The Enigma of Cryptozoology

From the dark depths of man’s past, dangerous creatures have led to the creations of many myths. Greece, Africa, North, and South America, and the aborigines of Australia, all had strange tales of foreboding monsters. With still much of our land mass unexplored, and most of our ocean depths untouched, what unknown life forms still remain undetected by mankind?

Mythical monsters among the seafaring peoples were common. The Vikings had many tales of fighting the great sea beasts. One such creature was the Kraken, a mythological beast of Norse legend. Ancient mariners many times would return home claiming to have had encounters with the Kraken while at sea. According to these witnesses this creature was said to be so large it was often dangerously mistaken for a small chain of islands.

The northern waters of the Atlantic seaboard have had abundant sightings of strange creatures from the sea for centuries, especially near the western coast of Norway. Documented reports have recorded creatures as long as 300 feet (Shuker, In Search of Prehistoric Survivors 107).

One island linking to the chain of the Hebrides is Eilean Mor. This island like many other islands of the Hebrides is uninhabited by man, and probably for good reason. The history of Eilean Mor (like many other islands of the Hebrides) is mysterious. In December of 1899, a new beacon was completed to guide the ships at sea. However, on this island three people had already died, while several others had gone insane. Then in 1900, the island with its newly constructed lighthouse had to be abandoned due to the disappearance of three men. (Posey, Vanishings 14).

There were reports of a violent storm earlier in the month. The logs reported that the storm had ceased, which was proof that the men had not been washed out to sea due to the storm. Giant waves were said to have been responsible for ripping away and twisting the iron railings on the landing. This is rather unusual (but not impossible) considering the railings were 200 feet above high tide. It is suggested that the disappearance of these men was due to the abduction of some sea creature or giant sea bird (Posy, Vanishings 14).

The Hydra is another mythological marine monster from the watery depths. Greek legend tells of this monster having numerous heads. If it lost a head, it simply grew two more in its place, much like the octopus or squid when it loses a limb. If there would be any shred of evidence found to this myth, it would be to consider the relation and similarities of the octopus or squid, or even its separation as a completely different life form (Cave, Mysterious Creatures 13).

In the book of Job, Leviathan is said to be fire breathing and “with eyelids of the dawn.” (Jerusalem Bible, Job 40:25-27, 41:1-25).

Job writes of this great and colossal beast as ruling the waters of the deep. It is also interesting to consider that much deep-sea marine life have eyes that are reflective, many even glow as they set off lights as a beacon to then devour its prey. It is a fact that large and elusive creatures exist deep in our oceans. Many deep-sea creatures that have been documented are still an enigma. Also, where their reproductive cycles are concerned, this many times remains a complete unknown.

The Bible along with other ancient text holds strange mysteries that modern man has yet to unravel. One such mystery is the giants, somewhat closer to the race of men, yet still monstrous in our sight. These beings inhabited much of our folklore and legend from many different parts of the world. It has even been mentioned that a race of giants from Africa carried the stones of Stonehenge, and that these beings were responsible for the construction of that site (Horan, Mystic Places 78, 79).

One of the most interesting tales of Peruvian mythology has been handed down for centuries by word of mouth and has now become a legendary tradition along the coastal region. This tale consisted of a race of giants arriving in large balsa boats. The native peoples were terrified of this race of giants. It is said they were so tall that a good-sized man only came up to the knees of these beings. According to legend, they ate extensively and the people of the region did everything in their power to avoid them. Since the native women would have nothing to do with them, they began practicing sodomy. According to legend a shining angel appeared with a glittering sword and destroyed these giants with a single blow leaving a remnant of their remains as a reminder. In this region have been found large bones and teeth. (Burland, Nicholson, and Osborne, 346).

Cryptozoology is relatively a recent science researching the ancient prim evil origins of animals thought to have been extinct or yet documetned. The coelacanth did much favor to this science when it was discovered off the shores of Mozambique in 1938. Though science considered this fish to be extinct for 70 million years, the natives of the area had been fishing it out of the sea for years. This fish forced the scientific community to think again about what other life forms thought to be extinct, may be still in existence (Cave, 23)

Many legends concerning the giant squid, scientifically named Architeuthis dux, has been told for centuries. It is quite possible that this creature is responsible for the Kraken and Hydra legends of Greece and Scandinavia mentioned earlier. Much is still unknown about this giant and very aggressive marine animal since it spends much of its life in the ocean depths. When it does make its appearance on the surface it can be very devastating for those who encounter the squid. Sharp talons on each sucker discs consisting on its eight arms gives the squid the ability to literally shred its prey to pieces.

One encounter of the great architeuthis took place on St. John’s Harbor on the northern coast of Newfoundland in 1873. Two men and a young boy set out to fish for herring when they came upon what at first was thought to be floating seaweed. One of the men jabbed at the object when they realized it wasn’t what they had suspected. It erupted into motion had grabbed the boat with its eight long arms and two tentacles. They would not have escaped, if not for young boy, Tom Piccot. The monstrous creature was drawing the boat and the three individuals towards its beak, but at the same time this young individual was hatching furiously at one of its tentacles. The monster finally submerged back into the water as it dispersed its ink like fluid in the water. The boy had managed to dismember one of the tentacles. Though this was not the complete length of the tentacle, it measured nineteen feet. (Cave, Mysterious Creatures 47-50)

Another new member to add on mans list of animals is the mountain gorilla that has made its home in the Virunga Volcano range bordering the three countries of Uganda, Rwanda, and Zaire. The rumors of its existence had been speculated for decades, though science refused to believe the reports from the native peoples until its final discovery in 1902. (Shuker, In Search of Prehistoric Survivors 174)

The giant anaconda living in the Amazon jungles according to the natives is said to become humongous. The estimated length of these creatures is 24 feet. Reports, however, of the Anaconda by eyewitness and local natives being much larger have been documented. In 1948, a newspaper report in Rio De Janeiro, along with a photo of the creature had documented one specimen as large as 115 feet. It took 500 machine gun bullets to destroy the beast (Shuker, The Unexplained 181).

The most famous of all cryptozoological creatures is the Lock Ness Sea Monster, better known as Nessie to loyal fans. This is the creature children throughout the world seem to fall in love with. Maybe perhaps because this creature still has the ability to cleverly outwit and elude man and science. Surrounded by high mountains and legends, Loch Ness is nestled in a remote area, which any could very well contain multiple creatures of crytozoological description, not just the Loch Ness Monster alone.

Such reports of other creatures in and around the Loch have been reported. In 1880, one very interesting account must be mentioned. Diver Duncan MacDonald was being lowered down the canal entrance of the lake to examine a sunken ship. When lowered, it was not long before he was pulling on the rope to be brought back up. When brought to the surface of the lake, MacDonald was in extreme fear and did not speak of his experience for several days afterwards, and refused to ever go back into the water again. What MacDonald claimed to have seen was a large creature resembling a frog, staring straight at him. Regarding this incident, Shuker mentions, “An underwater eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation with what could well be an exceedingly large carnivorous beast of uncertain identity and even more uncertain temperament would be a decidedly unnerving experience for anyone!” (Shuker, In Search of Prehistoric Survivors, 91)

Another recent incident and interesting animal getting public attention is the mokele-mbembe of the Peoples Republic of the Congo. Cryptozoology would hardly be a science without the unraveling developments of this creature. Two British expeditions have already taken place. Operation Congo in 1986, and Operation Congo 2 in 1992, led by the explorer Bill Gibbons. These expeditions have been somewhat of a struggle regarding the harsh conditions of the area, deeming each attempt to locate and track this beast, unsuccessful. Like most creatures that remain elusive, its habitat is not fit for the conditions for man (Shuker, The Unexplained 91).

According to numerous eyewitnesses, this creature has a strong resemblance to the Brontosaurus. Like Loch Ness, who is believed by many to be a plesiosaur, the mokele-mbembe is probably a relative of the ancient dinosaur. With new evidence surfacing this leaves us with the question, is prehistoric animals, such as the dinosaur really extinct? If not, then this leaves our whole scientific view of evolution, zoology, and even the origins of man in question.

Works Cited

Burland, Cottie, Nicholson, Irene, and Osborne, Harold. Mythology of the America’s.

Italy: Fanthom Publishing Group. 1965,1968.

Cave, Janet. Editor. Mysterious Creatures. Time Life Books, Alexandria, Virginia:

1988.

Horan, Anne. Editor. Mystic Places. Time Life Books, Alexandria, Virginia: 1987.

Jones, Alexander. Editor. The Jerusalem Bible. Doubleday/Randomhouse. New York:

1966,1967,1968.

Posey, Carl A. Editor. Vanishings. Time Life Books. Alexandria, Virginia: 1990.

Shuker, Dr. Karl P.N. In Search of Prehistoric Survivors. New York, and London:

Blandford Books Inc. 1995,

The Unexplained. Dubai: Carlton Books. 1996.

Photo: Courtesy of the Julsrud Museum at Acombaro, Mexico
http://www.bible.ca/tracks/tracks-acambaro-dinos.htm

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