California Lemur Sighting

Two boys near Calabasas Lake spotted what they believe to be a lemur. It was three feet in length with a foot long tail. "'It was giant,' Noah confirmed. 'I thought it was a squirrel at first but then he looked right at us. He was orange and had black on his tail. He had a lemur face and giant yellow eyes.'" (News source.)

Actually, I'm wondering if it wasn't a ringtail, native to California.

Loch Ness Sonar Event

Sonar images caught a large unidentified object in Loch Ness during a cruise by a UK sitcom cast. (News source.)

Ivorybill Not Forgotten

Nothing much to update, but the search continues.

Giant Fossil Lemur

Another species of giant fossil lemur has been found in Madagascar. "Baptised Palaeopropithecus kelyus, this new specimen is smaller than the two species of these 'large sloth lemurs' already known and its diet made up of harder-textured foodstuffs." (News source.)

Ohio Cougar Sightings

More sightings of big brown felines in Brown County, Ohio. (News source.)

Rarest Deer Survives

A team of researchers in the Philippines discovered signs of continued existence of the rare Visayan spotted deer. (News source.)

Ocean Life Changes

An interesting Eurekalert here about the changes in marine species' sizes and abundance levels over the last few centuries.

White Elephant Seal

A leucistic southern elephant seal has been reported from a sub-Antarctic beach. (News source.)

Cavy Seen Again in SC

Might be the same one spotted a few years ago, a Patagonian cavy was seen again loose near Aiken, South Carolina. (News source.)

Technology Locates Unexpected Whales

Endangered Right Whales Found Where Presumed Extinct. (Eurekalert.)

"Using a system of underwater hydrophones that can record sounds from hundreds of miles away, a team of scientists from Oregon State University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has documented the presence of endangered North Atlantic right whales in an area they were thought to be extinct."

Crypto TV

I'll admit I'm not a big fan of cryptozoology-oriented television. The so-called expeditions and investigations are mostly baloney -- from the moronic "believers" vs "skeptics" framework to background research that consists of a few Google searches and no historical depth... I'll pass, thanks. (Oh, but hey, Wife Swap is still looking for a Bigfoot hunting family, and is willing to shell out $1000 in finder's fees...)

I did, however, enjoy episodes of River Monsters, on Animal Planet. The host, Jeremy Wade, is a professional who actually knows what he's talking about. They had a good mix of freshwater species in their various episodes, you can watch a few here. They are gearing up for a second series, and curiously enough, they're thinking about including a significant cryptozoological "giant fish" lake. Of course, time and expense constraints mean that a full investigation may not be possible, but it would be interesting to see what they could find.

I do think that the web offers an open opportunity for cryptozoological media production that goes beyond the same old material. It's going to require skills beyond some flashy video editing, or the tired "it might have been Bigfoot" documentaries, but the potential audience is out there.

Venomous Critter News

Komodo dragons have been confirmed to have venom glands: "magnetic resonance imagery has for the first time uncovered venom glands containing a shock-inducing poison which increases blood flow and decreases blood pressure." (News source.)

And, a large fossil shrew had channeled teeth for injecting toxic saliva. (News source.)

Big Black Cat

Another sighting of a large black feline in Australia, near Glenorie, NSW. (News source.)

Kalihi Wallabies

There's an article here on the introduced population of wallabies in Oahu. One correction, the wildlife manager says there hasn't been a documented sighting since 1990, but the Honolulu Advertiser noted a wandering wallaby in 2002.

Cougars on Camera

An Arkansas man claims to have caught a cougar on a game trail camera. No image is shown, so I can't make any comments on the identity. (News source.)

A Virginia man also got a pic of a big cat on the Isle of Wight. For once, I think someone got it right -- it is distinctly a cougar profile. Assuming it's a real image, it looks like the real deal. (News source.)

More Siberian "Bigfoot"

"The local Shor people in Kemerovo Region, Siberia, are reporting that something is snatching up the wild leek crop that is a staple of their diet, Itar-Tass Siberia reports. The onion-lovers leave behind abundant large footprints with clearly defined toes, similar to the prints found in the area earlier this year, the news service continues." (News source.)

For the Netflix Queu

Asylum has released a 90-minute video in the cryptofiction genre (sort of): Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus. The title says it all... Trailer here. (via Kevin Stewart)

Under the Ocean

Some interesting video footage here from a British marine survey in the Pacific, at 7,000 meters below the surface. (via Zach Barton)

Social Trilobites

Fossil groupings of up to 1000 trilobites suggest they were social creatures, at least while molting. (News source.)

Panda Kills Cat

A wildcat that wandered into a Chinese panda reserve was killed by one of the pandas. (News source.)

Basking Sharks Migrate South

Turns out Atlantic region basking sharks migrate south for the winter. (News source.)

Bunch of Frogs

Approx. 200 new frogs have been identified in Madagascar. (News source, via Kevin Stewart)

Little "Hobbit," Big Feet

New news material on Homo floresiensis after a couple of papers published in Nature. (News here, here, and here.)