Men in Cryptozoology

Nonfiction Stephen King

Loren Coleman of Portland talks about cryptozoology, or the study of unknown and undiscovered animals, on Saturday, July 5, 2008, at Fort Knox. (Bangor Daily News/Bridget Brown) Over the weekend, unbeknownst to me, the Bangor Daily News ran an online article about the conference being held up at Prospect, Maine. Here’s part of what they had to say online and in their newspaper today (I couldn’t help myself, however, as I’ve corrected the various wrong ways the paper spelled “Bigfoot”): Loren Coleman, often referred to as “Maine’s nonfiction Stephen King,” sat behind a table filled with models and artwork of [...]

Champ Enthusiast Off To China

Cryptozoology will soon have another friend in China. Champ enthusiast, Winooski (Vermont) native and Brandeis University student Eli Harrington will leave Friday, June 27, 2008, for an eight-week internship at Voice of America’s Beijing bureau and will likely report on activities at the Summer Olympics. Maybe he’ll report on the Yeren too? Or those mysterious Chinese lake monsters, in his spare time? The opportunity came together quickly, Harrington said. Brandeis encourages internships and work experience, and one of his professors mentioned Harrington, 20, to a former colleague who worked for Voice of America. After a few phone interviews, he was [...]

Panther Researcher Dies In Plane Crash

An internationally known expert on the endangered Florida and cryptid eastern panthers, David Maehr, 52, died young, doing what he loved, looking for wildlife. The University of Kentucky associate professor was killed on Friday, June 13, 2008, when the single-engine Piper Cub airplane he was riding in crashed mid-day near Placid Lakes Airport in central Florida. The pilot, citrus grove owner Mason Smoak, 33, also died. Maehr was the only passenger. Within the cryptozoological community, Maehr was known for his work exploring the existence of the eastern puma, and his research on the rediscovery of the Florida panther. Maehr was [...]