The mountain gorilla (above) was first “discovered” on October 17, 1902, on the slopes of the volcanic Virunga mountains by German explorer Captain Robert von Beringe and his companions. The mountain gorilla was named Gorilla gorilla beringei in his honor. The first mountain gorilla. For the almost two centuries before the discovery, natives in eastern Africa told of their region’s “monster ape” (the ngagi and ngila) that allegedly kidnapped and killed locals. The lowland gorilla (above) would be described by Western science in the mid-19th century, but the mountain gorilla would have to wait to be revealed in the 20th [...]
Kids & Cryptozoology: Alberta Style
I enjoy leading workshops with children, of course, because future cryptozoologists are out there. Recently, in Alberta, some kids got to attend a “dragons day camp.” While there, I spoke to them about cryptozoology on a Monday. Here I am, looking as if a wood bison is about ready to charge me. What’s so incredible about having so many taxidermy-available wood bison in one place is that the Royal Alberta Museum even has one in their children’s classroom. I was honored to be able to write “Cryptozoology” on the work board, as a wood bison graced the same space. Here’s [...]
Secrets of Room N008
You remember the scene from the end of the first Indiana Jones movie? Recall the endless rows of boxes in storage in that secret warehouse? Of course, the reality is that most large museums around the world actually do have such storage areas. The “outfront” exhibits at most museums are impressive. But, for example, I was reminded quickly in Alberta, once again, that less than 10% of the holdings of a museum are what the public sees. The Columbian mammoth is on exhibit in Alberta with other Pleistocene mammals. When I visited the Royal Alberta Museum, the director of Communications, [...]
Newly Discovered Kipunji Extinct Soon?
Found only three years ago in its tiny forest home in Tanzania, a monkey species may soon be extinct. The kipunji (Rungwecebus kipunji and also known as the Highland Mangabey) was discovered in 2005 in the Southern Highlands and Udzungwa Mountains in Tanzania. In 2006, genetic analyses revealed the species represented an entire new genus of primate — the first since 1923. “The kipunji is hanging on by the thinnest of threads,” said Tim Davenport, Tanzania country director for the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). “We must do all we can to safeguard this extremely rare and little understood species while [...]
Atlas Bear Claims
The extinct Atlas bear (Ursus crowtheri), above, continues to live on in dispute, even here on the pages of Cryptomundo. Today, round two in the battle between a German commentator and a French respondent. Michel Raynal is one of the foremost cryptozoologists in Europe, the webmaster of Virtual Institute of Cryptozoology, the first French site devoted to cryptozoological research. Raynal, pictured above, passes along some comments, below, in response to German comment maker Sordes’s claims on the Atlas bear published at Cryptomundo, which can be found more completely here: Sordes’s comments: “Around 1900 (or a bit later) bones of this [...]
The Reality of Post-Heuvelmans Discoveries
On July 20 and 21, 2008, I address public and staff attendees at three talks I am giving at the Royal Alberta Museum. I will be discussing the tenets of cryptozoology, and sharing historical information. In recent talks I have delivered at Bates College’s Symposium on Cryptozoology and at the American Museum of Natural History, a frequent question has resurfaced regarding discoveries and the works of Bernard Heuvelmans. In this new presentation, in a subsection delivered in Alberta, and hencefore, I will be directly responding to one criticism of cryptozoology I feel needs to be seriously answered, once and for [...]
The Wood Bison Discovery Story
Could a bunch of large, hairy, near-human ape-men, or hirsute giants, be living unfound in America? A parallel story from just fifty years ago, suggests that this is a very real possibility. The largest land animal in Canada, the wood bison [shown above], had been disappearing from all over North America for centuries when the last animals were officially declared extinct in 1940. Then in 1957, a wonderful discovery occurred. During a regular air patrol, federal wildlife officers flying over a remote part of the Wood Buffalo National Park, Alberta, spotted a small, isolated herd of two hundred wood bison. [...]
Giant Squid Found Off California
Only the fourth specimen of a giant squid, genus Architeuthis, to be found off the coast of California, near Santa Cruz, was discovered on Thursday, June 26, 2008.
More on Caatinga Woodpecker
The following is the uncropped version of the photograph, via the BBC: A lost bird returns. The Caatinga Woodpecker (Celeus obrieni) had not been seen since its discovery in 1926 when Advaldo do Prado came across this one in eastern central Brazil. The country has more globally threatened species than any other. (Image: Guilherme R C Silva/BirdLife) Let us hope for as clear new evidence of the ivory-billed woodpecker will be developed soon. My thanks to Arthur Masloski. +++ Update from Mount Desert Islander. I found an article in Portugese with two nice pictures at this web site. From the [...]
Dragons: Between Science and Fiction
Opening at the Royal Alberta Museum in Edmondton, Canada, from June 14 through September 14, 2008, is the exciting “Dragons: Between Science and Fiction.”
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