This is how a supposed discipline was named with the intention of discovering what they call “cryptids”: animals normally considered as fantastic creatures of legends and myths. The cryptozoologist would therefore be a person whose biggest dream in life is to scientifically prove the existence of werewolves, headless mules and the like. For this group, the preferred targets are those monsters that many people believe may even exist, because, despite being highly unlikely, they have reports from witnesses who would have caught them in their very rare appearances. Some of them are quite famous – like the Loch Ness monster and the Abominable Snowman. Others, not so much – that is, of course, until they star in the pages of . me
The Loch Ness Monster
There are legends about various lake monsters (that is, those that live in lakes), but none are as famous as the one that is said to inhabit the huge Loch Ness, in the interior of Scotland. Affectionately nicknamed Nessie, he would have been seen for the first time in the year 565, by the head of an abbey that remains until today on the shores of the lake. According to him, the animal looked like a giant frog, but since then, most of the 4,000 reports describe it as a serpent resembling plesiosaurs, monumental marine reptiles that resemble dinosaurs. Some scientists even thought that Nessie was, in fact, a prehistoric animal preserved in those icy waters, deep and full of caves. They even searched the lake with probes in search of the creature, but did not find any clues. As for the famous photo of the animal, taken in 1934, it was discovered that it was a fraud.
Chan
Based on a Mexican legend dating back to Mayan times, Chan would be yet another giant snake for cryptozoologists’ collection – although there are also reports describing it as a species of whale. It would inhabit both the crater of the Tallacera volcano and the deep lakes of Yucatan (there are those who believe in an underground connection between the crater and the lakes, which would make this possible). It is part of the tradition of the natives to go on a pilgrimage to the top of the crater to make offerings to the monster and beg for its protection. The most famous report came from a group of police officers who even shot at Chan, causing her to disappear into the waters. But everything indicates that this story is nothing more than fantasy.
Yeti, the Abominable Snowman
Colossal footprints, but similar in shape to the human foot, seem to have been the main source of belief in a giant, hairy primate that inhabited the Himalayan mountains, between Tibet and Nepal. The name is very suggestive – yeti means “that thing” in Tibetan – and the most famous report came from a mountaineering expedition in 1921, who would have seen him sleeping in the middle of the snow. There is also talk of the skeleton of a hand, which would have been left in a Nepalese monastery and which scientific tests revealed to be neither human nor of any known primate – but there is no record to prove the story. Some theories, however, try to explain the phenomenon: for them, the monster would be descended from some prehistoric suit or even the result of hallucinations caused by the lack of oxygen at higher altitudes. According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, however, it could all just be a mix-up caused by bear tracks that, in certain positions, suggest those of a giant human.
Ogopogo
Another lake monster, the Ogopogo is a kind of American version of the Scottish Nessie. According to reports, the animal would be a giant serpent inhabiting the equally giant Okanagan lake, in Canada. With an extension of 130 kilometers and 4 kilometers wide, this lake would have conditions to allow the survival of huge prehistoric animals. The Indians in the region already narrated legends about a similar monster, to whom they offered sacrifices when they needed to cross the lake – this many centuries before the first report, made by the wife of a missionary in 1870. The Ogopogo is usually described as a 20-meter snake. long, dark green skin, serrated back and forked tail. Earlier this year, a Japanese TV crew went there to make a documentary about the creature, but unfortunately failed to spot it.
Nahuelito
Yes, South America also has its lake monster, the Nahuelito, which, according to legend, is usually seen on the clearest summer days in the waters of Lake Nahuel Huapi, in Argentina. Also called El Cuero and El Manto, he is often related, like Nessie, to the gigantic sea lizards called plesiosaurs. Who knows, maybe very cold and very deep waters would make it possible for prehistoric animals to survive? This same logic seeks to provide a plausible basis for all the aquatic monsters mentioned here – but no scientist believes in it. Even so, Clemente Onelli, director of the Buenos Aires Zoo, collected sporadic testimonies of the Nahuelito dating back to 1897. Of these reports, the most famous was that of the American Martin Sheffield, who, in 1922, described the animal with features like “a neck swan length and agile movements that suggested an alligator body”.
Big Foot
As in the case of the Yeti, monstrous footprints are practically the only clue to this supposed inhabitant of the forests of western Canada and the northwestern United States, where the mythological creature is known as Bigfoot or Sasquatch (“wild man”, in the language of the Indians). Of region). More than two hundred legends starring Big Foot have been part of indigenous folklore for centuries, describing it as a furry overall (including the face), over three meters tall and nocturnal and solitary habits. The first account of a white man comes from explorer David Thompson, who, in 1811, was crossing the Rocky Mountains and came across a trail of astonishing footprints, measuring 35.5 centimeters long and 20.5 wide. Reports of a very similar creature in Siberia called Almas led Russian historian Boris Porshnev to claim that it and Bigfoot could be two remnants of Neanderthal Man.