Centre for Fortean Zoology Australia

Zoos the urban arks of the future

2012-01-25T07:07:00.001+11:00

Melbourne's zoos will become urban arks, breeding sanctuaries for 20 of the most at-risk species in the state, as scientists struggle to save them from extinction, according to The Age.

Flagging a strategic shift to become a ''zoo-based conservation organisation'', Zoos Victoria - which includes Melbourne Zoo, Healesville Sanctuary and Werribee Open Range Zoo - has released a ''priority'' list of species it believes are in urgent need of help.

The list includes 11 species that are already the subject of the zoos' conservation efforts, including the Tasmanian devil, mountain pygmy possum and orange-bellied parrot. Nine additional vulnerable species, including the Baw Baw frog, Leadbeater's possum, the alpine she-oak skink and the Guthega skink, are set to be brought into captive breeding programs in the coming months.

Yowie footprints in the bush?

2012-01-25T06:55:00.000+11:00

Is this a Yowie footprint?

This bushwalker is puzzled when he finds a solitary human-looking footprint in otherwise remote, untouched bushland. What do you think?

A bunyip with bite

2012-01-24T06:38:00.000+11:00

Is it something in the air?

We're not sure, but The Bunyip Movie is the fourth Aussie cryptid film on the books in the past two years, albeit another horror much along the same lines as Gone Missing (except the big cat has been replaced with a feisty bunyip).

And they have all passed through the Blue Mountains shooting their Yowie/Bunyip-related docu- and mockumentaries.

So what's the premise?

Following in the steps of The Blair Witch Project, the original suspense horror Alien and the inspired crowd-sourcing heart of films like The Tunnel, The Bunyip Movie* (working title) is a micro-budget suspense horror being shot in New South Wales, Australia.

According to the script...

Entrepreneur Tanc Lorenzo has just sold his tech security startup, ThinkTanc, for millions. As he and his small team of staff set out on their usual monthly team-building weekend, the new Board of Directors makes their presence known. No longer will Tanc's team-building trips consist of death-defying sky-dives, supersonic flights or bungee jumps - this time, he's taking the team on an easy 2-day hike in The Blue Mountains.

But when Tanc disappears on the first night, the team discover that their tame weekend away is turning out unexpectedly. Pursued by an unseen and malevolent creature in the harsh Australian wilderness, the group will have to overcome all odds just to survive.

Who knows, they may well come across some real cryptids during their shoot!

Of course the Blue Mountains are better known for bush-bashing Yowies rather than water-dwelling Bunyips - a small technical detail!

Can we expect an eyeful of Aussie cryptid entertainment in 2013? Watch this space...

Thylacine hunting 'a waste of money'

2012-01-23T18:30:00.000+11:00

People should stop wasting time and money looking for the Tasmanian tiger, according to new Australian research.

Dr Diana Fisher and Dr Simon Blomberg from the University of Queensland's school of biological sciences report their findings in a recent issue of Conservation Biology.

Since the last wild thylacine was captured in 1933, there have been ongoing searches and numerous unconfirmed sightings of the carnivorous marsupial.

But, says Fisher, such efforts are misguided.

"There's been more search efforts for the thylacine than any other mammal globally," she says.

"I think that's just a waste of money."

What do you think?

Thylacine skull no cryptid, just a dog

2012-01-16T20:38:00.002+11:00

A discovery of an animal skull in regional Tasmania caused much excitement today in Australia, but it turns out the animal remains are nothing more than a dog - not a Thylacine as first claimed.

Updating their website several hours ago, the skull's discoverers - brothers Levi and Jarom Triffitt - said the results were in.

"The museum have told us its a dog skull but still can't identify what sort, our story is as we have filmed it bar the lobster which was filmed 2 months ago, however we were looking for lobsters and to find this skull was an amazing experience we'll never forget, we will still live in hope they are out there somewhere..."

The trail bike riders discovered the skull while filming during a ride through bushland.

They say they were riding in bushland in central northern Tasmania last week while filming stunts for a promotional video when they came across the skull.

"Lot's of people think 'dog', but when you actually get on Google and compare it to your normal dogs that are in Tasmania, the closest thing we could find it to was an American timber wolf, which I don't believe we have here," Jarom said at the time.

The last known tasmanian tiger died in the Hobart Zoo in 1936.

Mystery goat killer - was it a big cat?

2012-01-11T09:55:00.002+11:00

A quick visit to a mysterious pile of bones on Sydney's outskirts...a chilling discovery. Is it the killing ground of an Australian Big Cat?

Yowie encounters on the NSW South Coast

2012-01-10T21:55:00.000+11:00

We've pulled up some more video from the archives about one of our favourite topics - the yowie!

Two glowing red eyes, an ominous growl, flying stones, tortured screams...what could it have been?

Listen to Mike's interview with this NSW witness...

Surprise, surprise - Vic big cat hunt falters

2012-01-08T13:50:00.001+11:00

The Victorian Government has downgraded its promised investigation into the existence of puma-like big cats in Victoria after senior bureaucrats poo-poohed the idea.

Shock! Horror! Not really a surprise when the Victorian Government investigation never really got off the ground. In echoes of the NSW Government investigation into the big cat phenomena, it was over before it began - a hollow promise, a quirky news story, nothing more.

Instead, public servants will look at the accumulated paperwork regarding the hundreds of big cat sightings and unexplained livestock deaths in the past decade.

Perhaps they should cut some corners and buy a copy of Australian Big Cats: An Unnatural History of Panthers instead!

Department of Primary Industries documents released under Freedom of Information to the Herald Sun newspaper show the inquiry has been downgraded to a "small desktop study of existing documents".

The downgraded probe follows a negative report from the DPI's Biosecurity Victoria. Biosecurity Victoria executive director Hugh Millar memoed Agriculture Minister Peter Walsh stating there was no evidence to support theories that "giant black cats the size of pumas or panthers" were killing Victorian livestock.

"In all likelihood, reported sightings of big cats are just that, feral cats ... or misidentification of black wild dogs or even foxes," the memo states.

Acting Opposition agriculture spokeswoman Jacinta Allan said the government documents proved the promised inquiry was a waste of resources.

"While elective surgery waiting lists blow out, Victorians lose jobs in a weakened manufacturing sector and business investment flees the state, the Baillieu Government is still wasting taxpayer funds chasing mythical big cats," she said.

But Mr Walsh, who last year said the probe would find out the truth about big cats "once and for all", said the issue remained important to rural Victorians.

He said the inquiry, a "desktop study" of Parks Victoria staff and wild doggers' field work and species survey work, would begin after an aerial wild dog baiting program ended.

Hmmmmm...

A Blue Mountains Yowie?

2012-01-05T09:10:00.002+11:00

In today's post we continue to 'get our Yowie on' with another witness interview from the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, NSW, carried out only this week with thanks to local researcher Neil Frost.

Our witness Sean shares his unsettling tales of camping trips with uninvited hairy guests and inexplicable showers of stones!

The Lake George Yowie

2012-01-04T09:17:00.001+11:00

Over the years we've amassed quite a bit of interesting footage - mostly witness interviews but occasionally wildlife footage as well. We've also been given footage to share, and this latest offering from authors Tony Healy and Paul Cropper is a pearler - an interview with a man who saw the Lake George Yowie in the mid-1970s!

Lake George (also known by its indigenous name Weereewa - 'bad water') is an aquatic conundrum, a 25km long shallow, salty body of water that lies between Sydney and the nation's capital, Canberra. Its ebb and flow - the Lake will dry up completely for years at a time - has been the source of much local superstition and legend. Several fishermen and five Duntroon military academy cadets have drowned in its waters, and all manner of things have been found when the waters have receded - including a plane!

All kinds of phenomena has visited its unpredictable shore - ghosts, UFOs, and as you'll hear now, even Australia's own bigfoot, the yowie!

Crypto books to look out for in 2012

2012-01-03T13:06:00.000+11:00

A peek at one of our bookshelves, courtesy of Tania Poole.

The year ahead holds plenty of promise - including a growing list of interesting cryptozoology and naturalist books. We've pulled together a few that have caught our eye and presented them here to share with our readers. (We've just noticed a slight anomaly - if one of the links comes up as a generic Amazon ad, just refresh the page to get the book link.) Enjoy!

The Encyclopaedia of New and Rediscovered Animals by Karl Shuker.

The Black Rhinos of Namibia: Searching for Survivors in the African Desert by Rick Bass.

The Kirtlands Warbler: The Story of a Bird's Fight Against Extinction and the People Who Saved It by William Rapai.

The Existence of Sasquatch and Yeti by Carol Hand.

Abominable Science: Origins of the Yeti, Nessie and Other Famous Cryptids by Daniel Loxton and Donald R. Prothero.

I'm sure there will be plenty more so keep your wallet handy.

Happy reading!

Dog breed teeters on brink of extinction

2012-01-02T11:10:00.001+11:00

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sealyham_terrier_230809.JPG

Normally we only feature news about wild animals on the endangered and extinction lists.

But a rare breed of domestic dog, once popular among royalty and celebrities, is on the brink of extinction and probably deserves a mention.

Sealyham Terriers were first bred for pest control, but are now rarer than endangered species such as giant pandas and tigers!

The breed's popularity soared in the 1920s, when the Kennel Club - the UK's largest dog organisation - registered more than 2000 puppies every year. The breed was exported overseas and bred here in Australia.

The dogs, often described as intelligent and loyal, were favorites with celebrities like Elizabeth Taylor, Cary Grant and Alfred Hitchcock.

Their gregarious personalities and boundless energy, meant they remained sought after for decades, and in 1959 a Sunday newspaper reported, "A notice has been posted in Clarence House and Windsor Castle giving explicit instructions that when Princess Margaret has breakfast in bed, her two Sealyhams must be brought to the room along with her breakfast tray."

But last year only 49 were bred in the UK, the breed's home, putting them on the Kennel Club's top three most endangered native breeds list.

The dramatic change is attributed to new fashions, the availability of a greater number of breeds and the decline of ratting as a form of vermin control.

Sealyham Terriers are believed to be a mix of the now extinct English White Terrier combined with Dandie Dinmont, the Fox Terrier, the West Highland and the Corgi.

Ayers Rock (Uluru) dingoes under the microscope

2011-12-30T07:55:00.003+11:00

One of Australia's most infamous deaths - the disappearance of baby Azaria Chamberlain at Ayers Rock (now known as Uluru) - saw an innocent woman sent to jail before the real culprit, a dingo, was put firmly in the frame.

Now the events of 1980 are once again being revisited in a new inquest, to be held in February 2012.

The inquest will be the fourth into the infant's death, which drew international attention after her mother, Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton, was convicted of murder in 1982 and sentenced to life imprisonment. She was later freed and the conviction quashed.

Azaria's parents have always maintained she was taken from their tent by a dingo. The case has gripped the public imagination for decades, prompting several dramatisations, including a 1988 movie starring Meryl Streep.

More devils join mainland Ark project

2011-12-29T19:47:00.001+11:00

Another 50 Tasmanian devils were released at the Devil Ark sanctuary in the Barrington Tops, in NSW last week in preparation for the breeding season.

Ten of the devils were brought from Tasmania, and will help to boost the genetic stock at the park.

The devils have been configured into breeding groups of between six and eight for the breeding season, which starts in February.

About 90 devils now live at the Devil Ark project.

Croc cuts lawnmower's grass

2011-12-28T07:37:00.005+11:00

Zookeeper Billy Collett was one of two men attacked by a five-metre croc named Elvis at a reptile park north of Sydney after they went into its enclosure about 8am today.

The men - who used their lawnmowers as a barrier when the hulking beast lunged - escaped unharmed, before later executing a daring rescue mission to retrieve the mower.

"It happened that fast, it was that scary. I'm just glad to be alive," Mr Collett told reporters in Gosford.

"We'd just started mowing, the croc's sitting about five foot away from me in the water, then next second he's attached to the end of the mower, dragging it in, and almost taking me into the drink with him.

"My heart almost jumped out of my chest."

Tim Faulkner, who was also inside the enclosure at the time of the attack, said his co-worker was lucky to be alive.

"I had to scream at Billy to let the mower go, because he was thinking about the mower preservation more than his own self-preservation," Mr Faulkner told reporters.

"The croc obviously had a hold of it and both of them would have gone in the water.

"When a croc's got something like that you let him have it ... it's 500 kilos of muscle."

Elvis - who lost two teeth in the encounter with the mower - was acquired by the park in 2008 after causing grief in Darwin harbour by climbing onto fishing boats.

Some of the croc's teeth measure up to 9cm in length.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-23T21:34:00.000+11:00

Mystery of 25 dead ponies solved

2011-12-23T20:44:00.000+11:00

A man has been charged with animal cruelty after 25 dead ponies were found near a cliff in northern NSW last week.

The bodies of the 25 ponies were discovered by police at a cliff near a truck parking bay about three kilometres south of Old Ben Lomond Road, off the New England Highway on the Ben Lomond Range in Glen Innes on Saturday, December 16.

Investigators allege 35 ponies were being transported in a removalist truck from Kingstown on the Northern Tablelands to the north coast when some of them died from inadequate ventilation in the vehicle. Two ponies survived and were inspected by investigators in northern NSW, police said.

Michael Sharland and the search for the Thylacine

2011-12-23T20:37:00.001+11:00

In 1938, Michael Sharland led a Royal Zoological Society trip to the western Tasmania in search of the thylacine. They found evidence of existence of the thylacine, bringing back stories, photographs and casts of footprints (though they did not see an actual animal).

In his report, Sharland recommended that an area of the NW be reserved for the protection of the thylacine. These photographs were taken by Sharland of thylacines in the Hobart Zoo (above) and of the hunt (below).

"IN SEARCH OF THE THYLACINE"

Tasmanian Expedition Described

Describing an expedition made late In 1938 to the country between the Gordon River and the Frenchman's Cap, a booklet by M. S. R. Sharland, of Sydney, entitled "In Search of the Thylacine," contains much interesting information about the fast-disappearing marsupial wolf, or, as it is more commonly known, the Tasmanian "tiger".

Mr. Sharland explains that the thylacine exists today as but a remnant of the numbers which, 50 or so years ago, roamed the countryside, feeding on marsupials and sheep. Today it is seen only by the few trappers and prospectors who venture into the remote parts of Tasmania.

Mr. Sharland is an expert on Tasmanian fauna, and his opinions and recommendations must he seriously considered. On this expedition he represented the Royal Zoological Society, and his principal object was to determine to what extent the country was inhabited by the thylacine and to examine the area generally to decide whether it was suitable for a faunal sanctuary.

Mr. Sharland stresses the fact that the thylacine is no longer a menace to sheep owners, since it is now isolated in remote parts of the State, and that the animal possesses a unique scientific value. Sanctuaries are needed for its protection in areas whore it is likely to be affected adversely by encroaching settlement. He suggests that the area comprising the Raglan and Collingwood ranges and the north-western slopes of the Frenchman's Cap might be set aside as a sanctuary.

Tasmanian beach yields familiar fossil

2011-12-22T08:48:00.001+11:00

When Hobart couple Bob and Penny Tyson went fossil-hunting on a Tasmanian beach, they weren't expecting to find a rare 250-million-year-old specimen embedded in the rocks.

The remains were of a dicynodont, an early ancestor of modern-day mammals, and it was the first specimen to ever be discovered so far south.

Roughly the size of a cow, the plant-eating animal had two tusks and a horny beak.

Queensland Museum palaeontologist Andrew Rozefelds says they lived on every continent, including Antarctica. But until now, the only Australian specimen was found in Queensland almost 30 years ago.

The fossil is now being stored at the Tasmanian Museum.

Mystery surrounds discovery of 25 dead ponies

2011-12-21T08:36:00.001+11:00

The discovery of 25 dead ponies in remote bushland has stumped police and veterinarians and horrified locals.

The gruesome discovery, just off the New England Highway near Glen Innes, in the state's north-west, was made after police received a tip-off at the weekend. Twenty-two of the bodies were grouped together while a smaller group of three lay a few metres away at the bottom of a cliff.

The carcasses were too decayed for any kind of toxicology testing, and there were no obvious wounds or injuries that might account for how the animals died.

The animals also bore no brands or other identifying marks that might help trace ownership.

"I've never seen anything of this magnitude. It was a disturbing scene," Inspector Rod Shoesmith, of Armidale police station, said.

Officers photographed the animals then buried their remains at the site. They believe a small- to medium-sized truck was used to dump the ponies.

Anyone who noticed suspicious or unusual behaviour in the area is urged to contact Glen Innes Police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Rogue human-killing sharks 'only in Hollywood'

2011-12-20T20:34:00.000+11:00

Monster serial-killing sharks only belong in Hollywood, according to shark expert Christopher Neff, who says there is no scientific basis for the fear instilled in people by the famous Jaws films.

Neff's October article was rehashed this week in part for an article for WA Today about the string of fatalities in Western Australian waters during 2011 that sparked fears of a "rogue shark" operating along its coast. But Neff poo-poos the theory:

"Following a string of fatal shark attacks in the 1920s, the NSW government commissioned a Shark Menace Committee. It concluded that "sharks do not patrol the beaches on the off-chance of occasionally devouring human prey" and the government said the best way to reduce risk was to educate people about where they went swimming and what times of day.

"The messages of 1929 still provide options today. Sharks are following prey, such as whales, dolphins, bait fish and seals, and governments have choices following shark attacks that can educate the public to reduce personal risk based on their behaviour.

"Four factors can be reviewed to reduce risk: environmental conditions (stay out of the water after or before storms, at dawn or dusk); ecological conditions (avoid areas with bait fish, dolphins, seals and whales); personal behaviour (be conscious of how far out you are and how long you've been in the water, and avoid shiny jewellery); and lastly shark behaviour (sharks are curious and defensive; we are in the way, not on the menu)."

This Bearded Dragon loves his iPad...

2011-12-19T09:34:00.000+11:00

Here's a short video that's been immensely popular lately on Youtube - an Australian bearded dragon 'going for broke' trying to eat digital ants as they run down the screen of its owner's iPad in the game 'Ant Crusher'.

Now we've seen everything!

Revisiting the Mt George Yowie

2011-12-16T07:58:00.000+11:00

A sketch of the hairy creature the women saw.

Yesterday we brought you the story of a potential case of mistaken identity involving the 2009 yowie sighting at Mt George, NSW.

The witnesses recreate what they saw at the roadside.

Manning River police now believe that the two witnesses, Faye Burke and Alana Garrett, may have actually seen the afro-enhanced silhouette of fugitive Malcolm Naden.

But let's revisit what the two women claimed in the aftermath of their sighting:

"I looked back up at the road and I saw ahead in the headlights this big hairy animal thing on the side of the winding road," Faye said. "It was about eight foot tall and four foot wide."

Alana said they yelled out "holy hell" along with a list of other unmentionable words. "We panicked," they said.

"I couldn't turn the car around because I had the trailer and the road was too narrow," Faye said. "I was s**t-scared and thought I better not mess with this thing in case it lifts the trailer up and tips us over the bank edge."

Keeping her foot on the accelerator and speeding past the thing, Faye said she turned to Alana and said: "Did you see that? She said in a scared voice: 'Do you mean that thing that looked like a Big Foot?' I said: No it was a Yowie." And Alana screamed back: "Same thing!".

"After we reached the top of the hill I wanted to turn around and get a photo with my mobile phone," Faye said.

But Alana was too scared to go back. She said if the passenger window had been wound down she could have reached out and touched it.

Faye and Alana said the hairy thing stood perfectly still "like it was at attention".

"Its back was facing us and it was looking into the embankment next to the road and it had dark chocolate brown hair which was all matted," Alana said.

They described the creature that they saw as being "eight foot tall, four foot wide" with dark matted hair.

Hardly comparable to Naden's description, which has him at 177cm tall - five foot 10 in the old scale.

The pair also mention they were fearful the creature might lift the trailer and tip their car over the edge of the steep embankment.

It seems unlikely that driving past a man of average height would invoke the same level of fear. And even given the fact Naden now apparently sports an impressive afro, grown during his years on the run, could his new 'do really be mistaken for a thick body-covering coat of hair?

So once again we revisit yesterday's question - Hairy Man or hairy man?

Yowie may have been 'most wanted' fugitive

2011-12-15T08:04:00.002+11:00

One for the 'Hmmmmmm' files...

Bush fugitive Malcolm Naden (pictured below) may have been as far east as Mount George in August 2009 when two women saw what they believed was a "yowie" on Nowendoc Road, police believe.

The Manning River Times reported at the time that the two women were approaching Connelly's Creek Gap "just the other side of Mt George" at 7.30pm and saw "a big hairy animal thing" illuminated in their headlights on the side of the winding road.

Faye Burke and Alana Garnett from Wingham said the hairy thing stood perfectly still "like it was at attention" and had dark "chocolate brown hair which was all matted."

Researcher Paul Cropper investigated the Mount George sighting in 2009 and you can read about the case over at his excellent site, www.yowiefile.com (in fact, you should really buy the book he co-authored with Tony Healy on the subject of bipedal beasts, The Yowie: In Search of Australia's Bigfoot).

So what do you think? Hairy Man or a hairy man?

Facial tumour disease spreads in Tasmania

2011-12-14T08:37:00.004+11:00

The deadly facial tumour cancer plaguing the Tasmanian Devil has been found in an area thought to be free of the disease.

The disease has been confirmed across more than 60 percent of Tasmania, but it came as a surprise that it was found in one animal in the Zeehan area in the state's west.

The furry marsupials were declared endangered in 2009 after the contagious cancer began sweeping through the population, disfiguring their faces so badly they are unable to eat and starve to death.

Estimates suggest that some 70 percent of devils have already been lost to the infectious disease, which is spread by biting.

Cut the Devil some slack for Christmas

2011-12-13T08:33:00.001+11:00

The folk at the Devil Ark are looking for help in supporting their 90 endangered charges.

Almost a year after it was established on a 500hectare site in the Upper Hunter, the ark is playing a vital role in ensuring the survival of the Tasmanian devil.

It costs about $2 a day to feed a devil and $200 a year to treat it for parasites, ticks and worms. All up, it costs about $900 year to keep each devil healthy.

Visit the Devil Ark here.

Platypus pays the price for litterbugs

2011-12-12T12:17:00.000+11:00

Why pollution and wildlife in Australia don't mix well.

This small, perfectly formed platypus was found dead in a creek by a Richmond, NSW resident, the second platypus to be discovered dead in the western Sydney local catchment area in recent weeks - a victim of discarded rubbish.

Read the whole story here.

The cheeky fox and the yowie men

2011-12-09T08:15:00.001+11:00

If you spend enough time in the Australian bush you'll see all kinds of animals - many of them not native. This very tame - or game - fox made friends with some Canberra yowie hunters and visited their campsite for a cheeky feed of bacon and sausages!

The intrepid cryptid hunters did come across a bit of strangeness in the wilderness - what looked to be an unusual print and a strange 'structure' of sticks. Or was it?

Cane toads invading Sydney

2011-12-08T22:41:00.000+11:00

The Daily Telegraph has a great story about the steady southern migration of the Cane Toad, an introduced and highly destructive creature that is now turning up all over Sydney - a long way from where it was first introduced in the cane fields of Queensland (via Hawaii).

The story is based on the collection of a single specimen - a chihuahua-sized toad found in a Quakers Hill backyard - but CFZ Australia has reported on the invasion of the city by the tenacious toad before.

Thylacine continues to be a frustrating mystery

2011-12-08T09:02:00.000+11:00

Wired.com has an interesting essay on the Thylacine entitled Not a Wolf but a Tiger.

"Thylacinus cynocephalus goes by a few different names – the marsupial wolf, the Tasmanian tiger, or, simply, the thylacine. Whatever you choose to call the species, though, this peculiar, striped marsupial is simultaneously a potent symbol of convergent evolution and the ecological destruction our own species is capable of. Thousands of years of competition with dingoes and humans contributed to the predator’s extinction on mainland Australia, and intense hunting by Tasmanians intent on protecting their sheep – combined with supplementary pressures like habitat destruction – wiped out the last of the thylacines during the 1930’s. (Some believe that a few of these marsupials might still survive, but these hopes are likely in vain.)"

The interesting article goes on to discuss the Thylacine's elbow bones and the likelihood it was in fact an ambush predator rather than a pursuit predator, which gives us all something to think about - in other words it may have had more in common with the felis family than the canid when hunting. Read on here.

Fans of all things Thyacine might also enjoy CFZ Australia's video celebrating the enigmatic marsupial.

Are modern-day monsters just primal memories?

2011-12-07T08:17:00.023+11:00

Bigfoot. Werewolves. Vampires. Succubi. Water monsters. Dragons. Are they merely all embroidered primal memories, part of an innate 'predator identification' system that keeps modern humans hyper vigilant to the threat of potential predators?

Do these frightening creatures only exist in our imaginations - terrifying memories of a time when humans were prey for a range of fierce predators?

Salon.com this week has an interesting article entitled 'why we invented monsters', revisiting a not entirely original premise that stories about dragons, ape men and other frightening beasts are merely echoes from the days of our primitive ancestors, who regularly witnessed dinosaurs and other creatures attacking and eating their brethren. The article's author Paul A. Trout, in discussing his new book on the same subject, Deadly Powers: Animal Predators and the Mythic Imagination, writes:

"Monsters fill the mythic landscape. In Hawaiian myth, there is a human with a “shark-mouth” in the middle of his back. In Aboriginal myth, there is a creature with the body of a human, the head of a snake, and the suckers of an octopus. In South American myth, there is the were-jaguar; in Native American myth, there are flying heads, human-devouring eagles, predatory owl-men, water-cannibals, horned snakes, giant turtles, monster bats, and even a human-eating leech as large as a house. In Greek myth, one finds Polyphemus, the one-eyed cannibal giant; the Minotaur, a monstrous human-bull hybrid that consumes sacrificial victims in the “bowels” of the subterranean Labyrinth; and Scylla, the six-headed serpent who wears a belt of dogs’ heads ravenously braying for meat...

"Every day over the course of several million years, our ancestors saw (and heard) living creatures being torn apart and devoured by hungry animals — with some victims still kicking as they were eviscerated and dismembered. No wonder our brains are wired to make us dread this awful fate, and that the stories we tell ourselves reflect this dread and attempt to express it — press it out.

"The archetype of the monster is an expression of this primal fear writ large, exaggerated and intensified to an outlandish degree. But why does this primal fear take the form of a “monster,” that is, a predatory creature that grotesquely mixes animal or human-and-animal physical features? In what way did our experiences as a prey species contribute to the formation of the mythic monster ?"

You can read the whole thing here.

Trout's article reminded us of another book recently brought to our attention, out for a couple of years now, Them and Us by Danny Vendramini, which raises the spectre of cannibal neanderthals, who he argues terrorised early man, raping and killing (and in some cases eating) hapless humans.

We're still awaiting our copy in the mail, but in his book, the Australian-based Vendramini examines, among other things, the pervasive belief in ferocious nocturnal predators that prey on humans after dark. He reveals it to be yet another vestige of Neanderthal predation. We fear dark forests because Neanderthals were nocturnal hunters. You can download sample chapters for here.

Vendramini, a self-described Darwinian scholar, has put together this short video about his book, and it makes for interesting viewing -

But his refreshing treatise doesn't quite stretch to explaining, for example, anything about multiple witness sightings or physical trace evidence left behind in many bigfoot (and other cryptid) cases. Or deal in yet-to-be-discovered species of ape, for that matter. Yet. The book may well cover those topics, in which case we will update this post with our thoughts.

So is Bigfoot a living breathing archetype perhaps? If we all mimic storybook hero Peter Pan and say "I do believe in Bigfoot! I do! I do!" will it make it thus? We'd love to hear what you think.

Tiger mascot puts on a grrrrreat show

2011-12-06T20:16:00.001+11:00

Well here's something you don't see every day - and for those intrigued by the legendary 'American troop mascot theory' often mentioned in Australian big cat lore, it's quite a treat to see an actual big cat getting up close with some military hardware.

Australian Royal Navy sailors from 816 squadron, also known as the Fighting Tigers, dropped into Australia Zoo on Sunday to play with teenage tiger Bashii.

But the eight-man crew from HMAS Albatross at Nowra in New South Wales were kept at bay until the 98kg four-year-old Sumatran tiger had checked out their chopper.

After the sailors’ dramatic arrival, landing their 10-tonne chopper behind the Beerwah tourist attraction, they made a $500 donation to the Wildlife Warriors tiger conservation program.

Scientists save Tasmanian Devil eggs, sperm

2011-12-05T21:18:00.010+11:00

The eggs and sperm of Tasmanian devils have been collected and frozen for the first time by scientists at Taronga Western Plains Zoo at Dubbo, in NSW, according to The Age.

With the species threatened by a virulent facial cancer, scientists hope to carry out an artificial insemination trial among captive devils to try to ensure that they do not become extinct like the Tasmanian tiger.

Thylacine exhibition the jewel in new museum's crown

2011-12-05T20:31:00.002+11:00

Artefacts from the days when Thylacines still called Tasmania home form the centre piece of a revamped museum in Swansea, Tasmania.

Labor member for Lyons, Rebecca White MP, tonight praised the Glamorgan Spring Bay community for their work at the official opening of the revamped East Coast Heritage Museum and Visitor Centre in Swansea.

“To have this significant heritage building redeveloped to provide the community with this resource is a wonderful achievement,” Ms White said.

“The East Coast Heritage Museum is the custodian of an important and significant collection representing the history of Swansea and the Glamorgan area.

“It was first used as a museum as early as 1923, when it was known as the War Memorial Museum, and today the collection continues to include a compelling display incorporating all of Australia’s military conflicts.”

Ms White said the museum’s displays had also been enhanced by items loaned from the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) and the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery.

“The museum’s Thylacine exhibition includes a Thylacine jawbone pincushion, c.1900, from TMAG’s collection and a cast of a Thylacine skull kindly loaned by QVMAG,” Ms White said.

“Highlights of the museum’s collection on display include a beautifully crafted 18th century dress from the Louisa Meredith collection, and a vicious Tasmanian Tiger trap as used on the local property The Bend.”

Ms White said the redevelopment had been made possible with funding from the Tasmanian Community Fund, Arts Tasmania, Glamorgan Spring Bay Council, and guidance and advice from Heritage Tasmania, Arts Tasmania’s Small Museums and Collections Program and a range of organisations and individuals.

The East Coast Heritage Museum and Visitor Centre is open to the public seven days a week from this week.

On the Track - Episode 52

2011-12-02T08:56:00.002+11:00

It's here - the last one for the year!

And for those who love a dash of Monkees with their monkeys, or rather, mystery apes, you'll be very entertained! I must confess to being a fan of both :-)

So here it is, the latest episode of the CFZ's monthly webTV show, bringing you the latest cryptozoological, and monster hunting news from around the world.

This episode brings you:

CFZ in winter
Rutland Falconry Centre
Barn Owls across the Atlantic
Owlman
Eagle Owls
Sahar Dimus obituary and appeal
Dezy Marak obituary and appeal
Uncon 2011
CFZ Library
Meet Morticia
Thylacine skulls
Orang Pendek
Hey hey we're not the Monkees
Corinna looks at out of place birds
New and Rediscovered: Rediscovered frog
New and Rediscovered: New ferret badger
New and Rediscovered: New bat

Dean Harrison talks about his terrifying yowie encounter

2011-11-29T07:45:00.003+11:00

Australian Yowie Research's Dean Harrison gave this interview to CFZ Australia's Mike Williams about his unusual Yowie encounter.

Donate to the Sahar Dimus appeal

2011-11-28T21:01:00.000+11:00

Christmas is a time for families, and - sadly - this Christmas there are two members of the CFZ family who will be missing, leaving a widowed spouse and young children. Within the last few weeks Sahar Dimus, our guide on four CFZ Sumatra expeditions, died of liver failure leaving a widow Lucy and four children.

The average West Sumatran earns 800,000 Indonesian Rupiah a month - that's $85 in Australian money. Many are self-employed and work is scarce. Small sums of money go very far in Indonesia.

You can donate to an appeal for Sahar's family here.

Natural history treasures return to Australia

2011-11-28T07:28:00.000+11:00

A rare collection of 210-year-old natural history drawings will shortly go on display at the State Library of NSW.

The collection of 741 exquisite natural history drawings and watercolours – many previously unknown and created during the earliest years of British settlement - remained in private hands in the UK for 200 years.

It is one of only two surviving comprehensive natural history collections of such substance from this period - the other major collection resides in London’s Natural History Museum.

The artworks, depicting local plants, birds and fish, are elaborately bound in six albums, and were compiled in the 1790s by the leading naturalist and botanist Aylmer Bourke Lambert. In 1842, the albums were purchased by the 13th Earl of Derby, a legendary natural history collector.

This landmark $7.1 million acquisition – the most expensive in the Library’s history – was made possible through the financial support of TAL (formerly Tower Australia) and its parent company Dai-ichi Life, the NSW Government and the State Library Foundation.

The collection is part of Australia's national heritage. The hundreds of drawings in the TAL & Dai-ichi Life Collection, as it is now known, tell us much about plant and animal species and habitats during the early years after the arrival of the First Fleet. They are a valuable record of Australian flora and fauna including now extinct or endangered birds such as the White Gallinule and the Blue-bellied parrot.

Highlights from the TAL & Dai-ichi Life Collection will go on public display for the first time at the State Library from 10 December 2011 to mid-February 2012. A major free exhibition and regional tour is being planned for 2013.

From the archives: TAS peculiarity threatened with extinction (1904)

2011-11-25T07:24:00.003+11:00

Culling not the answer in fight to save devil

2011-11-24T07:50:00.000+11:00

The Tasmanian Devil is a unique animal, claiming the title of the world's largest surviving marsupial carnivore after the extinction of the Tasmanian tiger. Its survival is being threatened by an equally unique disease - Devil facial tumour disease, or DFTD, is one of only two or three infectious cancers in the world.

DFTD looks likely to cause the extinction of the Tasmanian devil without human intervention. The devil could become extinct on the Tasmanian mainland in as little as 25 years - a terrifying prospect when it is considered that the disease was first confirmed in 1997, only 14 years ago.

Science magazine Cosmos argues selective culling of sick devils is not the answer to saving the feisty marsupial. Read the entire article here.

Komodo Dragon doesn't slay by venom alone

2011-11-23T07:56:00.009+11:00

A new study has shown that the effectiveness of the Komodo Dragon bite is a combination of highly specialized serrated teeth and venom. The authors also dismiss the widely accepted theory that prey die from septicemia caused by toxic bacteria living in the dragon’s mouth.

Using sophisticated medical imaging techniques, an international team led by Dr Bryan Fry from the University of Melbourne have revealed that the Komodo Dragon (Varanus komodoensis) has the most complex venom glands yet described for any reptile, and that its close extinct relative Megalania was the largest venomous animal to have lived.

The work will be published in the next issue of the journal ‘Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences’ and will be available in the Online Edition this week.

“These large carnivorous reptiles are known to bite prey and release them, leaving the prey to bleed to death from the horrific wounds inflicted. We have now shown that it is the combined arsenal of the Komodo Dragon's tooth and venom that account for their hunting prowess,” said Dr Fry from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Bio21 Institute at the University of Melbourne.

“The combination of this specialized bite and venom seem to minimise the Dragon's contact with its prey and this allows it to take large animals.”

Komodo Dragons are native to the islands of Indonesia, with adult males weighing over 100kg, and exceeding 3 metres in length. They have around 60 highly serrated teeth which are frequently replaced during their lifetime.

The researchers conducted a comprehensive study of the Komodo Dragon bite, employing computer techniques to analyze stress in a dragon's jaws and compare them to those of a crocodile. The dragons were found to have much weaker bites than crocodiles, but magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of a preserved dragon head revealed complex venom glands and specialised serrated teeth which create deep lacerations for entry of the venom.

“We believe that the dragon is able to weaken and immobilize their prey with a venomous bite that increases the damage done by their long serrated teeth,” said Dr Fry.

The researchers located and surgically excised the glands from a terminally ill dragon at the Singapore Zoo, and used mass spectrometry to obtain a profile of the venom molecules. The team also analysed which toxin genes were expressed in the dragon’s venom gland.

The effects of venom were also tested by the team and found to be similar to that of the gila monster and many snakes which cause a severe loss in blood pressure by widening blood vessels, thereby inducing shock in a victim. These findings may explain the observations by Dr Fry and others that Komodo
Dragon prey become still and unusually quiet soon after being bitten. Bitten prey also bleed profusely, consistent with the team’s discovery that the venom was also rich in toxins that prolong bleeding.

The researchers also examined fossils of the Dragon's giant extinct relative Megalania (Varanus priscus). From similarities in skull anatomy they determined that this seven metre lizard would have used a similar venom and bite system, making it the largest venomous animal to have ever lived.

The work will be published in the next issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

From the archives: Bunyip-Crocodile found at Merrimac (1938)

2011-11-22T19:23:00.000+11:00

Thylacines prey for the wrong reasons

2011-11-21T05:22:00.000+11:00

We've reported before on the exciting findings of a new examination of the skull of an extinct Tasmanian tiger, reported recently in the Journal of Zoology, that suggests that the dog-like marsupial, also known as a thylacine, was mistakenly branded as a livestock killer and wrongfully hunted to extinction by Australian and Tasmanian farmers in the early 20th century.

But we're quite happy to flag a new story on the study over at the Science Line website that further explores the skull examinations by biologist Marie Attard of the University of New South Wales, which indicate that the carnivore was also vulnerable to extinction because it had a very narrow range of prey, probably consisting of animals smaller than itself, like wallabies, bandicoots, and possums.

Limitations in killing larger prey would have increased the thylacine’s vulnerability to extinction, unless smaller prey was consistently abundant. If Attard is correct, thylacines did not regularly hunt cattle or sheep and thus were wrongfully eradicated by farmers. You can read the whole thing over here. Thanks to Paul Cropper for pointing it out.

Plight of the Orang-utan in focus

2011-11-21T05:14:00.000+11:00

In searching for the Orang Pendek, which some believe is a sub-species of Orang-utan, it's worth focusing on the plight of its iconic orange-furred cousin - and a new book out.

In the 1960s, it was believed that no more than about 4000 orang-utans remained in the wild. Consequently, IUCN - The World Conservation Union - declared the ape an endangered species, demanding its world-wide protection.

Nevertheless, the orang-utan today faces extinction because it is dependent on a rain-forest habitat that is rapidly being demolished due to human greed, and a growing human population.

Rijksen was among the first to make a detailed study of the ape in the wild, emerging as an authority on orang-utan conservation. In the late 1980s he became so alarmed by local rumours of the rapid decline of wild orang-utans that he initiated the study leading to this book. Meijaard conducted the ambitious, island-spanning surveys in Borneo and Sumatra to reveal the ape's whereabouts.

This is the story of their findings. It is the first comprehensive study of the ape's distribution and status based on a wealth of first-hand field data, and a frank, disturbing account of a mixture of good intentions, ignorance and greed, spelling doom for our Asian relative.

Nevertheless, the authors emphasise that the orang-utan can survive. A realistic plan to save the ape, and with it thousands of unique wild animals and plants, does exist. It is the authors' hope that Our Vanishing Relative, so urgent and eloquent in its description of the deadly net of problems descending over our helpless relative, will awaken attention and empathy in order to safeguard the future of the orang-utan.

The Cryptozoologist's Christmas wish list

2011-11-18T08:01:00.005+11:00

Your average armchair cryptozoologist's Christmas wish list is long and complicated, usually starting off with alive-and-kicking specimens of their favourite species - but they're a bit hard to fit in the Christmas stocking!

Instead, we've chosen our top 10 picks of books and products that have come out in the past year for what would make the Christmas of anyone interested in cryptozoology. Of course it's a wee bit biased, but we'd never recommend anything we didn't like!

Happy shopping :-)

Savage Shadow: The Search for the Australian Cougar by David O'Reilly - the early '80s big cat cult classic is back with a slick new cover, more photographs and two forewords that contextualise its contents and profile the journalist who became intrigued by the shadowy assassins of the Outback. It's a handsome shelf-fellow for...

Australian Big Cats: An Unnatural History of Panther by Michael Williams and Rebecca Lang - launched last year to great acclaim, the book documents the past 150 years' of big cat sightings, unusual livestock killings and government investigations into the continent's own Alien Big Cats phenomenon. Also features a dedicated chapter on New Zealand big cat sightings.

Orang Pendek: Sumatra's Forgotten Ape by Richard Freeman - a long-awaited tome which includes the findings of this year's Centre for Fortean Zoology expedition to Sumatra in search of the aforementioned cryptid. Freeman has made many trips to Sumatra in search of the Orang Pendek, and we can't think of anyone better who could have authored this epic work.

Searching for Sasquatch by Brian Regal - the book we wish we had written! And the talk at the Fortean Times Unconvention 2011 we would have happily flown all the way to the UK just to see. Regal examines the relationship between professional scientists and amateur naturalists who hunt for man-beasts (you know, Yeti, Bigfoot, Sasquatch and our own Yowie) - and their place in the history of science. The author pulls no punches, and that's just how we like it.

Big Cats: Facing Britain's Wild Predators by Rick Minter - we know Rick, and he's a passionate researcher and cataloguer of big cat sightings in the UK. This book has been a long time in the works and we can't wait to get our paws on a copy - that's right, we're buying this one for ourselves for Christmas!

Tetrapod Zoology Book 1 by Darren Naish - actually, we already read someone else's copy in Sumatra and LOVED it, so we will be tracking down our own copy for our library. For anyone unfamiliar with Darren Naish's popular blog, some of the posts of which make up this book, visit Tet Zoo here.

The Ltl Acorn trail camera - we took this little beauty away with us to Sumatra and really can't rave about it enough. From the excellent resolution stills and video to its compact, lightweight nature and camouflage casing complete with mounting brace, it's great value for money and the ideal choice for expeditions.

CFZ Expedition Report: India 2010 - in November 2010, a five-person team went to India in search of the Mande burung or Indian yeti. Dr Karl Shuker has written the foreword to this latest in a series of expedition reports published by the CFZ Press.

Weird Waters: The Lake and Sea Monsters of Scandinavia and the Baltic States - aquatic monsters have a long and venerable history in the waters of northern Europe. Author Lars Thomas tells us the very same monsters are still very much alive, in tradition as well as in reality.

When Bigfoot Attacks: A Global Survey of Alleged Sasquatch/Yeti Predation - Michael Newton's latest cryptozoology book takes a look at those toey man-beasts who don't mind putting humans on the menu. Tall tales or true? Over to you!

Happy Christmas shopping!

CFZ Sumatra expedition guide Sahar Dimus dies

2011-11-17T07:50:00.002+11:00

We were deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Sahar Dimus, who only a few months ago helped to organise and run our CFZ expedition to Sumatra in search of the Orang pendek.

Expedition leader Adam Davies has written a tribute on his Extreme Expeditions website.

"I first met Sahar in 2001, when he was part of Debbie Martyr's Tiger protection team. On that occasion, I was enormously impressed by his tracking skills-he was I think, the best in the world for years (and I have plenty of experience with international trackers). He had a great affinity with nature, and was keen to protect the forests he so loved. Since then, Sahar has always led the Sumatran contingent of my expeditions, and I found him to be a highly organised and jovial guy..."

Read the entire tribute here.

New species for 2011

2011-11-16T07:50:00.001+11:00

Kimberley land snail Australocosmica augustae from Augustus Island.

Catch up with the most recent Australian discoveries over at the Australian Museum's website - 64 so far for 2011. They include species of snail, such as the Kimberley Land Snail as shown above, several species of frogs, shrimps and spiders.

While we're talking about new species, visit the International Institute for Species Exploration website for their Top Ten New Species 2011 (which is actually for the preceding year 2010).

New species of Monitor lizard discovered in The Philippines.

New species of albino spider found in WA

2011-11-15T07:44:00.000+11:00

A new species of trapdoor spider has been found near Northam in Western Australia, identified as a member of the Idiopidae family.

Nicknamed the albino trapdoor spider, it was spotted by Grass Valley resident John Cornish on his back veranda in July.

The white-headed, black and brown-legged spider about the size of a 50-cent piece was captured in a jar and handed to the Northam office of the Department of Environment and Conservation.

Big cats in Papua New Guinea?

2011-11-14T10:34:00.001+11:00

Zoologist Malcolm Smith has a fascinating account of his wife's sighting of an 'alien big cat' in her native Papua New Guinea over at his Malcolm's Musings blog:

"Suddenly, about 20 yards in front of them, what looked like a huge cat came out of the jungle on the right, and "trotted" leisurely across the road. "What on earth is that?" cried Esther to her father. "Slow down, Moses, so we can see!" As they approached within about six feet of it, it sprang straight up the embankment and disappeared. The sighting must have lasted only a few seconds.

It was very solidly built, and the head-body length was about five feet. Both Esther and her father were amazed at how huge it was. So, too, was I, when she stated that it was as high as the table around which we were gathered: about 2½ feet. The head-body length was about five feet. Yes, Esther agreed, it was probably twice as long as high."

Read the whole account here.

World's rarest animals shot in Australia

2011-11-14T07:58:00.002+11:00

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Oryx_Dammah.jpg

It seems inconceivable that canned hunts - where wild animals are released specifically to be shot by rich men who love killing things, so they can have their pictures taken with them - are going on in Australia, but they are, the NT News reports.

And the victims of this bloodsport - because 'sport' is what it is, with the animals purely shot for trophies - are some of the world's rarest animals, refugees from a failed wildlife park.

The ENDANGERED Bentang (south-east Asian wild cattle) and the EXTINCT-in-the-wild African Scimitar oryx are among the animals hunted on the Mary River safari park near Kakadu.

The animals reportedly come from a wildlife park in North Queensland, which received them from Tipperary station, 190km southwest of Darwin.

Apparently a few must be shot in order to support the remainder of the herd, which seems laughable when the whole property is a giant safari park - a dedicated killing zone for men with guns who can afford the cost. Not exactly animal conservation, is it?

The herd's original owner is said to be devastated. One-time multi-millionaire businessman Warren Anderson imported the animals and bred the herd up before selling it to a Queensland zoo. "They are shooting my beloved animals," Mr Anderson said. "For me, to see these beautiful animals shot by these madmen is a tragedy. They are extinct in the wild. It's like shooting a Sumatran tiger or a white rhino. It's disgusting. These are protected animals that I spent millions of dollars and years breeding."

Mr Anderson also blasted Mr Nioa's description of "hunting" the oryx. "These things are in a paddock. You could throw hay out and they would come up to eat it . . . Those scimitar are like your favourite dairy cow."

Mr Anderson said he bred the herd up to 100, which he sold to the Mareeba Wildlife Park in Queensland, but when the park failed to gain permission for authorities to bring the animals into Queensland, the Mareeba zoo operator on-sold them to Mary River Australia Safari park.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Banteng_at_Alas_Purwo.jpg

Dog or cat prints? NT lion stories continue...

2011-11-13T22:47:00.000+11:00

West Australian Mary Ford sent the NT News a photograph showing what appear to be big-cat paw prints. She said the picture was taken at the entrance to Kakadu National Park in 2008. The paper speculates as to what might have left the prints: lion? dog? cheetah?

Kakapo puke sparks bidding war

2011-11-11T07:14:00.001+11:00

Sirocco the Kakapo first shot to international fame after getting frisky with British celebrity Stephen Fry and zoologist Mark Carwadine in the acclaimed TV series Last Chance to See in 2009.

Sirocco found Carwadine's hair inexplicably attractive, prompting Fry to exclaim: "You are being shagged by a rare parrot!"

Recently, and somewhat bizarrely, bidders on Trade Me clamoured to buy a unique piece of Sirocco-related history - his rejected 'pine chews' being sold on the popular online auction site. The 'parrot puke' eventually fetched $400!

The posting stated: "Not to be found anywhere else on the Mainland - this is a truly unique item. Impress your friends. Perturb your mother in law. Made of tenderly masticated pine needle and infused with the saliva of an extremely rare native parrot - and not just any old rare native parrot but Sirocco the famous head shagging parrot!"

Well, there you go. It was all for a good cause though - the money will be used to fund kakapo recovery.

Big cat or little cat? Debate rages on in NT

2011-11-10T08:23:00.000+11:00

In NSW a government dept came up with this ID chart to help witnesses gauge the right
size and shape of their mystery animal.

Rumours are rife in the wake of several sightings of a lion in the Northern Territory!

One of the theories doing the rounds is that the lion is real and was being kept illegally by a Territorian obsessed with big cats. The man, so the story goes, has been trying to buy a lion for a few years.

He even had talks with the NT Parks and Wildlife on what was required to keep a potentially man-eating animal in captivity in the Territory. The man also allegedly made inquiries about buying a lion in New South Wales and Western Australia.

The NT News reports his home in NSW was raided by State National Parks officers after a tip-off that he was keeping endangered animals. The inspectors found a lonesome Tasmanian devil.

An impeccably informed source told the NT News: "Apparently, the word was that he had a Tasmanian tiger. Well, that would have been interesting - they went extinct in the 1930s."

A major theme park believes the man may have obtained a big cat from WA, and kept it in a paddock at Humpty Doo. The impeccably informed source said: "A lion's roar can be heard kilometres away."

Curiouser and curiouser!

Fight to save the Otways Tiger

2011-11-10T07:59:00.000+11:00

Otways scientists have been working to find out more about the Tiger Quoll with only a small number left in Australia in the hope of discovering more in the wild, according to the Geelong Advertiser.

The Cape Otway Conservation Ecology Centre last week opened a sanctuary to house three young quolls as part of a program designed to protect the endangered species, the largest remaining carnivorous marsupials on the Australian mainland.

Program leader Dr Kellie Leigh said that unless action was taken, the species may face the same fate as its cousin, the Tasmanian Tiger, which became extinct 75 years ago.

"There used to be quolls all throughout Victoria but now there aren't many left, and traditional survey methods aren't detecting them because they're at such low densities," she said.

Hawkesbury alpaca taken by big cat?

2011-11-09T20:22:00.000+11:00

A Bilpin family believe their pet alpaca was mauled to death last week by a big black cat, according to the Hawkesbury Gazette.

On the morning of Friday, November 4, at about 3am, the Bells Line of Road property owners John and Amanda (surnames withheld by request) were woken by their dog which was barking hysterically.

John said when he went outside to see what was going on he could see ‘Jabaru’ the alpaca, but when the family left to drop the kids off to school they made the gruesome discovery.

“At first we thought it may have been wild dogs that got through the fence and ripped him apart but when we walked around and saw the foot-prints and teeth marks we knew no dogs could do that. It was too neat an attack,” John said.

With concerns about what had actually killed the loved family pet, John and Amanda contacted Grose Vale’s Chris Coffey who has been maintaining a database of sightings of big cats, and she confirmed their doubts that it was not a dog attack. “It was definitely not a dog attack, it was a cat,” she said.

“I knew straight away when I saw the paw print and photos that it was absolutely a big cat and I have every reason to believe this.

“I have seen too much of it and I know the difference between a dog attack and a cat attack.

“When a dog attacks it’s scattered, but when a big cat attacks it’s very clean.”

The pictures and pawprints have since been analysed by experts who have also verified it to be a big cat attack. “There’s nothing else out there that could do something like this,” Mrs Coffey said. “There were four canine (long-pointed teeth as opposed to the teeth of a dog) teeth marks on the alpaca about 7cm wide – two on the top of the head and two below the jaw.”

Meet the Mulgildie Bunyip

2011-11-09T07:50:00.005+11:00

A likeness of the Australian version of the Yeti hulks over a highway between Monto and Eidsvold, about 10km from where the horror was born, The Gladstone Observer reports.

The Bunyip may have disturbed the dreams of the Aborigines of that area in days gone and still scares some folk today but, according to resident Joan Farrell, that's no reason not to celebrate this monster from the deep.

Joan is the spokeswoman for the Mulgildie Bunyip Committee.

She admitted that the resurrecting of the genuine Aussie monster was inspired by mercenary considerations.

"We saw the tourist potential in this," she said.

"I mean, no one has heard of Mulgildie, have they? But now nearby shopkeepers tell me people are pulling up to take pictures of the Bunyip."

The Bunyip statue was made by self-taught metal sculptor and resident Brett Benecke who is a descendant of the area's pioneering family.

Joan said he was reluctant to take on the task at first, but soon become enthusiastic.

"He collected umpteen descriptions, then drew up his design and used it to make the sculpture."

Joan said many locals, including members of her own family, avoid the waterhole said to be the Bunyip's home, particularly at night.

"Locals have claimed mysterious gurgling noises emerge from the waterhole and stockmen have told tales of cattle being pulled under while fording the stream.

To catch a tiger...

2011-11-08T07:42:00.000+11:00

The Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery’s (TMAG) latest contemporary art installation explores the mythology of the Tasmanian Tiger.

James Newitt’s To Catch a Tiger is the third and final exhibition in TMAG’s Star/Dust series of contemporary art installations, following Lucy Bleach’s Volcano Lover and Brigita Ozolins’ The Reading Room.

“To Catch a Tiger explores both the historical evidence and our collective memory of the Tasmanian Tiger,” Ms Giddings said.

“Seventy-five years after the death of the last-known thylacine in Hobart Zoo, this exhibition highlights the bond Tasmanians have with the thylacine, and the idea it may still exist in the wild.

“This exhibition is perfectly timed to capitalise on the success of the film, The Hunter, which has taken the myth and wonder of the Tasmanian Tiger to national and international audiences.

“The thylacine holds a special place in the hearts of Tasmanians, and James Newitt explores the strong connection we feel to the animal through his imagery, interviews and storytelling.

“It is part museum display and public archive, and part fantasy exploration.

“The cave-like installation combines interviews with thylacine experts and amateur enthusiasts, and historical images of thylacine material, with the artist’s own imagery to explore themes of mythology and scientific ‘truth’.

Images of thylacine material from the collections of the American Museum of Natural History, the Museum fur Naturkunde (Berlin) and TMAG appear alongside Newitt’s original filmic works.

The installation also includes reinterpreted sections of a diorama that was recently removed from TMAG’s Zoology gallery due to Stage One of the redevelopment.

“Giving part of one of TMAG’s most popular displays a second life within this exhibition creates a further link between the history of zoological display, and our fascination with an animal most of us have only ever seen within the museum,” Ms Giddings said.

The Star/Dust series, which is presented with the support of Detached Cultural Organisation, aims to attract and engage a wide cross section of the community with contemporary art experiences.

The exhibition is supported by an education program and a range of public programs that have been developed in consultation with TMAG curators and art educators. This includes weekly lunchtime tours of the exhibition, and an artist talk at 1:30 pm Wednesday, 30 November 2011.

To Catch a Tiger opens to the public on Saturday, 5 November 2011 and will be on display until 12 March 2012. Admission to the exhibition and TMAG public programs is free.

Lion spotted in the Northern Territory

2011-11-07T18:28:00.001+11:00

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion

The CFZ's Mike Williams talked about all things big cat on ABC radio today in the wake of this intriguing story:

Authorities in Darwin are on the lookout for a feral lioness, after three reports of a big cat being spotted crossing the Stuart Highway.

The sightings late Sunday night sparked a quick police search and a check at Crocodylus, a local wildlife park just a few minutes from the scene.

According to the NT News, three cars pulled over while the animal crossed the highway in front of them at Pinelands, a small suburb about 20km from Darwin.

''I often get reports of dingoes in the area, which are a similar colour but a completely different size,'' said a spokeswoman for NT Police.

Police found no trace of the creature.

Chief scientist at Crocodylus, Charlie Manolis, told AAP he took the sightings seriously, but both lions at the park were found to be secure.

He said that ''not in a gazillion years'' could a lion have escaped its enclosure and then voluntarily returned and been present when checked.

Manolis said because three different people had reported seeing a lion, it was likely something was roaming around.

''Whether there is a large dog or a beastie out there that looks like a lion, we would like to find out any information about what it really is,'' he said.

Crocodylus is the only wildlife park in the Northern Territory that houses lions.

http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2011/11/07/271141_ntnews.html

Flashback: A lioness escape documented in 1986 in the Northern Territory.

Latest episode of the CFZ's On The Track

2011-11-04T21:21:00.000+11:00

The latest episode of the CFZ's monthly webTV show, bringing you the latest cryptozoological, and monster hunting news from around the world.

This episode brings you:

CFZ in autumn
An excuse
Richard's new book
Pygmy goats
Orang pendek witness
Jon is about to be sued by Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons
Trail cams
Rossi's raprtors
It's Rabbit Moving Time
Changes at the CFZ
Corinna looks at out of place birds
New and Rediscovered: New deer
New and Rediscovered: New frogs
New and Rediscovered: Rediscovered bee

A sneak peek at the new Orang Pendek book...

2011-11-04T08:04:00.014+11:00

Isn't it grand? We'll be ordering a copy of Orang Pendek: In Search of Sumatra's Forgotten Ape ASAP after it has rolled off the printers.

Artist Mark North is the man behind the stunning cover; CFZ Zoological Director Richard Freeman is the author whose writing, multiple trips to Sumatra and unique insight will combine to make this an unforgettable tome; and CFZ Director Jonathan Downes is the brains behind bringing this book to publication.

Tell Santa you want this one for Christmas cobbers!

And for those who want a taste of what might be contained therein, watch our CFZ Sumatra Expedition video here:

Is cloning the answer for extinct species?

2011-11-03T19:04:00.000+11:00

Is cloning a viable technique for saving species from extinction, and what are the ethical and ecological implications of bringing animals back from the dead? John Pickerell explores the biological minefield over at the ABC website.

Cloning a thylacine would be very difficult, says geneticist Andrew Pask, who was part of a Melbourne University team that was able to incorporate several functioning Tasmanian tiger genes into a live mouse embryo in 2008. Even though tiger specimens are preserved in jars in Australian museums, the pickling process has not preserved the delicate DNA well.

"For species such as the thylacine, the fragmented nature of the genome poses big issues when trying to reconstruct it," he says. "It is essentially trying to piece back together a 30-million-piece puzzle, without the picture on the box to guide you... The fact is that we will never be able to tell exactly how those repeats go back together, and the best we will be able to do is compare these pieces to a closely related animal genome - so getting a puzzle box picture of something similar."

Unfortunately, the Tasmanian tiger has few close living relatives and it's hard to imagine which could act as a surrogate. We also have no idea how thylacine DNA was arranged into chromosomes. "The best option would be to take those from a [relatively] closely related species such as the numbat, and replace sequences that look different between the thylacine and the numbat," says Pask. "But it is a huge undertaking and well beyond the capabilities of current labs."

Read the whole article here.

Interest in The Hunter flushes out more stories

2011-11-02T11:54:00.000+11:00

ABC Radio talks to Tasmanian wildlife biologist Nick Mooney about the latest Tasmanian Tiger sightings on the Apple Isle and author Col Bailey, who had his own sighting in 1995 in south-west Tasmania.

One of the most famous witnesses, Hans Naarding, also talks about his sighting.

"I've dealt with 100s of reports...I think it's likely gone some decades ago but it is possible it's still there," Nick said.

Listen to it here.

Thylacoleo gets an airing at Tet Zoo

2011-11-02T07:04:00.000+11:00

On one of our favourite blogs, Dr Darren Naish talks marsupials at Tet Zoo - and one of our favourites in particular:

"Thylacoleonids, marsupial lions or ‘thylacolions’ are among the most incredible of marsupials. Superficially possum-like features meant that they were regarded as members of Phalangeroidea for a few decades and I’ll admit that Thylacoleo does look – as many before have said – like a “giant murderous possum” in some artistic reconstructions."

Baby quolls make a Spring entrance

2011-11-01T06:49:00.000+11:00

What do you call a couple of handfuls of baby quolls? A quoggle? A quadrella? Well, technically it's a litter of joeys - no alliterations unfortunately!

Australian Geographic has a lovely story about Wildlife Sydney in Darling Harbour which has just welcomed its latest Spring babies, the offspring of the park's spotted tail quolls.

Moa searcher's library up for auction

2011-11-01T06:39:00.000+11:00

A collection of more than 600 rare books dubbed the "last great private library" in New Zealand goes under the hammer in Auckland this week. The books, collected by Auckland naturalist and scholar Arthur Pycroft, who died in 1971, include a complete set of Cook's Voyages, published in the 1770s, a first edition of the first novel published in New Zealand, Taranaki: A Tale of the War by Henry Stoney (1861), and a two-volume set of Captain Scott's journals from his last expedition, published in 1914.

Pycroft was a member of the "Moa Searching Committee", which involved searching for skeletons at various sites in New Zealand, and a newly discovered species of petrel was named in his honour: Pterodroma pycrofti. Read more at CFZ New Zealand.

Watch the Savage Shadow book trailer...

2011-10-31T07:53:00.001+11:00

Before Australian Big Cats: An Unnatural History of Panthers there was Savage Shadow: The Search for the Australian Cougar by David O'Reilly.

It has been a long time coming, but the re-print of this cryptozoological cult classic is finally here - just in time for Christmas! - from Strange Nation Publishing.

Part of the proceeds from this book will be directed to the charity created by the O'Reilly family in David's name - Fighting Chance Australia.

In the meantime watch the new book trailer to give you a taste of Savage Shadow.

Cat or dog? A WA conundrum...

2011-10-31T05:25:00.000+11:00

What is it? Felis or canid?

Aussie Ira Fehlberg, who shot the footage above, writes:

"A coupla years ago I was driving down a remote bush track doing some fishing exploring. Now I do a bit of travelling all round WA & Aus and much of it in pretty remote areas, like everyone I've heard the stories of big cat sightings and its something that I've always taken an interest in, its always in the back of your mind anyway...

So here I am early one morning, just after sunrise, driving down this bush track in the middle of now where. We hit some pretty goods corrugations and I happened to ask the mate (who shall remain nameless to protect his gumbyness) I was travelling with if he would mind getting my video camera out and getting a few shots of the corrugations for the home video I usually make of my fishing trips.

He got the camera out, took a bit of video and I said to him just leave the camera on for a bit in case there are some more good ones. The track was sorta random, okay in some spots but rough as in others, anyway the track came into a hard packed sand section and there is my mate with the camera in his lap switched on and rolling. We cruised on for a bit, I was prolly sitting on about 40ish and then all of a sudden bang there it was!

The first time it came into our view it was actually in the air, a metre and a half off the ground in mid air, halfway through a leap! It hit the ground halfway across the road, took a bound and it was off into the bush quicker than you could say what the hell was that! It crossed the road directly in front of us maybe 20-30 metres away.

Now I'll be totally honest and say that it all happened so fast that all I really saw was a big tan animal bound across in front of me! I didn't see the head or the tail, there was enough time to sorta see the main body and that was it, it was gone.

We both looked at each other and said what the %$#@ was that?! I braked hard and stopped right where it went off the track and we could see it running through the scrub to our left, "get out & get it on cam I yelled at my mate" as I was braking. The scrub was pretty high and before we even stopped I knew that the best chance I had of a clean shot was from an elevated position so as we stopped my mate got out and shot some video which looks like someone having a fit falling off a building, basically he tried to zoom right in and this bit of the footage is so shaky you cant see anything.

So I've done the whole stop the car, jumped out and in one motion (yes I can still move when I wanna) I've jumped straight up onto the bonnet and onto the roof of the 4WD. My mate threw the camera up to me and I quickly zoomed out and managed to get a few seconds of it running off. I was hoping it would stop and turn around of course but it never did. The footage you see of it running off is from this elevated position.

My gut feel initially was big cat, probably more just hope than anything but it was the right size and colour and the way it ran looked like a big cat but we both agreed we couldn't be sure positive as it never stopped or turned around and neither of us saw the tail or head.

We easily found the spot where it jumped across the road and I got some good shots of the prints it left.

To have any idea what it was I knew I'd have to show the tape to someone who knew about such things and I have a mate who has done a lifetime of hunting all around WA and he really knows his stuff. I showed him the tapes and he and his shooting buddy basically came to this conclusion. They say it was most likely a wild dog mainly because of the tracks it left, cats don't run with their claws out apparently. Do they come out when they jump but? I don't know...

However they both did concede that they couldn't say wild dog 100% for sure and that there was a small amount of doubt from two things that were a bit unusual about it. They said in all their hunting days in WA (100 years experience) neither of them had ever seen a wild dog that colour and they had never seen a wild dog yet that was all one colour like that, they reckon normally they are blotched or mixed colours sort of thing. They are pretty sure from the tracks that it was a dog but. I'm not expert but I think they are probably right.

Still it was a cool experience and it made me realise that even with a camera turned on in the car it happens so fast you've got to be so lucky to get it on video, if it did happen and the camera was turned off you'd be virtually no chance of getting it."

So readers, what do you think? Cat or dog?

The Hunter raises questions about ethics

2011-10-28T10:08:00.001+11:00

All over the planet, a new wave of exploration and exploitation is taking place.

Bioprospectors are searching for new and useful biological samples and compounds from previously unstudied animals and plants. It’s big business these days, especially for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.

It’s also controversial: who has the rights to these compounds? The Convention on Biological Diversity was established in 1993 to prevent biopiracy. Many countries also now ban the export of biological material from native species because they fear losing revenue from as-yet-undiscovered biologically important compounds.

The ethical and environmental issues surrounding bioprospecting are at the heart of a new movie – The Hunter. The film follows bounty hunter Martin David (Willem Dafoe) as he searches the Tasmanian wilderness to collect DNA samples from a thylacine (Tasmanian tiger) on behalf of a mysterious biotechnology company, Redleaf.

Thylacines were relicts from a time before Aboriginal people and the dingos they brought with them. Along with Tasmanian devils and the marsupial lion, Thylacaleo, they were once found across much of the Australian mainland. Thylacines went extinct on the mainland perhaps 2000 years ago, and there hasn’t been a confirmed sighting in Tasmania for more than 70 years.

Read more at The Conversation here.

Phylogeny based on the sequence cytochrome b. The mid-sized carnivore the Tasmanian Tiger is shown to be more closely related to the vegetarian Kangaroo, and bandicoots and possums, than to its ecological niche and functional equivalents the dog/wolf family. As well, the sequence of the vegetarian Panda is more similar to carnivorous Bears than to other herbivorous animals.

Drivers urged to slow down, save a devil

2011-10-27T10:02:00.001+11:00

Tasmanian drivers are being urged to reduce speed between dusk and dawn to reduce the number of Tasmanian devils killed on the State’s roads.

The Minister for Environment, Parks and Heritage, Brian Wightman, said the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program is stepping-up its campaign to ease pressure on the already endangered species.

“The Tasmanian Devil is much-loved and iconic to our community,” Mr Wightman said.

“As well as supporting the scientific fight against Facial Tumour Disease, we all need to work together as a community to help this precious species survive.

“We’re asking drivers to slow down at night to avoid hitting wildlife, as well as reporting any sightings of road-killed Tasmanian devils.

“I would urge everyone to keep a roadkill report form in the glovebox of their car, as a reminder of the devil’s vulnerability.

“Reporting sightings helps us track the extent and geographic patterns of roadkill across Tasmania.

“It also helps us monitor the spread of Devil Facial Tumour Disease,” he said.

Mr Wightman said the “slow down” warning to motorists is very timely because devils are on the move from November to March.

“Around this time of year, juvenile devils start to leave home to find a den of their own, so the mobile population swells considerably,” he said.

The Save the Tasmanian Devil Program Manager, Andrew Sharman, said safety was a priority, and road-killed devils should not be touched.

“Help from the community is greatly appreciated, and road safety measures should be observed when they stop to investigate a roadkill event,” Mr Sharman said.

“Photos taken with a mobile phone are very useful, but on no account should the devils be handled,” he said.

Mr Sharman said 370 reports from across the State were received in 2010-11 via reply paid forms, the www.tassiedevil.com.au website, and telephone and sms messages.

Roadkill report forms are available from outlets around Tasmania, including Service Tasmania and visitor information centres. A list of outlets and more information is available at www.tassiedevil.com.au.

Baby wombat found in Ceduna is all white

2011-10-26T09:39:00.002+11:00

A rare southern hairy nose wombat, all the rare for being white, has been rescued in Ceduna, Australia, and is recovering under the watchful eye of a wildlife carer after being discovered a month ago near the township alone and in poor condition, close to death.

Nicknamed Polar, the little wombat is now in the care of Val Salmon, an Aussie national wildlife rescuer. Salmon has been rescuing and taking care of wombats for four decades.

Polar isn't the first white wombat to attract the limelight in Australia.

'Stuart Little', as he was christened, was rescued and rehabilitated in care at the Maryknoll Wildlife Centre in Victoria, pictured below with a fellow patient, in 2009.

And there's this historical gem, proving even in the early 1900s white wombats were making an albeit infrequent appearance.

Savage Shadow is in print once more

2011-10-25T19:17:00.002+11:00

The new edition of the iconic ABC book Savage Shadow: The Search for the Australian Cougar is out now! Another Strange Nation Publishing special - from the folk who brought you Australian Big Cats: An Unnatural History of Panthers - this has to rate as one of the most hotly anticipated cryptozoological publishing events of the past 30 years (in fact, it is three decades since this book was first published).

For decades farmers in the southwest of Australia have been convinced that there are cougars at large in the Australian bush, devastating wildlife and livestock. Hundreds of sightings have been documented in Western Australia, from as far north as Geraldton, south to Esperance and inland to Norseman.

Australian journalist David O'Reilly became fascinated with what is known as perhaps Australia's greatest wildlife mystery during his time as the bureau chief of The Australian's Perth office.

He interviewed scores of witnesses - farmers, wildlife experts, academics and bureaucrats - and wrote many stories about the hunt for the 'Cordering Cougar', as it became known, during the late 1970s and early 1980s. His book Savage Shadow, now back in print for the first time in 30 years, is the culmination of that work.

You can buy the book at most online bookstores, but particularly Fishpond.com.au, Amazon.com and very soon (just working out the kinks) Amazon.co.uk.

Readers and fans of the cult classic will be pleased to know some of the proceeds from sales of the book will be directed to Fighting Chance Australia, a charity set up to provide age-appropriate, choice-driven services to young Australian adults with a physical disability.

So what's the connection?

Fighting Chance Australia was set up by David's widow Sue O'Reilly in his memory, and is run by two of his children, Laura and Jordan. The family's connection to disability advocacy came about through son and sibling Shane O'Reilly, who had cerebral palsy and died earlier this year. As you can see, it is a very special charity indeed, and one very special family, so we urge you to spread the word about their great work and/or donate if you can.

Qld yowie witness shares encounter

2011-10-24T07:43:00.000+11:00

Over the years the CFZ Australia mob have amassed a reasonable amount of witness accounts on video, which we are now uploading to our Youtube channel for readers to enjoy.

Here is one such account, which occurred in south-east Queensland, just outside Brisbane.

Narrabeen's mysterious elephant man

2011-10-21T09:24:00.002+11:00

A big thank you to David Hearder for digging up and sharing these gems about Narrabeen's mysterious elephant man (which also included a rare picture!) - a strange upright-walking humanoid elephant creature that lumbered across a Sydney road one evening in the late 1960s.

Witness Mabel Walsh was driving home with her nephew John when she saw the strange creature walk out of the lake and into nearby scrub.

"It was a bit over 4-feet tall, with dark grey, tough leathery skin, like an elephant’s. It had small front legs and walked on its hind legs, which were thick and round like an elephant’s… I didn’t notice a tail or ears, but it had small eyes and smaller front legs or arms. Its head reminded me of an ant eater’s. Its trunk was rigid, squared off at the end and stuck down and out at an angle.

"It had a strange shuffling walk, but was quite fast. It shocked me. It was a peculiar looking thing. I’ve never seen anything like it. We saw it only for a few seconds."

The sighting puzzled and intrigued residents living near Narrabeen Lakes, a large estuary that is a popular fishing spot.

Author and UFO researcher Bill Chalker looked into the elephant man sightings, which occurred around the same time as a rash of UFO sightings in the area, but concluded in his talk at the 2001 Myths & Monsters conference:

"It would probably be erroneous to speculate that the unknown creature reported above was related in someway to UFOs. There is no direct connection evident, and because the creature or one like it was seen again in the area, it would probably be more correct to suggest that the creature was an unknown species perhaps local to that area.

"During 1971 a lady was awoken by a terrible gurgling noise but saw nothing. Two fishermen in a boat, saw something by the light of a kerosene lamp. It had a trunk like an elephant and was walking on the water with its back legs. It was described as being grey in colour.

"During the late 1970s with nothing better to do, I spent a number of evenings loitering around the Narrabeen Lakes environs checking out the areas involved in these stories. Unfortunately no “elephant” humanoids were seen and I was not able to determine any substance to a prosaic “elephant” connection. It is interesting that humanoid elephant – headed beings are a major feature of Indian religios mythology – namely ganesha."

So what was the elephantine-looking creature, which also had a "head like an ant-eater"? A figment of imagination? An unknown species?

Like us, David Hearder is still wondering. "No, I don't know what it could have been either, perhaps a disoriented frogman on exercise (police or navy)?"

Perhaps the last word should go to Mrs Walsh, who, as they say, knows what she knows: "Call me a nut if you will but there's a strange creature in Narrabeen Lakes."

Reward to find shooter who maimed Fleet the koala

2011-10-20T13:05:00.019+11:00

Fleet the koala, as he has been nicknamed by wildlife hospital staff at Australia Zoo, was senselessly attacked by some idiot with an air rifle while perched in a gum tree at Kippa-ring north of Brisbane, Queensland.

The poor six-year-old marsupial suffered pellet wounds to every part of his body. Donations of more than $2000 poured in from the public when news of Fleet's plight was known.

Happily, he looks likely to survive his ordeal and a reward is now being offered to find the identity of the dropkick who shot him. Under the Nature Conservation Act, the maximum penalty for harming a koala is $300,000 or two years in jail.

The Thylacines of Irian Jaya

2011-10-19T21:00:00.002+11:00

Author Malcolm Smith's new blog Malcolm's Musings: Cryptozoology has some fantastic translated material about Thylacine sightings in Irian Jaya aka "Indonesian Papua New Guinea".

"In the early 1990s, an amateur researcher called Ned Terry told of visiting an unidentified mission station in West Irian and hearing reports of an animal strikingly similar to the thylacine. (See Bunyips and Bigfoots, pages 112 - 113.) Then, in 1997, small, contradictory paragraphs starting appearing in the world press about its presence in the Indonesian half of the island. About this time, I managed to renew my acquaintance with an old friend, Gerry van Klinken and was surprised to discover that he was now the editor of Inside Indonesia.

"Gerry was kind enough to go an internet search for me, and was able to discover what appears to have been the original article which started the ball rolling. It was from Suara Pembaruan ("Voice of Renewal"), a Protestant newspaper with good connections in Irian Jaya. The information itself appears to have originated from the local Indonesian governor. Here then is the translation. I might add that, although Gerry helped me with the vocabulary, the responsibility for the translation is mine, and I have aimed for verbal accuracy rather than elegance."

Read the translations here.

From the archives: Bob the Railway Dog (1895)

2011-10-18T12:22:00.000+11:00

Bob was a scruffy brown stray, bought on impulse by a railway man as a gift for his wife - but born with wandering paws and destined to make his mark on the railways as he travelled across Australia as far afield as Queensland, NSW and Victoria.

Recognised near and far for his cheery bark, waving tail, and devotion to train travel, Bob quickly became a beloved member of the tight knit railway community.

According to the Petersburg Times: "His favourite place on a Yankee engine; the big whistle and belching smokestack seem(ed) to have an irresistible attraction for him....he lived on the fat of the land , and was not particular from whom he accepted his dinner."

He did not like suburban engines, because of their cramped cabs, but was known to clear out third class compartments for his sole use by "vigorously barking at all stations, usually succeeding in convincing intending passengers that the coach had been reserved of his special benefit".

"His bark was robust and often caused strangers to believe that he was being aggressive when he really intended to be friendly."

When Bob finally died at the age of 17 he'd become a well-known fixture on the trains and his fame had spread as far as England. His passing prompted several newspaper articles including this eulogy:

A book has been written about Bob's exploits by Olwyn M. Parker and published this year by Brolga Publishing.

And of course a statue has been erected in his honour at the Peterborough Station.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bobpbomount.jpg

Fortean Times Unconvention 2011

2011-10-17T07:33:00.001+11:00

This year's Fortean Times Unconvention already has some great talks slated for the weekend. There's plenty of time to buy tickets (and book flights!) for the weekend of November 12-13.

Australian Tania Poole will be covering all the action for CFZ antipodean readers.

After the huge success of last year’s event, UnConvention is back and presenting a wide-ranging, two-day programme of talks and events devoted to the odd, the intriguing and the inexplicable, including speakers and scholars from every realm of forteana, from cryptozoology and conspiracy to parapsychology and ufology – not to mention dog philosophers, cursed stones and a certain talking mongoose called Gef!

UnCon 2011 will be held in the Camden Centre, a central London location opposite King’s Cross station, ideally situated for transport links and providing a fully licensed bar and café.

Be sure to catch:

All Ape-men Great and Small - Richard Freeman
The search for unknown hominids continues – from the 10-foot-tall Yeti to the rather les imposing Orang Pendek. In November 2010, the Centre for Fortean Zoology took an expidition into the Garo Hills of Northern India in search of the yeti, or mande burung as it is know locally. They uncovered not only eyewitness reports and tracks but also stories of a monster snake unknown to science. In September of 2011, the CFZ mounted their fourth expedition to Sumatra in search of the Orang Pendek, building on the 2009 trip, where the creature was sighted and hair found. Richard Freeman will be giving full accounts of the results of these latest expeditions.

and...

Science and Sasquatch: the life of Grover Krantz - Brian Regal
Physical anthropologist Grover Krantz (1931-2002) was the most well known scientist to publicly champion the existence of the North American cryptid called Sasquatch—also known as Bigfoot. While he did not originate it, he actively promoted the idea that this creature was an evolutionary descendent of Gigantopithecus. For his efforts, he was dismissed or ignored by academics who viewed the Sasquatch as at best a relic of folklore and at worst a hoax, and also received a negative reaction from amateur Bigfoot researchers, some of whom threatened and abused him.

Drop Bears - they're coming to get ya!

2011-10-14T19:28:00.002+11:00

We couldn't help but chuckle when this creative imagery came across our desk, courtesy of eagle-eyed CFZer David Waldron who spotted it doing the rounds in emails and Facebook wall posts.

For those unfamiliar with the 'drop bear', you can read this funny fictitious entry over at the Australian Museum. Who says scientists don't have a sense of humour?

New from CFZ Press - Glen Vaudrey's The Northern Isles

2011-10-14T07:25:00.000+11:00

Mystery animals? Great Britain? Surely not.

These are not phrases which would normally be thought of in the same sentence. But it is true.

The zoogeography of the British Isles is not as hard and fast as one would have imagined; there are mystery big cats, sea monsters, strangely coloured variants of well known species, animals only known from a handful of specimens or even less, and a body of evidence to suggest that entire new species await discovery.

The Fortean zoology of these islands is even more impressive, with dragons, monsters, ghostly animals and weird animal folklore. For the first time, all these subjects are being gathered together under one, somewhat eccentric, roof.

The Mystery Animals of the British Isles is a major new series from CFZ Press, the publishing arm of the world's largest mystery animals research organisation. It will cover Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland, on a county by county basis, describing the mystery animals of the entire island group.

Tasmanian Devil headed for extinction in 25 years

2011-10-13T08:11:00.000+11:00

The Tasmanian devil, the world's largest surviving marsupial carnivore, could become extinct in 25 years if an infectious cancer would not be properly managed, experts predict.

The Tasmanian devil facial tumour disease (DFTD), thought to be transmitted by biting during mating, was first detected in north-east Tasmania in 1996. Since then the cancer has quickly reduced devils' populations by 60%.

The findings were reported in the Journal of Applied Ecology, published by the British Ecological Society. Listen to a podcast interview on the findings here.

Author Tony Healy to speak at Braidwood's Cheese Factory

2011-10-12T20:45:00.000+11:00

Authors Paul Cropper and Tony Healy.

In the early colonial era Aborigines often warned British settlers to beware of large, ape-like creatures that lurked in the forested mountains. They knew the creatures by many names, including jurrawarra, puttikan and doolagarl.

Soon the colonists, too, began to experience hair-raising encounters with the hulking, foul-smelling creatures, which they referred to as “Australian apes” or “yahoos”. Today they are generally referred to as yowies.

Tony began researching the yowie mystery in 1975. Since then he has interviewed more than a hundred eyewitnesses and searched for the damnably elusive creatures in every Australian state and territory. He has also ventured overseas in search of other semi-legendary ape-men such as the yeti, the orang mawas and the sasquatch.

In his talk Tony will outline the yowie saga from the pre-colonial era to the present day, concentrating particularly on stories from the Braidwood area, and will discuss some of the theories that have been put forward to explain – or explain away – Australia’s most baffling zoological mystery.

A few copies of The Yowie, In Search of Australia’s Bigfoot (Anomalist Books, 2006), which he co-authored with Paul Cropper, and which contains 300 carefully documented eyewitness reports plus a lot of Aboriginal yowie lore, will be available for purchase.

The Old Cheese Factory

~ Long Table Lunch with the Yowies ~

A presentation on the Yowie followed by a long table lunch at $33 a head.

Bookings essential!

Sunday November 6th 2011, from 11am.

http://www.braidwoodmade.com.au/contact.html

Reidsdale Rural Enterprises

The Old Cheese Factory

92 Sawyers Ridge Road

Reidsdale

NSW 2622

Tel: 02 4846 1999

Sydney owls falling out of the sky

2011-10-11T19:30:00.000+11:00

Sydney's owls are in trouble!

Very large numbers have been coming in to care throughout the metropolitan area and no one is sure why. Is it a virus? Poisoning? Is it related to the mouse plague?

Most of these owls are very underweight, and are showing signs of significant debilitation.

If you see an owl in this condition call WIRES immediately on 13 000 WIRES.

Hunt for the Orang Pendek 2011 - the video!

2011-10-11T06:38:00.001+11:00

You've heard all about our expedition on this blog and elsewhere, now enjoy this short presentation on this year's expedition...

Panther spotted in Lithgow, NSW

2011-10-10T18:38:00.000+11:00

The Lithgow Mercury has a story about another local big cat sighting:

"Lithgow's Black Panther has been here today and gone tomorrow leaving little evidence it ever was and those who claim to have seen it in total shock over the years.
The last reported sighting was in early August this year not far from Crane Road.

One long term resident of Lithgow, Marika Vervoorn, has also witnessed the elusive black panther in recent years up near her son’s property at Mt Walker and says people should not be sceptical about reported sightings.

“I travel up that road regularly,” Ms Vervoorn said.

“On one trip about five year ago the panther jumped out about 500 metres in front of my car.

“As it neared my son’s gate it turned allowing me to get a good look at its profile.

“It was definitely all panther in the face, black all over and as big a Rottweiler but heavier.”

Ms Vervoorn got in touch with a black panther researcher, Michael Williams, who told her there had been 600 sightings reported over the years in the area stretching from Jenolan Caves through to the Queensland border.

Mr Williams’ aim was to raise awareness that the black panther or panthers are out there and to report sightings in an attempt to keep track of this very shy over sized kitty on steroids."

Is this evidence of the Orang Pendek?

2011-10-08T10:10:00.003+11:00

An Orang Pendek handprint? Photo: Andrew Sanderson

CFZ zoological director Richard Freeman has had a third article published in The Guardian about our expedition in search of the Orang Pendek:

"Even in this age of satellite mapping and global positioning, there remain "lost worlds" where few humans tread and where species of animal unrecognised by science live. Kerinci Seblat National Park in West Sumatra is one such place. The size of a small country, its dim, steamy interior has never been explored properly. Last month I returned to these jungles for the fourth time to track an elusive and, as yet, unrecorded species of ape known to the locals as the orang pendek or "short man".

"This year's expedition was the largest of its kind ever to visit the area. It consisted of two teams. The first, made up of Adam Davies (expedition leader at the Centre for Fortean Zoology), Dave Archer, Andrew Sanderson and myself, would concentrate on the highland jungles around Lake Gunung Tujuh. The second team, consisting of Dr Chris Clark, Lisa Malam, Rebecca Lang, Mike Williams, Jon McGowan and Tim De Frel would have their base in the "garden" area – the more open, semi-cultivated land that abuts onto the true forest."

Read the full article here.

The CFZ's Richard Freeman wrote these two articles prior to the CFZ Sumatra Expedition kicking off.

On the trail of the Orang Pendek, Sumatra's mystery ape

Orang Pendek quest begins in Sumatra

More on that Queensland Tiger...

2011-10-07T20:23:00.001+11:00

We reported recently via ABC Radio that a Daisy Hill family had spotted a Thylacine near their property. Queensland newspaper the Courier Mail has followed up the lead...

First there was reports of a black panther at Eagleby, and now Daisy Hill residents Lisa and Sean Smith believe they have spotted the extinct Tasmanian Tiger.

The world's last captive Tasmanian Tiger died in Hobart Zoo in 1936.

However, Mrs Smith said one could very well be living in the Daisy Hill Forest.

``A few years ago we were standing in the back yard and we (husband Sean and father Barry) saw this fox-like creature staring at us,'' she said.

``Then we looked at it properly and it didn't look like a fox at all, it had a long thin whippy tail, stripes on its back and it was a lot bigger than a fox.

``A few years ago we were in Tasmania and saw this book (on Tasmanian Tigers), and thought it looked a lot like what we saw. We sight it every now and then and can hear it screaming and making noises at night.''

With their home backing on to the Kimberly Forest Park which connects to Daisy Hill Forest, Mrs Smith said there was definitely something interesting in there.

``I'm happy to think something like the Tasmanian Tiger defied the odds and survived. We're trying to take a photo for proof next time we see it, but sometimes we won't see it for a year, then it comes back.''

According to the Tasmanian Government's Department of Primary Industrys, Parks, Water and Environment, the thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger), was the the world's largest marsupial carnivore and fossils and Aboriginal rock paintings showed that the thylacine once lived throughout Australia and New Guinea.

Rare albino whale visits Australian waters

2011-10-07T07:51:00.001+11:00

A white whale calf spotted off the Whitsundays coast is believed to be just a few weeks old but it's impossible to tell yet whether the animal is related to Migaloo.

Species expert Mark Read, of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, said without DNA information experts would be unable to link the calf to the other famous white whale.

"We know from basic genetics that this animal could have come from a dark mum and dark father and Wayne Fewings, who took the photograph, said the female was in attendance was a standard dark humpback."

Wayne Fewings captured the white calf on camera while diving near the entrance to Cid Harbour last week.

Mr Fewings, who calls both the Whitsundays and the Gold Coast home, said he and his son's family were in a 4.5m runabout boat when the white calf, believed to be around 4m in length, and two predominantly black adult humpback whales swam towards them.

OOPA: Cuscus a long way from home

2011-10-06T07:48:00.002+11:00

A mysterious spotted creature dropped off at a zoo in China is actually a type of possum most likely smuggled into the country as a novelty pet.

Keepers at Wenling Zoo in south-eastern China were baffled by the bug-eyed, long-tailed critter, after it was handed in by an unknown man last week.

But not long after the zoo was contacted by Danny Li, an animal enthusiast who lives in Hong Kong, who told them it was a spotted cuscus — a marsupial native to northern Australia, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia's Maluku Islands.

A Queensland Tiger spotted near Ipswich

2011-10-05T07:41:00.001+11:00

Apparently there's a Tasmanian Tiger in Daisy Hill!

Flinders View resident Barry Potter says he's seen it - and even heard it growling.

His daughter Lisa and her husband Shaun built their home backing onto Daisy Hill Forest 5 years ago and it was then that Barry first saw the animal.

Listen to Barry Potter, then Matthew Shaw from the Queensland Museum Inquiry Centre, on ABC Radio.

On the Track - Episode 50

2011-10-04T19:25:00.000+11:00

The latest episode of On The Track of Unknown Animals (Episode 50) from the CFZ and CFZtv, brings you the latest cryptozoological, and monster hunting news from around the world, including:

CFZ in autumn
introducing Dan
Emily and the big cats
Sumatra expedition
Preparing trailcams
Crocodile stories - a Phillipino giant - short sightedness in The Phillipines - let's all do the taxonomy shuffle
Changes at the CFZ
Happy Birthday Max
Corinna looks at out of place birds
New and Rediscovered: New dolphin
New and Rediscovered: New frogs
New and Rediscovered: New sparrow

Noisy koalas give cows a run for their money

2011-10-03T07:25:00.000+11:00

A 15 pound koala is as loud as a cow weighing more than a tonne, a new study found.

Researchers discovered the marsupial emitted a louder sound as a way of attracting sexual partners during mating season.

The team of Australian and Austrian scientists, writing in The Journal of Experimental Biology, also found their cries were a way of boasting about their body size and intimidate rival lovers.

A miscellany of Orang Pendek reports

2011-09-30T22:40:00.027+10:00

From the Calgary (Alberta) Herald, March 14, 1958.

You might recall we ran an article while we were in Sumatra about the discovery of a so-called 'ape-girl'.

So was this ape girl really an Orang Pendek candidate? Or just a feral girl or lost child?

Perhaps she was even a member of a tribe of small-statured people rumoured to live in the furtherest reaches of Sumatra...

Here we've collected together a miscellany of articles about, and possibly related to, the subject of our recent quest - enjoy!

From The Adelaide Mail, August 13, 1932.

The Broadford Courier and Reedy Creek Times (Broadford, Vic. : 1893 - 1916), Friday 22 March 1912.

Cairns Post (Qld. : 1909 - 1954), Thursday 6 July 1922.

Townsville Daily Bulletin (Qld. : 1885 - 1954), Saturday 3 January 1925.

The West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954), Thursday 23 June 1932.

Advocate (Burnie, Tas. : 1890 - 1954), Monday 27 June 1932.

Cairns Post (Qld. : 1909 - 1954), Tuesday 23 August 1932.

Ignoble award for randy bug discovery

2011-09-30T22:10:00.001+10:00

Researchers who discovered that a species of beetle makes love to a beer bottle are among the winners at this year's IgNobel Prizes.

The IgNobels are awarded each year by the Harvard-based Annals of Improbable Research as a light-hearted counterpart to the Nobel Prizes, which will be awarded next week. The prizes are intended to celebrate the unusual, honour the imaginative, and spur people's interest in science, medicine and technology.

Entomologists Dr Darryl Gwynne from University of Toronto Mississauga and Dr David Rentz, an adjunct professor at James Cook University in Queensland, received the biology prize for their 1983 study that showed male jewel beetles copulate with empty, discarded beer stubbies. Their study was published in the Australian Journal of Entomology.

Confused by the colour and reflection of the small bumps on the bottom of a glass beer bottle, male Julodimorpha bakervelli beetles mounted the bottles and attempted to copulate with them.

"Some of the more attractive bottles had corpses of several beetles around them," says Rentz.

The researchers say that apart from polluting the environment, discarded bottles are a potential threat to the beetles' mating system. The researchers wrote to the local brewery, and while they received no response, the bottles were modified to remove the dimples.

Actor Willem Dafoe weighs into Thylacine debate

2011-09-30T09:00:00.001+10:00

Actor Willem Dafoe has weighed into the Tasmanian Tiger debate - is it or isn't it?

In his latest film, The Hunter, Dafoe plays a mercenary sent to Tasmania by a pharmaceutical company to hunt for the last surviving Tasmanian Tiger.

In reality, the 'tiger' was hunted to extinction by Australian settlers, with the last captive specimen dying at Hobart Zoo in 1936. Since that time there has been thousands of unconfirmed reports of sightings, and Dafoe for one remains optimistic about the Thylacine's survival.

"I feel a little like a child, but I like to think there is and when you see all that wilderness you think, it's possible," he said. "It's a little bit like I remember when I'd go fishing as a kid, I'd look out at the water and I would envision the big fish that I was going to catch."

Director Daniel Nettheim says he hopes the next witness has their mobile phone ready.

"Science tells us that really the animal couldn't have survived up to present day, because it lacked the critical mass for breeding," he said. "But so many people on the island believe in it, and so many people claim to have seen it, there is this kind of collective need for it to still exist."

Dr Mike Archer talks about his unusual resume

2011-09-29T16:07:00.006+10:00

Professor Mike Archer is a palaeontologist, and professor of biological sciences at the University of NSW.

In his time he's been involved with a project to recover the DNA of the extinct thylacine, aka Tasmanian tiger, using a museum specimen.

And now he's working on another top secret project to bring back a different iconic extinct Australian animal...

Listen to the interview here.

Fighting to save the Tasmanian Devil

2011-09-29T08:55:00.000+10:00

Elizabeth Murchison studies the genetics and evolution of clonally transmissible cancers. Tasmanian devil facial tumour disease (DFTD) and canine transmissible venereal tumour (CTVT) are the only known naturally occurring tumours that are spread between individuals by the transfer of viable cancer cells.

These diseases have evolved independently, and have distinct host species, pathologies and clinical outcomes. DFTD affects Tasmanian devils and is threatening this unique marsupial species with extinction. By using high throughput DNA sequencing technologies, Elizabeth is investigating the genetics and evolution of these two diseases.

Elizabeth featured on the TED.com website recently talking about the fight to save the Tasmanian Devil.

Sumatra expedition covered by The Guardian

2011-09-28T16:28:00.000+10:00

The CFZ's Richard Freeman wrote these two articles prior to the CFZ Sumatra Expedition kicking off.

>>> On the trail of the Orang Pendek, Sumatra's mystery ape

>>> Orang Pendek quest begins in Sumatra

Enjoy!

Tasmanian Tiger witnesses speak out...

2011-09-28T09:00:00.003+10:00

The film team behind The Hunter shot a series of interviews with witnesses - no doubt a nice little addition to the 'special features' of the DVD when it comes out!

“Whether there is still a tiger out there is still hotly debated. It remains a current and mysterious topic that continues to divide popular opinion, especially in Tasmania. This mystery is key to the journey of Willem Dafoe’s character in THE HUNTER,” director Daniel Nettheim said.

THE HUNTER will be released in Australia on October 6, 2011.

And while we're on a roll, this gem from NITV follows the same lines...

So is the Tasmanian Tiger still out there?

Fox baiting in Tasmania ramps up

2011-09-27T14:11:00.000+10:00

The biggest invasive animal eradication blitz in the world is now moving across two fronts with baiters and dogs heading into Tasmania's Central Highlands and the far North-West.

The Fox Eradication Program's has completed the first stage of its massive fox-baiting operation, laying 3751 baits across 520 properties and 48,000ha between Southport and Hobart.

Detection dogs which follow behind the baiters have not found any fox carcasses or scats.

But Fox Eradication Program manager Craig Elliott says that no news is good news in Tasmania's $27 million fight against giving the fox a foothold.

"It takes about six to eight hours for the baits to have an effect on a fox. From mainland experience a baited fox would go away and curl up in a hollow log or a den to die," Mr Elliott said.

The program involves the laying of 40ml Foxoff and Probait baits which contain 3ml of 1080 poison.

Fox Eradication Program operations manager Nick Bates said the blitz was targeted and carefully designed to minimise risk to Tasmania's native wildlife.

Some Tasmanians have written to federal Environment Minister Tony Burke outlining their concerns the program was putting already-endangered animals at risk of poisoning.

"I call on you immediately to order the cessation of all fox baiting in Tasmania until a thorough, independent investigation is completed," one letter to Mr Burke says.

"I would state that the fox baiting campaign will go down in Tasmania's history as more of a tragedy than the government of the day placing a bounty on the now-extinct thylacine."

Support the CFZ to a tee...

2011-09-27T05:26:00.000+10:00

Forget pith helmets and khakis, this is what all of the edgy cryptozoologists wear when they're looking for cryptids - the classic black Centre for Fortean Zoology logo tee.

Buy yours here.