Artifacts

Shunka Warak’in Taxidermy Specimen Found!

Above is the photograph which has become familiar from my book, Cryptozoology A to Z (1999), and then lifted from there to be shared throughout the internet. The story of the 19th century shooting and mounting of this unknown cryptid canine has been repeated often. It is scheduled to be one of the stories discussed in a forthcoming History Channel “Monster Quest” program. The “Monster Quest” film crew visited the International Cryptozoology Museum specifically to talk to me about this cryptid and other related canine enigmas. The mystery of the Shunka Warak’in has been an enduring one in cryptozoology. It [...]

Replica Cryptia: Przewalski’s Horses

The Przewalski’s horse, a Pleistocene megafauna survivor, can be called a “living fossil,” in the popularized employment of that phrase. Certainly, this horse is of interest to cryptozoologists. In the society we live in, this is an animal your daughter may know more about than you do. The species (Equus ferus przewalskii, Equus caballus przewalskii, or Equus przewalski poliakov – classification is debated) is the last truly wild horse, first recognized by zoology in Mongolia in 1881. It is an animal of discovery, with lessons to teach in cryptozoology. Besides, the Przewalski’s horse story overlaps with that of the Almas. [...]

First Sea Serpent Sighting: A Detective Story

Sargon II In the hot-off-the-press issue of The Anomalist 13, historical cryptozoologist Ulrich Magin examines, as he concisely says in the title of his article, “Sargon II’s Sea Serpent Sighting: The First Sighting in Cryptozoology?” I’ve always enjoyed Magin’s high-quality bibliographical and original source research, and this article does not disappoint. Magin gives the essence of his pursuit in his opening: The Assyrian King Sargon had the first ever sighting of a sea serpent. Bernard Heuvelmans, in his In the Wake of the Sea-Serpents, writes: “Thus we learn that Sargon II, who reigned in Assyria from 722 to 705 B.C., [...]

Chupacabras DNA Results Are In

Contributed Photo: Phylis Canion Well, no need to dwell on this one. We all saw this coming, and it appears only a few people and the media thought this was going to be anything different. The DNA results are back from tests run on the “Chupacabras” (as it was called) found by Phylis Canion, near Cuero, Texas, in July, 2007. The biologists at the Texas State University have announced that it is a coyote (Canis latrans). The DNA sequence is a virtually identical match to DNA from the coyote. This is probably the answer a lot of folks thought might [...]