A bit about cryptozoology

Cryptozoology is a controversial field of science that investigates unknown animal species, often ignored by official zoology. Although cryptozoologists strive to separate their work from parapsychology and ufology, much of their research remains controversial. Since the discipline's inception in the 1940s, cryptozoologists have contributed to the discovery of new species, yet their work is still frequently questioned. In this article, we will examine the history of cryptozoology, its methods, and the controversies it generates.

Cryptozoologists don't like to be compared to, for example, ufologists and don't want to be lumped in with them. They simply claim that their field of newly established, self-proclaimed science has a more reliable and robust scientific foundation than, for example, ufology and parapsychology. While this isn't always true, it's fair to say that thanks to the efforts of cryptozoologists, several new animal species have been discovered, such as the Vietnamese Vu Quang ox. Representatives of other "sciences" have yet to boast similar successes.

Cryptozoology first appeared in the 1940s, when Ivan T. Sanderson addressed the issue of unknown animals in a series of articles on the subject. These publications prompted Belgian zoologist Bernard Heuvelmans to begin his own research. Heuvelmans soon became a leading figure, a sort of guru for generations of cryptozoology enthusiasts. Heuvelmans, in fact, coined the term "cryptozoology," derived from three Greek words: kryptos (hidden), zoon (animal), and logos (science). Many consider 1955 to be the birth of cryptozoology as a science, when Heuvelmans published his first book on the subject, "On the Track of Unknown Animals."

The popularity of this science grew and reached its peak in the mid- to late-1970s. This was due to the growing interest in paranormal matters, such as UFOs and ghosts, and cryptozoology was associated with this and—intentionally or not—also piqued the interest of many, becoming a component of the "New Age" movement. This led to several unnecessary reevaluations, including the utterly absurd "Bigfoot is an alien" theory. However, this interest in cryptozoology in the 1970s also yielded positive results, such as increased research and numerous research expeditions.Today, cryptozoology remains within the "sphere of influence" of ufology and parapsychology, which is not to its advantage. Despite this, it is gaining increasing credibility, especially with the discovery of new animal species previously known to cryptozoologists. More and more such people are beginning to put theory into practice and raise funds for research expeditions. Cryptozoology is getting closer to officially becoming a science and a part of zoology.

Let's now move on to explaining a few more important concepts that I will use in my subsequent texts devoted to unknown animals. Cryptozoologists search for cryptids, or in the main sense of the word, animals not recognized by official science. Such creatures are usually very well known to people living in the areas where such cryptids occur. They often appear in folklore, being completely ignored by scientists and considered the products of an overactive imagination. Dragons, for example, are officially treated as completely fictitious, never-existing creatures, existing only in the imaginations of folk artists. Cryptozoologists often think differently, wondering if dragons might be, for example, some unknown species of reptile or dinosaurs that managed to survive the extinction 65 million years ago. This doesn't mean, of course, that every fairy tale is considered a zoological account; simply that many of the accounts contain something that suggests they weren't entirely fabricated.Cryptozoologists roughly divide cryptids into three groups. The first are cryptids that are not actually animals. How is this possible? These are most often natural phenomena, such as atmospheric phenomena, whose effects or manifestations resemble the actions of animals. An example is the strange waves on Loch Ness, which I mentioned earlier – of natural origin, but not the result of some giant animal, but rather of tectonic movements. The second group of cryptids is definitely zoological, animalistic in origin. These are animals commonly known to science, but which behave in a way that suggests their other nature. One example is the case of an alleged monster appearing in an Irish lake. Thanks to the press and other media, the sighting of a strange object floating on the surface of the lake escalated into a "haunting" of a small body of water by enormous, monstrous creatures. Ultimately, it turned out that the mysterious "monster" turned out to be an ordinary catfish. In the case of such cryptids, it sometimes happens that the supposedly unknown animal turns out to be a species that, from the perspective of official science, should not occur in a given geographical area. Recently, even in Poland, reports were received of a strange species of dark, predatory bird with a distinctive neck projection. It turned out to be a stray African vulture that somehow found its way to Poland. A similar situation may have occurred with the South American piranhas recently caught by fishermen in the Oder River.