May 15, 2011 11:36 AM
Lois Swoboda
On May 5, Carrabelle’s commission voted unanimously to invite an expedition to search the forest north of the city for a large black cat rumored to roam there.
The mission will be headed by cryptozoologist Scott Marlowe, who has visited the area several times seeking information about the mysterious “Carrabelle Cat.”
Marlowe said, to his knowledge, this is the first time a government entity in the Western Hemisphere has invited a group of cryptozoologists to do an investigation.
In a telephone interview, Marlowe said he expects over 30 researchers to participate in the search, slated for March 2-4, 2012, and open to the public for a fee. He said participants in the expedition will likely camp during their stay.
In addition to Marlowe, monster hunters who have agreed to attend include Ken Gerhard, of San Antonio, Texas, known for his investigations of “Bigfoot” and the “Thunderbird,” thought by some to be a surviving pterodactyl. Gerhard, featured in the popular TV series “Monsterquest” and “Weird Travels,” is founder of the “Cryptid Seekers,” a service that offers safaris to sites where Bigfoot, lake monsters and other cryptids reportedly have been seen.
Also slated to attend is Joedy Cook, of Ohio, cofounder of Cryptid Seekers and founder of the Ohio Center for Bigfoot Studies. He has authored several books, including three on Bigfoot, two on strange hominids, and one each on werewolves, “Cryptid Ohio,’ and winged entities like the “Mothman” and the “Jersey Devil.” Also planning to attend are Raven Meindel and daughter Jessica Dorow, a guide team for the Cryptid Seekers.
Attending will be New Orleans’ Lee Hales, a naturalist, presenter and science educator who has worked as a zoologist, animal handler, private guide and field naturalist.
Expected to take part is Lisa Wojcik, Florida’s self-proclaimed resident expert on the elusive jaguarondi, believed by some to haunt a corridor from St. Petersburg to the Panhandle, although no evidence of a population in Florida has been collected.
In a telephone interview, Meindel said she was excited about the expedition and pleased to be asked. She said the Cryptid Seekers will be heading to Point Pleasant, West Virginia in June to search for the Mothman, a legendary man-sized creature with large reflective red eyes and large wings. The creature was sometimes reported as having no head, with its eyes set into its chest. The creature, last reported being seen in the 1960s, was the subject of “The Mothman Prophecies,” starring Richard Gere.
Meindel began her career in cryptozoology in 2004 but said her interest dates back to a fleeting glimpse of Bigfoot while playing hide-and-seek at the age of 12.
Jim Broaddus, owner of the Bear Creek Feline Center, a refuge and educational center for big cats in Panama City, plans to bring along “Saint,” a young Florida panther from the feline center, and a jaguarundi he recently acquired from Czechoslovakia. Marlowe said the two cats will be used to mark the investigation area with urine in an effort to attract the Carrabelle Cat.
He said no live bait animals will be used to lure the cat into view, although if the cat turns out to be a jaguarundi, dead fowl will probably be used to bait no-kill traps.
Marlowe said a new trap designed by Wojcik will be tested for the first time during the search. He described it as a sticky trap for large mammals that would painlessly capture some hair follicles to sample the cat’s DNA.
The goal of the expedition is to capture the cat and identify it, Marlowe said, and if it is non-native, transport it to a safe home. If it is native, it will be released back into the swamp unharmed. “I don’t believe in killing anything,” he said..
In addition to boots-on-the-ground exploration, Marlowe, Broadus, Wojcik, Gearhard and Meindel will each give a lecture on the possible identity of the cat during the deployment. Marlowe said he is negotiating with two producers about filming the expedition.
He said he is working with Florida Keys Community College, where he teaches, to make a course practicum for which students can get credit. If approved, the course will be available for credit to students from other community colleges.
Marlowe plans to deploy FLIR (Forward looking infrared) equipment, which allows the user to see heat generated by a body, as well as regular cameras to locate the Carrabelle Cat and document it. He said, on his last trip to the area, he found a dead coyote he believes was eaten by a big cat.
Carrabelle City Commissioner Cal Allen, who made the motion to invite the expedition, said he photographed and took plaster casts of big cat tracks in the same area as the coyote.
Marlowe said he recently received pictures and accounts of dog/coyote hybrids in the area. He said these are mixed dogs, and not the vicious chupacabras, believed to suck goat blood.
Marlowe recently published “Mystery Animals of Florida.” a book on his search for mysterious animals. The book was published by Great Britain’s CFZ Press, a branch of the Center of Fortean Zoology, a group that launches missions to locate mysterious and legendary animals. Marlowe said he expects the center to partner with him on a future expedition to Tate’s Hell.
"Weird Florida: Roads Less Traveled," a television series that has featured Marlowe, received a TELLY Award last year from YouTube.
He said he is planning a mission to investigate “Skunk Apes” said to be living in the forests of northwest Florida.
http://www.apalachtimes.com/news/carrabelle-9465-planned-tate.html
Showing posts with label CFZ. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CFZ. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
UFO seen at weird weekend
RIGHT: DAVID Curtis with the picture he drew of the UFO and put on his laptop.dave.tanner@archant.co.uk
18 August 2010
UNIDENTIFIED Flying Objects, evidence of a big cat in the woods and a visit from a famous explorer were all highlights of the Weird Weekend held at Woolsery Sports and Community Hall.
Delegates from near and far attended the annual event organised by the Woolsery-based Centre for Fortean Zoology.
One of them got a closer encounter with an unexplained happening than he bargained for.
David Curtis, 43, a care worker looking after autistic children in Durham, was driving back to the hall from his bed and breakfast base at around 10.55 on Friday night, when he spotted a triangular object floating above the telegraph wires on the road between Bucks Cross and Woolsery.
"It was as big as a bus and wider than the road I was travelling on," he told the Gazette. "It had a bright white light in the centre and red lights at each corner. It was making a whooshing noise, just like the sound you hear when you're standing near a wind turbine and was travelling at about 40mph.
"I only saw it for a few seconds and there was no sign of it when I looked in the fields next to the road. I'd like to know if anyone else saw the object.
The fact that it was Friday the 13th did not escape Mr Curtis, who drew a picture of the UFO, superimposed it on top of a photograph of the road and displayed the result on his laptop.
Danish zoologist Lars Thomas thrilled his audience when he told them studies he had done on hairs plucked from a bramble bush in the woods at Huddisford outside the village proved they belonged to a leopard.
There have been rumours of a black beast roaming the woods in the area for years. One young mother pushing her pram along the road at Clifford saw a big black cat lying in the branch of a tree overhanging the road and has not visited the area since.
Lars Thomas put the hair samples under his powerful microscope and pointed out the features which allowed him to identify them as belonging to a leopard.
He said he could not tell how long ago the beast might have been in the woods - a popular place for dog walkers, horse riders and cyclists - but he was in no doubt about his conclusions.
Famous explorer Colonel John Blashford-Snell, president of the Centre for Fortean Zoology, paid a surprise visit to the Weird Weekend on Saturday and spoke to the delegates.
http://www.northdevongazette.co.uk/northdevongazette/news/story.aspx?brand=NDGOnline&category=news&tBrand=devon24&tCategory=newsndga&itemid=DEED18%20Aug%202010%2008%3A28%3A38%3A393
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Hunt for the huge black dogs haunting UK's countryside
Sunday July 4,2010
By Stuart Winter
THE fiery red eyes and the blood-curdling howls of ghostly Black Dogs have long haunted the pages of British literature.
From Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles to the sinister Padfoot in the tales of Harry Potter, time and again nailbiting stories have been woven around the legend of mythical huge dogs.
Whether such tales are just fiction is now open to doubt.
In recent years reports have continued to emerge of wolf-like Black Dogs seen roaming the country. Now zoologists and experts in the paranormal are calling for a probe to prove their existence.
Richard Freeman, zoological director at the Centre for Fortean Zoology in Bideford, Devon, said Black Dogs have been reported in Britain, across Europe and in South America. He said: “I would welcome support for a thorough investigation into their existence.
“If one could be captured on film or filmed with a thermal camera it might give us a clue to the nature of these creatures.” A report in this month’s Countryfile magazine details the legend of more than a dozen Black Dogs with such wild names as the Yell Hound of Devon, the Lean Dog of Tring, the Padfoot of Wakefield, the Gurt Dog of the Quantocks, Mauthe Dhoog of the Isle of Man and the Gwyligi of Wales.
Dr Simon Sherwood, senior lecturer in psychology, director of the Centre for the Study of Anomalous Psychological Processes at the University of Northampton, said: “Sightings of Black Dogs are certainly not just legendary accounts from hundreds of years ago. I still receive accounts from people who have been looking for information about similar sightings and have come across my website.
“I have probably collected about 50 or 60 accounts from around the world over the past 10 years or so and some of these are recent sightings.”
http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/184806/Hunt-for-the-huge-Black-Dogs-haunting-UK-s-countryside/
(Subnmitted by Mark North)
By Stuart Winter
THE fiery red eyes and the blood-curdling howls of ghostly Black Dogs have long haunted the pages of British literature.
From Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles to the sinister Padfoot in the tales of Harry Potter, time and again nailbiting stories have been woven around the legend of mythical huge dogs.
Whether such tales are just fiction is now open to doubt.
In recent years reports have continued to emerge of wolf-like Black Dogs seen roaming the country. Now zoologists and experts in the paranormal are calling for a probe to prove their existence.
Richard Freeman, zoological director at the Centre for Fortean Zoology in Bideford, Devon, said Black Dogs have been reported in Britain, across Europe and in South America. He said: “I would welcome support for a thorough investigation into their existence.
“If one could be captured on film or filmed with a thermal camera it might give us a clue to the nature of these creatures.” A report in this month’s Countryfile magazine details the legend of more than a dozen Black Dogs with such wild names as the Yell Hound of Devon, the Lean Dog of Tring, the Padfoot of Wakefield, the Gurt Dog of the Quantocks, Mauthe Dhoog of the Isle of Man and the Gwyligi of Wales.
Dr Simon Sherwood, senior lecturer in psychology, director of the Centre for the Study of Anomalous Psychological Processes at the University of Northampton, said: “Sightings of Black Dogs are certainly not just legendary accounts from hundreds of years ago. I still receive accounts from people who have been looking for information about similar sightings and have come across my website.
“I have probably collected about 50 or 60 accounts from around the world over the past 10 years or so and some of these are recent sightings.”
http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/184806/Hunt-for-the-huge-Black-Dogs-haunting-UK-s-countryside/
(Subnmitted by Mark North)
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Local couple believe that blue-skinned, dog-like animals seen around the state represent a new species of canine
Posted On: Sunday, Mar. 21 2010 11:52 PMBy Jackie Stone
Killeen Daily Herald
KEMPNER – Mystery and science fiction novels are a weekend hobby for some, but one local couple is turning their free time to attempting to solve strange mysteries in nature.
Richard and Naomi West just returned from a weeklong trip around Texas collecting pictures and video based on reports of strange blue-skinned, dog-like animals around the state that some have called the answer to the "chupacabre."
The Wests, along with the founder of a British nonprofit supporting cryptozoology, hope their reports from the expedition will help them gain support for a more in-depth mission to study and hopefully capture what they believe is not a being of folklore, but a new species of canine similar to a coyote.
"It is a very weird and very interesting member of the dog family; it has nothing to do with this weird folklore," said Jonathan Downes, a former zoological journalist and self-taught amateur "cryptozoologist" from West Devon, England.
Almost 20 years ago, Downes founded the Centre for Fortean Zoology, a nonprofit devoted to cryptology with more than 400 amateur and professional members interested in cryptozoology, the study of unknown species.
Naomi West, an English teacher at Copperas Cove High School, said she was always interested in reading about mysteries and strange phenomenon, but two years ago she joined the student book club and ran across an interesting book during "books with bite" week. While her students were reading about monsters and vampires, Naomi found a somewhat fictionalized account of Downes' cryptozoological expeditions to find new species, "Three Men Hunting Monsters."
She was hooked and contacted Downes about her interest. Eventually, Naomi and her husband began helping Downes by tracking down through the grapevine and media reports of the blue-skinned chupacabre creature.
The media have reported from Elmendorf to Blanco to Cuero about sightings of a mysterious blue-skinned creature as a possible chupacabre.
The chupacabre is a Spanish folklore creature that sucks the blood of livestock, and has been reported in various kinds of animals from small and reptilian to the blue-skinned canine all over the world from Russia to Puerto Rico to Texas.
John Young, the non-game mammologist with the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife, is the state agency's expert on the Texas chupacabre reports of strange blue-skinned animals. His responsibilities cover the state's cats, bats, rats and other smaller mammals.
Texas Parks and Wildlife's take on these reports has been simpler than a new animal or a mythological beast.
"None of them have been confirmed as anything other than a coyote or a fox," Young said.
Coyotes with mange?
Even though people may know what coyotes look like normally, Young said a severe case of mange can cause a coyote or fox to lose all of its hair, sometimes leaving just a strip along the back.
Without fur to protect its skin, the coyote is exposed to sun and elements that can give them a blue or blue-black appearance over time. The sickness can cause the animal to act strangely, and once it has died from the mange the animal's skin pulls back giving it the appearance of larger teeth than normal.
Of course, there are also some people who have attempted to create their own chupacabre creatures, Young said, but most people aren't doing that.
"The majority of people … they're honestly seeing an animal that baffles them," he said. "But we have yet to have found one that didn't tie back to a coyote or one of our other native canines."
Downes said that coyotes with mange are the solution to several of the reports, but there is also another unknown creature that deserves to be studied to identify a potential new species.
Downes and the CFZ believe there are physical differences, particularly visible in one blue-and-black skinned creature that was shot and stuffed in Cuero that show the creature nothing like a coyote.
The main point of Downes' trip to Texas with his wife, Corinna, and their expedition with the Wests has been to prove that there is a potential new species that deserves to be studied.
"What they are, why they are like that and where they fit into the ecosystem," he said. "I spend a lot of time trying to convince people this is a canine that is deserving of being studied."
Attempting to stir up interest
For now, the Wests and the Downes are just trying to stir up interest. And in their recent trip, Richard West said they found a lot of interest in cryptology and other weird phenomena that they want to encourage.
Naomi West wants to start a Web site aimed at children to help use their interest in new species and mystery creatures to get them interested in sciences and mysteries.
"It's something I'm interested in and it's something the kids are always interested in," she said. "There's a gap in the sciences and I have a sincere interest in helping the science aspect of it."
http://www.kdhnews.com/news/story.aspx?s=40137
(Submitted by Mark North)
Friday, January 22, 2010
Fortean zoologists on snow footprint trail
Thursday, January 14, 2010
THE 150-YEAR-OLD mystery of what caused a long trail of hoof-like marks could be solved — thanks to the latest batch of snow.
In February 1855, after a fall of snow, footprints were discovered in Devon, stretching 100 miles from Exmouth to Teignmouth.
For the greater part of their course they followed straight lines. Houses, rivers, haystacks and other obstacles were travelled straight over, and footprints appeared on the tops of snow-covered roofs and high walls.
The prints were dubbed The Devil's Footprints. Then in March last year, similar footprints appeared in a Woolsery garden after a fall of snow.
The prints, which were five inches long and had a stride of between 11 and 17 inches, caused an academic punch-up in the zoology world as scientists wondered what animal could be responsible.
Jon Downes, from the Centre for Fortean Zoology, an organisation which studies strange animals, studied the prints.
He was sure the Woolsery footprints were not caused by supernatural means but believed they were from a rabbit or a hare.
Other academics argued they could have been formed by mink, sheep or muntjac deer.
However, Jon believes the 150-year-old puzzle will soon be solved as one of its scientists, Jan Edwards from County Durham began testing theories on Friday.
Jan has an animal sanctuary where all the animal's prints are being tested.
She has more than 30 different rabbits and as it is a sanctuary many have disabilities — so it would be possible to see if the Devon-based Devil was in fact a disabled rabbit.
Jon added: "This is the best chance we have had of solving this 150-year-old mystery and we're all looking forward to the results."
But, the work of the CFZ team is never over and although one mystery may soon be solved another riddle is still to be cracked.
Again the conundrum centres around a bizarre footprint found in the snow — this time found at Powler's Piece woods between Parkham Ash and East Putford.
The print is bigger than a human foot and was found by Jon's wife Corinna and her children Shoshannah and Gavin when on a walk.
He believes it looks like a one-legged dinosaur, but doubts one of them has been running around Torridge.
He said: "It is the fact that it is a single imprint in the snow that intrigues me, but it probably isn't even a footprint.
"My best guess is that it is what happens when a bird of prey momentarily lands to capture some poor hapless rodent, but that is only a guess."
http://www.thisisnorthdevon.co.uk/news/Fortean-zoologists-snow-footprint-trail/article-1702895-detail/article.html
THE 150-YEAR-OLD mystery of what caused a long trail of hoof-like marks could be solved — thanks to the latest batch of snow.
In February 1855, after a fall of snow, footprints were discovered in Devon, stretching 100 miles from Exmouth to Teignmouth.
For the greater part of their course they followed straight lines. Houses, rivers, haystacks and other obstacles were travelled straight over, and footprints appeared on the tops of snow-covered roofs and high walls.
The prints were dubbed The Devil's Footprints. Then in March last year, similar footprints appeared in a Woolsery garden after a fall of snow.
The prints, which were five inches long and had a stride of between 11 and 17 inches, caused an academic punch-up in the zoology world as scientists wondered what animal could be responsible.
Jon Downes, from the Centre for Fortean Zoology, an organisation which studies strange animals, studied the prints.
He was sure the Woolsery footprints were not caused by supernatural means but believed they were from a rabbit or a hare.
Other academics argued they could have been formed by mink, sheep or muntjac deer.
However, Jon believes the 150-year-old puzzle will soon be solved as one of its scientists, Jan Edwards from County Durham began testing theories on Friday.
Jan has an animal sanctuary where all the animal's prints are being tested.
She has more than 30 different rabbits and as it is a sanctuary many have disabilities — so it would be possible to see if the Devon-based Devil was in fact a disabled rabbit.
Jon added: "This is the best chance we have had of solving this 150-year-old mystery and we're all looking forward to the results."
But, the work of the CFZ team is never over and although one mystery may soon be solved another riddle is still to be cracked.
Again the conundrum centres around a bizarre footprint found in the snow — this time found at Powler's Piece woods between Parkham Ash and East Putford.
The print is bigger than a human foot and was found by Jon's wife Corinna and her children Shoshannah and Gavin when on a walk.
He believes it looks like a one-legged dinosaur, but doubts one of them has been running around Torridge.
He said: "It is the fact that it is a single imprint in the snow that intrigues me, but it probably isn't even a footprint.
"My best guess is that it is what happens when a bird of prey momentarily lands to capture some poor hapless rodent, but that is only a guess."
http://www.thisisnorthdevon.co.uk/news/Fortean-zoologists-snow-footprint-trail/article-1702895-detail/article.html
Saturday, November 21, 2009
New Zealand: Weird stuff on the radio
David FarrierFri, 06 Nov 2009 2:59p.m.
My friend Dan works on a radio show on 95bFM called Carnival in Rio. It's on Saturdays from 4 - 7 pm - click here to listen to a good one. It's a ramshackle but very listenable show, and Dan does the DVD reviews. They call him DVDan. Geddit? Sometimes I call him this in real life. He doesn't like it. Anyway, it's a great show, but by lord I wasn't going to let him dominate the airwaves.
So I've started up a show very early in the morning (8am!) on George FM with my mate Rhys Darby. Well, when I say mate, I mean we've intensely bonded over the topic of cryptozoology: The science of hidden animals (think Bigfoot). Which is exactly what this show is about. In his words, "The opportunity to work with David Farrier is... Something I have to put up with to do this show".
A lovely man called Alex Dron made us a logo.. a band called Carl and the Sargonauts made us an amazing themesong.. and boom, we were away. And good lord, after working primarily in tele-news for the last 3 years (with a bit of freelance writing thrown in), radio is living the dream. It's so fun and so immediate, you just can't beat it.And the feedback, oh the feedback. 10 seconds on air during our first show and we get a txt: "Stop encouraging bullshit". We were stoked. Darby's enjoying it to, finally getting to rant on air about all the fun things that have been buzzing around in his head for years. Last week we talked about his hunt for the Loch Ness Monster. I tried to top it with my hunt for the Mongolian Death Worm. Not sure who won.
Then we chatted to the New Zealand representative from the Centre for Fortean Zoology, about weird stuff knockin' about in our own kiwi backyard. Then we reviewed a film called Giant Octopus vs Megashark. Then we read out some cryptozoological poetry. It's more ramshackle than Dan's show, and we love it, secretly happy most people are asleep at 8am. It's like our little club. But you can come and join, if you like. The Cryptid Factor, streaming 8am every Saturday on georgefm.co.nz.
Podcasts coming soon..... But for now, follow us on Twitter and join our Facebook group.
http://www.3news.co.nz/Entertainment/DavidFarriersPage/DavesBlog/tabid/1072/articleID/128563/cat/997/Default.aspx
New Zealand: Weird stuff on the radio
David FarrierFri, 06 Nov 2009 2:59p.m.
My friend Dan works on a radio show on 95bFM called Carnival in Rio. It's on Saturdays from 4 - 7 pm - click here to listen to a good one. It's a ramshackle but very listenable show, and Dan does the DVD reviews. They call him DVDan. Geddit? Sometimes I call him this in real life. He doesn't like it. Anyway, it's a great show, but by lord I wasn't going to let him dominate the airwaves.
So I've started up a show very early in the morning (8am!) on George FM with my mate Rhys Darby. Well, when I say mate, I mean we've intensely bonded over the topic of cryptozoology: The science of hidden animals (think Bigfoot). Which is exactly what this show is about. In his words, "The opportunity to work with David Farrier is... Something I have to put up with to do this show".
A lovely man called Alex Dron made us a logo.. a band called Carl and the Sargonauts made us an amazing themesong.. and boom, we were away. And good lord, after working primarily in tele-news for the last 3 years (with a bit of freelance writing thrown in), radio is living the dream. It's so fun and so immediate, you just can't beat it.And the feedback, oh the feedback. 10 seconds on air during our first show and we get a txt: "Stop encouraging bullshit". We were stoked. Darby's enjoying it to, finally getting to rant on air about all the fun things that have been buzzing around in his head for years. Last week we talked about his hunt for the Loch Ness Monster. I tried to top it with my hunt for the Mongolian Death Worm. Not sure who won.
Then we chatted to the New Zealand representative from the Centre for Fortean Zoology, about weird stuff knockin' about in our own kiwi backyard. Then we reviewed a film called Giant Octopus vs Megashark. Then we read out some cryptozoological poetry. It's more ramshackle than Dan's show, and we love it, secretly happy most people are asleep at 8am. It's like our little club. But you can come and join, if you like. The Cryptid Factor, streaming 8am every Saturday on georgefm.co.nz.
Podcasts coming soon..... But for now, follow us on Twitter and join our Facebook group.
http://www.3news.co.nz/Entertainment/DavidFarriersPage/DavesBlog/tabid/1072/articleID/128563/cat/997/Default.aspx
Friday, October 2, 2009
Jungle ape man spotted by Brits
By LEON WATSONPublished: 30 Sep 2009
BRIT explorers claim they have spotted a legendary ape man believed to inhabit an island jungle — and snapped its footprints.
The four-strong team and their Indonesian guide were tracking through dense jungle in Sumatra when two of them caught a glimpse of the famous Orang Pendek — or short man.
The group brought back a hair sample and a piece of chewed palm from the island's Kerinci National Park they hope will provide DNA evidence of the beast.
They also snapped a strange footprint thought to belong to the creature.
Sightings of the hairy human-like monster have been made in the area since colonial times — and it is alleged to be immensely powerful.
The explorers hope the sample of rattan palm, which is thought to have been munched on by the Orang Pendek, will contain some of its cells. The palm and hair sample have been sent for testing.
Elusive
Witnesses have described the beast as being about 5ft tall and say that it walks on two legs.
It is thought to be extremely powerful — with reports of onlookers seeing it ripping apart logs.
After a spate of sightings around Lake Gunung Tuju, in the Kerinci national park, a team from the Devon based Centre for Fortean Zoology — which investigates unknown species of animals — embarked on a two-week mission to the region to see if they could obtain evidence of the creature.The elusive Orang Pendek shares its habitat with the Sumatran Tiger, pythons, and Saltwater crocodiles.
Richard Freeman, the expedition zoologist and zoological director at the Centre for Fortean Zoology, said he believes the creature is an unidentified species of ape.
"We are not talking about a unicorn or a griffin, we are talking about an ape that's unknown to science," he said.
"It's name means 'short man' in Indonesian.
"It's supposed to be a powerfully built upright walking ape.
"It walks on two legs rather than four - like a man, about five foot tall with dark fur - immensely strong.
"It's been seen since colonial times.
"It's quite possible that in some museum there are skull and bones of the Orang Pendek that have been labelled orangutan."
The team, who have just returned from their two-week expedition, hailed it a success and are awaiting the results of the DNA tests.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/weird/2661919/Jungle-ape-man-spotted-by-Brits.html
Jungle ape man spotted by Brits
By LEON WATSONPublished: 30 Sep 2009
BRIT explorers claim they have spotted a legendary ape man believed to inhabit an island jungle — and snapped its footprints.
The four-strong team and their Indonesian guide were tracking through dense jungle in Sumatra when two of them caught a glimpse of the famous Orang Pendek — or short man.
The group brought back a hair sample and a piece of chewed palm from the island's Kerinci National Park they hope will provide DNA evidence of the beast.
They also snapped a strange footprint thought to belong to the creature.
Sightings of the hairy human-like monster have been made in the area since colonial times — and it is alleged to be immensely powerful.
The explorers hope the sample of rattan palm, which is thought to have been munched on by the Orang Pendek, will contain some of its cells. The palm and hair sample have been sent for testing.
Elusive
Witnesses have described the beast as being about 5ft tall and say that it walks on two legs.
It is thought to be extremely powerful — with reports of onlookers seeing it ripping apart logs.
After a spate of sightings around Lake Gunung Tuju, in the Kerinci national park, a team from the Devon based Centre for Fortean Zoology — which investigates unknown species of animals — embarked on a two-week mission to the region to see if they could obtain evidence of the creature.The elusive Orang Pendek shares its habitat with the Sumatran Tiger, pythons, and Saltwater crocodiles.
Richard Freeman, the expedition zoologist and zoological director at the Centre for Fortean Zoology, said he believes the creature is an unidentified species of ape.
"We are not talking about a unicorn or a griffin, we are talking about an ape that's unknown to science," he said.
"It's name means 'short man' in Indonesian.
"It's supposed to be a powerfully built upright walking ape.
"It walks on two legs rather than four - like a man, about five foot tall with dark fur - immensely strong.
"It's been seen since colonial times.
"It's quite possible that in some museum there are skull and bones of the Orang Pendek that have been labelled orangutan."
The team, who have just returned from their two-week expedition, hailed it a success and are awaiting the results of the DNA tests.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/weird/2661919/Jungle-ape-man-spotted-by-Brits.html
Ape Man? Researchers Spot Legendary Orang Pendek in Sumatra
Written by Jace Shoemaker-Galloway
Published on October 1st, 2009
Posted in About Animals
Legend has it, an ape-like man has been roaming the forests of Sumatra for years. For two weeks, a team of British explorers from the Centre for Fortean Zoology (CFZ), along with an Indonesian guide, tracked the creature deep within the Kerinci National Park to find evidence of the ape-like man known as Orang Pendek, or short man.
Two of the explorers caught a brief glimpse of the hairy creature. The two described the creature as a broad-shouldered, large-headed creature with black skin and dark brown hair about the size of an adult chimpanzee.
The creature was seen chewing on a piece of vine, which was collected and preserved in ethanol. Hair samples were also collected for analysis. Although the witnesses were unable to get a photograph of the creature as it squatted in a tree, photographs were taken of the creature’s footprints, which were about six to seven inches long. The guide, completely overwhelmed by the rare sighting, reportedly burst into tears and had to be comforted by team members.
CFZ’s Zoological Director Richard Freeman said, “We are not talking about a unicorn or griffin, we are talking about an ape that’s unknown to science.” CFZ investigates unknown species of animals.
Orang Pendek Project
Debbie Martyr, from the Orang Pendek Project, is also hot on the trail of the elusive creature. Martyr originally went to Sumatra to help save the island’s dwindling rainforest. She did not believe the creature existed until she saw the creature with her own eyes. On a mission, the former reporter hopes to provide the first real photographic proof the primate actually exists.
The Legend of Orang Pendek
There have been many accounts of the elusive hairy creature over the years. Often described as a powerful, ape-like creature about three to five feet tall, its body is covered in hair. The creature walks in an upright position on its two legs.
Hobbits
In 2003, remains of a Homo floresiensis, nicknamed Hobbit, were discovered on the Indonesian island of Flores. Some wonder if this early bipedal man with a grapefruit-sized skull may be related to the Orang Pendek? The Hobbits lived on the island as recently as 12,000 to 18,000 years ago, had very small brains and small bodies.
Fact or fiction, legend or myth - is the Orang Pendek an ape, small man or just ancient folklore?
http://ecoworldly.com/2009/10/01/ape-man-researchers-spot-legendary-orang-pendek-in-sumatra/
Ape Man? Researchers Spot Legendary Orang Pendek in Sumatra
Written by Jace Shoemaker-Galloway
Published on October 1st, 2009
Posted in About Animals
Legend has it, an ape-like man has been roaming the forests of Sumatra for years. For two weeks, a team of British explorers from the Centre for Fortean Zoology (CFZ), along with an Indonesian guide, tracked the creature deep within the Kerinci National Park to find evidence of the ape-like man known as Orang Pendek, or short man.
Two of the explorers caught a brief glimpse of the hairy creature. The two described the creature as a broad-shouldered, large-headed creature with black skin and dark brown hair about the size of an adult chimpanzee.
The creature was seen chewing on a piece of vine, which was collected and preserved in ethanol. Hair samples were also collected for analysis. Although the witnesses were unable to get a photograph of the creature as it squatted in a tree, photographs were taken of the creature’s footprints, which were about six to seven inches long. The guide, completely overwhelmed by the rare sighting, reportedly burst into tears and had to be comforted by team members.
CFZ’s Zoological Director Richard Freeman said, “We are not talking about a unicorn or griffin, we are talking about an ape that’s unknown to science.” CFZ investigates unknown species of animals.
Orang Pendek Project
Debbie Martyr, from the Orang Pendek Project, is also hot on the trail of the elusive creature. Martyr originally went to Sumatra to help save the island’s dwindling rainforest. She did not believe the creature existed until she saw the creature with her own eyes. On a mission, the former reporter hopes to provide the first real photographic proof the primate actually exists.
The Legend of Orang Pendek
There have been many accounts of the elusive hairy creature over the years. Often described as a powerful, ape-like creature about three to five feet tall, its body is covered in hair. The creature walks in an upright position on its two legs.
Hobbits
In 2003, remains of a Homo floresiensis, nicknamed Hobbit, were discovered on the Indonesian island of Flores. Some wonder if this early bipedal man with a grapefruit-sized skull may be related to the Orang Pendek? The Hobbits lived on the island as recently as 12,000 to 18,000 years ago, had very small brains and small bodies.
Fact or fiction, legend or myth - is the Orang Pendek an ape, small man or just ancient folklore?
http://ecoworldly.com/2009/10/01/ape-man-researchers-spot-legendary-orang-pendek-in-sumatra/
Mysterious monster lurking beneath British Isle lake captured on video
September 28th, 2009
London, September 28 (ANI): Scientists have got hold of incredible new footage that could shows a mysterious monster lurking beneath one of the deepest lakes in the British Isles, which is unlike any creature ever seen.
According to a report in The Sun, Jonathan Downes spotted the “creature” thrashing around in one of the Lakes of Killarney in County Kerry, Ireland, while on holiday.
His eerie sighting was in the Upper Lake one of three interlinked lakes that make up the area.
The mystery comes just a few years after bizarre unexplained sonar recordings showing a large body were made in the adjoining Muckross Lake.
Along with his wife and friends who also had cameras, Downes, from Crediton, Devon, managed to capture shapes moving across part of the lake.
Downes, who is director at the Centre for Fortean Zoology, said that he had heard of the sonar reading before visiting the lake, but was “ridiculously” lucky to see anything.
“What we saw was a thing about nine to 10ft long. I’d love to say I saw long necks and humps and things but I didn’t,” he said.
Downes, who studies cryptozoology – which investigates unknown species of animals, described seeing what he see described as appearing to be “a long thin eel-like creature appearing about 10ft long”.
“I believe it must be a large eel. It was a pale colour. What I saw didn’t actually really come out on the picture as well,” he said. (ANI)
http://www.sindhtoday.net/news/1/54900.htm
http://blog.taragana.com/n/mysterious-monster-lurking-beneath-british-isle-lake-captured-on-video-180196/
London, September 28 (ANI): Scientists have got hold of incredible new footage that could shows a mysterious monster lurking beneath one of the deepest lakes in the British Isles, which is unlike any creature ever seen.
According to a report in The Sun, Jonathan Downes spotted the “creature” thrashing around in one of the Lakes of Killarney in County Kerry, Ireland, while on holiday.
His eerie sighting was in the Upper Lake one of three interlinked lakes that make up the area.
The mystery comes just a few years after bizarre unexplained sonar recordings showing a large body were made in the adjoining Muckross Lake.
Along with his wife and friends who also had cameras, Downes, from Crediton, Devon, managed to capture shapes moving across part of the lake.
Downes, who is director at the Centre for Fortean Zoology, said that he had heard of the sonar reading before visiting the lake, but was “ridiculously” lucky to see anything.
“What we saw was a thing about nine to 10ft long. I’d love to say I saw long necks and humps and things but I didn’t,” he said.
Downes, who studies cryptozoology – which investigates unknown species of animals, described seeing what he see described as appearing to be “a long thin eel-like creature appearing about 10ft long”.
“I believe it must be a large eel. It was a pale colour. What I saw didn’t actually really come out on the picture as well,” he said. (ANI)
http://www.sindhtoday.net/news/1/54900.htm
http://blog.taragana.com/n/mysterious-monster-lurking-beneath-british-isle-lake-captured-on-video-180196/
Mysterious monster lurking beneath British Isle lake captured on video
September 28th, 2009
London, September 28 (ANI): Scientists have got hold of incredible new footage that could shows a mysterious monster lurking beneath one of the deepest lakes in the British Isles, which is unlike any creature ever seen.
According to a report in The Sun, Jonathan Downes spotted the “creature” thrashing around in one of the Lakes of Killarney in County Kerry, Ireland, while on holiday.
His eerie sighting was in the Upper Lake one of three interlinked lakes that make up the area.
The mystery comes just a few years after bizarre unexplained sonar recordings showing a large body were made in the adjoining Muckross Lake.
Along with his wife and friends who also had cameras, Downes, from Crediton, Devon, managed to capture shapes moving across part of the lake.
Downes, who is director at the Centre for Fortean Zoology, said that he had heard of the sonar reading before visiting the lake, but was “ridiculously” lucky to see anything.
“What we saw was a thing about nine to 10ft long. I’d love to say I saw long necks and humps and things but I didn’t,” he said.
Downes, who studies cryptozoology – which investigates unknown species of animals, described seeing what he see described as appearing to be “a long thin eel-like creature appearing about 10ft long”.
“I believe it must be a large eel. It was a pale colour. What I saw didn’t actually really come out on the picture as well,” he said. (ANI)
http://www.sindhtoday.net/news/1/54900.htm
http://blog.taragana.com/n/mysterious-monster-lurking-beneath-british-isle-lake-captured-on-video-180196/
London, September 28 (ANI): Scientists have got hold of incredible new footage that could shows a mysterious monster lurking beneath one of the deepest lakes in the British Isles, which is unlike any creature ever seen.
According to a report in The Sun, Jonathan Downes spotted the “creature” thrashing around in one of the Lakes of Killarney in County Kerry, Ireland, while on holiday.
His eerie sighting was in the Upper Lake one of three interlinked lakes that make up the area.
The mystery comes just a few years after bizarre unexplained sonar recordings showing a large body were made in the adjoining Muckross Lake.
Along with his wife and friends who also had cameras, Downes, from Crediton, Devon, managed to capture shapes moving across part of the lake.
Downes, who is director at the Centre for Fortean Zoology, said that he had heard of the sonar reading before visiting the lake, but was “ridiculously” lucky to see anything.
“What we saw was a thing about nine to 10ft long. I’d love to say I saw long necks and humps and things but I didn’t,” he said.
Downes, who studies cryptozoology – which investigates unknown species of animals, described seeing what he see described as appearing to be “a long thin eel-like creature appearing about 10ft long”.
“I believe it must be a large eel. It was a pale colour. What I saw didn’t actually really come out on the picture as well,” he said. (ANI)
http://www.sindhtoday.net/news/1/54900.htm
http://blog.taragana.com/n/mysterious-monster-lurking-beneath-british-isle-lake-captured-on-video-180196/
Sunday, September 27, 2009
'Monster of the deep' is filmed
By LEON WATSONPublished: 26 Sep 2009
SCIENTISTS believe this incredible footage could show a mysterious monster lurking beneath one of the deepest lakes in the British Isles.
Jonathan Downes, 50, spotted the "creature" thrashing around in one of the Lakes of Killarney in County Kerry, Ireland, while on holiday last week.
His eerie sighting was in the Upper Lake one of three interlinked lakes that make up the area.
The mystery comes just a few years after bizarre unexplained sonar recordings showing a large body were made in the adjoining Muckross Lake.
Along with his wife and friends who also had cameras, Mr Downes, from Crediton, Devon, managed to capture shapes moving across part of the lake.
Mr Downes, who is director at the Centre for Fortean Zoology, said that he had heard of the sonar reading before visiting the lake, but was "ridiculously" lucky to see anything.
He said: "I was actually there with my wife and a friend on holiday.
"All I knew is what I've read and having spent an hour on Thursday night looking down on it.
"What we saw was a thing about nine to 10ft long.
"I'd love to say I saw long necks and humps and things but I didn't."
Mr Downes, who studies cryptozoology - which investigates unknown species of animals, described seeing what he see described as appearing to be "a long thin eel-like creature appearing about 10ft long".
"I believe it must be a large eel," he said. "It was a pale colour.
"What I saw didn't actually really come out on the picture as well."
Pat Foley, deputy regional manager of National Park and Wildlife Service, which oversees Killarney National Park, said that there has been some unusual readings taken about six years ago, which indicated an unknown figure in Muckross Lake.
"I think it was about 2003 there was a survey taken," he said.
"They were getting some sort of strange picture coming back.
"The image was a large and dark blob which I presume, for economic reasons, was described as a monster."
The Lakes of Killarney have much in common with Loch Ness - home of the world's most famous monster - just across the Irish Sea in Scotland.
Both are large very deep lakes with similar fish species including Arctic char.
Loch Ness is the deepest lake in Britain, whilst Muckross Lake measures up to 70m deep, is along with Lough Leane, Ireland's deepest lake.
At the time of the sonar findings in Muckross Lake in Paddy O'Sullivan, Killarney National Park manager for the National Parks and Wildlife Service said: "I am very excited by these findings and am delighted that the ancient fish community of these lakes are being examined by the Irish Char Conservation Group and scientists from around the world.
"These interesting findings can only be good for Killarney from a public awareness and a tourism point of view.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/weird/2656419/Monster-of-the-deep-is-filmed.html
"Whatever the thing turns out to be it will be afforded our fullest protection under EU law as the Muckross forms part of a Special Area of Conservation."
'Monster of the deep' is filmed
By LEON WATSONPublished: 26 Sep 2009
SCIENTISTS believe this incredible footage could show a mysterious monster lurking beneath one of the deepest lakes in the British Isles.
Jonathan Downes, 50, spotted the "creature" thrashing around in one of the Lakes of Killarney in County Kerry, Ireland, while on holiday last week.
His eerie sighting was in the Upper Lake one of three interlinked lakes that make up the area.
The mystery comes just a few years after bizarre unexplained sonar recordings showing a large body were made in the adjoining Muckross Lake.
Along with his wife and friends who also had cameras, Mr Downes, from Crediton, Devon, managed to capture shapes moving across part of the lake.
Mr Downes, who is director at the Centre for Fortean Zoology, said that he had heard of the sonar reading before visiting the lake, but was "ridiculously" lucky to see anything.
He said: "I was actually there with my wife and a friend on holiday.
"All I knew is what I've read and having spent an hour on Thursday night looking down on it.
"What we saw was a thing about nine to 10ft long.
"I'd love to say I saw long necks and humps and things but I didn't."
Mr Downes, who studies cryptozoology - which investigates unknown species of animals, described seeing what he see described as appearing to be "a long thin eel-like creature appearing about 10ft long".
"I believe it must be a large eel," he said. "It was a pale colour.
"What I saw didn't actually really come out on the picture as well."
Pat Foley, deputy regional manager of National Park and Wildlife Service, which oversees Killarney National Park, said that there has been some unusual readings taken about six years ago, which indicated an unknown figure in Muckross Lake.
"I think it was about 2003 there was a survey taken," he said.
"They were getting some sort of strange picture coming back.
"The image was a large and dark blob which I presume, for economic reasons, was described as a monster."
The Lakes of Killarney have much in common with Loch Ness - home of the world's most famous monster - just across the Irish Sea in Scotland.
Both are large very deep lakes with similar fish species including Arctic char.
Loch Ness is the deepest lake in Britain, whilst Muckross Lake measures up to 70m deep, is along with Lough Leane, Ireland's deepest lake.
At the time of the sonar findings in Muckross Lake in Paddy O'Sullivan, Killarney National Park manager for the National Parks and Wildlife Service said: "I am very excited by these findings and am delighted that the ancient fish community of these lakes are being examined by the Irish Char Conservation Group and scientists from around the world.
"These interesting findings can only be good for Killarney from a public awareness and a tourism point of view.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/weird/2656419/Monster-of-the-deep-is-filmed.html
"Whatever the thing turns out to be it will be afforded our fullest protection under EU law as the Muckross forms part of a Special Area of Conservation."
Mysterious shape that looks a loch like Nessie
By Jason O'Brien
Saturday September 26 2009
IS THAT a monster's tail, or might it be more accurately described as a tall tale?
An English zoologist is in little doubt. Jonathan Downes (50) believes that he has pictorial evidence of something very much out of the ordinary lurking in one of Ireland's most picturesque lakes last week.
Mr Downes, a cryptozoologist who investigates unknown species, was holidaying in Killarney when he captured the ambiguous shapes as he looked down on one of the area's famous lakes from a nearby hill.
The scientist maintained yesterday that he had previously heard of bizarre sonar recordings made in the adjoining Muckross Lake about five years ago, adding that he was "ridiculously" lucky to see anything.
"I was actually there with my wife and a friend on holiday," Mr Downes said.
"What we saw was a thing about 9ft to 10ft long.
"I'd love to say I saw long necks and humps and things but I didn't."
Mr Downes, who is director at the Centre for Fortean Zoology in Devon, went on to describe the object as "a long, thin eel-like creature" that was pale in colour.
"I believe it must be a large eel," he said. "What I saw didn't actually really come out on the picture as well."
The shape was spotted in the Upper Lake 10 days ago by Mr Downes and his wife, Corinna, who were almost a quarter of a mile away at a popular beauty spot.
"It was really sort of a calm day -- not much breeze or anything," she said.
"All of a sudden there were these swirls on the water.
"It looked like something was breaking the water on top, you could see a torpedo-like trail."
But not everybody is buying into the Killarney Lake Monster theory.
Pat Foley, deputy regional manager of the National Park and Wildlife Service (NPWS) which oversees the national park, told the Irish Independent that there had been a similar story in 2003.
"That brought about great excitement in the area, and certainly didn't do the local economy any harm," Mr Foley said.
"A survey came back with some strange pictures of a large blob near the lake floor, and pretty soon we had a 'monster' on our hands.
"But it turned out to be a little bit more mundane than that. It was a shoal of Arctic char."
- Jason O'Brien
Mysterious shape that looks a loch like Nessie
By Jason O'Brien
Saturday September 26 2009
IS THAT a monster's tail, or might it be more accurately described as a tall tale?
An English zoologist is in little doubt. Jonathan Downes (50) believes that he has pictorial evidence of something very much out of the ordinary lurking in one of Ireland's most picturesque lakes last week.
Mr Downes, a cryptozoologist who investigates unknown species, was holidaying in Killarney when he captured the ambiguous shapes as he looked down on one of the area's famous lakes from a nearby hill.
The scientist maintained yesterday that he had previously heard of bizarre sonar recordings made in the adjoining Muckross Lake about five years ago, adding that he was "ridiculously" lucky to see anything.
"I was actually there with my wife and a friend on holiday," Mr Downes said.
"What we saw was a thing about 9ft to 10ft long.
"I'd love to say I saw long necks and humps and things but I didn't."
Mr Downes, who is director at the Centre for Fortean Zoology in Devon, went on to describe the object as "a long, thin eel-like creature" that was pale in colour.
"I believe it must be a large eel," he said. "What I saw didn't actually really come out on the picture as well."
The shape was spotted in the Upper Lake 10 days ago by Mr Downes and his wife, Corinna, who were almost a quarter of a mile away at a popular beauty spot.
"It was really sort of a calm day -- not much breeze or anything," she said.
"All of a sudden there were these swirls on the water.
"It looked like something was breaking the water on top, you could see a torpedo-like trail."
But not everybody is buying into the Killarney Lake Monster theory.
Pat Foley, deputy regional manager of the National Park and Wildlife Service (NPWS) which oversees the national park, told the Irish Independent that there had been a similar story in 2003.
"That brought about great excitement in the area, and certainly didn't do the local economy any harm," Mr Foley said.
"A survey came back with some strange pictures of a large blob near the lake floor, and pretty soon we had a 'monster' on our hands.
"But it turned out to be a little bit more mundane than that. It was a shoal of Arctic char."
- Jason O'Brien
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Explorers hope Sumatran ape will yield clues on human development
dave.tanner@archant.co.uk
15 September 2009
AN unknown species of Indonesian ape could shed light on how our human ancestors began to walk erect.
The orang-pendek of Sumatra is said to be a powerfully built ape that walks on two legs like a man. Both native people and western explorers, including two noted scientists, have reported the creature from the deep jungle.
This week four English scientists and explorers will brave the rainforest in search of the orang-pendek.
The team from the Woolsery-based Centre for Fortean Zoology, will spend two weeks in Sumatra working with the Kubu people, the island's original inhabitants, who will help them track the mysterious ape.
The expedition comes shortly after the announcement of the discovery of a fossil hominid in Georgia. The Dmansis hominids lived 1.8 million years ago and had legs like modern humans, but primitive arms. Their early occurrence has made scientists rethink how hominids moved out of Africa to colonise the rest of the world.
Richard Freeman, the team's zoologist, said: "It was once thought that our ancestors became bipedal when they descended from the trees and moved onto the grass lands of East Africa in order to exploit new food sources. However, now it seems that many apes and hominids were moving 'bipedally' while they were still rainforest dwellers.
"As well as being a major zoological discovery, the orang-pendek could give us some clues on how bipedalism developed."
The group's trip will be recorded on the Centre for Fortean Zoology's website at http://www.cfz.org.uk/
http://www.northdevongazette.co.uk/northdevongazette/news/story.aspx?brand=NDGOnline&category=news&tBrand=devon24&tCategory=newsndga&itemid=DEED15%20Sep%202009%2005%3A45%3A09%3A257
15 September 2009
AN unknown species of Indonesian ape could shed light on how our human ancestors began to walk erect.
The orang-pendek of Sumatra is said to be a powerfully built ape that walks on two legs like a man. Both native people and western explorers, including two noted scientists, have reported the creature from the deep jungle.
This week four English scientists and explorers will brave the rainforest in search of the orang-pendek.
The team from the Woolsery-based Centre for Fortean Zoology, will spend two weeks in Sumatra working with the Kubu people, the island's original inhabitants, who will help them track the mysterious ape.
The expedition comes shortly after the announcement of the discovery of a fossil hominid in Georgia. The Dmansis hominids lived 1.8 million years ago and had legs like modern humans, but primitive arms. Their early occurrence has made scientists rethink how hominids moved out of Africa to colonise the rest of the world.
Richard Freeman, the team's zoologist, said: "It was once thought that our ancestors became bipedal when they descended from the trees and moved onto the grass lands of East Africa in order to exploit new food sources. However, now it seems that many apes and hominids were moving 'bipedally' while they were still rainforest dwellers.
"As well as being a major zoological discovery, the orang-pendek could give us some clues on how bipedalism developed."
The group's trip will be recorded on the Centre for Fortean Zoology's website at http://www.cfz.org.uk/
http://www.northdevongazette.co.uk/northdevongazette/news/story.aspx?brand=NDGOnline&category=news&tBrand=devon24&tCategory=newsndga&itemid=DEED15%20Sep%202009%2005%3A45%3A09%3A257
Explorers hope Sumatran ape will yield clues on human development
dave.tanner@archant.co.uk
15 September 2009
AN unknown species of Indonesian ape could shed light on how our human ancestors began to walk erect.
The orang-pendek of Sumatra is said to be a powerfully built ape that walks on two legs like a man. Both native people and western explorers, including two noted scientists, have reported the creature from the deep jungle.
This week four English scientists and explorers will brave the rainforest in search of the orang-pendek.
The team from the Woolsery-based Centre for Fortean Zoology, will spend two weeks in Sumatra working with the Kubu people, the island's original inhabitants, who will help them track the mysterious ape.
The expedition comes shortly after the announcement of the discovery of a fossil hominid in Georgia. The Dmansis hominids lived 1.8 million years ago and had legs like modern humans, but primitive arms. Their early occurrence has made scientists rethink how hominids moved out of Africa to colonise the rest of the world.
Richard Freeman, the team's zoologist, said: "It was once thought that our ancestors became bipedal when they descended from the trees and moved onto the grass lands of East Africa in order to exploit new food sources. However, now it seems that many apes and hominids were moving 'bipedally' while they were still rainforest dwellers.
"As well as being a major zoological discovery, the orang-pendek could give us some clues on how bipedalism developed."
The group's trip will be recorded on the Centre for Fortean Zoology's website at http://www.cfz.org.uk/
http://www.northdevongazette.co.uk/northdevongazette/news/story.aspx?brand=NDGOnline&category=news&tBrand=devon24&tCategory=newsndga&itemid=DEED15%20Sep%202009%2005%3A45%3A09%3A257
15 September 2009
AN unknown species of Indonesian ape could shed light on how our human ancestors began to walk erect.
The orang-pendek of Sumatra is said to be a powerfully built ape that walks on two legs like a man. Both native people and western explorers, including two noted scientists, have reported the creature from the deep jungle.
This week four English scientists and explorers will brave the rainforest in search of the orang-pendek.
The team from the Woolsery-based Centre for Fortean Zoology, will spend two weeks in Sumatra working with the Kubu people, the island's original inhabitants, who will help them track the mysterious ape.
The expedition comes shortly after the announcement of the discovery of a fossil hominid in Georgia. The Dmansis hominids lived 1.8 million years ago and had legs like modern humans, but primitive arms. Their early occurrence has made scientists rethink how hominids moved out of Africa to colonise the rest of the world.
Richard Freeman, the team's zoologist, said: "It was once thought that our ancestors became bipedal when they descended from the trees and moved onto the grass lands of East Africa in order to exploit new food sources. However, now it seems that many apes and hominids were moving 'bipedally' while they were still rainforest dwellers.
"As well as being a major zoological discovery, the orang-pendek could give us some clues on how bipedalism developed."
The group's trip will be recorded on the Centre for Fortean Zoology's website at http://www.cfz.org.uk/
http://www.northdevongazette.co.uk/northdevongazette/news/story.aspx?brand=NDGOnline&category=news&tBrand=devon24&tCategory=newsndga&itemid=DEED15%20Sep%202009%2005%3A45%3A09%3A257
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Another Weird Weekend at Woolsery
dave.tanner@archant.co.uk
23 May 2009
WOOLSERY will become the weirdest place on earth again this August when the Centre For Fortean Zoology holds its 10th annual Weird Weekend in the Sports and Community Hall.
The annual fund-raiser for the centre, which is based in Woolsery, will attract people from all over the world.
The organisation is the biggest mystery animal research group on the planet.
There will be fun for all the family over the three days of lectures, film, music and theatre.
Some of the world's leading experts on a whole range of mysteries will be there.
They will include Tim the Yowie Man, an Australian naturalist, who has spent his life researching the yowie - Australia's answer to the yeti.
Another lecturer will be Nick Redfern, an author now living in Dallas, who has uncovered one of the strangest stories of post-war Russia - that Stalin hoped to breed a race of super soldiers who were part-human and part-gorilla.
Andy Roberts, a much respected UK investigator will tell the strange story of the Big Grey Man of Ben McDhui - a mountain in the Cairngorms.
Making his conference debut will be 18-year-old Max Blake, who will give a fascinating account of how creatures unknown to science can turn up in the pet trade. He will be bringing along some examples.
Organiser Jonathan Downes said: Unlike other conferences on these subjects, the Weird Weekend is aimed at the whole family and at the general public as well as the specialist researcher.
"The Weird Weekend has become a real community event over the past few years. Last year, the oldest person through the door was 87 and the youngest only two."
The event takes place over the weekend of August 14-16 inclusive and advance weekend tickets are on sale at £20. Call Jon or Corinna on (01237) 431413.
http://www.northdevongazette.co.uk/northdevongazette/news/story.aspx?brand=NDGOnline&category=news&tBrand=devon24&tCategory=newsndga&itemid=DEED22%20May%202009%2014%3A28%3A32%3A540
23 May 2009
WOOLSERY will become the weirdest place on earth again this August when the Centre For Fortean Zoology holds its 10th annual Weird Weekend in the Sports and Community Hall.
The annual fund-raiser for the centre, which is based in Woolsery, will attract people from all over the world.
The organisation is the biggest mystery animal research group on the planet.
There will be fun for all the family over the three days of lectures, film, music and theatre.
Some of the world's leading experts on a whole range of mysteries will be there.
They will include Tim the Yowie Man, an Australian naturalist, who has spent his life researching the yowie - Australia's answer to the yeti.
Another lecturer will be Nick Redfern, an author now living in Dallas, who has uncovered one of the strangest stories of post-war Russia - that Stalin hoped to breed a race of super soldiers who were part-human and part-gorilla.
Andy Roberts, a much respected UK investigator will tell the strange story of the Big Grey Man of Ben McDhui - a mountain in the Cairngorms.
Making his conference debut will be 18-year-old Max Blake, who will give a fascinating account of how creatures unknown to science can turn up in the pet trade. He will be bringing along some examples.
Organiser Jonathan Downes said: Unlike other conferences on these subjects, the Weird Weekend is aimed at the whole family and at the general public as well as the specialist researcher.
"The Weird Weekend has become a real community event over the past few years. Last year, the oldest person through the door was 87 and the youngest only two."
The event takes place over the weekend of August 14-16 inclusive and advance weekend tickets are on sale at £20. Call Jon or Corinna on (01237) 431413.
http://www.northdevongazette.co.uk/northdevongazette/news/story.aspx?brand=NDGOnline&category=news&tBrand=devon24&tCategory=newsndga&itemid=DEED22%20May%202009%2014%3A28%3A32%3A540
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