Ever since humans could first communicate there have been reports of real life monsters.  These “monsters” have become such an interest to scientists that they have gained their own specific class in science; the study of such creatures is called cryptozoology, which means the study of hidden animals.  Thus, now there are many scientists whom have dedicated their lives to uncovering the mysteries of these creatures throughout the world.  In my essay I will describe some of the most famous cryptids in history; cryptids that have actually been proven to exist, some lesser known cryptids, and some other topics.

History holds old and mysterious cryptids dating back for hundreds of years. The most famous and well known of these alleged cryptids from the past is the dragon, an animal that was said to have extraordinary powers and embodied almost all human fears. In some rare cases they could also be considered saintly creatures. Some other famous creatures were the kraken, Basilisk (or cockatrice), hydra, and the griffin. These creatures were indeed the “bigfoots” and “Nessies” of their time, because hundreds of alleged sightings took place every single day. These creatures are no longer reported in modern times, but who knows, they just may be out there waiting for the right time to make themselves known to humanity. 

The study of cryptids has made a lot of progress and has gained much respect since it first began about five-hundred years ago. For one thing cryptozoology has gained its own category in science and is actually its own field. You can also study cryptozoology in college and have a career based on it. Cryptozoology has also gained much respect in the scientific community since the discovery of such animals as the megamouth, Komodo dragon, giant panda, mountain gorilla, okapi, coelacanth, and giant boar, some being discovered as late as 1976. Some were even dismissed as a figment of the human mind. Some of these creatures were presumed extinct for millions of years and lived without detection for said time.

The most famous animal ever discovered is the giant squid. This animal was part of many old religions and myths but was thought to be just that, a myth. Then people began to report encounters with the beasts; reports began flooding in about the behemoth so it became an interest to cryptozoologists. After looking further into the matter, scientists began to discover tentacle marks all over the bodies of dead and severely injured  sperm whales showing that not only was there a huge possibility that these creatures existed but that they were enemies of the sperm whales probably due to foods and territories.  It was then that the giant squid gained an official title among the animal kingdom. Still, some die-hard skeptics would not believe until the 1870’s. During the 1870’s, for unknown reasons, a mass of the creatures began to just die and wash upon the shores of Newfoundland and Labrador, proving to everyone that these animals indeed exist.

The ocean is a vast place, a perfect place to look for cryptids. With all its twists and turns and small caverns, great bodies of water provide excellent shelter for animals yet to be discovered, and indeed there are many. These cryptids are all categorized under one class, sea serpents, but this is not all together true. Many alleged sightings are not of just scaly, lizard-like creatures but also of mammalian creatures.  In fact, one man has classified these creatures into seven specific classes:  long-necked, merhoarse, the many-humped, the many-finned, the super-otter, the super-eel, the marine saurian, the father-of-all-turtles, and the yellow-belly. It is entirely possible for a lot of these cryptids to exist within the ocean, for even the largest animals in the world are but tiny specs in the great bodies of water on this earth.

Some of the greatest cryptids of the earth’s bodies of water are Nessie and her North American cousins, champ and ogopogo.  Nessie lives in the Scottish highlands in the great Loch Ness. Loch Ness is seven-hundred fathoms deep and has a plentiful food supply of salmon, a suitable living environment for such a creature. Cryptozoologists believe that there is not just one creature of Loch Ness but a whole pack of them thriving somewhere in the Loch: this guess also goes for Champ and ogopogo. There’s a theory about what Nessie may be and how she got in Loch Ness: during the meltdown, after the last major ice age, Nessie may have been a Plesiosaur and have swam into the Loch because at that time period the sea levels were so high that oceans merged into rivers. Then when the sea levels went back down, a pack of Plesiosaurs may have been trapped in the Loch and they may have adapted to that environment, making it a more safe and secure living habitat there, this theory also goes for Champ and Ogopogo. 

That was one of the three major groups of cryptozoology, the second is the group of Humanoid cryptids; cryptids that supposedly walk on their hind legs and have mammalian attributes such as hair and breasts.  The two most well known cryptids of this class are Bigfoot and the yeti. Other lesser known cryptids are Neanderthals, wildmen (wildmen nearly as intelligent as humans), feral children, and amazingly, aliens. These cryptids are allegedly seen in mountain ranges and forests (with the exception of aliens whom are reported to be in large deserted places and come down from space in UFO’s). 

For hundreds of years reports have been made about a massive human-like beast, these beasts have been labeled according to their regions in the world. The two most popular, and perhaps most intriguing, are the yeti and the Sasquatch, more commonly known as Bigfoot. Bigfoot is the name of the supposed North American Wildman; said to be about 8 feet tall, nearly half a ton, and walk just like a human and is estimated to be able to think nearly as a human does. The Yeti is just about exactly the same as Bigfoot except it is said to live in the rhododendron thickets of the lower parts of the valley and come up the Himalayan mountain side for food. Both of these creatures have been reported since earlier time periods and have a lot of evidence pointing to their existence such as: footprints, pictures, videos, and thousands of eyewitnesses. Bigfoot is also recorded in almost every North American tribal history and the yeti is strongly believed in by the Tibetans who inhabit the Himalayan mountainside and include the yeti in their history and even consider him part of their local fauna.

The third major class of cryptids is that of creatures that do not have much in common with humans but instead with known animals, members of this class usually walk on all fours. Cryptids from this class are the more lesser known ones like the chupacabra, blue tiger, giant spiders, giant rats, giant snakes, ect. These cryptid sightings are actually more accepted by scientists than those of the other two major classes, this is because animals in this class living undetected for so long is actually more believable. Still these cryptids are every bit as mysterious as the ones from the other two classes, and they are still given equal treatment. Cryptids from this class exist all over the world and are usually known well only by certain groups of people that live in the same area as the cryptid, making them all the more mysterious.

So, you’ve read my essay, you’ve asked me questions, and you’ve seen the evidence now it’s up to you. What do you think, are these creatures real or imaginary? Are these so-called cryptids just a figment of the human mind generated by our instinctual fears passed down from our ancient ancestors, or are they more? Can these creatures actually exist, and if so can they really be all that eyewitnesses say they are? Do you think there are still mysteries left for us to solve on this earth, and can there be creatures and even primate sub-species with the ability to think like humans… can there be actually cryptids? These are things to ponder on, things to ask yourself. Just remember, humans don’t know everything……