29-06-2006 Expedition prepares to leave for Africa

For immediate release
Thursday, June 29, 2006
EXPEDITION PREPARES TO LEAVE FOR AFRICA



With only a few days to go before they leave for Africa, the six members of the "J.T.Downes Memorial Gambia Expedition 2006" are at fever pitch. The expedition which is organised by and partly financed by the Centre for Fortean Zoology, the world's largest mystery animal research organisation, which is based in rural North Devon, has three main aims:

a.. To dig up part of a beach where an amateur naturalist claims to have buried the carcass of a mysterious fifteen foot sea creature
b.. To get the first filmed witness testimonies of a dragon-like creature, known to the natives as `Ninki Nanka`, which has terrorised the tiny African state for generations, and has reportedly killed people as recently as the 1990s
c.. To get the first photographs and film of Armitage's Skink (Chalcides armitagei) - a tiny lizard first described in 1922 and only rediscovered in 1989.

Suzi Marsh (22) the youngest team member is particularly looking forward to the trip: "I am excited about having the chance to experience some hands-on cryptozoological research, and looking forward to helping keep the expedition a truly interactive experience, one where people all around the world can log on and experience our findings as and when we discover them."

It is rare, at this stage in the 21st Century, to find out about such a gloriously anachronistic project as a hunt for killer dragons, which sounds as if it comes from the pages of `The Boys Own Paper` about a century ago. "OK, the dragons are probably extremely large monitor lizards," says CFZ Director Jonathan Downes (46) who manning the office back in England, "but if we are right, these lizards could be reaching sizes in excess of twenty feet".

Team members are:

· Chris Moiser: Biologist and team leader
· Dr Chris Clark: Engineer
· Lisa Dowley: First aid and security expert
· Richard Freeman: cryptozoologist
· Oll Lewis: Ecologist
· Suzi Marsh: computer expert

You can follow the progress of the expedition at:

http://2006-gambia.blogspot.com/

There will be regular updates and photographs as and when we get them.

Watch this space!

NOTES FOR EDITORS:

+ Press photographs are available on request
+ The Centre for Fortean Zoology is a non profit-making organisation, which was founded in 1992. Over the last 11 years we have mounted expeditions to Central America, Thailand, Mexico, various parts of the United States, as well as numerous investigations in the UK. Further information on the CFZ can be found on their website, www.cfz.org.uk.
+ C F Z director Jonathan Downes has written numerous books on the subject of mystery animals. The latest, entitled `Monster Hunter` is his long awaited autobiography.

+ The honorary life President of the Centre for Fortean Zoology is renowned explorer, author and soldier Colonel John Blashford-Snell OBE, best known for his pioneering Operation Drake and Operation Raleigh expeditions during the 1970s.

+ The CFZ is looking for corporate and private sponsors