Sightings of strange creatures have been the source for tales and legends for thousands of years. Books, TV shows and movies have been based on these legends that stem from every corner of the world. While many of these sightings can be explained as misidentifications or hoaxes, that leaves a multitude of reports that can’t be explained. People from all walks of life have offered theories as to what these beings may be, and they range from the fantastical to the scientific. Though dismissed as a joke by many in the conventional sciences, cryptozoology is a very real field of study. In fact, some stories of these unknown animals, known as cryptids, have been found to be quite real. In a previous post, I mentioned the orangutan and the platypus. Both were subjects of legends and stories told by those who encountered them in the wild, both were dismissed as fanciful creatures that didn’t exist, and both were eventually found, documented and have become well known members of the animal kingdom today. So don’t dismiss all these stories out of hand, people are seeing something, it just hasn’t been identified yet.
One of the most famous cryptids has to be Bigfoot, or Sasquatch. A giant humanoid creature, walking upright like a human but covered in hair from head to toe. Footprints have been found, hair samples that defy analysis, sound recordings that don’t seem to come from known animals, even pictures and videos. Evidence is piling up, but so far it’s all circumstantial.
The best evidence of course would be an actual Sasquatch and many question the fact that one has never been captured alive or dead, and no Sasquatch remains have ever been found. It should be taken into account that sightings are usually in very remote regions where humans have only started to explore. Even in well-known and travelled areas of wilderness, it is extremely rare to find remains of animals. Between predators, scavengers, insects and other natural forces, bodies are swiftly consumed and scattered. Another theory is that Sasquatch bury their dead, humans are not the only species on this planet to mourn lost loved ones. It has been well documented that other animals appear to have some sort of funeral rites, and elephants have been known to mourn and bury the bodies of other elephants, and even the bodies of other species.
If all the tales were all coming from one region, maybe it could be dismissed as local legend, or genetic aberrations such as gigantism and hypertrichosis. But stories of this creature are told around the world: Sasquatch in Canada, Bigfoot and the Skunk Ape in the USA, Yowie in Australia, Yeti or Abominable Snowman in the Himalayas, Almas in Mongolia, the Yeren in China, the list goes on. People from all around the world are seeing something, so what is it?
If all the tales were all coming from one region, maybe it could be dismissed as local legend, or genetic aberrations such as gigantism and hypertrichosis. But stories of this creature are told around the world: Sasquatch in Canada, Bigfoot and the Skunk Ape in the USA, Yowie in Australia, Yeti or Abominable Snowman in the Himalayas, Almas in Mongolia, the Yeren in China, the list goes on. People from all around the world are seeing something, so what is it?
A giant ape species known as Gigantopithecus Blacki existed in the Pleistocene era, and may have still been around as little as 100 000 years ago. We know very little of this species, the fossil record consists mainly of partial mandibles and teeth. Researchers have determined that this ape stood up to 10 feet tall and seems to be of the same family as the orangutan, but whether it walked on all fours or was bipedal is unknown since there haven’t been any hip or leg bones discovered. Is G. Blacki an evolutionary ancestor of Sasquatch?
Or does Sasquatch belong to the human species group? Though clearly not Homo Sapiens, he may belong to one of the many branches of our own family tree. Our earliest known ancestor was Sahelanthropus tchadensis, existing 6 million years ago. There have been so many evolutionary advances and offshoots, who’s to say that Sasquatch isn’t a long lost cousin of our own?
Other theories suggest that Sasquatch is a dimensional traveller, or spirit being that guards the forest. Yet another theory proposes that he is an alien being. Until we find conclusive evidence of Sasquatch’s existence, we’ll just have to watch, and wonder…
Another cryptid vying for top billing on the most famous list is the Loch Ness Monster, Nessie for short. Hailing from Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands, Nessie has been sighted over a thousand times since the first recorded sighting in 565 AD. Even earlier, the ancient Picts were carving the image of a strange beast in standing stones across the Scottish countryside.
Just like Sasquatch, sightings of creatures like Nessie are reported around the globe. In Lake Okanagan, British Columbia, N’ha-a-itk, meaning “snake of the water”, has been sighted by native tribes for centuries. Known more familiarly as Ogopogo, sightings, photographs and video evidence continue to accumulate. Bordering Vermont, New York and Quebec, Lake Champlain is a home to yet another beast, named Champ by the locals. Argentina has the Nahuelito, in Africa, the Mokele-mbembe. In Turkey there is the Lake Van Monster, the Lagarfljót Worm in Iceland and the Phaya Naga in Thailand. It’s hard to believe that all of these sightings around the world are mistakes or hoaxes, but just what are people seeing?
Possibly a giant sturgeon? These are bottom feeding fish that haven’t changed much since the Triassic period. These are big fish, most averaging 7-12 feet in length with the largest on record measuring an incredible 24 feet long! The reptilian look of the bony plates on their backs match some of the descriptions that have been recorded.
Possibly a giant sturgeon? These are bottom feeding fish that haven’t changed much since the Triassic period. These are big fish, most averaging 7-12 feet in length with the largest on record measuring an incredible 24 feet long! The reptilian look of the bony plates on their backs match some of the descriptions that have been recorded.
How about an eel? Some of these creatures are known to grow over 10 feet long and many sightings clearly mention a serpentine shape or movement. Eels are definitely very serpentine! Or an oarfish? Rarely seen but found in most oceans, this eel like fish grows up to 36 feet long,
While some sightings could be attributed to misidentification of a large sturgeon, eel, or other fish; these animals just don’t always correspond with witness reports. Could it be some as yet unidentified aquatic beast? Humans haven’t finished exploring the world by any means, and the least explored portion of our planet is undoubtedly under the surface of the water. There are some strange things down there! Who knows what else might lurk in the depths?
Interestingly, many reports compare the animals sighted in the water to real creatures that are familiar to most people. Dinosaurs! The descriptions of Nessie are very similar to something from the plesiosaur family. Mokele-mbembe bears a striking resemblance to members of the sauropod category. Other accounts seem to describe a mosasaur.
I’m sure you’re thinking, “Dinosaurs? Seriously?” Actually, yes, seriously. This is a big planet. And most of it is uninhabited. That leaves lots of room for big creatures to hide in. Is it so out of the realm of possibility that there were a few survivors of the mass extinction event that killed off the rest of the dinosaurs? It wouldn’t be the first time that an animals believed to have gone extinct 65 million years ago, turned up alive and well in the modern age. In 1938, a fisherman found something strange in his net. It turned out to be a coelacanth, a fish thought to have been long extinct. Since then, there have been many more of these ancient fish found in the ocean off the South African coast. Who knows what else is down there?
Or perhaps there is a more imaginative explanation for Nessie and creatures like her. Some propose that they are actual dinosaurs, travelling through some kind of portal through time. It would explain why people aren’t seeing colonies of these creatures; there wouldn’t have to be a breeding population, animals would come through singly or in small numbers. If not a time portal, how about a Vernian lost world, deep inside the planet? The hollow earth theory has been part of mythology and folklore throughout the ages and around the world. Maybe there is some truth to it after all…
Cryptids like Sasquatch and Nessie are small pieces of a very large puzzle. Sightings of unknown creatures will keep coming in until one day, we may just discover that something we once thought was a myth has suddenly become a reality. Until then, let your mind be open to the possibilities, and keep your camera at the ready!