Death Worm 2009

As we edit and edit this site is a bit quiet… so I’m just gonna keep posting up worm news. Here’s a good interview with British cryptozoologist Richard Freeman about his MDW expedition (he’s just gotten back from a more successful trip to spot Indonesia’s yeti… but that’s a whole other story!)

Did they take any practical steps to try and ensnare the Death Worm?

“On one occasion we did set traps using a series of sunken buckets connected by mesh above ground level. The idea is that the creature crawling along bumps into the mesh and cannot carry on forwards, so runs along the mesh until it comes to the bucket and drops in. After a night of thunderstorms and heavy rain, we checked the buckets in the morning but they were empty.”

Click here for more of the article / interview.

This is a bit ackward. We’ve been updating this blog for the last few months and been really excited about the feedback it’s been getting. People are loving the Mongolian Death Worm, which is all two budding cryptozoologists could ask for. Well, that - and to find the creature we’re looking for: The Mongolian Death Worm.

Which brings us to our next point: Christie Douglas and I are off. We’re going to have a quick sleep, then catch a plane for Korea - before jumping on Mongolian Airlines for, well, Mongolia.

We’re going to be concentrating our efforts for the next 3 weeks finding out about the Death Worm from the locals (from laymen to scientists) and - who knows - maybe we’ll find worm itself. Which means we won’t be on the website, twitter, facebook, cellphones - anything, really. We’re not even taking iPods.

We will touch base again when we’re back, but we’re gonna be pretty tight lipped about what we’ve found - or haven’t found. We’re out to make a doco, and there’s no point in doing this if you already know what to expect because it’s all been outlined here on deathworm2009.com. Whether we find it or not, we’re keeping our lips sealed.

But we’ll give you a tease, don’t worry.

See you on the other side.

Christie Douglas & David Farrier.

P.S. From the phrasebook: “I’ve been bitten by a snake!” Bi mogoid (neg shaivjing) khatguulchikhlaa

In my other life as a Nightline reporter, I’ve often covered the work and antics of Glyn and Yulia MacLean:

They’ve just emailed in a song they’ve written to support this mission to find the Mongolian Death Worm. I really thought it fitted the vibe of the whole expedition, really, so here it is.

Death Worm Themesong

(or if that link is playing up, try here at ReverbNation)

Enjoy.

Farrier.

Friend and TV3 New Zealand colleague Greg Pearson was kind enough to create a wonderful logo for the mission. Prepare to see more of it in the future.

Thanks Greg!

Farrier.

Alastair Paulin of the Nelson Mail has written this lovely story about cameraman Christie Douglas.

“Motueka’s Christie Douglas is off to spend three weeks in Mongolia stalking the elusive, and possibly mythical, Mongolian Death Worm.

The search is the brainchild of his former TV3 colleague David Farrier, who is funding the cryptozoological expedition.

The TV cameraman has had a few adventures with the TV3 reporter.

There was the time they braved the mosh pit and pyrotechnics show at the Rock to Wellington concert and the scary time they faced down the cat ladies at the national cat show in Taradale.

But nothing in their reporting career at Nightline could prepare them for the Gobi Desert in the 40-plus degree heat of August, looking for a 1.5-metre red worm that can supposedly spit acid in your face or kill you by an electric shock from its rectum. If it exists, that is. Both men sound convinced that it does.

They point to the consistency of local witness accounts and add that, as the Gobi Desert is sparsely populated, the chance that people are collaborating in their accounts or spreading rumours seems slim. Mr Farrier said he first heard of the creature at age 14 when he read a book about cryptozoology. Over time, he has dismissed other entries such as the Loch Ness Monster and Big Foot but thinks the Mongolian Death Worm is likely to exist.

The creature was first brought to the West’s attention in the 1920s by explorer Roy Chapman Andrews, who has been credited as the inspiration for the Indiana Jones character. Mr Douglas said there had been previous expeditions to look for the creature and they would build on that work, as well as local accounts, which have led them to concentrate their search in a specific region of the Gobi. Mr Farrier’s goal is to document the creature’s existence on film, but he has no plans to capture it.

“I’m not taking a net or a gun or anything like that. I don’t think it’s something you want to grab hold of. “It’s a very personal thing for me so if I see it, I’ll be happy.” He said Mr Douglas was his favourite cameraman to work with because he has such an “affable personality” and stays calm in stressful situations. He puts the chances at finding the creature at between 5 and 15 per cent, while Mr Douglas is more cautious. “I don’t think we’ll find anything but we’ll find enough to make a great story.”

The pair leave for Mongolia on Tuesday and will be joined there by a team of three: a cook, a translator and a driver. They will spend two weeks camping in the Gobi Desert, and as the worm is supposedly attracted to tremors, they will set off some explosions to try to draw it to the surface.”