CFZ India Expedition Update

The intrepid explorers have arrived in India!

As we've mentioned on this blog before, Adam Davies, Dr Chris Clark, Dave Archer, John McGowan, and Richard Freeman have gone to India in search of the fabled Mande-Burung, India's own Yeti.

The creatures are described as being up to 10 feet tall, with predominantly black hair. Most importantly, they are said to walk upright, like a man. Walking apes have been reported in the area for many years.

These descriptions sound almost identical to those reported in neighbouring Bhutan and Tibet. Witnesses report that the mande-burung, which translates as forest man, is most often seen in the area in November - hence the timing of the expedition.

The Garo Hills is a heavily forested and poorly explored area in Meghalaya state in the cool northern highlands of India. The area is internationally renowned for its wildlife, which includes tigers, bears, elephants, Indian rhino and clouded leopards.

To keep abreast of their adventures, and find out more about the Mande-Burung, visit the lads' blog.

Do Wild Men roam the earth?

Could wild men still be roaming the jungles, forests and wilderness regions of the world?

There are reports from all over the globe of large 'man apes' - America has its Bigfoot; Canada has its Sasquatch; Australia has its bush ape, the Yowie; Indonesia boasts the Orang-Pendek; Brazil has its Mapinguary; China has its Yeren; Vietnam its Wildman; India its 'forest man' or Mande Barung; Nepal its Yeti...surely there must be something to all of these tales?

And what are they? Remnant race? Distant cousin? A new species?

Henry Gee, senior editor of that esteemed journal Nature, reckons there's a strong chance:

"It is entirely legitimate to ask whether H. floresiensis, or something like it, still exists, or, perhaps, became extinct in historical times: a human version of the red gazelle, perhaps.

"And if one admits H. floresiensis to the canon, what of other celebrated mythical beasts - if not necessarily Nessie, then the orang pendek of Malaysia? The yeti? The sasquatch? Bigfoot? Are all such creatures the products of delusion, conspiracy theories and hoax? Perhaps - but not necessarily. The little we know of those large mammals on the fringes of knowledge suggests that they live in remote places, are very shy, are extremely rare, and that to find them before they become extinct requires a degree of luck. So far, no hard evidence for yetis (say) has emerged. But in a world that hosts H. floresiensis and the saola, the kouprey and the red gazelle, one should keep an open mind."

How refreshing and inspiring to know there are still some very open minds in science, and that the spirit of adventure and inquiry isn't dead - not by a long shot!

This week there has been talk of launching a high-level expedition in the remote mountains of China's Shennongjia Nature Reserve in search of the Yeren, a costly exercise but one that could very possibly bear fruit given the remote locality.

In neighbouring India, the CFZ will soon be searching for the Mande Barang (or Burung) during a three-week expedition departing October 31 and returning November 20. The team consists of seasoned explorers Adam Davies, Dave Archer, Jon McGowan, Dr. Chris Clark and Richard Freeman.

To get an idea of what the team are in for when they get there, read Alistair Lawson's BBC story from 2008 about the Mande Barung sightings.

Now don't you wish you were getting out of that armchair and going with them?

CFZ India Expedition 2010

In Search of the Mande-Burung

On 31st of October the CFZ 2010 expedition leaves England. They will be exploring the Garo Hills in Northern India in search of the mande-burung or Indian yeti. The five man team

consists of Team Leader Adam Davies, Dr Chris Clark, Dave Archer, field naturalist John McGowan, and cryptozoologist Richard Freeman.

The creatures, are described as being up to ten feet tall, with predominantly black hair. Most importantly, they are said to walk upright, like a man. Walking apes have been reported in the area for many years. These descriptions sound almost identical to those reported in neighboring Bhutan and Tibet. Witnesses report that the mande-burung (which translates as forest man) is most often seen in the area in November.

The Garo Hills are a heavily forested and poorly explored area in Meghalaya state in the cool northern highlands of India. The area is internationally renowned for its wildlife that includes tigers, bears, elephants and Indian rhino and clouded leopards.

The Indian team will be led by Dipu Marek, a local expert who has been on the trail of the Indian yeti for a number of years and has found both its nests and 19inch long `footprints` on previous occasions. The expedition team has also arranged to interview eyewitnesses who have seen the Mande-Burung.

Camera traps will be set up in sighting areas in the hope of catching one of the creatures on film.
The Mande-Burung may be a surviving form of a giant ape known from its fossilized teeth and jaw bones, called Gigantopithecus blacki which lived in the Pleistocene epoch around three hundred thousand years ago. This creature is of course extinct.

However, much contemporary fauna such as the giant panda, the Asian tapir and the Asian elephant that lived alongside the monster ape, still survive today. It is thought by many that Gigantopithecus also survives in the impenetrable jungles and mountains of Asia. Its closest known relatives are the Orangutans of Sumatra and Borneo.

Last year the team, who investigate mystery animals all over the world, travelled to Sumatra in search of a small, bipedal ape known as the Orang Pendek. Dave Archer and local guide Sahar Dimus saw the creature and the group brought back hair that was later analyzed by Dr Lars Thomas at the University of Copenhagen. The DNA proved to be similar to an orangutan's, an animal not found in that part of Sumatra.