The study of animals (zoology) goes back thousands of years, whereas the study of cryptozoology dates to the mid-20th century. Crypto - 'hidden' and zoology - 'animals' means it's the study of unknown or yet-to-be-discovered animal species. To those with a curious mind, it's a fascinating area to research and, although there are many hoaxes and misidentified sightings, occasionally a new species does get discovered and confirmed as scientific fact.
In this blog, I'll be looking at some of the most interesting stories...
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Yet to be proven animals are often referred to as 'cryptids' and these could include an unusual sighting of a woodpecker or something as fantastical as bigfoot! This term can cover any sighting of an unknown animal.
The very first description of any unknown animal dates back to 400 B.C. from the Greek physician Ctesias. The creature 'Monokeros' or 'Unicorn' from India. It was described as having the body of a horse, head of a stag, feet of an elephant and a single horn on its head. It sounds to me that they had just had their first encounter with the Indian Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis). At the time, Ctesias' description would likely have been met with mockery, ridicule and scepticism - but in reality, there was an animal with those attributes wandering around in the Indian forests.
Today in our modern world we often think that we have seen it all and that there are no longer animals that are yet to be seen by man, but we couldn't be further from the truth! The ocean covers around 71% of the earth's surface, and getting down under the waves is a challenge. There's only a couple of submarines in the world that can reach the deepest trenches. When deep-sea exploration happens, new species are discovered almost every time.
Deep Jungles also represent another habitat that's tough to explore, animals avoid humans and have vast areas to hide and prevent detection. There's an estimated 1 million insect species scientifically described and an estimated 4 million yet to be found!
In 2011 National Geographic's ecologists made a study to try to work out how many large (dolphin-sized or bigger) animals were likely to be hiding across the world's oceans. The conclusion was 17-20 undocumented species! This really shows how little we know about what's lurking in the depths. I also have my own theory on why there were more 'sea monster' sightings in the past compared to the modern day. Apart from a poorer level of education in the past (possibly leading to misidentification), the ships were wind-powered... and thus making very little sound in the water. Today, ship engine's noises can travel 100s to potentially 1000s of km through the water. Any large undiscovered animal will be long gone before the ship gets even remotely close.
The idea that an animal like Megalodon could still exist sparks imagination in many people's minds, the thought that a giant prehistoric shark is terrifying and exciting at the same time. Sadly there is very little evidence to support this, no credible footage has surfaced, no dead one has ever washed ashore and it's unlikely the oceanic ecosystem could support a population of these mega-predators.
The Kraken is a creature from seafaring folklore that was eventually proven as a real animal. The Giant and Colossal squid (Architeuthis dux and Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni) are almost certainly the culprit for all these tales. They can reach 46 feet long and weigh 700 kilograms! These are huge animals but there are stories of squid much, much larger! There are tales that in WW2 an American submarine surfaced late at night, and whilst the crew were getting fresh air, somebody noticed a glow in the water which apparently was a squid as long as the submarine! The suction cups on its arms where described as being as big as dinner plates! No proof of such an animal has been presented to the scientific community but it's enough to stop me going into the sea at night!
In the Vietnam War, huge numbers of both American and Vietnamese soldiers swarmed the Southeast Asian forests. Here there were sightings of 'forest men' from both sides of the conflict. They were described as a 5ft tall 'bigfoot' like creature. The story goes that an American infantry saw one of these creatures and shot it dead. It was then shipped by the Air Force back to the States and supposedly used as a tourist attraction. Named 'the Minnesota Iceman', it went around the states at different state fairs, kept in a solid block of ice before mysteriously disappearing from public view. In 2005, I went to Vietnam and specifically went to the Kon-tum mountain range where many of the sightings had taken place. I was denied access to the mountain range and was told to go back to my hotel. When I arrived, I was met by the local police who had lots of questions about why I wanted to explore those mountains. Strange to say the least!
Hominid cryptids are sighted all over the world, not just in Vietnam. From the Americas we have Bigfoot/ Sasquatch/Skunk ape/Wendigo, from Asia we have Yeti/Almas/Orang pendek/Barmanou, from South America the Mapinguari/Mono Grande/Ucu and from Europe the Yeti/Woodwose and Wudewasa.Â
I visited Sumatra to climb an active volcano and see a total solar eclipse back in 2016, the area is also well known for sightings of the Orang Pendek, so I was keen to learn what I could about it. My guide took me to a local man who had seen something a few years earlier. He was awoken in the early hours one morning to the sound of his dogs barking, got up, grabbed his good torch, and turned it to the rice-growing paddy fields outside his house. He explained to me what he saw...
"It had dark brown hair, not like a bear or orangutan, it was halfway across my field with water up to its waist. It was grabbing handfuls of rice to help steady itself and pull itself through the mud".
It's an extremely remote location and many many people have sightings. There's even video footage from the north of the island, so who knows what might be discovered in these remote parts of the world?Â
Some cryptids are animals that we already know about, but have been lost to possible extinction, where some people believe evidence of their existence continues. A good example would be the Thylacine (also known as the Tasmanian tiger). This large, striped predatory marsupial was hunted to believed extinction, with the last known individual 'Benjamin' passing away at Hobart Zoo in 1936. Despite this, there have been many sightings since its official extinction. Tasmania has a small human population and large areas of the island are poorly explored so many believe it could still be out there in the forest.
More importantly, it shows that the historic distribution of Thylacine extended across Australia and even up into Papa New Guinea. In 1966 a mummified Thylacine was discovered in a cave in mainland Australia, studies show it died around 2-3000 years ago, long after it was believed to be extinct in that area. Australia is an incredibly large country with thousands of square miles that are unexplored by people, easily big enough for some species to remain undetected. The Thylacine has since become an icon for man's impact on wildlife and it is lined up as one of the first species to be brought back from extinction. Although controversial, scientists have access to D.N.A from preserved specimens and in the future cloning technologies may allow for this species (or something genetically similar) to return into existence.Â
The truth is that our planet has many large areas that are unexplored and new species turn up everywhere (like the prehistoric Coelacanth fish found in a fish market in India) and a few large animals can continue to evade us. Although the odds of dinosaurs surviving in the Congo and snakes reaching 50ft long are very slim, the chances of new species being discovered each year is almost 100%. Most of these discoveries are small invertebrates, however, we do occasionally find a new primate or unusual-looking lizard.
Reading the accounts of cryptid sightings is incredibly entertaining and amongst them all, I'm sure some hold some truth to a sighting of animals yet to be proven by science.Â
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