Orang-Pendek:Final Results.

Well, Lars has finished his analysis on the hairs we brought back from Sumatra last year.In summary ,he concludes that whilst the structure of the hairs point to a creature resembling an Orang-Utang, the D.N.A. more closely relates to a human. He states that he is `foreced to conclude that their is an unkown species of primate` in Sumatra.
Now , whilst this doesn't ,and cannot at this stage, say exactly what the creature is, it does state that the creature,unique in nature, DOES exist. This is a major step, and of great significance.
As many reading this will know,I have previously found evidence of the OP before .For example, cats of prints I found in 2001 were analysed by primatologists as being from an unkown species.Simlarly, hair samples found on the same expedition ,led Dr.Hans Brunner to conclude that there was an unknown species in Sumatra ,in the same manner as Lars.
So, the evidence is gathering.The moe science the better.This is a great result!

I`m back from India.

I just arrived home a few hours ago. As you no doubt appreciate ,I am a tired tonight , but I had an amazing time,and felt that I ,and the rest of the team ,met with some great success.I will post more detail about the expedition over the next few weeks , but here are some headlines. I am convinced the Mande-Burung exists. Dave Archer found what appears to be an MB footprint, at a site where an eyewitness confirmed he had seen the creature.He and John McGowan, went on to find a trail of them. I found an MB footprint in Nokrek national Park. What I found particularly interesting about this one, was that you could see a boulder in the stream which had been tossed aside , followed by some debris of a freshwater crab. The locals had told me on previous occasions that the MB was fond of eating these particular types of crab.Whilst I can't be certain it was an MB print, the size and shape were certainly consistent with eyewitness reports.The casting at site failed due to the very wet conditions. We collected a number of very consistent eyewitness reports, which described a large black bipdeal ape, which built ground nests and ate bamboo. Nothing on the camera traps so far, but we haven't finished going through them all yet. We have collected hair and bone samples which just MAY come from the MB, but of course we need to test them.
Quite by chance , and very significantly indeed, John McGowan may well have discovered a completley new species .I can't say anything more about this though, until he has conducted a thorough analysis.
The area has some amazing , vast, and largely untraversed, jungle.Beautiful.The perfect place for a relic gigantopithicus.....

We are off!

On Saturday,I will leave my house in Manchester,to travel down to Dave Archer's house ,ready for the flight to Delhi the next day.I'm really looking forward to the expedition. I began planning this in March, and now finally, we are ready to go.I hope we have a great adventure,but more than anything,wouldn't it be wonderful to bring back some proof of the existence of the Mande-Burung!
Well, we couldn't have done any more preparation.These sort of expedtions, trying to unravel mysteries that have persisted for hundreds of years, are always a long shot. Will we be lucky?Here's to hope, and in the words of Winston Churchill ,we will `never, never give up!`
You will hear from me as soon as possible............now is the time.

India-The Countdown Begins......

This weekend , as a preparation for the India Expedition, I climbed Snowdon.Llanberis, the village which nestles in the valley below, is simply gorgeous.The place has an undoubted Alpine feel about it.The ascent was shrouded in mist,but one I got to the top, I could see for miles;miles of rolling green Welsh hills and valleys,peppered with twinkling clear blue Lakes.At night, in the Hotel bar, I joined some of the other people who had reached the summit that day, and witnessed some amazing crab like walks, as they wearily negotiated the now preposterous stairs!
We haven't got long now people, and the plans are laid,the equipment is bought ,the deal is on.I can hear the Mande-Burung calling me in my dreams now;lets hope these dreams turn to reality in a few weeks time!

Mande -Burung.Team Members and Objectives.

• The Team will be on expedition for approx three weeks.We will depart on Halloween, 31st October, from London, and return on 19/20 November.
• I will be leading the team.I will be joined by Dave Archer and John McGowan, who will be bringing their tracking expertise to the team ,whilst Dr.Chris Clark and Richard Freeman will be providing technical and Zoological expertise respectively.
• Dipu Marak will head up the Indian Team,which will include both trackers and porters.
• We will be deploying traditional tracking techniques, as well as using hi-tech equipment such as infra red, camera traps, thermal imaging and field microscopes, as well as a helicam, if appropriate.
• The team will be engaging in both arduous physical treks,and night stake outs.
• We have already arranged a series of appointments with alleged Mande-Burung eyewitnesses.
• The expedition will be filmed for a forthcoming documentary.
• I would love to see one, but at the end of the day, its all about the science.Getting pictures on the camera traps would be amazing.What the expedition really hopes to do though, is get tangible physical evidence of the creature,should it exist,which can then be analysed by independent scientific experts.(e.g. to extract D.N.A for the mapping of genomes).
• I also hope to have a great adventure whilst we are there, and get to chill with the locals!
  

Mande -Burung.

Over the last few weeks , I have spent much of my free time preparing for the expedition to India,which departs at the end of October.The leader of the Indian team, Dipu Marak, has worked hard on comprising a really excellent itinerary for the three weeks that we are there.
As we have vehicles this time, we will be able to cover a large area of the Garo Hills. We have arranged interviews with eyewitnesses, and will of course , be trekking deep into the jungle, in the hope of finding evidence of the elusive creature.As well as the the normal camera traps,and G.P.S. etc, which we normally take out,we will also be taking silicon moulds , rather than than the plaster of paris, which has the potential to degrade, as I learnt from my last time in Sumatra. We will also be taking field microscopes, for on the spot anlysis of any finds, as well as infa red game finders and night vision equipment. We may also employ the use of a helicam,if it is apprpriate to do so.
The expedition will also be filmed for a forthcoming documentary,so you will be able to see for yourselves what happened.
I'm off to the Doctors tomorrow, to find out just how much the price of Malaria tablets have gone up.Time to dust off that knackered old rucksack again!

Its getting nearer.

Over the weekend,Dave Archer and his girlfriend Natasha hosted a meeting of the expedition team for India. They were, as they always are, very hospitable, and I would like to thank them on
behalf of all those who attended. The weather was great, and we were able to do some lovely walks to the villages of Turville, and West Wyckham respectively.Most importantly, we also began to get down to the real detail of the expedition planning.This of course, includes projected costs-in other words how much money we will all need to bring! Afterwards, we went through all the various roles everyone would have. Dave and Dr.Chris Clark, continue to research the equipment.Some of the kit we tested out, such as the latest game finders and infared technology , looked very promising indeed.
Of course, there was some time for celebrations over the last successful expedition.Marlow, was as ever, more than capable of handling that!