Monsters are Real! The Cryptozoology of Ken Gerhard

On Wednesday July 23rd at 9pm CST, The History Channel will present the new Chupacabras episode of Monster Quest, featuring your humble investigator. The program will explore the bizarre dog-like predators that have been witnessed around Texas since 2004, beginning with the Elmendorf Beast. These heinous animals have been blamed for mass, vampiric killings of chickens and they seem to have no fear of humans. As part of the show, my good friend zoologist Lee Hales and I mounted an overnight expedition on a property near Cuero, where rancher Phyllis Canion discovered an unusual carcass during July of last year. Phyllis claims that there are more strange creatures prowling her property. Watch as we try to lure the macabre creatures into our various traps.

I was very saddened yesterday to learn of the passing of my friend Guadalupe Cantu III recently. Guadalupe first rose to prominence in the classic cryptozoology book, Creatures of the Outer Edge by Jerome Clark and Loren Coleman, when the authors had discovered the then teenage Cantu investigating Big Bird reports in San Benito, Texas. Years later, I rediscovered him as a grown man, following his own Big Bird sighting during the 1990s. According to Guadalupe, he and his brother-in-law had spotted the man-sized bird perched on a telephone poll near Rangerville, Texas while driving their newspaper route early one morning. Cantu was an integral part of my research in the Valley and appeared with me on local news broadcasts in San Antonio, as well as making an appearance on the Birdzilla episode of Monster Quest. He will be dearly missed.

I will be doing an interview on Austin based Pre Cog Dissonance this Thursday - 7pm CST. The link is http://www.precognitivedissonance.com/ Discussion will include my recent Chupacabras hunt near Cuero, Texas… as well as recent Big Bird sightings and the hairy man beasts we all know and love. Also, the Texas Chupacabras episode of Monster Quest will make its premiere on the History Channel - Wednesday, July 23rd.

On Saturday, May 31st, I will be speaking at Ghostechcon, a sold-out conference that will take place at the haunted Menger Hotel in San Antonio. Steve Gonsalves of the popular T.A.P.S ghost investigation team will be the featured speaker and the event is being held by San Antonio’s own famous ghost hunter Martin Leal. Tours of the haunted Menger, as well as the Alamo will take place throughout the day and night. The topic of my lecture will be Texas cryptozoology and I really look forward to hearing some real life ghost stories… very cool stuff.

As of this writing, I find myself in preparation for one of the most unusual and exciting expeditions that I have ever had the pleasure of being involved with. Yes it’s true… I’m soon off to Europe, where I’ll be searching for evidence of werewolves. Although not your typical cryptozoological fare, reports of gigantic and ferocious wolf-like animals have turned up consistently throughout history. On one of my early field outings back in 2002, I found myself on a spooky, desolate road in Wisconsin… home of the Beast of Bray Road, which is described as looking like a werewolf. Now six years later, I journey to the continent where belief in these monsters first originated and was widespread just a few hundred years ago. Werewolves were generally considered to be shapeshifting humans who had made arrangements with the devil. Could there be some vicious, unknown animal behind the legends and reports?

I’m excited to report that I’ve just wrapped up a Chupacabras expedition for the History Channel’s second season of the hit TV series Monster Quest. The expedition took place in a southeast Texas location where there have been many reports of strange, hairless doglike animals which apperently dispatch their prey in a most heinous manner… by draining them of all of their blood. Texas livestock owners have reported killings similar to those in Puerto Rico during the mid nineteen nineties. In Puerto Rico and throughout Latin America, people have described the Chupacabras as being a grey, three to five foot animal with large, red almond shaped eyes, upright posture with shorter forelimbs and long hind limbs. Some witnesses have described a row of spikes running down the length of its back or even wings. It seems to possess an interesting combination of both mammalian and reptilian characteristics and somehow UFOs have gotten involved as well. Irregardless, there seem to be some highly irregular canines roaming the Texas brush, some might say mutations. Aside from using an arsenal of high tech gadgets and cameras in order to collect more evidence, I was able to examine the remains of the Cuero Chupacabras and the Elmendorf Beast, as well as interview Phyllis Canion and Devin McAnally, who brought these mystery animals to notice. Stay tuned to see what we found!

My apologies on the obvious lag between posts. Technical problems, along with a tumultuous personal life are to blame for the sidetrack. The good news is that I am back with many exciting research projects for 2008. First off, I’m currently involved in two, different documentaries for the same major television station. While I’m not allowed to divulge too much information, one topic centers on a cryptid that has only really gained notoriety over the past decade or so, while the other tackles a creature that has captured our imaginations for centuries. Look for those specials to air later this year. Also, I’ve begun research on a new book which will cover many types of cryptids, but with a distinct local flavor. I’m indeed very excited to be co-writing with one of the top best-selling authors in paranormal research.

This Wednesday November 21st, the History Channel’s Monster Quest series will feature yours truly in an episode titled Birdzilla. The episode, which was produced by notable cryptozoology company White Wolf Entertainment, will of course feature the reports of gigantic, winged creatures throughout North America… from Alaska, to Illinois and finally to Texas where I have documented dozens of encounters with the infamous Big Bird. The notion of Thunderbirds, or birds who can mimic the sound of thunder with the beating of their enourmous wings, is one that is held in high regard by numerous native tribes, many of whom incorporate these animals into their ceremonies and artwork. In modern times, several witnesses have described airplane sized birds, capable of preying on humans. These reports are unfortunately the only evidence that exists for these elusive giants. However the sheer number of reports that continue to surface, casts doubt on theories about simple misidentifications. After years of research, I am of the opinion that there is really something out there. Watch the History Channel this Wednesday at 10:00pm EST and decide for yourself.

Tonight at 10:00pm on Eyewitness News KENS5 San Antonio, Joe Conger will be doing a story on continuing reports of giant birdlike creatures. Since the last story they ran back in July (featuring yours truly) several more eyewitnesses have come forward… confirming that there is indeed a flying, mystery animal native to these parts. I’m not sure if I will make an appearance in this latest edition, although I did play an active part in helping to put it all together. Stay tuned for a major television event coming up next week!

This being the birthday of the late Dr. Grover Krantz, I just thought I’d pay tribute by writing a few words in his honor. For those who don’t know, Dr. Krantz was a respected physical anthropologist at Washington State University who became interested in the Bigfoot phenomena and really put his reputation on the line by attacking such a controversial subject. He is considered one of the original, four horsemen of Bigfoot research along with John Green, Peter Byrne and the late Rene Dahinden. Krantz always took an even, scientific approach to Bigfoot and wrote one definitive book titled Big Footprints, which has been revised as Bigfoot Sasquatch Evidence. It is a simply brilliant must-read for anyone on the fence about the subject. His theories on everything from the Patterson film, to the unfakeable anatomy of the tracks, to Gigantopithecus as the ancestor of Bigfoot are extremely sound. He often carried a rifle in the field, as he explained how mankind would have to collect a specimen in order to conclusively prove Bigfoot’s existence. Apparently Grover had planned at one time to build a one man helicopter in order to overfly Bigfoot territory, but was talked out of it by his loved ones. On a personal note, Dr. Krantz was teaching at the University of Minnesota in the late 1960s, when my father was a professor there in the Forestry Department.