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Men in Cryptozoology: John-Mark Sheppard

John-Mark Sheppard (above) is the young man who is supplying cryptozoology with new insights about cryptids being reported in Liberia, e.g. the Gbahali and the Kumbway. In response to reader requests for more about the person collecting the reports, I asked him to share some insights about himself. Here is John-Mark Sheppard’s personal profile: I am an American, 25 years old, single. I first came out to Liberia with my parents in 1986, and have spent most of my life between Liberia and Cote d’Ivoire. For the most part I have lived in rural areas of West Africa. I can [...]

Water Horse: A Well-Told Fantasy

In his December 30, 2007 column, Maine film critic Marty Meltz gives three and a half stars out a possible four to the new movie about the Loch Ness Monster. Here are the highlights from that review: In this, my farewell column for the Maine Sunday Telegram at the end of 30 years, it is gratifying that destiny has led me to review a superlative film like “The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep.” Lovers of “E.T.,” “Free Willy” and “King Kong” will love this wonderful family fantasy film. Over the first half, it presents itself as simply a well-constructed [...]

Desi Pondering: SF’s Tiger Event

One of the most important components to living, to me, is to always be open to learning new information, new things about the mundane and the extraordinary, and to understand how the new interacts with the old. As I read it, the mystery of how the tiger escaped from the grotto at the San Francisco Zoo remains. The riddle of why the two Indian brothers were there and what they were doing continues. Part of what has been an enigma is the role of the humans involved. But who are these individuals? As it turns out, the three men involved [...]

Pterodactyl Causes Car Crash

The Pteranodon replica produced by the Papo company of France. Giant flying reptiles, believe it or not, have routinely been sighted in the Olympic National Park’s rainforest in Washington State. I’ve been hearing about reports from there for decades. Now comes an intriguing, if unbelievable, account from the same area. First, here are some quick footnotes about pterodactyls vs pterosaurs vs pteranodons, which the media creatively confuse. No telling what this person really saw. Pterodactyls are any of various small, extinct flying reptiles (pterosaurs) of the genus Pterodactylus of the late Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods. Pterodactyls had long, narrow jaws [...]

Mystery Birds in Annual Christmas Counts

This is the time of year throughout North America when birders take their annual “Christmas counts.” This involves identifying and counting what bird species birders and casual observers have seen in their area. Besides the various extremely large avian cryptids that avoid detention by having small numbers, being ignored, flying too high, hiding, and remaining in remote locations, mystery birds do turn up. You have to read Christmas counts closely to find them, but they are there. Most are eventually seen as identified species that have turned up in out-of-place sites. For example, on December 29, 2007, Mike Jacobs of [...]

Top Cryptozoology Stories Picked as Best of the Best

In today’s Washington City Paper, columnist Mark Athitakis has picked his “The Best of the Best,” which are his “top ten favorite best-of-the-year lists” for 2007. His # 6 is noted as: Top Ten Cryptozoology Stories (Cryptomundo)

Dead Tiger Found in Texas

How often are such discoveries made, but never reported? Without the incident in San Francisco, would this one have ever been published? Sanitation crews in Dallas [Texas] made a shocking discovery after they received a call about a dead animal on Christmas Eve. An adult tiger was found dead when the crews searched a wooded area near Interstate 35E and Overton Road. A city spokesperson said the tiger has been shot several times. The animal, which was declawed and wearing a collar, was taken to the Dallas Zoo. The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department and the United States Department of [...]

Lists of Zoo Incidents: Dangling Feet & Trails of Blood

In December 1985, at the John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids, Michigan, pregnant zookeeper Gayle Booth, 30, was fatally mauled by the above jaguar. Wild animals are dangerous, inside zoos and outside. The mystery surrounding how the San Francisco Zoo’s tiger (below) escaped from the grotto may be slowly becoming solved. Human intervention could have been part of the cause. San Francisco police are investigating the possibility that one of the victims in the fatal tiger mauling on Christmas Day climbed over a waist-high fence and then dangled a leg or other body part over the edge of a moat [...]