My guest for this episode is Gary Opit. Gary is an Australian zoologist, cryptozoologist, and author. He also hosts a wildlife talkback radio show on ABC North Coast NSW Local Radio and between 1997 and 2015 conducted a citizen science project, collecting data based on the phone calls and emails he received during that time from people seeking assistance identifying wildlife they had encountered.
Often these would be turn out to be examples of rare known and existing species of animal, but a significant amount were not and indicated the survival of animals previously thought long extinct on the Australian mainland, such as the Thylacine and Marsupial Lion, as well as completely unknown species, including ape and hominid like creatures, commonly referred to in Australia as the ”Yowie”.
Gary has had an incredibly varied career, working as a State Park Ranger, as well as at a number of schools and universities, teaching subjects such as Anthropology, Ecology, Zoology and Botany. His knowledge of the wildlife of Australia is extensive as is that of the history of cryptid sightings in the country.
As you might imagine, our conversation in this episode is a wide ranging one. I talk with Gary about how his interest in Australian cryptids started, the fossil record of wildlife in Australia and the range of habitats that could potentially allow the survival of some of those species into the modern day. Gary talks about some of his own experiences as well as encounters that other people have had with an impressive array of unusual creatures.
Further details on Gary and his research are available on his Facebook page 'Australian Cryptozoology Gary Opit', which can be found at https://www.facebook.com/doolagarl/ and a Kindle version of his book 'Australian Cryptozoology' can be purchased via Amazon here.
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The Some Other Sphere theme is from Purple Planet Music - 'Hubbub' by Geoff Harvey and Chris Martyn.
Episode 97 - Gregory Forth - Between Ape and Human
Episode 96 - Patrick Harpur - Daimonic Reality
Episode 95 - Jeremy Harte - The Devil in the English Landscape
Episode 94 - George Popov - Filmmaking and the Paranormal
Episode 93 - Vuk (Tracing Owls Podcast) - Gaia Theory
Episode 92 - Sarah Janes - Initiation into Dream Mysteries
Episode 91 - Dr Liz Savage - A Beginner’s Guide to Dickensian Cryptozoology
Episode 90 - David Booher - The Gerry Irwin Story
Episode 89 - Duncan Barford - Magick, Psychology and the Paranormal
Episode 88 - Michele Eve - Spiritualism, Mediumship and Ghostly Gloucestershire
Episode 87 - Ailsa Clarke & Bethan Briggs-Miller - Eerie Essex
Episode 86 - Emma Woods - Glimpses of Magonia
Episode 85 - Jo Hickey-Hall - Modern Fairy Sightings
Episode 84 - The Reverend Peter Laws - Horror Movies, Religion and the Supernatural
Episode 83 - Morgan Knudsen - Embracing the Unknown and The Gift of Instinct
Episode 82 - Melissa Seims - The Coven of Atho
Episode 81 - Evelyn Hollow - The Psychology of the Paranormal
Episode 80 - Bex Atwood - The Liminal Spirit Oracle
Episode 79 - Travis Watson - Mysteries in the Mist
Episode 78 - Michelle Souliere - Bigfoot in Maine
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