you can read the article at the Sun
Loren Coleman has a great post on Cryptomundo.
Expedition leader Adam Davies has a journal
Some members of expedition are from the Center for Fortean Zoology (CFZ)
And Tonight Adam Davies will appear on the Mark Gary’s radio program tonight, October 1, 2009, from 9:00 PM to Midnight Eastern.
In a breaking news report from Cryptomundo, news of a Orang Pendek Sighting.
Orang Pendek (Indonesian for "short person") is the most common name given to a cryptid, or unconfirmed animal, that reportedly inhabits remote, mountainous forests on the island of Sumatra.
The animal has allegedly been seen and documented for at least one hundred years by forest tribes, local villagers, Dutch colonists, and Western scientists and travelers. Consensus among witnesses is that the animal is a ground-dwelling, bipedal primate that is covered in short fur and stands between 80 centimetres (31 in) and 150 centimetres (59 in) tall.
There seems to be quite a buzz in Sumatra right now. First a quote from Cryptomundo.
I’m on my way to Tyler…but I just received this…so I’ll post it quickly:
“Yeti sighted in Jungle !!!! Two team members have sighted the Yeti while we were in the jungle. I heard a large animal moving towards us. Subsequently the creature was then sighted by team member Dave Archer and Sahar Didmus, a forest ranger. I have a sworn affadavit from Sahar to that effect. It hid from us by a tree, before moving rapidly and bipedally through the jungle. Dave describes the OP [Orang Pendek] as looking almost chimpanzee-like. Sahar was so upset and disturbed he began sobbing, and I had to comfort him. We have taken hair samples found at the site, and bagged some rattan which it was eating. We will have these analysed by Todd Disotell. Numerous tracks also found……………!!!!!!!!” ~ Adam Davies (enroute out of Indonesia via Singapore)
And then the guys at Centre for Fortean Zoology started a trip to Sumatra and have some exciting news that will posted on their website tomorrow!
AN unknown species of Indonesian ape could shed light on how our human ancestors began to walk erect.
The orang-pendek of Sumatra is said to be a powerfully built ape that walks on two legs like a man. Both native people and western explorers, including two noted scientists, have reported the creature from the deep jungle.
This week four English scientists and explorers will brave the rainforest in search of the orang-pendek.
The team from the Woolsery-based Centre for Fortean Zoology, will spend two weeks in Sumatra working with the Kubu people, the island's original inhabitants, who will help them track the mysterious ape.
The expedition comes shortly after the announcement of the discovery of a fossil hominid in Georgia. The Dmansis hominids lived 1.8 million years ago and had legs like modern humans, but primitive arms. Their early occurrence has made scientists rethink how hominids moved out of Africa to colonise the rest of the world.
Richard Freeman, the team's zoologist, said: "It was once thought that our ancestors became bipedal when they descended from the trees and moved onto the grass lands of East Africa in order to exploit new food sources. However, now it seems that many apes and hominids were moving 'bipedally' while they were still rainforest dwellers.
"As well as being a major zoological discovery, the orang-pendek could give us some clues on how bipedalism developed."
The group's trip will be recorded on the Centre for Fortean Zoology's website at
www.cfz.org.uk
