Men in Cryptozoology

Newcastle’s Monster Weekend

I’m traveling again, tomorrow, flying over to England, apparently via Paris. (I know, I know, my arms will be very tired from all the flapping.) Saturday, September 1 and Sunday, September 2, 2007, “Searching for Bigfoot and Other Cryptids.” It all will be taking place at Monster Weekend, Centre for Life (science center), Newcastle, United Kingdom. For more information, see “Monster Weekend” or look over the schedule below: Monster Weekend Speaking Schedule Saturday, September 1, 2007 Dragons: More than a Myth? (Richard Freeman) 10.00-10.45 Before daemons, vampires, werewolves or giants the dragon haunted the minds of men and coiled their [...]

Steve Irwin’s Thylacine Hunt

Sadly, the world lost the Crocodile Hunter almost a year ago. The anniversary is approaching quickly. Feelings are still stirred by how Steve Irwin (February 22, 1962 – September 4, 2006) died and that he left the Earth too quickly. Intriguingly, here we are again talking about Steve and one of his quests that overlapped with cryptozoology. On Thursday, August 30, 2007, at 6:00 pm ET/PT, at least in the USA, on the Animal Planet, the long-lost episode with a segment on Steve Irwin’s mini-hunt for the Thylacine will be broadcast. This occurs during his 60 minutes program, “The Crocodile [...]

Apes In Green Hell: Racism and Revisions

Dr. Karl Shuker has written numerous articles and several major books devoted to cryptozoological topics. One of his earliest books is the classic like Mystery Cats of the World (1989). But today, I do not speak of felines. He also wrote other books that have become favorites of cryptozoologists, such as Extraordinary Animals Worldwide (1991), The Lost Ark: New and Rediscovered Animals of the 20th Century (1993), From Flying Toad to Snakes with Wings (1997) and, acting jointly as consultant and contributor, Man and Beast (1993). During the 21st Century, Shuker has undertaken the revising and updating of many of [...]

Karl’s Kritter: Pliciloricus shukeri

Congratulations to Karl Shuker! Dr. Karl P. N. Shuker is a zoologist with a lifelong interest in cryptozoology and other animal-related anomalies. He studied zoology at the University of Leeds and obtained a Ph.D. in zoology and comparative physiology at the University of Birmingham. Due to the complications of a life that could have been hindered by a chronic form of diabetes, Shuker has continued on with his interest and passion for new animals through the written word and his documentary appearances in a dynamic fashion. Shuker has now been honored for his efforts with the naming of a new [...]

Takahē Discoverer Dies

The Takahē (Porphyrio hochstetteri ). Photo: New Zealand’s Mount Bruce Organization. Geoffrey Orbell (October 7, 1908 – August 15, 2007) was a doctor and keen tramper/bush walker best known for the rediscovery of the Takahē (Porphyrio hochstetteri ) in 1948. The Takahē was widely thought to be extinct but Orbell suspected it might survive. While taking time off from his Invercargill practice to search for the Takahē, he discovered a set of unfamiliar footprints. After following the footprints with three companions he rediscovered the species on November 20, 1948, in a remote valley of the Murchison Mountains near Lake Te [...]

Van Roosmalen Temporarily Released

Chad Arment has passed along the news that the mammalogist and cryptozoologist Marc Van Roosmalen is out of prison on appeal. A Brazilian judge on Tuesday [August 7, 2007] ordered that a prominent Dutch scientist be freed from prison while he appeals his conviction for environmental crimes and embezzlement, a court official said. Marc Van Roosmalen was convicted on June 15 of trying to illegally auction off the names of monkey species, keeping rare monkeys at his house without authorization and selling a scaffolding donated to the National Institute for Amazon Research where he worked. He was sentenced to 15 [...]