Cryptids, Kha-Nyou, and the Lazarus Effect

We’ve met this critter before. The Laotian Rock Rat (Laonastes aenigmamus) was #10 on the Top Cryptozoology Stories of 2005. The discovery of Laonastes aenigmamus, which literally means "a stone-dwelling puzzle-mouse," occurred when an alert member of the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society spotted the rodent on sale for cooking meat at a Laotian food market. Of course, the local people were already familiar with the animal. They call it kha-nyou. But now, comes news from Science that the kha-nyou are not merely a new animal but one that represents an ancient family, the extinct Distomydae, a family of rodents [...]

Champ On TV

Raymond A. Edel’s "TV best bets" for Thursday, March 9, 2006, is mentioning "America’s Loch Ness Monster" for viewing tonight, at 7:00 PM Eastern, on the Discovery Channel (in the USA). Scotland has its legendary creature of Loch Ness, but Lake Champlain — between northern New York and Vermont — has its own alleged monster named Champ.

Bili Ape Discoverer Rebuilds Life

There have been a series of recent developments to our earlier story about Shelly Williams, the world-renowned primatologist credited with gathering convincing evidence of a new species of great ape, the Bili Ape. She was shot in the back on November 7, 2005 and paralyzed from the waist down, when a stray bullet from a drug-deal gone bad changed her life forever. She was merely an innocent bystander, doing errands at a strip mall in suburban Atlanta. On March 1, the suspects were identified and warrants issued. Smyrna, Georgia police issued the arrest notices for two men, Kendall Markell Bolden, [...]

Yeti Crab

I happen to have been away for almost three days, and what do you know, new animal discoveries keep being announced at a rapid rate. I’ve been traveling in California, filing postings early, and dealing with some interesting future projects. Nevertheless, I saw all the news of a new critter that has been called the "Yeti Crab" or a "Bigfoot Lobster." Courtesy © Ifremer / A. Fifis Press Release; click on image for larger view. One of the fastest ways to read about this one is to look to cryptozoology-friendly David Pescovitz at Boing Boing and his insights: Scientists just [...]

Mystery Cast Quiz Answer

The mystery cast maker is allegedly the so-called Bili or Bondo Ape from the Congo area of Africa. This cast is from the incredible work of Karl Ammann.

Monckton’s Gazeka

What kind of animal do you think Monckton’s Gazeka might have been or is? Any ideas? The Gazeka, a drawing by Marc Dupont, via Forge 1983. From Jamaica’s Kingston Gleaner, here’s the interesting report published on June 27, 1910: STRANGE RACE DWELLERS OF A MOUNTAIN [excerpt] Not the least of the wonders discovered is a mysterious animal of gigantic size and fearsome aspect whose tracks have recently been reported in New Guinea [in the area that is now Papua New Guinea]. This animal at present goes by the name of Monckton’s "Gazeka," its presence in the mountains having been first [...]