World of the Weird: Cryptozoology

Photo: By Source, Fair use

It had been my intention to produce a few non-politically related blogs over Christmas just for a bit of fun. However events overtook any planning and I ended up publishing no less than three tributes to celebrities that sadly passed away one after another over the holiday period. I still don't feel like returning to politics for a little longer (though inevitably I will) so thought it was time for another dip into the "World of the Weird".

Previously I've covered UFO's from outer space and the inner Earth, Nazi one's in fact from Antarctica and examined newly discovered Pyramids from Bosnia to Antarctica. All tosh of course, but entertaining enough. Next up I thought a look at the "undiscovered" animals of this world was in order.

For us Brits of course there is the Loch Ness monster up in bonny Scotland first brought to our attention in 1933 and made famous by the photo above which is now known to be a hoax, not that this has put "Nessie" hunters off. Of course these days there are also "sonar readings" that remain unexplained but is "Nessie" real? I doubt it.

For starter there cannot be just one "monster". No living creature is immortal and for any such animal there would need to be a sustainable breeding colony of the things. If that was the case sightings should be far more frequent and given the attention given to the Loch by scientists, enthusiasts and, let's face it just plain cranks there should be sufficient evidence by now to prove the "monsters" existence.

But there isn't.

"Nessie" is not alone in the Cryptozoologists eyes. There are others equally as famous in the public eye such as "Bigfoot" and the Yeti.

 
Photo: By Patterson-Gimlin                                           Art: By Philippe Semeria

Bigfoot allegedly lives in North America, one of the most developed parts of the world and to date has managed to evade capture, even on photograph despite this. The Yeti on the other hand exists in highly uninhabitable areas of the Himalayas where such a creature could easily hide. However it too eludes scientists and cranks alike. One hypothesis is that what people see may be a rare type of Polar Bear from a previous age. Who knows? More likely than the creature of modern myth.

However my current "favourite" is a "dinosaur" allegedly found in the Congo and "known" to the natives as Mokele-mbembe. First described by a Frenchman but not actually seen in 1776, this creature has been the "holy grail" of cryptozoologists and explorers alike. Alas it too evades capture or photography.

And there's more.



Undoubtedly there are creatures on our world remaining to be "discovered"  but most I suspect will be small except perhaps in the sea. Given that 90% of the worlds oceans remain unexplored and somewhat inaccessible with our current technology, there may be creatures of some size there. After all we thought the giant squid was a myth until someone actually found the things.

I'll leave the last word to this video where the author deconstructs the cryptozoologists and exposes the connections of some with the creationists:

"In Louisiana, there is a curriculum known as Accelerated Christian Education, that says that the Loch Ness Monster proves evolution is false. Absurd, to say the least."