Johor Hominid: What Do You Look Like?
Posted by: Loren Coleman on July 7th, 2006
Vincent Chow’s associate, Sean Ang, wrote the following on Friday, July 7, 2006:
…we will publish a sketch based on the original photos, say by end of this week, latest next week. Vincent is working on one of the sketch now. I also intend to publish the close-up photo of the hair samples we have.
Ang also said that photographs are “potential Pulitzer prize” caliber. Why, at this stage, the continued hyperbole?
In transcripts of conversations on July 6th, with and shared by Jason Pritchett, Sean Ang noted that of the 14 reported photos, Sean has seen two individuals, both “closeups…of juveniles.. and footprints.”
Clearly, Chow still possesses the photographs, as Sean mentions he has viewed some of them, and that they have been shown to government officials. While the mysterious photographer or owners may have left the country, they have not taken all the samples of the photos with them. If Chow is freely showing them around to gain supporters (whether ones in the Johor establishment or a paleoanthropologically-aware webmaster), the photographs are within reach. This seems different from what was earlier stated.
What is beginning to come out in some of this casual chatter is disturbing. Sean Ang is saying that the
…irony is that the [Cambodian guerilla] group [that took the photographs] have been showing them, and wanted to sell the[m] ages ago. But everyone who sees the photos laugh at them until Vincent take [took?] a bet that they are real.
Sean Ang feels that tracings of the photographs will be satisfactory, but, of course, only the release of the pictures will do now. We have weeks and weeks of first native, then Peter Loh’s images, under Vincent Chow’s directions and corrections (see the evolution of them below) of the “Johor Hominid.” These images have not furthered this quest, up to this point.
Take a close look at how varied these are.
A Johor local draws (at the very top) one of the first sketches (above) of the then so-called “Johor Bigfoot.” This was soon followed by a series of the Malaysian Mawas hominid drawings (below) by Peter Loh, which were further refined from instructions and feedback from Vincent Chow. The results were this slowly changing gallery of images, until we have the Homo erectus-like newly named “Johor Hominid.”
Directly below is Peter Loh’s latest, unpublished drawing of the upper body of the Johor Hominid.
The two following drawings graphically illustrate the stark contrast between the earliest head interpretation of what Vincent Chow says he saw in the photographs, and how it was suggested it be redrawn by Peter Loh, through Chow’s corrections.
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.
Thanks for the update, Loren. As I’m sure others have, I’ve been trying to make Sean see that publishing sketches/tracings of the photos will only cause people to become more anxious/upset over the delay. Artistic interpretations of photographs add very little, if any, value to the discussion here. Why that’s so hard for some people to comprehend is beyond me.
In the chat with Sean Ang, some information regarding monetary issues also came up. It’s still not entirely clear, but the implication was (at least to me…) that if a certain, as yet undetermined, amount of money was offered for the pictures, that someone would release them. Whoever that “someone” might be was also unclear. Is it Chow? Is it the group of mysterious “Cambodian guerillas?” Is it some other third party of whom we’re not yet aware?
Also, as Loren pointed out, the revelation that these photos are not new raises serious questions about their legitimacy. One other note that Loren did not mention regarding the chat: Sean revealed that not only are he and Chow not sure when the photos were taken, they’re not even sure WHERE they were taken.
Thoughts?
I don’t know any of the individuals, of course, but the cynic in me keeps coming to the fore… the longer the photographs are withheld, the more likely it seems they will turn out NOT to be the definitive material they are claimed to be.
Thanks for the update Loren, and trying to organize all of the info. Thanks also to jjames2. I’m trying to wrap my brain around all of this and it just gets more confusing. I do have thoughts, and they are mostly in the form of a question, and pretty random, but here they are:
Question: Has Vincent Chow actually seen the “hominids” himself, or just the photographs? I am assuming “No”, from what I have read. Also, how old are the photographs of the supposed “hominids”, and have the photos been tested for manipulation? Another question: When is the last sighting of the “hominids” known to have taken place. If it has been some time ago, and if the pictures are really old, is it possible the “hominids” may have moved away, migrated, or been killed off or naturally died by now? OR are they in a “secretive location” protected by individuals privy to that information. My mind wanders and wonders. Thanks. Now I apologize if some of this has been posted, I must have missed it. On the other hand, I realize that some of these same questions are still up in the air.
Now, I am wondering if the location of the photographs can be determined, or proven to be taken in Malaysia?
My mind hurts now, especially after trying to filter through the johorhominid.org site.
Planettom: I’ll try to answer your questions to the best of my knowledge, from what I’ve learned through chatting with Sean Ang. If Sean sees my response, and feels that clarifications/corrections need to be made, I urge him to post them here.
1. Has Vincent Chow actually seen the “hominids” himself, or just the photographs?
Answer: As far as I can tell, no one other than the alleged “Cambodian guerillas” has seen the creatures themselves. Chow, Ang, other journalists (who have not been named), and some government officials have seen the photos. There are either 12 or 14 photos, depending on which story you read. Ang has seen two of them.
2. Also, how old are the photographs of the supposed “hominids”, and have the photos been tested for manipulation?
Answer: I do not know for sure if they have been tested for manipulation. I have not asked, but since Chow/Ang haven’t mentioned testing, I’m assuming the photos have NOT been tested.
As to the first part of the question: no one seems to know how old the photos are. I asked Ang that question directly, but did not get a response. From reading his various comments during the chat, the photos appear to have been in existence for quite some period of time, as the “owners” have shown them to multiple people in the past. Ang says that these other people who have seen the photos laughed at them.
3. When is the last sighting of the “hominids” known to have taken place.
Answer: Another question to which we do not know the answer. Given that no one seems to even know when these pictures were taken, it’s hard to nail down when the last alleged sightings were.
4. Are they in a “secretive location” protected by individuals privy to that information?
Answer: This, also, remains unclear. Ang specifically said that he and Chow do not know where the pictures of the creatures were taken. Chow has previously said that the “guerillas” who took the pictures had left Malaysia. However, Chow has also said previously that these same guerillas were concerned about the release of the photos & the potential danger the release posed to the creatures’ continued existence. Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t understand why, if the guerillas are so concerned about the safety of the creatures, they’d run off to another country…
I hope that helps address some of your questions/concerns.
Excellent jjames2, thanks again! I’ll stay tuned to cryptomundo for futher updates and clarifications.
Have a great weekend everyone.
It seems to me that a lot of stink is being made over these “alleged” photographs (all sorts of pseudo-scientific postulation about the “alleged” creatures they appear to show) yet it is not even clear if those involved in this Johor Hominid campaign have even seen these “alleged” creatures first hand or any evidence to suggest they exist.
I really expect nothing useful to come of all this.
Scarfe: It is clear: Neither Chow nor Ang have seen the creatures first-hand. Both have acknowledged that point. As I just stated, Ang has only seen two of the photos. Chow has apparently seen more of the photos, but has not seen the creatures in person. How could he–he doesn’t even know where they are! 🙂
I really really really want to think that *maybe* these pictures are going to be the real deal and show us something new, but as time passes and they still insist on not showing the pictures, it just becomes harder and harder to believe. It sort of reminds me like the Raelien cult who said they had successfully cloned the first human, and even gave a date as to when they will show their results to the world, but that day came and passed without anything other than “we’re not ready yet”. I understand the need to prepare when revealing something new and astonishing to the world, but seriously how long has it been since they announced they had hard proof?
That’s a pretty stark contrast between the bottom two drawings. The first almost looks like something one would expect to see in a Disney Cartoon. It almost has an “I need to love it” type of feeling. The bottom drawing on the other hand, looks like a bad attempt at drawing the “Incredible Hulk” after something blew up in his face and blackened it. Gone are the heavy browridges and conical shaped head, and added opened lips with widely spaced squared teeth. From lovable to “Good Lord Where Can I Hide” type of impressions given.
The bottom drawing looks so human, I wouldn’t be surprised to find out it’s nothing more than a group of hirsute people.
I will agree that there are definite differences between most of the sketches, especially the last 3. We go from the “missing link” to a gorilla to mr. hyde. If the pictures came from cambodian guerillas, wouldn’t they be old for being prize winning in clarity?
shumway why would you think age had anything to do with clarity? There were lenses made even back in the early 20th century that rival the majority of what’s considered the best glass today. If you have access to some pictures taken back in the 40s and 50s with an old Kodak Brownie Camera, compare those to many many cameras today. The clarity was outstanding due primarily to a much larger negative as well as decent glass.
I’m afraid it’s all a publicity stunt to try and boost the Malaysian tourist trade. The way the entire situation has unfolded makes very little sense. If I had valid photos of an unknown primate I would release one for speculation and to spark interest then promise more to come in the book. Let’s hope these guys are better researchers than they are marketers. Jeez!
Well, in case anyone is still reading this blog entry, Sean Ang has now provided us with his long promised sketch of one of the photos. Actually, I should amend that: he’s given us a sketch of one small portion of one of the alleged photos. You can check it out at the Johor Homind website, but prepare to be disappointed–unless you consider a sketch of a hand to be significant…