WELCOME TO THE CFZ BLOG NETWORK: COME AND JOIN THE FUN

Half a century ago, Belgian Zoologist Bernard Heuvelmans first codified cryptozoology in his book On the Track of Unknown Animals.

The Centre for Fortean Zoology (CFZ) are still on the track, and have been since 1992. But as if chasing unknown animals wasn't enough, we are involved in education, conservation, and good old-fashioned natural history! We already have three journals, the largest cryptozoological publishing house in the world, CFZtv, and the largest cryptozoological conference in the English-speaking world, but in January 2009 someone suggested that we started a daily online magazine! The CFZ bloggo is a collaborative effort by a coalition of members, friends, and supporters of the CFZ, and covers all the subjects with which we deal, with a smattering of music, high strangeness and surreal humour to make up the mix.

It is edited by CFZ Director Jon Downes, and subbed by the lovely Lizzy Bitakara'mire (formerly Clancy), scourge of improper syntax. The daily newsblog is edited by Corinna Downes, head administratrix of the CFZ, and the indexing is done by Lee Canty and Kathy Imbriani. There is regular news from the CFZ Mystery Cat study group, and regular fortean bird news from 'The Watcher of the Skies'. Regular bloggers include Dr Karl Shuker, Dale Drinnon, Richard Muirhead and Richard Freeman.The CFZ bloggo is updated daily, and there's nothing quite like it anywhere else. Come and join us...

Search This Blog

WATCH OUR WEEKLY WEBtv SHOW

SUPPORT OTT ON PATREON

SUPPORT OTT ON PATREON
Click on this logo to find out more about helping CFZtv and getting some smashing rewards...

SIGN UP FOR OUR MONTHLY NEWSLETTER



Unlike some of our competitors we are not going to try and blackmail you into donating by saying that we won't continue if you don't. That would just be vulgar, but our lives, and those of the animals which we look after, would be a damn sight easier if we receive more donations to our fighting fund. Donate via Paypal today...




Thursday, July 24, 2014

CRYPTOLINK: Mayor urges public to take picture of Lake Hopatcong snake

A word about cryptolinks: we are not responsible for the content of cryptolinks, which are merely links to outside articles that we think are interesting (sometimes for the wrong reasons), usually posted up without any comment whatsoever from me. 

The boa constrictor rumored to be swimming in Lake Hopatcong is growing in reputation, gaining a mention on David Letterman's show, inspiring T-shirts, donuts and drinks, but remaining as camera shy as the Loch Ness monster.
"I can't believe nobody's taken a picture of this thing yet," Jefferson Mayor Russ Felter said. "Somebody's got to take a picture of the snake. I'm asking the public to help."
Felter said he's seen people who have said they saw the boa constrictor on social media, but the town or other officials have not fielded calls from them.
"If you see something, call us, then put it on Facebook. Call us right away. And take a picture or even a video if you can. That's the info we need," Felter said. "There are 5,000 boats on the lake Saturday and Sunday, somebody's got to see this thing."
The state Department of Environmental Protection and state police have been actively searching and setting up traps in the area where the snake has reportedly been seen.

Read on...

ROBERT SCHNECK WRITES: Tadpoles

Hi Jon,In one of the OTTs you were talking about the strange way frog tadpoles were failing to develop and I might have come across the explanation. It could be the way salt is spread on roads in winter.

http://www.mdsg.umd.edu/news/road-deicers-could-be-making-region-too-salty

BIGFOOT NEWS IN BRIEF



Bigfoot: The Unsolved Mystery
Local expert Doug Devine will share encounters and evidence of the elusive Bigfoot! Includes original, unreleased flm taken in the Marble

What the Heck is This Thing on the Game Tracker Cam?
I can admit it. This one has me stumped. I have no idea what this is on the game cam. If anyone can identify what this is, please feel free to leave the 

Did anyone else catch the Bigfoot Hunter's visit to Alabama?
I wish I had the video clip to post. That show is entertaining just because it is so hokey to begin with. They visited "central Alabama" for the "first time 

This is the Most Relaxing Bigfoot Video I've Ever Seen
Whether or not you agree with Ed that there are 9 bigfoot in the above photo, some of which are less than a foot tall, the fact of the matter is he does

Radio Host and Crew See 'Bigfoot' in Washington
TROUT LAKE, Wash. -- A radio host says he and his crew witnessed what they believe was a juvenile Bigfoot last weekend. Clyde Lewis, host of the

Into the Woods - Bigfoot Documentary
A Bigfoot skeptic and believer go on a journey in search of answers on this mysterious phenomenon. Along the way they stop at the Oklahoma Bigfoot  

FORTEAN BIRD NEWS FROM THE WATCHER OF THE SKIES


What has Corinna's column of fortean bird news got to do with Cryptozoology?

Well, everything actually!

In an article for the first edition of Cryptozoology Bernard Heuvelmans wrote that cryptozoology is the study of 'unexpected animals' and following on from that perfectly reasonable assertion, it seems to us that whereas the study of out-of-place birds may not have the glamour of the hunt for bigfoot or lake monsters, it is still a perfectly valid area for the Fortean zoologist to be interested in.





THE GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN WILL SURVIVE

The Gonzo Daily - Thursday
www.gonzomultimedia.co.uk/about.html

The papers have been full of the story of the wild beavers in Devon, which HM Government in its infinite wisdom have decided to catch. Of course I think that this is a TERRIBLE idea, but I would like to correct one piece of misreporting. They are NOT the first wild English beavers for 500 years. A pair lived on the river Axe during the 1980s and 90s and as far as I know are still there, and may well have bred. Two were also seen in Essex in the 1970s and I believe that one was shot. God alone knows where they came from, or even whether they are/were European beavers or Canadian beavers, but they were definitely beavers.
 
The yellow legged tortoiseshell sightings are continuing to proliferate http://bugalert.net/control/butterfly/Yellow-Legged-Tortoiseshell.html but they are noiw settling down to hibernate in Sweden, so I doubt whether the sightings will last for much longer. However there have been sightings in Kent of at leastr one monarch butterfly http://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=4108&start=340#p88419 which is oen of our rarest visitors, and already there has been one long tailed blue sighting, although another bumper year like last year is too much to hope for.
 
Last night I had a very nice surprise - a new collection of demos from the lovely Liz Lenten. It appears that she is returning to Nashville to record with Thom Jutz again. I can't wait!
 
 
The latest issue of Gonzo Weekly (#87) is now available to read or download at www.gonzoweekly.com. It has Daevid Allen on the front cover an an article about the Glissando Orchestra's healing Drones for Daevid which seem to have worked miraculous results. It also includes an exclusive interview with Harry Williamson on the subject. Elsewhere in the issue Doug Harr interviews the founding members of Brand X and Erik Norlander gives us a very generous present.  There are also new shows from the wonderfully eccentric Jaki and Tim on their Submarine, and from the multi-talented Neil Nixon at Strange Fruit and a collection of more news, reviews, views, interviews and toads with booze (OK, no alcoholic anurans, but I got carried away with things that rhymed with OOOOS) than you can shake a stick at. And the best part is IT's ABSOLUTELY FREE!!!
 
Read the previous few issues of Gonzo Weekly:
 
 
All issues from #70 can be downloaded at www.gonzoweekly.com if you prefer. If you have problems downloading, just email me and I will add you to the Gonzo Weekly dropbox. The first 69 issues are archived there as well. Information is power chaps, we have to share it!
 
To make sure that you don't miss your copy of future issues make an old hippy a happy chappy and subscribe
http://eepurl.com/r-VTD
 

*  The Gonzo Daily is a two way process. If you have any news or want to write for us, please contact me at  jon@eclipse.co.uk. If you are an artist and want to showcase your work, or even just say hello please write to me at gonzo@cfz.org.uk. Please copy, paste and spread the word about this magazine as widely as possible. We need people to read us in order to grow, and as soon as it is viable we shall be invading more traditional magaziney areas. Join in the fun, spread the word, and maybe if we all chant loud enough we CAN stop it raining. See you tomorrow...

*  The Gonzo Daily is - as the name implies - a daily online magazine (mostly) about artists connected to the Gonzo Multimedia group of companies. But it also has other stuff as and when the editor feels like it. The same team also do a weekly newsletter called - imaginatively - The Gonzo Weekly. Find out about it at this link: www.gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/11/all-gonzo-news-wots-fit-to-print.html
 
* We should probably mention here, that some of our posts are links to things we have found on the internet that we think are of interest. We are not responsible for spelling or factual errors in other people's websites. Honest guv!

*  Jon Downes, the Editor of all these ventures (and several others) is an old hippy of 54 who - together with an orange kitten named after a song by Frank Zappa puts it all together from a converted potato shed in a tumbledown cottage deep in rural Devon which he shares with various fish, and sometimes a small Indian frog. He is ably assisted by his lovely wife Corinna, his bulldog/boxer Prudence, his elderly mother-in-law, and a motley collection of social malcontents. Plus.. did we mention the orange kitten?

VIDEO: Bigfoot: Believers Only - Japanese Bigfoot footage (Clearest ever?)

RICHARD FREEMAN: You can see that 'hibagon' is waring shoes!

Dog Accessory Of The Day: Pug Chicken Nose

jx4eEtV

NEWS FROM NOWHERE

ON THIS DAY IN 1965 - 
The Beach Boys' "California Girls" was released. 

  • New York Squirrels Are Nuts About City Life
  • Museum workers pronounce dobsonfly found in China,...
  • Major impact of climate change on Antarctic fur se...
  • Giant python gets a health check
  • Dog jealousy: Study suggests primordial origins fo...
  • Two rare Amur leopards born at Twycross Zoo in Lei...
  • 15-year analysis of blue whale range off Californi...

  • How honey bees stay cool

  • AND TO WHISTLE WHILE YOU WORK...
    (Music that may have some relevance to items also on this page, or may just reflect my mood on the day)