Cryptozoologists

Largest Colossal Squid Ever

I can assure you that this is going to draw phenomenal interest. It is truly amazing.Steve O’Shea Auckland’s University of Technology On February 22, 2007, various sources, including the BBC News announced that New Zealand Fisheries Minister Jim Anderton said a Colossal Squid ( Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni), estimated as 33 feet (10 meters) long and 990 pound (450 kilograms) in weight, has been captured. Fishermen on the vessel San Aspiring, owned by the Sanford seafood company, caught the animal in the cold Antarctic waters of the Ross Sea. It was brought to the surface as it fed on a Patagonian toothfish [...]

Jeb’s Cryptids of Mardi Gras

One of the themes this year at Mardi Gras is “Legends and Lore of the Deep,” and so naturally cryptozoology is represented. Jeb Card has taken some great photos of some of the cz-themed floats, which he shares. (That specific theme is for Proteus, one of the over a dozen krewes, which are individual crews or communities of people who design, build, and people the floats.) This is incredibly good stuff, these photos of his “Cryptids of Mardi Gras.” See more here. Thanks to Jeb for sharing these with me overnight. Hope Jeb and all the folks are having fun [...]

Update: King Moose

Craig Heinselman contributes a followup to my blog on “Maine’s Mystery Moose,” he calls “King Moose.” Moose, the largest living member of the deer family, is a common icon in New England, especially Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire. They have a pivotal role, not in strictly the natural ecology of the area, but for the economic side of tourism. A typical eastern moose maxes out at around 6 feet in height, 9 feet in length and upwards of 1000 pounds, with an antler spread of over 4 feet on the bull. While impressive, the largest moose come from the opposite [...]

Happy New Year of The Cryptid Pig

Happy Chinese New Year! It is the Year of the Pig. Interestingly, several of the animals of discovery within cryptozoology are pigs and piglike species. One classic example is the giant forest hog (Hylochoerus meinertzhageni), known today from Liberia to Kenya, Africa. First reported by natives to Europeans back in the 1660s, the world’s largest pig was “discovered” by Western science, in East Africa in 1904, when Lt. Richard Meinertzhagen brought the first one out. The forest hog reaches seven feet in length and more than three feet at the shoulder. At the other extreme, the pygmy hog (Sus salvanius), [...]

What Place Creationists?

It appears people are dying to argue or debate or yell at each other about evolutionism, creationism, and cryptozoology. Therefore, as opposed to this discussion popping up, sort of off-topic, in other Cryptomundo blogs’ comment sections, let’s try this. Here are a couple simple questions: Does cryptozoology have room for creationists? Does cryptozoology have room for evolutionists? In an evidence-based scientific model, does the philosophy or religion of the person gathering the evidence matter when the pursuit of new animals is concerned? When tracking down cryptids, whether the cryptozoologist is chasing Bigfoot, dinosaurs, or new species of rats, does it [...]

Maine’s Mystery Moose

‘Mystery Moose’ on the loose This big fella’s made headlines for 100 years – a walking enigma or one tall tale? Antlers 10 feet across. A hide so thick it stops bullets. White. Surly. Elusive. The sight of him is so frightening, he once scared a bicyclist up a tree. So intriguing, the stars of Sci-Fi Channel’s “Ghost Hunters” gave Maine’s “Mystery Moose” a four-page spread in their spin-off magazine. It’s a 2,500-pound enigma that’s maybe roamed the woods here for 100-plus years. A little extra attention might just drum up more sightings, and some answers, said Loren Coleman, a [...]

New Ugandan Monkey Species

A new monkey species believed to be endangered, has been discovered in Mabira forest reserve in Mukono. According to a report by Prof. Colin Groves of the Australian National University, the monkey species is now one of the 19 primate species in Uganda. He said the primate, known as the gray-cheeked mangabey (scientific name Lophocebus albigena) was being upgraded to a new class to be called Lophocebus ugandae . Groves revealed that when he revised the research he undertook three decades ago, he discovered that the Uganda monkeys were much smaller than similar ones in other parts of the world. [...]