Cryptozoologists

Mothman Producer Dies

Executive producer Barry Conrad (above, right) and his producer partner Lisa McIntosh (above, left) have been working on their documentary project about the Flatwoods Monster, Kelly Creatures, and Mothman for over five years. Their production company has completed several documentaries that have been broadcast on the Biography, A&E, Discovery, Sci-Fi and TLC channels. When the crew visited me in Portland, Maine, on April 19, 2002, they were here to interview and tape me about Mothman, my book on the topic, and the then just-released Richard Gere The Mothman Prophecies movie. They did this, intriguingly, in a live production event in [...]

Sumatran Rhino Discovered in Borneo Jungles

The Sumatran rhinoceros (above) is a special animal. In many ways, it retains several characteristics that link it to the megafauna of the Pleistocene. The Sumatran rhino thus is a living fossil*, related to the wooly rhinoceros (directly below) of the Ice Ages. That the Sumatran variety are still around is remarkable. From Malaysia, September 2006, comes important news that overlaps nicely with this being the same part of the world that our attention has been directed to regarding the Johor Bigfoot. The first Sumatran rhino has been verified by scientists in the Borneo jungles. The Bernama news service account [...]

70 Years: Thylacines Still Rule!

The 70th anniversary of the Thylacine’s extinction is September 7th! Do they still walk among us? Did Steve Irwin see one in Tasmania? The last captive thylacine died in the Hobart Zoo on September 7, 1936. Today in Australia, the day is now known as “Threatened Species Day.” Ten years ago it was known as “National Thylacine Day.” The last thylacine (third one pictured below) was captured in 1924, with its mother and siblings, in Florentine Valley, Tasmania. In 1933, this last thylacine, a female, was sold to the Hobart Zoo. (Whether or not it was ever named “Benjamin” is [...]

Caution About “New Species” News

Everytime a news items appears about a "new species," of course, it seems it might be another exciting moment for cryptozoology. The new species could be one that is ethnoknown, a part of the traditions and encounters of the local peoples who may have assisted in finding it. But some media reports might not be talking about the discovery of a brand "new species." Sometimes reporters are only disseminating the fact that a "new" animal, perhaps never seen locally, is making a new appearance. Often, if the location has a bit of exotic mystic about it, people naturally think this [...]

Steve Irwin & Cryptomundo

In the midst of a worldwide media story being compared to the death of JFK or Princess Di, and which crashed many websites, Cryptomundo’s “Steve Irwin Killed” apparently filled a critical niche. The tragic death of Steve Irwin was easily the major topic at the lead of most news organizations’ attention on September 4th. Why would people want to read about it here? What quickly happened was that alternative news sources came to Cryptomundo to learn a little known fact about Steve Irwin: he had searched for cryptids too, including the Thylacine. Reportedly, Irwin devoted an entire episode of “The [...]