Big cats stalking the bush?

Dr Darren Naish gave Australian Big Cats: An Unnatural History of Panthers a very respectable thumbs-up recently on his very popular Scientific American blog.

He writes in part, in Williams and Lang’s Australian Big Cats: do pumas, giant feral cats and mystery marsupials stalk the Australian outback?:

"A long term interest and involvement in Australian and world mysteries led Michael Williams and Rebecca Lang to research and produce what is now the definitive volume on Australian mystery big cats; it’s titled Australian Big Cats: An Unnatural History of Panthers (Williams & Lang 2010).

"At 434 pages, it’s substantial. It’s also highly readable, nicely formatted and very well illustrated. The authors have collated a vast amount of information gleaned not only from published sources but also from interviews with both eyewitnesses and people who have examined evidence firsthand.

"Williams and Lang clearly travelled widely across the country, photographing locations, people, documents, taxiderm specimens and so on at what must have been great personal expense. They obtained freedom of information acts and other previously undisclosed documents. A lengthy appendix (c. 120 pages) includes copies of numerous letters and documents produced by government officials, veterinarians, ecologists, geneticists and others. The volume is fully referenced (though with the citations given at the bottom of the respective pages, rather than at the end of the text) and with an index.

"So, to anyone seriously interested in mystery animals, mystery big cats or Australian mammals in general, this book is a must-have..."

Read more at http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/tetrapod-zoology/2012/02/13/williams-and-langs-australian-big-cats/?print=true

Fortean Times Unconvention 2011

This year's Fortean Times Unconvention already has some great talks slated for the weekend. There's plenty of time to buy tickets (and book flights!) for the weekend of November 12-13.

Australian Tania Poole will be covering all the action for CFZ antipodean readers.

After the huge success of last year’s event, UnConvention is back and presenting a wide-ranging, two-day programme of talks and events devoted to the odd, the intriguing and the inexplicable, including speakers and scholars from every realm of forteana, from cryptozoology and conspiracy to parapsychology and ufology – not to mention dog philosophers, cursed stones and a certain talking mongoose called Gef!

UnCon 2011 will be held in the Camden Centre, a central London location opposite King’s Cross station, ideally situated for transport links and providing a fully licensed bar and café.

Be sure to catch:

All Ape-men Great and Small - Richard Freeman
The search for unknown hominids continues – from the 10-foot-tall Yeti to the rather les imposing Orang Pendek. In November 2010, the Centre for Fortean Zoology took an expidition into the Garo Hills of Northern India in search of the yeti, or mande burung as it is know locally. They uncovered not only eyewitness reports and tracks but also stories of a monster snake unknown to science. In September of 2011, the CFZ mounted their fourth expedition to Sumatra in search of the Orang Pendek, building on the 2009 trip, where the creature was sighted and hair found. Richard Freeman will be giving full accounts of the results of these latest expeditions.

and...

Science and Sasquatch: the life of Grover Krantz - Brian Regal
Physical anthropologist Grover Krantz (1931-2002) was the most well known scientist to publicly champion the existence of the North American cryptid called Sasquatch—also known as Bigfoot. While he did not originate it, he actively promoted the idea that this creature was an evolutionary descendent of Gigantopithecus. For his efforts, he was dismissed or ignored by academics who viewed the Sasquatch as at best a relic of folklore and at worst a hoax, and also received a negative reaction from amateur Bigfoot researchers, some of whom threatened and abused him.

Australian Big Cats gets Fortean Times tick

The Fortean Times recently reviewed Australian Big Cats: An Unnatural History of Panthers by CFZers and FT writers Michael Williams and Rebecca Lang, and gave it a fantastic 9/10.

"The authors' even-handed, open-minded approach provides ample evidences for the theories they touch upon...this is a first-rate Fortean classic, fastidiously sourced, and essential reading for all students of the ABC phenomenon." - Merrily Harpur