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...




Wednesday, April 04, 2018

CFZ PEOPLE: Mary Downes



It is my Mother's birthday: she would have been 96 today. And I still miss her every day.

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.


  • NEWSLINK: Leopards could reduce rabies by controll...
  • NEWSLINK: Kiwi petitions for snow leopard sanctuar...
  • NEWSLINK: Lions, tigers to stroll in natural habit...
  • NEWSLINK: How community averts lions' attacks, rea...


  • NEWSLINK: Eastern cougars are extinct — or are the...


  • 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 IS REALLY QUITE CONTENTED FOR ONCE

    The Gonzo Daily: Wednesday
    I have just finished reading Graham Reels' extraordinary memoir 'Confessions of a Hong Kong Naturalist', a title which is somewhat reminiscent of a cross between Aleister Crowley and the sex comedy movies directed by Tony Klinger's dad. Thankfully this is like neither of these, and is an intelligent, amusing and insightful (did I mention massively entertaining) look at ten years cataloguing he biodiversity of Hong Kong. I strongly recommend it to anyone even vaguely interested in such things.
    ciao....
    Forgive me for always banging on about our webTV show, but it matters a lot to me, and I would be grateful for as many people as possible to see it, and spread the tidings of it far and wide:
    And if you fancy supporting us on Patreon:
    And by the way chaps and chappesses, a trip to the Jon Downes megastore seems to be in order: if you want to make me a happy fellow, you can:
    buy my novel:
    buy the record by the main protagonist of the novel who isn't me in an elephant mask, honest:
    buy my single:
    But for now, here is the news:
    THE GONZO TRACK OF THE DAY:  Galahad - Seas of Cha...
    Deke Leonard Interview 2015
    CAPTAIN BEEFHEART NEWS
    YES IN THE NEWS
    THOM THE WORLD POET: The Daily Poem
    Gonzo Weekly #280
    THE GIVE TREES A CHANCE ISSUE
    In this environmentally aware issue meet the legendary Steve Andrews (aka The Bard of Ely) and talk environmental activism and the scandal of Sheffield Council's tree felling programme, Alan extols the virtues of Jonathan Wilson, John talks about David Sanborn and Yazz Ahmed, Doug writes about Neal Preston's new book, Jon raves about Jack White and muses on a book sort
    of about Brian Jones.
    #Hail Eris!
    And there are radio shows from Strange Fruit, AND Mack Maloney, BUT Friday Night Progressive is on hiatus this week, there are columns from all sorts of folk including Neil Nixon, Kev Rowlands, C J Stone, and Mr Biffo AND the irrepressible Corinna, although Roy Weard is sady absent this week. There is also a collection of more news, reviews, views, interviews and southern dibblers who have stood around in twos (OK, nothing to do with small marsupials who have paired up under this weekend's blue moon, 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 White Stripes, Jack White, John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Ronnie Wood, Nightwish, Yes, Trevor Horn, Strange Fruit, Mack Maloney's Mystery Hour, Jerry Williams (Sven Erik Fernström), Kak Channthy, Fergus Gordon Anckorn, Lys Assia (Rosa Mina Schärer), Shawn Elliott, Nikolay Yankov Kaufman, Seo Min-woo, Robert "Kooster" McAllister, Tony Klinger, Billion Dollar Babies, Man, Delius, Vaughan Williams, Edward Elgar, Steve Andrews, Doug Harr, Neal Preston, Alan Dearling, Jonathan Wilson, John Brodie-Good, David Sanborn Group, Yazz Ahmed,  Alestorm, Ammunition, Amor, Ampline, Anvil, Obituary, Operation Mindcrime, Rhapsody of Fire, Sebastien, Mr Biffo, C J Stone, Hawkwind, Martin Springett, Jon Downes, The Wild Colonial Boy, Kim Kinrade, Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie, Frank Zappa, Johnny Cash, The Cavern Club, Neil Nixon, Foghorn requiem.
    And the last few issues are:
    Issue 279 (Biffo)
    Issue 278 (The Beatles)
    Issue 277 (Auld Man's Baccie)
    Issue 276 (Dukes of the Orient)
    Issue 275 (Martin Gordon)
    Issue 274 (Steve Took)
    Issue 273 (Live Dead 69)
    Issue 272 (George Butler)
    Issue 271 (Mark E Smith)
    Issue 270 (Eric Clapton)
    Issue 269 (Narnia)
    Issue 267-8 (Happy New Year)
    Issue 265-6 (The Who)
    Issue 264 (John McLaughlin)
    Issue 263 (The magic Band)
    Issue 262 (DikMik)
    Issue 261 (Leonard Cohen)
    Issue 260 (Amsterdam Squat Festie)
    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 58 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: Wednesday

    ON THIS DAY IN - 1581 - Francis Drake was knighted by Queen Elizabeth I. A few months earlier he became the first Englishman to circumnavigate the world. 
    And now some more recent news from the CFZ Newsdesk

  • Male loggerhead turtles also go back to their nest...
  • Groups seek to protect unique salamander species i...
  • 'Bilby blitz': Indigenous rangers use bilingual tr...
  • World’s great forests could lose half of all wildl...
  • 'Lazy lawn mowers' can help support suburban bee p...
  • The Turtle Extinction Crisis: Nearly half of all f...

  • Mexico seizes mezcal bottles with snakes, reptiles...

  • 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)