Meet the Cryptozoologist: Jonathan McGowan

Jonathan McGowan on the big cat trail in Dorset.

How did you first get involved in researching strange and mysterious creatures?
I first got interested in searching for strange creatures when I saw out-of-place large cats in the early 1980s, and also having a fascination for the Loch Ness Monster, the Yeti and Bigfoot.

What were some of the early influences in your life?
My early influences were Arthur C. Clarke's mysterious world and books about Bigfoot.

Have you personally seen one of these creatures?
I have seen more than 20 large cats in UK, no sightings of yeti or Bigfoot.

What creatures particularly interest you?
The Yeti and Bigfoot interest me more than any other.

What cryptids are most likely to exist in your opinion?
The Tasmanian Tiger (Thylacine), and the Yeti.

What’s your favourite?
I don't do favorites, but I love the Yeti and Bigfoot, if it exists. My favourite Australian cryptid has got to be the Queensland Tiger.

Have you developed any theories around where the more unusual animals - i.e. yowies/bigfoot - have come from?
I have developed some theories about most cryptids.

Have you written any books/articles?
I have just completed my book on big cats, which is yet to be edited let alone published, but I hope it gets out soon.

Do you have a website? How can people contact you?
My website is not so much about cryptids but generally natural history with a 'big cat' blog. You can visit it here - www.thenaturalstuff.co.uk.

How many mystery animal reports would you receive a year?

I receive hundreds of reports of large cats a year.

What’s the closest you’ve personally come to finding something?
I have been a metre away from a leopard in Dorset and also a puma. On expedition with the CFZ we found evidence of a Yeti and also an Orang Pendek.

What’s next for you - any trips planned? Books or articles to write? Talks to give?
I'll be joining the CFZ team on expedition to Tasmania, and probably Sumatra again at some time in the future. I give many talks on big cats and I am due to give a talk on the Yeti.

Could you share some of your favourite cryptozoology book titles with us?
I like all books on cryptozoology, especially those on the huge apes, and big cats. Australian Big Cats: An Unnatural History of Panthers is one of the best.

Jonathan McGowan on expedition in Sumatra in 2011 with David, his guide.

Zookeeper the latest 'big cat' witness in Victoria

The latest Victorian 'panther' sighting has been made by a Wild Action zoo keeper, who said she was approaching the Mt Macedon zoo early this morning when the predatory cat ran came within metres of her before dashing off.

The former Parks Victoria ranger, who wouldn’t give her name, said while she was previously a skeptic, she was “adamant” the animal she saw was a panther.

“It was the size our dingos, it was on all four legs and it moved like a cat and it had a long tail coming after it,” she said.

“I know it sounds crazy and I wouldn’t have believed myself."

“(But) I’m so adamant of what I saw.”

The fresh sighting comes after the State Government recently announced a review into all reported sightings of the legendary big cat.

The keeper said she entered the gate to the zoo just after 6am.

She spotted what she thought was a wallaby trying to escape through fox wire, but it turned out to be a large black cat.

She said the animal bolted past her through the open gate, before she ran to hide in the reptile shed.
“I was so scared, thinking I was going to die,” she said.

Wild Action owner Chris Humfrey, who is experienced in tracking wild cats, said the animal’s footprints were consistent with a large cat.

He also said two large Western Grey Kangaroos and a Cape Barren Goose had recently been found decapitated nearby.

Mr Humfrey said he would set thermal imaging cameras around the zoo to record the animal if it returned.

Mystery print puzzles farmers

Yowie, big cat or a collage of curious beast tracks - what could have left behind these mysterious prints? That's what the good folk of the Upper MacLeay are asking after a local farmer found and preserved some weird tracks he spotted on the banks of a river.

Toorooka resident Reg Wooderson found the footprint last month while working on his tractor.

“We had a big rise in the river and a lot of debris got washed down after a couple of day’s rain,” Mr Wooderson said.

“I was tidying the bank on my tractor when it just collapsed.”

Remarkably lying on top of the rubble was a set of large footprints.

“This clod just rolled out and was very noticeable.” Mr Wooderson said. “There were two footprints but one just crumbled away. It was just too much of a coincidence to be a freak of nature.”

One thing's for sure - the 'print' appears to actually be two or three overlapping prints of an animal featuring big rounded toes. Not unlike the large cat prints commonly found but...sometimes these things are too difficult to call. The mystery deepens...

Read more: http://www.macleayargus.com.au/news/local/news/general/mystery-print-we-cant-say-what-made-it/1963377.aspx

A Weird Weekend in Woolsery

We're looking forward to the Weird Weekend even more than Christmas, Easter and Australia Day! (Sorry cobbers, but it's true!)

The good folk at the CFZ are working like navvies to get the place ship-shape for the hordes that will descend on the place in just over a week to listen to all matter of Fortean strangeness.

The CFZ will also host an open day for the public.

You won't find a better distraction until October, when some of these weirdies reunite in London for the annual Unconvention - but why wait until then when you can enjoy the splendour of Devon and bottle the last of summer to boot?

So if you love weirdness, forteana, big cats, crop circles, UFOs, bigfoot (the list goes on and on) buy your tickets NOW! They're selling fast! Tickets can be purchased here.

Trust us - you'll never have it so weird!

See you there!