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Positive proof of a leopard on the loose in north Devon and a tantalising glimpse of the true identity of the orang-pendek were some of the highlights of this year’s Weird Weekend, the annual conference organised by the Centre for Fortean Zoology in the little village of Woolfardisworthy in Devon.


I was there to give a talk on how to identify hair samples, but through the good grace of Danish production company Nature and Science – who were shooting a documentary about crypto­zoology – and Olympus Denmark, I had also been able to bring along some serious microscopic equipment enabling me to do on-the-spot analysis in case somebody brought some hairs along.


Just to make sure there would be some hairs to analyse, I twice visited nearby Huddisford Wood where locals have seen big black cats for several years.