When Cryptids Turn Out to Be Real

While cryptozoologists have yet to turn up a verified Bigfoot or Loch Ness Monster they have had their triumphs. When newspapers report that a formerly 'mythical' beast has been discovered to be a very real animal indeed, they rarely, if ever, give justice to the cryptozoologists who had been insisting all along that it was possible. Therefore, his article will strive to shine a light on just how often it happens that animals long thought to exist only in folk lore turn out to be flesh and bone, and those who have suffered ridicule in search of it, never get the chance at glory.

Cryptozoology, the study of animals believed to exist, but having no concrete evidence to prove that they exist, is a daunting field. Cryptozoologists are usually dismissed as crackpots who believe in the animals they seek, but that is usually not the case. In fact, like more mainstream scientists a Cryptozoologist is always seeking evidence to determine whether it supports the theory or not. Whether those who deride the efforts of those who search out 'Cryptids' as being more magic than silence want to admit or not, Cryptozoologists deserve credit for many discoveries that likely would not have been made without their help.

The platypus was considered to be nothing more than a hoax , when first encountered by Europeans, but those who had seen it remained adamant about it's existence. It is understandable that Europeans , who had no frame of reference by which to understand an egg laying, aquatic, venomous mammal would believe it to be nothing more than a folk tale creature geared toward unsettling foreigners. But alas, the platypus turned out to be flesh and bone! Imagine the chagrin of those who checked the carcass for stitching to prove it was a fake when they found none.

The Giant Squid was believed to be a fabrication of drunken sailors and crackpot researchers from ancient times until 1861 when the French gunboat the Alecton recovered a piece of carcass which appeared to belong to just such a creature and lent a little more credibility to the search for the Giant Squid. the scientific community had no photographic evidence of the animal in it's native habitat until 2004, however, when a group of Japanese scientists were able to get 500 plus photographs of the animal after searching for two years. Throughout the 1800's the giant squid was reported to have been land stranded in several different locations, but the rarity off this occurrence and the difficulty demonstrated in finding a live species explains why it was thought so long to be mere myth.

The Devil Bird was said to be a mythical bird who emitted a strange human sounding cry. The claims of hearing this bird , or even seeing it were disregarded until 2001, when a villager discovered the body of a bird that matched the description perfectly. It turns out that the Devil Bird (or Ulama) is a species of owl, now known as the spot bellied eagle owl.

The coelocanth is a fish that was believed to be extinct for 65 million, but showed up alive and well in The 1930's. While not steeped in legend the coelocanth, like the okapi illustrates how animals can remain undetected in the world for even millions of years before they are discovered. Recent finds of new species include the Japanese beaked whale in 1958, the megamouth shark 1978 , the Prudes Bay Killer Whale 1983 and in the last year it was reported that scientists discovered at least 30 new species formerly unknown to science off the coast of Antarctica, including a 'psychedelic' octopus .

Considering these discoveries and the likelihood that as technology advances there will be more opportunities to discover even stranger species, it may not be completely out of the range of reason to think that we may well see the proof of at least one beast believed to be nothing more than myth. Which one it might be, is still up for grabs.