Dabo Posted February 10, 2006 Report Share Posted February 10, 2006 This board seems to have been around a while by the number of posts on so many threads on so many forums, and y'all may have already chased this rabbit a ways, but being a newbie, I want to see what your ideas on the subject are; that subject being, Cryptozoology... Most of you already have heard the term and probably know to what it refers. I won't go into that much, because you can look it up faster than I can go into detail. What it is NOT is, as Bernard Heuvelman (master of Cryptozoology) says, "an arcane or occult zoology". What it is, is the study of hidden animals. They use the work hidden instead of unknown because they are not unknown to folks who live in the same areas. They are simply undetected by those who would formally recognize their existance and catalogue them. I emphasize that this is not voodo or pseudo science, noting that in 1982, the International Society of Cryptozoology was founded at a meeting held at the Smithsonian Institution, by known scientists of varying disciplines, including, biology, zoology, physical anthropology, etc. Folks always first think of the usual suspects; Loch Ness Monster, Sasquach, Florida Skunk Ape, Champ- the Lake Champlain Monster, Ogo Pogo-Canadian lake monster, sea serpents, et.al. But as you all know, just this week, it was announced that scientists had discovered hundreds of unknown species of birds, reptiles, and mammals in indonesia, including a "tree kangaroo". So this is serious science. My own personal interest is the Florida Skunk Ape, because that's where I live. Of all these things, (including close alien encounters) are witnessed by way too many credible people to be hoaxes or lies or crackpots, though those do exist, unfortunately... Like the most famous Loch Ness photo of long ago, of the upper torso and neck and head sticking out of the water.... the hoaxer announced his hoax as he neared death, that it was his childs toy dinasaur... too bad... Kinda like the idiots who plant software viruses... I truely don't know what motivates them either... but I digress... Anyway, I will share my experiences at a later time... I just wanted to get this thread started. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFaithfulStone Posted February 10, 2006 Report Share Posted February 10, 2006 I'm a bit of a crpytozoology buff myself. Personally, I think about 90% of it is bullcrap - but there are some critters out there that we have not yet "discovered" for sure. I find the most interesting one to be "Trunko" - a wierd aquatic elephant thing spotted off the South African coast in (I believe) the late 19th century. BS I'm sure - but hoax, mass hallucination, or errant narwale? Globsters are cool - but are probably just decaying basking sharks. The Giant Octopus? That's one I think probably actually exsists. (Dead but dreaming under the ocean perhaps?) TFS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesMan Posted February 10, 2006 Report Share Posted February 10, 2006 There are two areas of exploration for this genre in my book. 1. Potential new animals in unexplored or minimally explored regions, such as the golden-mantled tree kangaroo.2. Animals in populated areas, such as Sasquach. I do not know, so this limits me to assumptions and opinions concerning item number two. I personaly enjoy the reports and fantasy of these creatures. As for item number one, the insect world is much larger than most would comprehend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turtle Posted February 10, 2006 Report Share Posted February 10, 2006 ___A recent discovery in Indonesia is rife with new species; here's a link to a story on it to get you started.http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060208/ap_on_sc/indonesia_lost_world ___I have yet to see evidence sufficient to admit Sasquatch etc. to my zoological taxonomy.:hihi: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dabo Posted February 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2006 Hey Stone; 'Sup, bra? I will accept your "...90% is bull crap" opinion AFTER you research the issue as much as I have. I'm not being ungly, and you may have already done an exhaustive research of such critters (I doubt it, though). I must admit, I am pretty open minded, I mean... a born again Christian who is giving serious consideration to the concept of aliens?... But that's another rabbit to chase.... But seriously, dude, I marvel at how SO MANY folks offhandedly poo poo the whole concept, without knowing anything about it, or without having interviewed creadible folks who have had sightings. I have personally interviewed several such folks, who were poo poo'ers until they SAW one, and got "foxhole religion". And turtle, I know the feeling, man. There are so many folks out there trying to debunk or just hoax, but to form a real educated opinion, you have to research the issue yourself. There are legit groups collecting legit data, including recordings of "unknown" origin, suspected to be these critters. Knowhudduhmean, Vern?:hihi: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Racoon Posted February 10, 2006 Report Share Posted February 10, 2006 What about Cryptosporidium cysts?? :hihi: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFaithfulStone Posted February 10, 2006 Report Share Posted February 10, 2006 Sorry, guess I didn't make myself clear. I guess I would say that 90% of cryptids ain't new critters. I'd say that a slim majority of cryptozoology is real science, and not pseduoscience. I've done a fair amount of research on cryptozoology - but I think a lot of the claims of it's most vocal adhereents are pure bunkum. Telepathic bigfoots? Aliens? The LochNess monters? There is mostly likely somethin' in that lake. Is it a pliesosaur? That seems unlikely. Of course, so did the Colcenath - and look what we found. On the other hand, I have seen some SERIOUSLY WEIRD STUFF out in the woods at night. I guess I'm just more willing to ascribe even my bizarre encounters to my own brain than undiscovered major mammals. We have something similar to the Skunk Ape where I live - or at least that was the theory, until the state game and fish comission admitted that we do , in fact, have a breeding population of cougars. All those creepy screams at night? There ya go. I also suspect some errant wolves in them thar hills. I think cryptozoology is neat, and I think that there is a fair amount of "coverup" by authorities. But I don't think they are covering up bigfoot - probably something much more pedestrian. Thus, the GFC can claim "we don't have cougars, we don't know what's killing your pets..." and a bunch of people will start claiming "Bigfeet!!!!111 OMFG!!!1111!" Those people are a lot easier to poo-poo as nutcases than people who insist, that, No, it's actually cougars. Ya dig? However, I think there are undiscovered megafauna in the US. Did you see the recent chupachabra corpses in Texas? They were supposed to have been coyotes with mange. But I never did see the returns of the blood test they supposedly did. http:// http://www.nbc4.tv/news/4895053/detail.html That does not look like coyote to me. TFS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dabo Posted February 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2006 So, what do you say about the hundreds of observations by creadable (sp) witnesses of such things? Are they all drunk or on drugs or psychos? If you have searched the literature, surely you cannot call them all crackpots... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dabo Posted February 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2006 Here are a few pics from a sighting in central Florida. Check the site. It's pretty interesting...http://www.lorencoleman.com/myakka.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFaithfulStone Posted February 15, 2006 Report Share Posted February 15, 2006 No, they're not all crackpots. I don't know that they've all seen cryptids. They have seen SOMETHING. What? Who knows. Maybe a Skunk Ape, or bigfoot or something. I'm just saying that like UFO sightings, 90% of cryptid sightings can be explained away. It's that other 10% that are interesting.... BTW, those are some neat pictures, but the anonymity of the photographer makes it hard to discount the hoax factor. (That, and the lack of additional sightings.) TFS plus, that guy's selling a book. not a good sign. but who cares really? it's stiill fun to day dream about nessie and the jersey devil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarantism Posted February 15, 2006 Report Share Posted February 15, 2006 in theory we have only discovered about 11% of all annimals on earth. who knows what the other 89% has in store? bigfoot...perhaps. i like the idea that Nessy could be a plisiosaur. there is a funny little story here about a guy who claims to have found the Lock Ness Monster...dead. this is certainly a science, though i dont know how much benifit it holds for mankind other than applying a scientific name to Big Foot. Biggus Footious, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ughaibu Posted February 15, 2006 Report Share Posted February 15, 2006 Interesting that the reflections from the eyes are not red. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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