Hiding in Plain Sight!

Hiding in Plain Sight! Cryptids Discovered! By Dr. S. Turnbull With Dana Currie

Hiding in Plain Sight! Cryptids Discovered! http://www.monkey-pictures.net/gorilla_pictures.html

What is Cryptozoology? • The study of animals and other creatures that have not yet been accepted by science as real. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/Okapia_johnstoni_-Marwell_Wildlife%2C_Hampshire%2C_England-8a.jpg

Cryptids! • Creatures that are under investigation by cryptozoologists are called cryptids. http://academic.reed.edu/biology/professors/srenn/pages/teaching/web_2007/myp_site/index.html

Goal? • To discover either new species of animal or new subspecies (or those thought to be extinct). • The science of cryptozoology is rooted in biology. The Pygmy Elephant of Borneo http://taos-telecommunity.org/EPOW/EPOW-Archive/archive_2008/EPOW-080303.htm

As soon as an animal becomes truly respectable, it exits the field of cryptozoology. http://www.birds.cornell.edu/ivory/

Discoveries! From Myths to Reality Maneless lion, Kenya, 2011

Pongo • According to African folklore, the pongo was a wild man of the jungles. • A violent creature with magical powers. • It craved the taste of human flesh. http://www.bloodsprayer.com/uncategorized/monkey-business-the-rise-and-fall-of-the-american-gorilla-suit-actor-part-1/

The pongo had many supernatural characteristics and behaviors not typical of a biological animal. • Was it possible that it was real?

The entire world was surprised when, in 1847, the pongo was officially declared to exist. • We now call it the gorilla! • ”Gorilla" is derived from the Arabic word for "ghoul." http://adamthinks.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/gorilla.jpg

The story of the pongo's official discovery teaches us that any cryptid might be real. • Not long ago, European folklore assigned many supernatural abilities and odd behaviors to real animals such as wolves. http://www.coolchaser.com/layout/create/49183932

Okapi • The okapi was reported from Africa by native folklore. • Even the export of okapi skins did not persuade the doubters. • It was obviously a mythical mixture of a zebra and a giraffe, a kin to the griffin, centaur, and other legendary creatures made by pasting together the parts of various real animals. • The odd skins were probably faked in some way. http://www.bonobo.org/NL-Lomela.htm

Sir Harry Johnston. • He believed native informants • Sent skins and skulls to scientists until he was able to weaken skepticism and gain research money for the cause. • Capture of live animals finally destroyed the last of the skepticism and the okapi was declared a real animal. • When cryptozoology emerged as a science, the okapi was often held up as a symbol of cryptozoology First photo taken, 1907 http://scienceblogs.com/laelaps/2009/02/searching_for_the_elusive_okap.php

Vu Quang Ox • The Vu Quang ox is just one of many new mammals to be discovered in recent years (1992) in the Vu Quang Nature Reserve of Vietnam. • It is a goat-like animal from the ungulate family. • It is more closely related to wild cattle than anything else, even though it doesn't look like a wild bovine. • The Vu Quang ox has a number of unique and weird features, including distinctive glands on the face. • The Vu Quang ox was an important pioneer in the history of cryptozoology.

In 15 years of searching, science has discovered zero saolas in the wild. • There have been very few instances of a saola ever being in captivity. • In August 2010, people in Laos found a wild saola and tried to raise it in captivity but it died. http://myths-made-real.blogspot.com/2011/02/creature-feature-saola.html

Coelacanth • The coelacanth is often called a living fossil fish. • 1938 off coast of South Africa • Scientists brought out all the arguments that they typically use to explain away cryptids, including that it was a misidentified normal animal. • It was said to be a common grouper, even though the remains did not resemble that fish. • Today, the coelacanth is fully accepted as a real animal. http://dinoman.xooit.com/t1804-Les-Crossopterygiens-Actinistiens-Coelacanthes-Latimeria.htm

King Cheetah • African folklore had long described a different type of cheetah. • This cheetah was a giant, and it had a totally different pattern on its coat than normal cheetahs. • Like most creatures described in folklore, the king cheetah was the object of much ridicule. • No serious efforts to find out if it really existed. • Skins with the king cheetah pattern were known to exist. http://users.aristotle.net/~swarmack/kngchtah.html

King cheetahs are genetic mutants, like color phases, not a separate species or subspecies. http://www.africanwildlifevacations.com/african-cheetahs.html

Kraken • From ancient times, sailors have reported seeing a huge sea monster with many tentacles, called the kraken. • The kraken was considered to be a different species from the octopus and squid because it was much bigger. http://unmuseum.mus.pa.us/kraken.htm

Serious scientists steered clear of the kraken question, refusing to study it even when presented with beached kraken carcasses. • Several kraken carcasses were beached within a short time of each other, the reluctant scientists were forced to pay attention. 1837 – first complete specimen http://www.freaksandmonstersblog.blogspot.com/

The kraken was declared a real species. It was named the giant squid. • The giant squid remains one of the most elusive large animals in the world. http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/i5rXXeutD56/Giant+Squid+Defrosts+Te+Papa+Museum/rEP2UO5CwM_

Florida Panther • Scientists were surprised when the Florida panther was discovered in the Everglades. • Considered to be a mythical animal, • It was declared a subspecies. • Other reports of eastern cougars have not been confirmed by the scientific community, yet. • They are still scoffed at.

http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://www.hiddenpalmshoa.com/images/wildlife/florida_panther_with_cub.jpg&imgrefurl=http://picfind2.bloguez.com/picfind2/1665259/florida-panther&usg=__2yYllYpq4gBEx1HPKyTSPsiO1a4=&h=1200&w=1600&sz=509&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=Ccnn5nlaG46N-M:&tbnh=110&tbnw=155&ei=Z80ETu7ZE464tweniP3fDQ&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dflorida%2Bpanther%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26rlz%3D1R2SUNA_en%26biw%3D1003%26bih%3D531%26tbm%3Disch&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=140&page=1&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:0&tx=97&ty=68http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://www.hiddenpalmshoa.com/images/wildlife/florida_panther_with_cub.jpg&imgrefurl=http://picfind2.bloguez.com/picfind2/1665259/florida-panther&usg=__2yYllYpq4gBEx1HPKyTSPsiO1a4=&h=1200&w=1600&sz=509&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=Ccnn5nlaG46N-M:&tbnh=110&tbnw=155&ei=Z80ETu7ZE464tweniP3fDQ&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dflorida%2Bpanther%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26rlz%3D1R2SUNA_en%26biw%3D1003%26bih%3D531%26tbm%3Disch&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=140&page=1&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:0&tx=97&ty=68

The Search Continues! • There have been success stories! • What else may exist out there, shrouded in myths and legends, and hiding in plain sight? • A Tibetan proverb asks, "What is the most cunning of all animals?"

"That which no man has seen." http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com/ocean/photos/deep-sea-creatures/

Hiding in Plain Sight!