Iriomote Cat
Posted by: Loren Coleman on March 7th, 2008
Mystery Man passes on a close-up photograph of the mounted Iriomote cat, previously discussed here.
It, indeed, is a beautiful example of one of the classic animals of discovery within cryptozoology.
About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct).
Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015.
Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.
this animal’s coat is truly “the cat’s pajamas” — though i hope never literally! 😉
thanks for the photo. really cool.
Beautiful cat!
This cat is really interesting to me in that it has survived for so long within a very small and fragile ecosystem. I also think it is extraordinary that on an island so small, this cat went undiscovered until the 60s and many people who have lived their whole lives on the island have never even seen one. Unbelievably, some people who live there don’t even believe it is real or are unaware of its presence. If this can happen on an island that is 116 square miles with a population of around 2,000 people, with a fairly good amount of tourists to boot, then think of what that means for the possibility of finding other cryptids in larger and even more remote areas. To me, the Iriomote cat is a very good example of how an undiscovered animal can remain hidden in the most remarkable places, and it is one of the classic finds within cryptozoology.
Thanks to you and Mystery Man for letting us see this rare and beautiful animal!
Mystery_man: excellent points. And I will refrain from belaboring them here. 😉
And great shot. Thanks.
Ditto to your points, MYSTERY_MAN.
I agree great photo mystery man!