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A Menagerie of Cryptozoology

Cryptozoology is the study of animals and other creatures that have not yet been accepted by science as real. In other words, it is monster-hunting. Cryptozoologists look for creatures like sea serpents and the yeti, hoping to gather enough evidence to prove that these beings exist. They also look for more commonplace animals, such as the ivory-billed woodpecker, the giant vampire bat, the inflatable hedgehog and the pygmy elephant. Creatures that are under investigation by cryptozoologists are called cryptids. Although cryptozoology doesn't get much respect from other scientific disiplines, it has had some spectacular success stories, including the pongo (now known as the gorilla), the okapi (an animal that looks like a cross between a giraffe and zebra), and the coelacanth (a prehistoric fish thought to be extinct).
Cryptozoologists are a specialized branch of monster hunters. Since their ultimate goal is to discover either new species of animal or new subspecies, the science of cryptozoology is rooted in biology. The more a creature shows evidence of being supernatural, the less likely it is that cryptozoologists would be interested in it. Not many cryptozoologists investigate the strangest things like ghostly demon cats, Mothman or werewolves. Ghost hunts are left to the paranormal investigators and a few fringe cryptozoologists. On the other hand, there are very few animals, however mythical they may be, that have never stirred the interest of a cryptozoologist. This is because perfectly real animals have often been obscured by so much folklore that they seemed ridiculous.
Bernard Heuvelmans, the author of the first and most influential book of cryptozoology, On the Track of Unknown Animals, created cryptozoology as a science and separated it from other studies involving anomalies and the paranormal. Earlier writers in the field were more likely to include mythology and folkloric material, and they used the terms "exotic zoology" and "romantic zoology" to describe what they did. Today there are many organizations devoted to cryptozoology, and dozens of books, plus countless individual scientists. Despite this massive amount of interest, most cryptozoologists are underfunded and sink large amounts of their own money into their researches.
Most of the time, cryptozoologists do not work in the field. The creatures they pursue are so rare and elusive that, even if they do exist, any particular expedition is unlikely to encounter one. It is much easier to collect sightings from witnesses who came across the cryptid by accident. Since most cryptids have remained in the realm of the mythical, the main job of cryptozoologists is not to prove that a certain cryptid exists, but rather to collect and analyze as many sightings as possible in order to determine if the available evidence is strong enough to keep the question open. If they can make a good case for keeping the question open, they may be able to attract zoologists to the problem, which in turn brings the kind of research funding and manpower that has a real chance of uncovering an undiscovered animal. Alas, as soon as an animal becomes truly respectable, it exits the field of cryptozoology. The real science begins when a cryptid is being more seriously investigated by biologists than by cryptozoologists. Because cryptozoology is by definition a speculative science, cryptozoologists often rub shoulders with folklorists, Forteans, paranormal investigators and creationists, whether they want to or not.
This zoo is roughly divided into three sections. Most cryptozoological beings can be classified as humanoids (something like a human), draconic (it reminds you of a dragon) and animals (everything else). Inside these broad classifications you will find many individual creatures. Each creature has a description that defines what it is and where it is seen, plus a list of resources such as books, websites and documentary films that mention the creature. Most of these resources are firmly rooted in cryptozoology, but some of them approach these creatures from a different viewpoint such as that of folklore and mythology. If you would like to suggest more resources for this website, please email me.


Humanoids

Draconic

Animals


Hairy Humanoids Bigfoot, Yeti, Sasquatch...
Water Monsters Nessie, Sea Serpents, Zeuglodons...
Extinct? Mokele-Mbembe, Thylacine, American Hyena...

Winged Humanoids Mothman, Owlman, Tengu...
Flying Monsters Classic Dragons, Sky Serpents, Atmospheric Beasts....
Out of Place Black Panthers, Kangaroos, Lions...

Other Humanoids Aliens, Fairies, Mermaids...
Landbound Lindorms, Tatzelwurms, Sirrush...
Anomalous Thunderbirds, King Cheetahs, Nandi Bears...



Alphabetical List of All Creatures: A

Abominable Snowman

African Peacocks

Ahool, Olitiau and Giant Bats

Air Rods

Alien Big Cats

Aliens

Almas

American Hyena

American Lions

Angels

Atmospheric Beasts
B

Bear-dogs

Beast of Bray Road

Beast of Gevaudan

Big Gray Man

Bigfoot

Black Panthers

Blue and Black Tigers

Bondegezou (or "Man of the Forest")

Bunyip

Buru, Giant Lizards and Giant Crocodiles
C

Caddy

Champ

Chupacabra

Classic Dragons (Western Cultures)

Classic Dragons (Non-Western Cultures)

Coelacanth (Living Fossil Fish)

Con Rit (or Giant Millipede)

Cynocephali
D

Dinosaurs

Dodo

Dover Demon

Doyarchu (or Irish Crocodile)

Dragons
E

Eastern Cougar

Emela-ntouka (or "Killer of Elephants")
F

Fairies

Felines

Feline Bipeds
G

Gargoyles

Giant Animals

Giant Bats

Giant Crocodiles

Giant Hogs

Giant Lizards

Giant Monkey

Giant Octopus

Giant Salamanders

Giant Sharks

Giant Sloth (see Mapinguary)

Giant Snakes

Giant Squid

Giant Turtles
Giant Vampire Bat

Globsters

Golden Moon Bear

Gourd Head
H

Hairy Dwarfs

Hairy Fish

Helena Manatee

Honey Island Swamp Monster

Horned Cats

Horned Snakes

Howler Monkey Snake

Hyenas
I

Inflatable Hedgehog

Ivory-Billed Woodpecker
J

Jackalope

Japanese Dwarf Wolf

Jersey Devil
K

Kangaroos

King Cheetahs

Kouprey (or Cambodian Wild Ox)

Kraken (or Giant Squid)
L

Lake Monsters

Lake Worth Monster

Lindorm

Loch Ness Monster (see Nessie)

Loveland Frogs
M

Maero (or New Zealand Wildman)

Mainland Orangutan

Mapinguary

Marked Hominid

Marozi (or Spotted Lion)

Mermaids and Mermen

Mesonychids (Hoofed Predators)

Mexican Ruffed Cat

Mirapinna (and Other Hairy Fish)

Missing Link

Mngwa (or Gray Cat)

Moas and Other Giant Flightless Birds

Mokele-Mbembe (African Living Dinosaur)

Momo

Mongolian Death Worm (or Olgoi-Khorkhoi)

Mothman
N

Nandi Bear

Napes

Neanderthals

Nessie (or Loch Ness Monster)
O

Ogopogo (or Naitaka)

Okapi

Old Yellow Top

Onza

Orang-Bati
Orang-pendek (or Sedapa)

Owlman
P

Panthera Atrox (American Lions)

Passenger Pigeon

Piasa

Plesiosaurs

Pongo

Proto-Pygmies

Pterosaurs and Pterodactyls

Pygmy Elephant
Q

Queensland Tiger
R

Reptilian Bipeds (or Reptoids)

Roc
S

Saber-Toothed Cats

Sasquatch

Satyrs (or Fauns)

Sea Serpents

Shapeshifters

Shug Monkey

Shunka warakin

Sirrush

Sisemite

Skunk-Apes

Sky Serpents

Smilodon (or Saber-Toothed Cats)

Sumatran Lion (or Cigau)
T

Tapire-iauara (a Semi-Aquatic Hoofed Carnivore)

Tatzelwurm

Tengu

Teratorns

Thunderbird

Thylacine and Queensland Tiger

True Giant
U

Ufiti (or Malawi Chimpanzee)

Unicorn
V

Vampires

Vu Quang Ox (or Saola)
W

Waitoreke (or Maori Otter)

Werewolves

Wild Men (Europe)

Wild Men (America and elsewhere)

Windigo (also spelled "Wendigo")

Winged Men

Wyvern
Y

Yeren (or Chinese Wildman)

Yeti

Yowie (or Yahoo)
Z

Zeuglodons