Karl Shuker

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Dr. Karl P. N. Shuker (born 1959) is a British zoologist living in the West Midlands, England. After obtaining a BSc (Honours) degree in pure zoology at the University of Leeds (U.K.), followed by a PhD in zoology and comparative physiology at the University of Birmingham (U.K.), he became a full-time freelance zoological consultant, media consultant, and author, specialising in cryptozoology and animal mythology, and is considered one of the foremost authorities in these fields. He is currently the author of 12 books (Book #12 is due to be published in 2006) and many hundreds of articles. Aside from his own publications (see Works, below), Dr. Shuker pens two regular cryptozoological columns ('Alien Zoo' and 'The Lost Ark') in Fortean Times, is a contributing editor and cryptozoological columnist for Strange Magazine, and has been a contributor for many years to Fate Magazine, as well as to many other publications around the globe. Appearing frequently on television and radio, he has acted as a consultant for several television specials and series too, including Discovery TV's major series 'Into the Unknown'. He has also served as a question setter for the BBC's cerebral quiz show Mastermind, and in November 2001 he became a high-bracket prize-winning contestant on the original, British version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, the world's most successful television quiz show, produced by Celador. He is a Scientific Fellow of the prestigious Zoological Society of London, a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society, a Member of the International Society of Cryptozoology and other wildlife-related organisations, as well as a Member of the Society of Authors, and he continues to travel throughout the world during the course of his researches.