Forensic Science

Kouprey Debate

One of the first photographs taken in the wild of the elusive kouprey. Kouprey (Bos sauveli), a wild forest-dwelling ox, was discovered in 1937. (Indeed, the kouprey is discussed as an animal of discovery in cryptozoology, on page 128, here.) The 250 or so living kouprey are located in northern Cambodia and apparently also in western Vietnam, southern Laos, and eastern Thailand. The few kouprey found in Thailand, for example, were believed extinct for over two decades, and only rediscovered in the 1990s. In 1994, scientists began paying attention to lore about a possible second species of kouprey, a smaller [...]

New Mystery Animal Photograph

Is this photograph the “Mystery Animal” seen for decades in West Virginia’s Potomac Highlands? This picture was taken by an automatic digital camera set on private property in a 3000 acre wilderness in which no human inhabitants live. It was caught on film on August 8, 2006 at 0700 Hours. Since the original owners do not want to become embroiled in the heated Eastern Mountain Lion mystery debate, the Eastern Puma Research Network will be fielding all responses for this photograph. The EPRN can be reached via email at epuma [at] beaconnet [dot] net. Photograph courtesy of the initial West [...]

New Bird Discovered in India

New Multicolored Bird Found in India September 12, 2006 A new bird species has been found in India, the first time such a discovery has been made here in more than 50 years, an astronomer and keen bird watcher said Tuesday. The multicolored bird (Bugun liocichla) was spotted in May 2006, in the remote Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary in India’s northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh near the border with China, said Ramana Athreya, a member of Mumbai’s Natural History Society. Athreya, who found the bird, named it after the Bugun tribe, which lives in the area. The bird has a black [...]

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 [...]

Mystery Tracks of Arkhangelsk

Remember the James Bond movie GoldenEye? Well, it begins at a dam by a chemical facility near Arkhangelsk. Known to the Vikings, called Archangel by the English, Arkhangelsk is a historically significant port in Eurasia. Now, from Russia with love comes a strange but remarkable record of new footprints found near Shogorka, Arkhangelsk Oblast. Of what could these be a record, in spite of the following headlines? You be the judge. Arkhangelsk photos: Evidence of Yeti Existence? Regnum (News Service) presents a photographic report from the place where footprints of, supposedly, a Yeti, most commonly referred to as an “Abominable [...]

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 [...]