Jonathan Downes

Jon Downes is Director of The Centre for Fortean Zoology – the world’s largest cryptozoological research organisation. Jon founded the centre in 1992, to examine mystery creatures, bizarre and aberrant animal behaviour and zoo form paranormal entities.

He is currently (since 1994) the editor of Animals & Men; the journal of the Centre for Fortean Zoology, and since 2012 has been the editor of Gonzo Weekly, a digital music magazine, between 2007-10 was the editor of The Amateur Naturalist (formerly Exotic Pets) – a magazine published by CFZ Press, the editor of the online magazine blog Cryptozoology:Online, and from January 2003 until August 2007 was the Deputy Editor of Tropical World magazine, a tropical fish magazine published in the UK. From 2012-3 he was the editor of UFO Matrix magazine, published by 11th Dimension Publishing. He has also edited and contributed to several other publications over the years

BOOKS

He has written the following books:

Take this Brother may it serve you well (1988)
Riding the Waves (with Kim Andrews) (1990)
El Grand Senor (with Kim Andrews) (1991)
Road Dreams (1993)
Smaller Mystery Carnivores of the Westcountry (1996)
The Owlman and Others (ISBN 1-905723-02-4, 1997)
The Rising of the Moon with Nigel Wright (ISBN 0-9544936-5-6, 1999)
Weird Devon with Richard Freeman and Graham Inglis (ISBN 1-899383-38-7, 2000)
UFOs over Devon (ISBN 1-899383-37-9, 2000)
Weird War Tales with Nick Redfern (2000)
Weird War Tales Volume 2 with Nick Redfern (2000)
The Blackdown Mystery (ISBN 1-905723-00-8, 2000)
Only Fools and Goatsuckers (ISBN 0-9512872-3-0, 2001)
In the Beginning – Animals & Men Collected Editions Volume One (Ed)(2001)
The Number of the Beast – Animals & Men Collected Editions Volume Two(Ed) (2001)
The Monster of the Mere (ISBN 0-9512872-2-2, 2002)
Monster Hunter (ISBN 0-9512872-7-3, 2004)
Strength through Koi (ISBN 1-905723-04-0, 2006)
The Call of the Wild – Animals & Men Collected Editions Volume Three (ISBN 978-1905723072, 2007)
The Island of Paradise: Chupacabra, UFO Crash Retrievals, and Accelerated Evolution on the Island of Puerto Rico (ISBN 978-1905723324) (2008)
The Song of Panne (Being Mainly about Elephants) (ISBN 978-1909488366) (2015)

His best selling book is The Owlman and Others. In his 2004 autobiography Monster Hunter, he discusses his years of substance abuse, as well as his achievements as a cryptozoologist. Once described by Nick Redfern as “Cryptozoology’s answer to Hunter Thompson“, Downes has stated on a number of occasions that this aspect of his life is now firmly in the past. In addition he has edited sixteen annual Yearbooks for the CFZ, and publishedfour annual issues of the Journal of Cryptozoology.

His 2007 book Island of Paradise covers in great depth his two expeditions to Puerto Rico in search of the chupacabra and other animals of fortean interest. His latest book, ‘The Song of Panne’ is a novel.

Also Nick Redfern‘s 2004 book Three Men Seeking Monsters: Six Weeks in Pursuit of Werewolves, Lake Monsters, Giant Cats, Ghostly Devil Dogs and Ape-men is a fictionalized chronicle of the adventures of Redfern, Downes and Richard Freeman.

FILMS

In his autobiography and in other published writings, Downes admits that one of his earliest ambitions was to make films. He has made a few of them over the years, including: