Adam Davies on the Almasty

A couple of days ago I had the opportunity to interview Adam Davies, author of the excellent new book, Extreme Expeditions, and a member of the team that just a few weeks ago headed off to Russia in search of the Bigfoot-like Almasty.

While Richard Freeman is still out there, Adam returned to England a couple of days before I interviewed him - and he had much to say about the beast, the expedition and more. And with that all said, here's the interview!

NR: Adam, what was it that got you involved in the Almasty expedition?

AD: In the first instance, I went down to the CFZ's Weird Weekend conference last year. Jon Downes invited me to do a talk on the Congo: I had been there looking for the Mokele-mbembe, as you know from my book. While I was there, I saw the talk by Grigoriy Panchenko on the Almasty; and I was really impressed by his depth of knowledge and research. So, I considered the idea of going.

AD: I then found out that Richard [Freeman] from the CFZ was also planning on going. So, Richard said: "Why don't we join forces and go?" It made sense, so that's what we did.

NR: And, for you, what were the big revelations and developments?

AD: As far as what we achieved, my view has always been that anything you find in field-research has to be independently, scientifically analyzed. That's the ultimate test for all of these things. Now, in terms of evidence, what we got first was eye-witness reports - some more credible than others. Some of it was anecdotes from old guys - such as an old guy telling us over his cognac how his dad saw an Almasty. But that's not much in the way of evidential value.

AD: But, we also spoke with a direct eye-witness, a guy called Tahir, who had seen an Almasty in 2005. His sheep were being disturbed, and he had seen this large Almasty watching him. So, we got a lot of good eye-witnesses of that sort. Interestingly, many of them described the Almasty as having this conical-shaped head, rather like the Yeti.

AD: We also found some evidence that can be analyzed properly: skull fragments and some strange bones found in caves. But what really excited me was in a place where there had been Almasty activity Dave Archer found a nest - what looked like a nest, and it didn't appear to have been made by any animal that I could recognize that was indigenous to the area. And we found around 20 hairs there which can be analyzed. And we can get the DNA extracted from them, too.

AD: But even if the evidence isn't conclusive, I've still learned a lot more about the Almasty, and about its numbers: there's probably between 100 and 300 of them in the area we were investigating. And if we went back again, we'd have a better opportunity. There's nothing wrong with armchair research, but my job is as a field researcher. That's what I'm into; and finding any evidence that can be analyzed scientifically. And I think the scientific community is starting to listen to us more now. There's a huge upswing in interest in cryptozoology.

AD: There was also a case we investigated of an Almasty seen at a barn in the area - which happened to be the scene of a triple-murder. You could hear the jackals howling, and it was well spooky! In 2005, a couple of shepherds had been sleeping in the barn. One had come outside, and there was an Almasty going for their food. It didn't attack the shepherd, but physically moved him from one place to another.

AD: On the first night when I was doing the stake-out with Dave, one of the Russians, Anatoly, claimed to have heard an Almasty calling; but I didn't hear that. But on the second night, me and Richard were doing a stake-out. On this occasion, both of us heard movement across the front of the barn, and we saw a large shape. You can imagine the adrenalin rush: we both rushed out, but the thing had gone. So, I can't say I saw an Almasty; and it's important to stress that. But there was a lot of interest and evidence around that barn - which was in the mountains.

NR: And based on the investigation, have you reached a personal conclusion as to what you think the Almasty is or isn't?

AD: I'd say I have a tentative conclusion; but that's partly going to be decided by what we get back from the analysis. I'd say there's certainly more of them than in, say, Mongolia. But it's a different sort of hominid. If there are pockets of something that were related to Homo Erectus, and that got pushed into remote areas and isolated geographically, then I don't see anything inconsistent with having pockets in different places that might mutate differently. For example, the Orang-Pendek is clearly a different creature from the Almasty.

AD: I really don't think it's Neanderthal in anyway though. I've never been a big fan of the Neanderthal theory for the Almasty. I think they are relic hominids; and I've always felt that. For example, I've never seen any evidence of them using tools or fire. And even if there was cultural recession, it wouldn't be to the extent where there would be no use of fire or tools at all, if these were Neanderthals. And if they were using fire, particularly at night, you'd see it in the mountains. But there's no evidence of that.

NR: Any final words on the expedition?

AD: It was definitely worth going. But, of course, it's always going to be difficult to prove anything in just 2 or 3 weeks. But the team as a whole, I think, would say we have learned a lot about the Almasty and its movements. And I would like to go back at some point.

The CFZ, the Almasty, and the Russian Expedition: The Press Release

Here's the official CFZ press release on the forthcoming expedition to Russia in search of the Almasty. I'll be updating you regularly on all developments - leading up to, throughout, and after the expedition.

BRITISH SCIENTISTS HUNT LIVING CAVEMEN IN RUSSIAN MOUNTAINS

A group of scientists from the British-based Center for Fortean Zoology, the world’s largest mystery animal research organisation, are to travel to the Caucasus Mountains of the Southwest Russian republic of Karbadino Balkaria in search of what may be mankind’s closest living relative; a hominid known as the Almasty.

The three week expedition is being filmed by October Films for UK Channel 4 television, and by the team themselves for a feature length documentary to be broadcast, for free, on the CFZtv multimedia website, the only dedicated cryptozoological web based TV station in the world.

Ukrainian biologist Grigory Panchenko, who has been on the track of the ape-like man for over 14 years, will join the five-man team. Panchenko has seen the creature on four occasions, including a hair rising encounter on a remote farm, when he got to within ten feet of the creature.

Zoological director of the Centre for Fortean Zoology, Richard Freeman, 38, believes the creatures to be large, primitive descendants of our own ancestor Homo erectus:

“Homo erectus was the ancestor of not only modern man but the Neanderthal and the tiny, recently discovered Homo floresiensis. There is no reason why it should not have had other descendants. The Almasty is described as large, hairy and powerful. It is smaller and more human in appearance than the better-known yeti of the Himalayas. It has no fire and only rudimentary, ape-like tool use. Grigory Panchenko believes that it is on the increase in the Karbadino Balkeria area of the Caucasus. There are many more reports here than in other areas and also reports of family groups.”

The team are also working with Professor Bryan Sykes, Professor of Human Genetics at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Wolfson College. Sykes is best known outside the community of geneticists for his bestselling books The Seven Daughters of Eve, and Blood of the Isles: Exploring the Genetic Roots of Our Tribal History which describe the investigation of human history and prehistory through studies of mitochondrial DNA. Because all the stories of the Almasty insist that these creatures can, and do, interbreed with humans, the team will be taking DNA samples from a wide range of people in Karbadino Balkaria, and Professor Sykes hopes that through mitochondrial DNA analysis the true identity of the Almasty will be discovered.

The three week expedition leaves the UK on June 21 and will be employing camera traps in the hope of photographing one of these creatures as well as interviewing witnesses and exploring the areas were the Almasty has been sighted. They will also be investigating reports of a huge species of snake, some thirty feet long, said to inhabit the mountains. The size of a large python, it is far bigger than any species known to inhabit the area.

The Center for Fortean Zoology is the only full time organisation dedicated to investigating reports of unknown animals. They have searched for anomalous creatures all around the world, as well as publishing many books on the subject. More information can be found on their dedicated websites www.cfz.org.uk and http://almasty.blogspot.com

Richard Freeman, and CFZ Director Jonathan Downes are available for interview. Images are also available. Please telephone Jon or Corinna on +44 (0)1237 431413 for details.

Notes for Editors:

The Centre for Fortean Zoology [CFZ] is the world’s largest mystery animal research organisation. It was founded in 1992 by British author Jonathan Downes,48, and is a non-profit making (not for profit) organisation registered with H.M. Stamp Office.

Life-president of the CFZ is Colonel John Blashford-Snell OBE, best known for his groundbreaking youth work organising the ‘Operation Drake’ and ‘Operation Raleigh’ expeditions in the 1970s and 1980s.

CFZ Director Jonathan Downes is the author and/or editor of over 20 books. Island of Paradise, his first hand account of two expeditions to the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico in search of the grotesque vampiric chupacabra, will be published in the next few weeks.

The CFZ have carried out expeditions across the world including Sumatra, Mongolia, Guyana, Gambia, Texas, Mexico, Thailand, Puerto Rico, Illinois, Loch Ness, and Loch Morar.
CFZ Press are the world’s largest publishers of books on mystery animals. They also publish Animals & Men, the world’s only cryptozoology magazine, and Exotic Pets, Britain’s only dedicated magazine on the subject.

The CFZ produce their own full-length documentaries through their media division called CFZtv (www.cfztv.org). One of their films Lair of the Red Worm which was released in early 2007 and documents their 2005 Mongolia expedition has now been seen by nearly 40,000 people.
The CFZ is based in Jon Downes’ old family home in rural North Devon which he shares with his wife Corinna, 51. It is also home to various members of the CFZ’s permanent directorate and a collection of exotic animals.

Corinna and Jonathan Downes are shareholders in Tropiquaria – a small zoo in North Somerset (www.tropiquaria.co.uk).

Jonathan Downes presents a monthly web TV show called On the Track (http://cfzmonthly.blogspot.com/) which covers cryptozoology and work of the CFZ.

The CFZ are currently building a Visitor Center and Museum in Woolsery, North Devon.
Each year the CFZ presents an annual conference www.weirdweekend.org .

This year’s event will be held in August, and will feature the first public appearance by the Russian Expedition team.

Following their successful partnership with Capcom www.capcom.com on the 2007 Guyana expedition, the CFZ are looking for more commercial sponsors.

The Almasty: The Latest

There's a new report in from Jon Downes on the Almasty expedition. Since this is an important report (in more ways that one - as you'll see), I'm relating it in full. And so, here's Jon:

It had been a couple of days since I had last spoken to Adam, and once again my incipient paranoia was beginning to kick into action. Just before lunch today, he phoned again, and although he told me first of all that I needn't worry, and that all five expedition members were alive and well, he told me that there had been a couple of close shaves, and passed me over to Richard.

"I nearly died... twice" said Richard, and although he was being characteristically bullish about the whole affair, I have known him a long time, and I could tell that the experiences had really shaken him. He told me had the first time, he was trying to cross the ice sheet, when he fell down a crevasse, and slid a hundred feet on his tummy, and just managed to grab onto a rock to save himself.

He lost his digital camera and - bizarrely - his front door key, but otherwise, apart from being shaken he was OK. However, soon after he was walking along the edge of a cliff, when it collapsed, and once again he fell down a ravine. He grabbed hold of a tree, Indiana Jones style, and dangled above the ravine until his colleagues managed to pull him back to safety.Dave also managed to fall down another crevasse, waist deep, and had to be pulled out.

All this happened on the way to the place, where - a few days ago - a witness called Sergei allegedly found found the fresh corpse of a female almasty only a few years ago. The boys had been under the impression that it was a relatively short half hour trot from the village, but whether this was because something had been lost in translation, or whether the five boys from England were just not as adept at dealing with the unfamiliar terrain, or whether even - as I have found on many occasions in the past - the local witnesses completely exaggerated the distance, just to try and make their new friends happy, I don't know, but the half hour stroll turned into four hours plus of gruelling trek across rocks, ice sheets and some of the most unforgiving terrain Richard, at least, has ever crossed.

Then, only a stones throw from the location of the unfortunate almasty's final resting place, Richard succumbed to altitude sickness. This is no joke. I suffered from it about ten years ago, high in the mountains above Mexico City. It is a most peculiar sensation. It is like the delirium that one gets with a high fever, mixed with a hangover, and it is one of the most unpleasant experiences that I have ever been through.

Sadly, although they excavated the place where the makeshift grave was supposed to have been situated, it was too no avail. The body was long gone. But in an area where bears, jackals and other scavenging carrion eaters are common this is hardly surprising.

However, the news is not all disappointing. Dave Archer apparently found what may be an almasty 'nest' in the woods, and they have at least 20 hairs for analysis. They have also been promised a putative almasty tooth for analysis.

This evening the party have split into two. Dave and Adam are going to set up trigger cameras in a derelict barn where there have been a string of sightings, including one by the guide Sergei (mentioned above), in 1986.

They spoke to the Vice President of the National Park who had a sighting of the almasty three years ago. It was dusk, and he originally thought that the creature was a sleeping cow. But it got to its feet and he realised that It was human in form. He spoke to it in Balkar and in Russian, but there was no answer. He didn’t see its face, but noted its huge domed head.Another guide, Anatoli, and his father, have both reported sightings of the giant snake. They describe it as being about 7m long and being the colour of the bark of a poplar tree.

The expedition, despite setbacks, is going well, and we look forward to the next installment.

The Hazards of Monster-Hunting

Richard Freeman, left, prepares to seek out the Russian wild-man. As the story below reveals, the Freeman-led CFZ team faces the possibility of crossing paths with things far more potentially hazardous and deadly than the Almasty, including terrorists and kidnappers.

Fortunately, Richard and Co. aren't letting this get in their way of seeking out the truth about the Almasty. They leave for Russia tomorrow, so wish them luck!










QUEST FOR A CAVEMAN

By Jon Downes

Man beasts and cave men in the 21st Century? Surely not. But a group of British explorers and scientists, backed by a renowned Geneticist from Oxford University, embark on an intrepid expedition into a war zone on Saturday, and they hope to come back with compelling evidence for the existence of such things.

The Yeti is one of the most iconic mystery animals in the world. Even in the 21st Century when mankind likes to think that it has conquered all the wild places of the planet, this hulking, hairy man beast still rears its ancient head and intrigues zoologists and explorers alike.

Only this week, there has been news of a new Yeti sighting in the remote West Garo hills of north-eastern India. Park ranger Dipu Marak described seeing "a black and gray ape-like animal which stands about 3m (nearly 10ft) tall".

Recently Derbyshire based artist and conservationist Pollyanna Pickering hit the headlines when she released details of what appears, on the face of it, to be a specimen of a Yeti scalp found in a remote monastery in Bhutan.

The Yeti appears to be an unknown species of ape, but sightings of such creatures, and perhaps more intriguingly, sightings of alleged primitive human-like creatures, which appear similar to the iconic Hollywood images of cave-men, still come in on a regular basis from around the world.

The Center for Fortean Zoology [CFZ] in North Devon (the world's largest organisation which searches for unknown animal species) is launching a major new expedition this week. The five explorers, led by zoologist Richard Freeman (38) - the Zoological Director of the Bideford-based centre - will be ignoring Foreign Office suggestions and flying to the tiny Russian state of Karbadino-Balkaria for a three week expedition.

In Russia they will be liaising with Ukranian biologist Grigoriy Panchenko who has been studying the creatures for fourteen years and who has had four sightings of the wild-men, which are known locally as Almasty.

The expedition is being backed by renowned academic Prof. Bryan Sykes of Oxford University, who hit the headlines a few years ago with his remarkable book The Seven Daughters of Eve which conclusively proved, through analysis of the mitochondrial DNA of a large sampling of people across the continent, that nearly everyone living in Europe today is descended from one of just seven women who lived between 10,000 and 45,000 years ago.

The Foreign Office website warns against travel to several Russian republics including Kabardino-Balkaria "as terrorism and kidnapping in these regions remain a serious problem", but in a statement released today Freeman explains why the expedition will still be going ahead.

"We haven't really got an option", he says. "If we pull out now, a lot of money and even more work will have been wasted. Grigoriy has told us that kidnapping and terrorism have not been an issue in the parts of the country where we are going, and anyway, the path of science MUST continue unhindered, if we are to push back the boundaries of human knowledge. There will be eight or ten of us in the party, if you include Grigoriy's guides, and any band of potential kidnappers would find that they had a fight on their hands".

The expedition will be tracking the Almasty and using sophisticated infra-red trigger cameras and ex-military night-sight equipment, but will also be carrying out a campaign of DNA testing amongst the inhabitants of the remote mountainous forests. "

According to local folklore the almasty can interbreed with humans" says Jonathan Downes (48), the Director of the Center for Fortean Zoology. "Professor Sykes has done some remarkable work with mitochondrial DNA, and if any of the people whom we are testing have any trace of DNA from anything other than a modern human, it will tell us that somewhere in the maternal line, one of his or her ancestors was not a member of the same species as the rest of us."

Although the expedition will not be returning to the UK until mid-July, you needn't wait until then for news from the expedition. Through the wonders of satellite technology the expedition website will be running updates every few days.

On the 17th August the team will be presenting their findings to the world as part of the three-day annual convention of the CFZ. Pollyanna Pickering will also be there and, following the interest that her revelations about a putative yeti scalp in Bhutan caused recently, will be taking questions from cryptozoological researchers from around the world.

The Almasty, The Russians, The Trousers, The Latest!

Here's Jon Downes with the latest on all-things Russian and Almasty-ish, courtesy of team-member Adam Davies who, via a crackly phone connection, has updated Jon on what's afoot.

Says Jon:

"The first thing that [Adam] assured me is that all members of the team are safe, healthy and well. The only injury so far has been Adam himself who, whilst climbing some treacherous rocks, slipped and fell 10 feet, tearing his trousers.

"Even Richard is unusually chipper as despite a day of gruelling climbing thousands of feet up mountainous rock faces to a cave where Almasty have reportedly been seen, and – as far as I can gather – from whence Grigory Panchenko obtained both skull fragments and samples of scat, and in Adam’s words 'Richard for once does not have the wooden spoon for being the least healthy member of the expedition – apparently on this occasion the booby prize goes to Keith who had most difficulty negotiating the unforgiving terrain.'

"They explored the caves yesterday, which are at a place called White Rock, near Tyrnyauz and have set up camera traps in the caves. At the moment we have no information as to how recent the scat samples are, but presumably local people believe that the caves are inhabited by the Almasty.

"Grigory has given the bone and scat samples to the boys and he believes that they are genuine, although he has asked Adam to stress to me that he is not prepared to accept them as firm evidence until they have been analysed.

"Today, as far as I can gather, (and you have to remember that this report is gleaned from two very brief crackly telephone conversations, each lasting well under 3 minutes, so I don’t have all the answers), half the team have climbed back up to the caves to check the camera traps, whilst Adam, presumably having repaired his trousers, and Dave have been filming an interview with an eyewitness who claimed to have found an Almasty body in 1996.

"There wasn’t time for me to get a full description, but Adam told me of his surprise at hearing that the female corpse reportedly had a ‘conical’ head like that of a yeti. The team will be staying in and about Tyrnyauz for a few more days before embarking into the mountainous regions near Mount Elbrus hopefully to exhume the cadaver."

Here's the rest of Jon's post.

More when we get it!

Rather curiously, Adam's caper with his trousers is eerily reminiscent of something of a similar nature that happened to Richard on a previous expedition, when he ended up well and truly trouser-less!

What's the deal with the CFZ and trousers? I have no idea, but it can't be a pretty sight, to say the least! It won't mean a thing to American readers, but I'm rather minded to ask Adam and Richard (in the words of the old Scottish song): Donald, where's your trousers?

Is there some weird Fortean beast or entity that has a particular liking for trousers of the CFZ kind? Mercifully, I don't know - and nor do I particularly want to know either!

The Almasty Latest

Here's some intriguing new data from Jon Downes on the CFZ quest to locate the Almasty:

"The camera traps have not yet revealed anything special, but one night, when Richard and Adam were in the barn they saw a huge shadow flit by the window. They rushed out onto the derelict balcony but it had gone. Adam wants me to stress that they DIDN'T see the Almasty. They merely saw a huge, man-shaped shadow in a place where the Almasty has been seen on many occasions. But it is good supporting evidence."

Let's hope that whatever the shadowy thing was, the team crosses paths with it again. And I'm sure that when Richard returns home, he'll have much more to say on this fascinating development.

Stay tuned!

Dave Archer, CFZski, and the Almasty

Dave Archer, also a member of CFZski, offers his perspective on the forthcoming expedition to Russia:

"As a schoolboy I read an article in a wildlife magazine on Russian Wildmen which started a fascination with the Yeti, Bigfoot, Almas and Wildman.

"In later years I read Odette Tchernines's book The Yeti. It has since then been my dream to go in search of these creatures especially in such apparently rich area's like Kabardino Balkaria and the Caucasus and feel lucky to have found like minded and experienced friends to go with.
On this expedition I would hope to find evidence of almasty bones, hair samples or any material containing DNA so as to try and identify the genetic line of this species.

"My dream from this expedition would be to come into contact with the almasty and to encounter this species in its own environment. To be able to take photographs and share my findings with the rest of the world would be an honour.I am also very interested in the mysterious reptiles that have been reported in the area as I am very interested in herpetology. All in all I can’t wait to get to Russia and begin what in my mind is a huge adventure, and hope this trip is the first of many to this exciting area."

The Almasty Expedition - The Latest

Here's Jon's latest post on the quest for the Almasty:

"I had, of course, heard of Bryan Sykes, the eminent Oxford Professor of Genetics but I had never met him. Then, a few weeks ago, I appeared on Radio 4's Today programme, plugging a lecture that Richard and I were doing that night at the Grant Museum of Natural History in London. Both on the Today show and at the lecture we announced our forthcoming expedition to Russia.

"Professor Sykes was one of the listeners, and being unable to come along to our lecture in person, he sent along his charming personal assistant Ulla to make contact with us. A few weeks later (last wednesday, in fact) he and Ulla came to lunch at the CFZ and we thrashed out a plan whereby the CFZ will be able to help him with his research by carrying out a programme of DNA sample testing in the rural area of Karbadino Balkaria where we will be working.

"If, indeed, the Almasty have interbred with people in the past, the results of this genetic screening could yeild invaluable results.We would have become involved with this project anyway, because it is not only worthwhile, but will provide valuable supporting evidence for our quest, whatever the results.

"However Bryan, through his company Oxford Ancestors has also made a very generous donation towards expedition funds, so we can now free other funds to finish the museum.At this stage of the game everything in the garden is more than rosy."

Tomorrow: The CFZ Quest for the Almasty Begins

Just to remind everyone: it's tomorrow morning that CFZ zoologist Richard Freeman and his team head off to the wilds of Russia in search of the hairy, man-like Almasty.

Here's all my previous posts on the expedition.

And here's a new online video-production that includes interviews with Richard and other key-players in the story.

As was the case with last year's CFZ expedition to Guyana (in search of giant snakes), both CFZ director, Jon Downes, and myself will be reporting on any and all developments as the team seeks out the mysterious Almasty.

Keep checking in for updates right here (from me) and (from Jon) at the official expedition blog.

Almasty Update

Good mate Richard Freeman of the CFZ has a new post on Russia's very own hairy man-beast: the Almasty. In part, Rich says:

"Genetic evidence taken from a 40,000 year old finger bone in Siberia’s Altai Mountains is pointing to an unknown species of man-like creature that lived in the area along with modern man and Neanderthal man. The finger bone came from a layer radiocarbon-dated to between 48,000 and 30,000 years ago. Evolutionary geneticists Svante Pääbo, Johannes Krause, and colleagues at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, ground up a 30-milligram sample and extracted and sequenced all of the 16,569 base pairs of its mtDNA genome.

"A team led by archaeologists Michael Shunkov and Anatoli Derevianko of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Novosibirsk found the finger bone in 2008 at Denisova Cave in Russia's Altai Mountains. The DNA suggests a new hominin lineage later than Homo erectus and earlier than Homo heidelbergensis.

"The implications here are huge. In what is, geologically, an eye-blink into the past the biodiversity of the genus Homo was impressive. We had Homo sapiens (modern man), Homo floresiensis (the tiny hominin from the island of Flores in Indonesia) the famous Homo neanderthalensis (Neanderthal man), and the new species dubbed Hominin X.

"The Altai Mountains are supposedly inhabited by a hairy wildman. It is tall, agile, muscular and primitive. It has no fire and only basic tool use, wielding clubs or hurling rocks. It feeds on berries, roots, vegetation and a wide assortment of animals from rodents to cattle. Despite its titanic strength, the creature is said to be un-aggressive unless provoked. The same creature is reported widely across the former USSR and surrounding countries.

"It is know mainly as the almasty, but in other areas it is called almas, albasy, dev or gul. It is smaller and more human in its appearance than the yeti or sasquatch but larger and more muscular than a man. It is generally thought to be of the genus homo rather than a pongid. Records of it go back hundreds of years in Central Asia and it was included it catalogues of local wildlife."

And here's Rich's full post.

The Search for the Almasty Continues...

Well, after having had Net-hassles the last couple of days that left me unable to update you on the Russian expedition, I'm back online - at the same time that, over in the UK, Jon Downes has now lost his Net connection (hopefully until tomorrow at the latest)!

I spoke with Jon on the phone earlier and we joked that if we were of a more paranoid nature, we might conclude there's something sinister in all this!

But, no: it's just due to good old technology and bad weather.

Anyway, there is something to report from Jon regarding the search for the Almasty, and it's this:

"Adam Davies telephoned us from Nalchik airport. All the team have arrived in Kabardino Balkaria safe and sound, with their baggage and equipment intact, and furthermore, they have liased as arranged with Grigoriy Panchenko and his colleagues who have been doing advance research in the region for the last two weeks. Excitingly it appears that Panchenko and his compadres have already secured some faecal samples, as well as some bone fragments supposedly from a skull which may be of an Almasty."

Now, we shouldn't, of course, get too excited until we can say something (or nothing!) definitive about this "skull" issue, but at least things are progressing and work is being done - which is the main thing.

Expect more as soon as I have it!

Almasty Interview

I just got off the phone with Adam Davies, author of the excellent book Extreme Expeditions, and one of the participants in the CFZ expedition to Russia in search of the Almasty. We discussed a wealth of fascinating data, including what the team discovered, Adam' s theories on what the Almasty might be, and much more. I should have the interview posted here by the end of the week.

CFZ: The Russian Wildman

Here's some excellent news: the Center for Fortean Zoology has just published its "Expedition Report 2008: Russia" on the Center's recent expedition to Russia in search of the hairy wild-man known as the Almasty.

As regular readers of this blog will know, the expedition was a highly ambitous one, which saw the Richard Freeman-led team tackling the harsh Caucasus Mountains as they sought out their monstrous quarry.

My copy of the book literally only arrived in the mail about twenty minutes ago; but even a quick glance at its contents demonstrates that this is likely to be seen as one of the major crypto-publications of late 2008/early 2009.

With an introduction from Jon Downes, a foreword written by Dr. Karl Shuker, and individual chapters penned by each of the team-members (who provide their own unique perspectives, thoughts, memories and opinions on the trip), the book is an absolute treasure-trove of data.

Not only that: the packed and unique photo section alone makes the book well worth buying.

As soon as I have read the book, I'll be writing a comprehensive review. But, even having just had a cursory glance it today, I can say for certain that if you want to find out more about the mysterious Almasty, you will not be disappointed at all.

And here's the Amazon link for purchasing your very own copy.

Lair of the Beasts: The Almasty

Over at my Lair of the Beasts column at mania.com, you can find a new article from me on the CFZ's recent expedition to the Caucasus Mountains in search of the hairy wild-man known as the Almasty.

The good news, as you'll see, is that Jon Downes and Richard Freeman will soon be publishing a full-length report on the quest to find the creature. Based on what they have told me, and the data and witness-testimony they have in-hand, this looks to be an essential read!

Freeman & Russian Man-Beasts

This just in from Richard Freeman at the Center for Fortean Zoology:

Russia, or the one time Soviet Union, always seemed to be a step ahead of the west scientifically. They did, after all, get the first satellite into orbit, and the first man in space. They seemed to be forward thinkers and less hidebound and arrogant.

In the 1950s, when the interest in the Himalayan yeti was at its peak, most (though certainly not all) had more or less written off the creature. Not so the Soviets. Russian polymath Dr Boris Porshnev seriously considered the existence of such a creature. Unlike most western scientists, he thought the creature might be a relic hominid - a relative of the ancestors of man - rather than a great ape.

Here I must personally disagree with him on the nature of the yeti, but that is beside the point. He was a scientist with an active interest in the subject.

Porshnev also found out that there were sightings of superficially similar creatures in the Soviet Union. In the Caucasus, the Pamirs, the Tien Chen and other areas were reports of hairy man-like creatures variously known as almasty, almas, dev, gul and many other names. There were records of encounters with such creatures. These seem smaller and more man-like than the classic ‘giant yeti’ of Tibet and the Himalayas. These could, indeed be relic hominids.

In 1958, the USSR Academy of Sciences, on Porshnev's initiative, set up a special Commission on the "snowman" question and launched an expedition to the Pamirs. Although it did not find a yeti or almasty, the Snowman Commission was in existence for three years. It is hard to imagine any other government being so forward looking as to back a cryptozoological organisation.

During its three years, the Commission amassed a huge amount of information on sightings both modern and historical. As far back as the time of Carl Linnaeus the creature had been given the scientific name Homo troglodytes.

During the three years, Porshnev compiled and published yearbooks of information on the ‘snowman’. After the Commission was abolished he continued to compile information. Sadly, none of his books have been translated into English and even in Russia his books are rare, one having a print run of only 180. I have tried to get an inter-library loan of this book from Moscow Library with a view to photocopying it for translation, but I never did receive an answer.

In 1960, Pyotr Smolin began a seminar on the subject at the Darwin Museum in Moscow. This encouraged a second generation of researchers including Dmitri Bayanov, Igor Bourtsev, Alexandra Bourtseva, V.Pushkarev, Maya Bykova, V.Makarov, M. Trachtengerts and Gregory Panchenko.

Now 51 years after the Snowman Commission was disbanded, the Siberian Government are to set up a research institute based at Kemerovo University dedicated to the study of relic hominids.

Officials of the Kemerovo administration in western Siberia have said that organising an institute or a scientific centre would be a logical continuation of research into the yeti.

Dr. Igor Burtsev, director of The International Center of Hominology, will join the brand new research unit if the plans go ahead. He said: "In Russia there are about 30authoritative scientists who are engaged in studying the phenomenon of the abominable snowman."

"All of them will be integrated into this institute. The primary goal is to establish contact with one of the creatures." Recently 15 local people in the Kemerovo region have reported encounters with a 7-foot, man-like beast with black or reddish hair. Most reports come from the Mount Shoria wilderness.

Let’s hope that this time they have more luck and are given more time to find their quarry.

THE CFZ GOES MONSTER HUNTING IN RUSSIA!

Well, I'm very pleased to announce this morning that big and exciting things are afoot within the world of the Center for Fortean Zoology.

In just a few, short weeks from now, a team from the CFZ, led by in-house zoologist Richard Freeman, will be heading off to the Karbadino Balkaria region of Southern Russia, in search of the nation's very own version of the Yeti: the fabled Almasty.

An announcement was made this morning on the BBC's prestigious Radio 4 "Today" show about the expedition. And I can also tell you that big names are involved, and there will be major TV coverage of the expedition, too.

I will have much more to say on Monday when a fuller, broader announcement will be made about this ground-breaking venture.

But suffice it to say for now, this will be a major project for the CFZ, and one that I will be reporting on - right here - on a daily basis when the CFZ's quest for the Almasty begins.

News of the Monstrous Kind

From today's Anomalist:

Curse of the Fish That Time Forgot Daily Mail. Samantha Weinberg, author of A Fish Caught in Time, tells the tale of the discovery of the coelacanth, the fish the natives of the Comoros call "The King of the Sea," and evolutionists expect to tell the story of the ascent of seaborne creatures to land millions of years ago. But there's a dark side to the search for the coelacanth. Does this mysterious ancient fish carry a curse for those who pursue it?

Weird Hairy Females Seduce Hot-blooded Caucasian Men Pravda. The Caucasus Mountains of Russia are reportedly the home of the Almasty, the Russian version of Bigfoot. There have been stories of human males and Almasty females mating before. Now here are several such stories. You did note this is from Pravda, right?

The Almasty Team: Back in the UK

This was the latest on Saturday from Jon Downes about the Almasty expedition, who posted the following answer-phone message received from Richard:

"Hi Jon, this is Richard. We are in Moscow Airport at the minute - this is just a bit of an update. We have more hair, more dung, and what might be finger bones.We've spoken to, and interviewed, a lot more witnesses; we've staked out an amazing place that was a ruined restaurant that was built like a castle where one of these things is supposed to have scared off a bunch of policemen by screaming. There is loads of stuff on the camera traps, that we're bringing back, though I'm pretty certain most of it will be bats. Okay, I'll try and phone again a bit later on."

Well, the good news as of today is that the team is now back in Britain, and so we should have much more to report now they have returned, along with a wealth of data for analysis.

Freeman Interviewed

Neil Arnold has an insightful new interview with the CFZ's Richard Freeman posted at his Monster! blog.

Rich and Neil cover a wide variety of areas in the interview, and here's a taster:

Neil: "Of all the cryptids, which do you think are most likely to be discovered over the next century?"

Richard: "The thylacine or Tasmanian marsupial wolf. It has been seen by zoologists and a park ranger. It has been filmed on several occasions. Sightings number in their thousands. It's the cryptid most likely to exist.The almasty,a relic hominid a close relative of man. In the Karbadino Balkaria part of the Caucasus Mountains of Russia their numbers seem to be on the increase. They will approach human habitation and people do not hunt them. I think a great breakthrough will be made here. Orang-pendek, the upright ape of Sumatra. There's no doubt it exists. It has been seen close up by at leas two well respected scientists. It will come down from the jungle to semi-cultivated areas in search of food. The giant anaconda. They give birth to live young, they live most of their lives buoyed up by water. They can reach huge sizes. It's just a matter of finding an undisturbed area with a massive individual."

And you can catch the rest of the interview right here.

The CFZ in Russia - The Latest

Well, the CFZ's expedition to Russia in search of the Almasty is well under way. Here's a few of the notable developments that have occurred over the last few days:

1. A statement from team-leader Richard Freeman, who gives his thoughts.

2. Jon Downes confirms the team's arrival in Russia.

3. The expedition begins in earnest!

Keep reading, as I'll have much more to report this coming week.