The "New" Science
of Cryptozoology
From: SHnSASSY1@aol.com
http://www.cosmiverse.com/paranormal092101.html
The "New" Science of Cryptozoology
September 21, 2000 07:08 CDT
Recent reports of Chupacabra attacks in Central America and hunts for "monsters" like Nessie frequently quote a cryptozoologist in their explanations of what these strange animals might be.
What, you might ask, is a "cryptozoologist?"
Taken literally, "crypto"zoology means the study of "that which is hidden," in this case, animals that are hidden from human contact. Compared to the traditional sciences, such as astronomy, biology, zoology and physics, cryptozoology is a relatively new field of research and study that dedicates itself to the unusual--and in some cases the perhaps imagined-- species of animals, such as the legendary Bigfoot, Loch Ness Monster, and yes, even the
Chupacabra.
Lest one assume that the field is populated by, shall we say, far-out nutty, junk scientists, think again. The International Society of Cryptozoology (ISC), founded in 1982, is a decidedly scholarly center for "documenting and evaluating evidence of unverified animals; that is, animal species or forms which have been reported in some manner but which have not been scientifically proven to exist."
And while scientific documentation of Bigfoot, Nessie and their ilk has not been established, more than 100 still-undiscovered forms have been reported at one time or another somewhere on our Earth. "Some, like the Loch Ness Monster, are well-known and famous; others are more obscure, and may be of small size, but are no less potentially important to zoology," says the ISC. And in some cases, the organization is on the research trail of animals long thought extinct. These "unexpected" species that have attracted the society's attention from verified witnesses and reports include unusual felids, such as "big cats" in Britain and Australia, and large, unknown cats in Africa and South America; pumas in the Eastern U.S., and a puma-like cat (Onza) in Mexico; surviving thylacines in Tasmania ("Tasmanian tigers") and mainland Australia, and possibly other thought-extinct marsupials, such as Thylacoleo; surviving moas (giant flightless birds) in New Zealand; oversized individuals of known species, such as giant great white sharks in the oceans, giant crocodiles in
Australasia, and giant anaconda snakes in South America; giant octopuses with radial spreads of 100 feet or more in the Caribbean region; "sea serpents" in many marine and lake areas, possibly representing large unknown seals or thought-extinct forms such as ancient whales (archaeocetes) or Mesozoic reptiles; long-necked animals in Central African swamps resembling Mesozoic sauropod dinosaurs (Mokele-Mbembe), and flying animals resembling Mesozoic pterosaurs; surviving Pleistocene megafauna, such as mammoths in Siberia and ground sloths in South America; and large, non-human, bipedal primates in the Himalayas (Yeti), Russia (Almasty), Mongolia (Almas), China (Yeren), and North America (Sasquatch/Bigfoot), says the society. "The Society's most important overall function is to apply logic, objectivity, and scientific methodology to cryptozoological issues; thus, high scholarly standards are maintained," said the organization, which is governed by a board of directors, publishes an annual journal of research, and presents its work to major universities. Its Tucson, Arizona Secretariat offices also maintains an extensive archive of the unusual creatures that populate the planet, which is available to legitimate scholars in zoological research. And while biologists have recently sounded alarms about an apparent increase in the extinction rate of large mammals, the ISC reports the discovery of "thousands of new vertebrate species, with the 20th century alone being responsible for the discovery of 40 percent of all known mammal species." Known as cryptids, "many of the animals discovered have been quite striking and unexpected, and sometimes controversial and even initially doubted," said the society. Examples of these recently discovered "cryptozoological precedents include the Gorilla, the largest known primate, discovered in Gabon in 1847; the Giant Komodo Dragon Monitor, the largest known lizard, discovered on Indonesian islands in 1912 (shown in photo); Baird's Tapir, the largest known land mammal of Central and South America, discovered in Panama in 1863; the Giant Panda, discovered in China in 1869 (but not collected alive by Westerners until 1936); Przewalski's Horse, the last truly wild horse, discovered in Mongolia in 1881; the Okapi, a fossil giraffid, discovered in the Congo in 1901; the Giant Forest Hog, the largest known wild pig, discovered in Kenya in 1904; the Kouprey, a large wild ox, discovered in Cambodia in 1937 (and rediscovered in 1982); the Coelacanth, a 6-foot Mesozoic fish form (a true "living fossil"), discovered in South African waters in 1938; the Megamouth, a large filter-feeding shark representing a new species, genus, and family, discovered off Hawaii in 1976; and the Spindlehorn, a new species and genus of bovid (cow) discovered in Vietnam just 8 years ago. For a fascinating history on many of these cryptoids, visit the society's website.Staff Writer Sally Suddock
Last updated on 07/27/2007 09:46 AM
