BEETLES OF ARKANSAS
  • THREATS TO WILDLIFE CORRIDORS
  • BUNYIP - AUSTRALIA'S LAKE DWELLER
  • JAPAN'S MYSTERY ANIMALS
  • AARSLEV INCIDENT
  • TEXAS BIGFOOT
  • MEETING WITH POSSIBLE BIGFOOT
  • AUDUBON'S FICTITIOUS FISH
  • FATHER OF LION CUB RAISES IT AS SINGLE PARENT
  • IS MOTHMAN A GLOBAL PHENOMENON?
  • THEODORE ROOSEVELT'S BIGFOOT STORY
  • PTEROSAURS AND CRYPTOZOOLOGY
  • DUENDE CASE IN CATALUNYA
  • LITTLE PEOPLE OF MINNESOTA
  • DOGMAN IN THE SWAMP
  • SCARY TRUE TALES
  • BIPEDAL HYENA?
  • BEAVER SCULPTURE
  • WHAT WAS THE GONZWELL?
  • WAS THIS A DOGMAN?
  • MYSTERY BIRD IN ILLINOIS
  • BIZARRE BIRD REPORTED 1896
  • BIPEDAL COYOTE REPORTED
  • LITTLE BIGFOOT SEEN IN OREGON
  • SIGHTINGS OF MEGALODON
  • BIGFOOT - STATE CRYPTID
  • BIGFOOT CROSSING
  • CARTOGRAPHER WANTED

  • HOLDING A CONVENTION?
  • THE GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN MEETS THE DAWN

    The Gonzo Daily: Wednesday
     
    As many readers of my inky fingered scribblings will know, I was brought up in the Church of England, but I was overtaken by events and no longer find the peculiarities of that particular organisation to be something that resonates with me on any level. I am not a Pagan, but I find I have more in common with those who are than I do with those who go to the old grey stone church at the top of the hill. I also see no real conflict between the sort of Christianity that I DO adhere to, and a reverence for the Earth in all Her beauty. Today is the summer solstice; a day of beauty and celebration, whatever religion you are. So have a happy and joyful one.
    Blessed be.
     
    And now, here is the news:
     
    SOLSTICE BLESSINGS
    THOM THE WORLD POET: The Daily Poem
    RICK WAKEMAN IN THE NEWS
    THE GONZO TRACK OF THE DAY: Richard Thompson - Sum...
    THOM THE WORLD POET: The Daily Poem
     
    Gonzo Magazine #239
    THE ALL AROUND THE WORLD ISSUE
     
    Kev eulogises about New Zealand’s Miss Peach and the Travelling Bones, who are one of the best bands I have heard all year, John writes about the new sounds of the Summer of Love’s 50th Anniversary, Alan remembers the Isle of Wight Festivals at the cusp of the 60s and 70s, and Richard attends the Deke Leonard memorial concert, while Jon burbles about The Beatles.
    And listen up Kiddies: 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, Mr Biffo, Neil Nixon and the irrepressible Corinna. There is also a collection of more news, reviews, views, interviews and pademelons outside zoos (OK, nothing to do with small marsupials who have escaped from captivity, 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:
     
    Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Goldie, Neil Young, Phil Collins, Libertines, Woodstock, Liam Gallagher, Alice Cooper, Skunk Anansie scholarship, Wilko Johnson, Strange Fruit, Friday Night Progressive, Canterbury Sans Frontieres, Mack Maloney's Mystery Hour, Anita Pallenberg, Charles P (Chuck) Thacker, Rosalie Sorrels, Corneliu Stroe, Adam West, Norris "Norro" Wilson, Sam Beazley, Mary Hopkin, Steve Howe, Ashton, Gardner and Dyke, Tony Klinger, Alan Dearling, Isle of Wight Festivals, Dave Houghton, Circus Zyair, John Brodie-Good, Summer of Love, Owsley "Bear" Stanley, Lindsey Buckingham, Christine McVie, Todd Rundgren, David Crosby, Kev Rowland, Miss Peach and the Travellin' Bones, Richard Foreman, Deke Leonard, Tim Burness, Tyrannosorceress, 8Kids, Art Fristoe Trio, Barrows, Beasto Blanco, Mr Biffo, Roy Weard, Hawkwind, Martin Springett, Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Eminem, Elvis, Derek and Clive
     
    Read the previous few issues of Gonzo Weekly:
     
    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)
    Issue 227 (Chuck Berry)
    Issue 225-6 (The Rites of Spring)
    Issue 224 (Hibernal)
    Issue 223 (Beatles)
    Issue 222 (Cruise to the Edge)
    Issue 221 (Deke Leonard)
    Issue 220 (Larry Wallis)
    Issue 219 (Martin Stone)
    Issue 218 (Mark Reiser tribute)
     
     
    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?

    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.





    BIGFOOT NEWS IN BRIEF



    Bigfoot Family Sighting in Utah
    Bigfoot Family Sighting in Utah. Bigfoot Tony on youtube takes a look at a video clip of a possible bigfoot encounter in Utah.

    Bigfoot in the Snow, New Spot Found
    After finding large bipedal track ways in the snow we discover a possible Bigfoot bedding spot along with several strands of hair we collect for analysis ...

    Bigfoot Camera Catches Something In The Deep Swamps
    Chris and Mark of "Trail To Bigfoot" were photographed by one of our trail cams in the Green Swamp. We have been running a project for years called ...

    'Bigfoot' Prints in TX City Explained
    The intriguing series of 'Bigfoot' prints found in the parks of a Texas city have been revealed to be a clever promotional campaign.

    NESSIENEWS (Caveat Lector)




    ... horror novel being adapted to the big screen and this time around we'll be able to check out 'The Loch' which focusses on the Loch Ness Monster!


    NEWS FROM NOWHERE - Wednesday

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

  • Ivory Coast jail sentences for chimpanzee traffick...
  • Mouse lemur could serve as ideal model for primate...
  • Monkey see, monkey do, depending on age, experienc...
  • Sensitivity to inequity is in wolves' and dogs' bl...
  • Wolf evolution and 'settled science'


  • 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.)