I only have a few moments as the evolved dinosaurs (birds) have overwhelmed my travel log, to record some thoughts before I get back out there. My boat excursions yesterday, captained separately by Rebecca and later Peter (out of the Blue Springs State Park), local natives well-educated in the local fauna and flora along the St. Johns River, served me well. Also, pre-boat interviews of Barbara gave me insights into the almost ancestral remembrances of Pinky reports from the bygone days of the 1970s. I saw and counted 53 manatees, mostly in one herd, but with several incidents of them [...]
Pygmy Hippo Photographed in Liberia
The endangered pygmy hippopotamus, a classic animal of cryptozoological discovery, has been snapped on camera. The pygmy hippo is rarely seen in the wild but was photographed in west Africa, in Liberia’s national park. It may signal a higher secretive population in its range than previously thought. The pygmy hippo (Hexaprotodon liberiensis) is classified on the IUCN Red List as endangered with its rapid decline put down to habitat degradation and bushmeat hunting. There are only 3000 pygmy hippopotamus left in the wild in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Ivory Coast. This may be an over-estimate and there are severe concerns [...]
Pinky Expedition 2008
As you read these words, I’m on a mini-expedition in a rugged old boat in the St. Johns River in Florida, interviewing locals and actively looking for Pinky, the “living dinosaur” of these parts. Ivan T. Sanderson, Mark A. Hall, Karl Shuker, George Eberhart, Patrick Huyghe, Michael Newton, to name a few, and of course, I have mentioned in various books and articles the unique river monsters seen up and down the St. Johns River in Florida, now known by the collective name most popularized in the area since the 1970s as “Pinky.” The nickname came about when on May [...]
Giant Salamanders Are Big
Recently, the Chinese media published an intriguing photograph of a giant salamander, which truly gives a good idea of how big they are. Some reports of the giant salamanders of Japan and China have been recorded in the 5 to 6 feet range. The Japanese giant salamander (Andrias japonicus), for example, reaches up to 4 ft 9 in (1.44 m), feeds on fish, and crustaceans – and has been known to live for more than 50 years in captivity. The Chinese giant salamander (Andrias davidianus) can reach a length of 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m), perhaps even bigger. The [...]
Evolution of Yeti
Even the Los Angeles Times is getting in step with the significance of cryptozoology. They have deemed, of all the programs being broadcast tonight, the following as their “Wednesday Highlight”: YETI OR NOT? The Abominable Snowman is sought on the season premiere of “Destination Truth,” at 10 p.m. on Sci Fi. This seems like an appropriate time, therefore, to bring up the issue of the “Evolution of Yeti” within popular culture. I’ll leave for another time a more formal discussion of the biological evolution of Yeti, and their place in the biological scheme of things. But how about the reflection [...]
Mokele-Mbembe Deaths
As I mentioned in 2005, when several Mokele-mbembe researchers died in a temporal cluster, I’m not talking about a curse. I’m merely noticing that several African-linked researchers have passed away seemingly together. The sudden death of Scott Norman at 43 years of age merely goes to reinforce my memories of all of these losses. The Mokele-mbembe-involved individuals who have recently passed away, some who have died suddenly, are: Scott Norman, 43, who was a member of the CryptoSafari and the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club expedition to Africa in search of Mokele-Mbembe in 2001. Scott died suddenly in Fullerton, California, [...]
Bulletin: Scott Norman Has Died
I am totally in shock and send out my empathy, sympathy, and sorrow to his friendly family.
Hillary Yeti Expedition Member Dies
American ornithologist Melvin Alvah Traylor Jr., 92, has died. He was among the members of the 1960 World Book Encyclopedia Scientific Expedition to the Himalaya led by Sir Edmund Hillary. Melvin Traylor (December 16, 1915 – February 11, 2008) was the son of famed Chicago banker Melvin Alvah Traylor and Mrs. Dorothy Y. Traylor. Traylor was a Lieutenant with the US Marines and served on Guadalcanal during World War II in 1942 where he was awarded with the Silver Star medal. As a Marine Corp officer, Traylor was severely injured during the Battle of Tarawa in the Pacific theatre, where [...]
Ural Mystery
Mysterious Deaths of 9 Skiers Still Unresolved by Svetlana Osadchuk, The St. Petersburg Times. Nine experienced cross-country skiers hurriedly left their tent on a Urals slope in the middle of the night, casting aside skis, food and their warm coats. Clad in their sleepwear, the young people dashed headlong down a snowy slope toward a thick forest, where they stood no chance of surviving bitter temperatures of around minus 30 degrees Celsius. Baffled investigators said the group died as a result of a compelling unknown force and then abruptly closed the case and filed it as top secret. The [...]
Monster Hunters
Before “Monster Quest,” “Legend Hunters,” “Ghost Hunters,” “Mystery Hunters,” and “Destination Truth,” there was Peter von Puttkamer’s “Monster Hunters” on television. It was a series that was one of the first cryptozoology “hunt” or “search” shows featuring groups of actual cryptozoologists or monster hunters filmed in the field. Now, after years of anticipation, “Monster Hunters” has been released on DVD. For those unfamiliar with the series, you may be more aware of Peter von Puttkamer’s earlier, award-winning, feature length motion picture, Sasquatch Odyssey: The Hunt for Bigfoot. The film is famous for its profiles of the “Four Horsemen of the [...]
Follow CryptoZooNews
Not Found
The resource could not be found.