Centre for Fortean Zoology

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Centre for Fortean Zoology {CFZ} is an organisation dedicated to cryptozoology. It is a non-profit making organisation registered with the British Government, and its Hon. Life President is the British explorer John Blashford-Snell. ^[1] ^[2]

**The Permanent Directorate of the Centre for Fortean Zoology**

Hon. Life President: Colonel John Blashford-Snell
Director: Jonathan Downes
Deputy Director: Graham Inglis
Zoological Director: Richard Freeman
Assistant Director/Resident Artist: Mark North
Administrative Director: Corinna Newton Downes
Ecologist: Oll Lewis
Fundraiser: Suzi Marsh
Charity advisor: Matthew Osborne
Trainee: Ross Braund-Phillips
Technician: David Phillips

The CFZ headquarters in Woolfardisworthy, North Devon

Founded in 1992 by Jonathan Downes; in 2005, Downes inherited his family home in rural North Devon, and the organisation relocated there; they are in the process of building a visitor's centre complete with a museum, laboratory and library.^[3] ^[4]

The publishing arm of the CFZ is a company called CFZ Press which claim to be the largest publisher of books on cryptozoology in the world. Since 2000, the CFZ has promoted an annual conference called The Weird Weekend. ^[5] In 2006, after six years in Exeter, the conference moved to rural North Devon as well. In 2006 the CFZ, announced plans for a web-based TV station called CFZtv ^[6].

1 "Fortean Zoology"
2 Foreign Expeditions
3 UK Based Investigations
4 Publications
5 References
6 External links

[edit] "Fortean Zoology"

The primary focus of the CFZ involves unknown animals, or cryptozoology, but the CFZ also examines unusual and aberrant animal behavior, animal mutilations (on which subject they have worked closely with several British police forces), animal colour variants, teratology, animal folklore and such classic fortean staples as creature falls (fafrotskies), and vampire/werewolf reports. This is why the organisation refers to itself as the Centre for Fortean Zoology, rather than any moniker including the word 'Cryptozoology'.^[7] ^[8]

[edit] Mystery Animals; a three tier classification system

The CFZ studies the various aspects of cryptozoolgy and allied disciplines, and have introduced a new three tier concept to aid classification and analysis of unknown animals.

[edit] 1. Cryptids

Cryptozoology is the study of hidden or unknown animals belonging to species wholly or partly unknown to science, often collectively called 'cryptids'.

[edit] 2. Pseudo-cryptids

Many researchers are interested in a related category of mystery animals often dubbed 'pseudo-cryptids', which are not strictly part of cryptozoology. This is one reason why Downes formulated the portmanteau discipline of fortean zoology.

These creatures are animals which are out-of-place, i.e., known species which by accident and/or artificial introduction living where would not normally expect to find them, one good example being alien big cats said to live in British moorlands.

However, not all out-of-place animals occur because of human intervention. Some are the result of accidental migration due to inclement weather or unusual marine currents. They are often known animal species that seem to be dramatically increasing their geographical range.

Other `pseudo-cryptids` include outsized, or oddly coloured individual or groups of animals of a known species. A good example of a pseudo-cryptid would be the golden frogs of the United Kingdom which are the subject of a current CFZ research projects.

[edit] 3. Zooform phenomena

The third cryptozoological category consists of zooform phenomena.

These are not animals at all, but entities or apparitions which adopt or seem to have (quasi)animal form. This is where we (at least to some extent) enter science fiction territory. In many ways, these elusive and contentious entities have plagued cryptozoology since its inception, and tend to be dismissed by mainstream science as thoroughly unworthy of consideration. Zooform phenomena seem to be a strange blend of paranormal manifestation and mythology.

However, Jonathan Downes who first coined the term in 1990, maintains that many zooform phenomena result from complex psychosocial and sociological phenomena, and suggests that to classify all such phenomena as "paranormal" in origin is counterproductive. A good example of a zooform phenomenon would be the Owlman of Mawnan.