Cryptozoology

Internet’s First Cryptid: Chupacabras

Let us celebrate the 11th anniversary of the first cryptid of the Internet Age: Chupacabras. In August and September 1995, the chupacabras (Spanish for "goatsucker" – the singular and plural forms) seemed to erupt on the cryptozoological landscape. I’m not talking about the mangy dogs that have been mistaken for Chupacabras in recent years. No, I mean the sightings – as if out-of-the-blue – of large, upright, goat-sucking, spiked creatures that were seen in Puerto Rico in increasing numbers a mere eleven years ago. Researchers such as Scott Corrales and Jorge Martin have since backtracked the critters through Indian lore [...]

Irwin’s Sense of Humor

Did Steve Irwin have a sense of humor? Of course he did. View “Steve Irwin Wrestling Gators Mascot”. Thanks to my son Caleb for this suggestion.

70 Years: Thylacines Still Rule!

The 70th anniversary of the Thylacine’s extinction is September 7th! Do they still walk among us? Did Steve Irwin see one in Tasmania? The last captive thylacine died in the Hobart Zoo on September 7, 1936. Today in Australia, the day is now known as “Threatened Species Day.” Ten years ago it was known as “National Thylacine Day.” The last thylacine (third one pictured below) was captured in 1924, with its mother and siblings, in Florentine Valley, Tasmania. In 1933, this last thylacine, a female, was sold to the Hobart Zoo. (Whether or not it was ever named “Benjamin” is [...]

Caution About “New Species” News

Everytime a news items appears about a "new species," of course, it seems it might be another exciting moment for cryptozoology. The new species could be one that is ethnoknown, a part of the traditions and encounters of the local peoples who may have assisted in finding it. But some media reports might not be talking about the discovery of a brand "new species." Sometimes reporters are only disseminating the fact that a "new" animal, perhaps never seen locally, is making a new appearance. Often, if the location has a bit of exotic mystic about it, people naturally think this [...]

More Gators

Officer Kyle Finney, 27, carefully holds the 2-foot-long alligator he pulled from Horseshoe Pond, near Concord, New Hampshire, on August 29, 2006. Concord Police Department photograph. The local newspaper Concord Monitor noted that Kinney was already known as a hero for pulling an 84-year-old woman from a burning automobile last year. Now he can add alligator recovery to his resume. When the paper reported on the sightings of the gator the day before, the Concord Monitor mentioned that a 3-feet-long alligator had been picked up from Bath, New Hampshire, a few weeks earlier.

Steve Irwin & Cryptomundo

In the midst of a worldwide media story being compared to the death of JFK or Princess Di, and which crashed many websites, Cryptomundo’s “Steve Irwin Killed” apparently filled a critical niche. The tragic death of Steve Irwin was easily the major topic at the lead of most news organizations’ attention on September 4th. Why would people want to read about it here? What quickly happened was that alternative news sources came to Cryptomundo to learn a little known fact about Steve Irwin: he had searched for cryptids too, including the Thylacine. Reportedly, Irwin devoted an entire episode of “The [...]