Friday 20 March 2009

MYSTERY ANIMALS OF KENT - OUT NOW.

BUY THE BOOK FROM AMAZON

From publisher Jonathan Downes (CFZ Press):

"After months of work, this remarkable book is finally available. It is the bulkiest book we have ever done, and with over 270,000 words the longest apart from 'Monster Hunter' and 'Dragons: More than a Myth?'

Neil is to be congratulated for such an extraordinary piece of writing. A large proportion of the book concerns big cats, but as Neil - despite his detractors - is one of the leading mystery cat researchers in the country, this is hardly surprising.

However, what makes it so much better than yer run of the mill 'big cat' books which seem to be largely rehashed press cuttings, and in which the sentence "...err it was black, it had a long tail and looked like my Labrador,"seem to be repeated over and over again ad nauseam, this is the first-hand story of years of dedication and hands-on research.

The non-cat chapters are equally as interesting, covering a whole gamut of subjects from out-of-place animals to what Neil calls the 'nameless anomalies' which would not be out of place in an episode of 'The X-Files' from about ten years ago.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It's only £14.99 which is hardly extortionate in this day and age, and in the unlikely instance that you don't like it, it is so substantial that you can use it as a door stop, throw it at your dog, or wrap it in a pillow-case to make a handy cosh, and tootle on down to your nearest sub-post office. Well done mate."

Paperback: 420 pages; Publisher: Cfz (Mar 2009); Language English; ISBN-10: 1905723369ISBN-13: 978-1905723362; Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 15.6 x 2.2 cm

Thursday 5 March 2009

On the track of the mystery prowler.

A set of paw-prints found recently at Southern Valley Golf Club were all too quickly dismissed by 'experts' as belonging to a dog, whilst local press believed such prints were made by a 'big cat'. However, it seems that both parties are incorrect in their statements and we have an even bigger mystery on our hands. Do the prints belong to a member of the Mustelid family ? Zoologist Richard Freeman believes the impressions resemble those made by a wolverine, or a smaller animal such as the Fisher, although the prints are almost as long as a footprint made by a size 10 shoe!

The Centre For Fortean Zology have posted a link to the paw-prints HERE and whatever made them is around four-feet in length, walks on all fours, and has an elongated heel, unlike a badger. Richard Freeman commented that although the wolverine has five claws, the fifth claw is not always evident.