Darrshen Balachanthiran

Cryptozoology

For starters, cryptozoology is the search for and study of animals whose existence or
survival is disputed or unsubstantiated. Now, spend a moment replaying your childhood. Still
remember those cartoons about Bigfoot? How about the Loch Ness Monster? If you do, then you
are in the right state of mind. Cryptozoology is dedicated to studying these reported sightings and
witness accounts of such animals. The base words kryptos and zoology quite literally mean the
study of hidden animals. Although some sightings turn out to be a hoax or a simple case of
misidentification, many cryptids studies have led to the discoveries of new animal species.
Ancient legends tell a tale of ancient sea monsters that terrorise the seas and claim the
ships of hundreds of sailors, devouring the sailors as small candy packages. One such legend is
that of a giant squids. Years back, the existence of giant squid was dismissed as nearly a myth.
However, peoples opinions started shifting once giant squid carcasses started washing ashore in
Labrador and Newfoundland. The largest specimens of its closest relatives, the Giant Squid are
around 30-40 feet long. However, it is believed that Colossal squids can grow to much bigger
proportions based on the evidence of large suction cup marks on sperm whales. Due to the rarity
of its sightings, the maximum growth capability of these invertebrates are relatively unknown.
After all, the sheer size of the animals would require it to consume large amounts of food and the
deep sea is a place with plenty of food. Who knows? The ancient tales of a 100 feet kraken may
also be true as predicted by palaeontologist Mark McMenamin.
Furthermore, legends of giant sea serpents roaming the seas were also very common. This
eventually led to the discovery of the oarfish, a fish that grew up to 36 feet and resembled a seagoing serpent. These proven tales of giant sea animals proves a point, that our oceans do hide
many monsters. The many sea monsters that still remain clouded in mystery includes that of the
Loch Ness Monster of Scotland, Icelands large worm monster, a reported plesiosaur that
inhabits Lake Champlain, the Oklahoma octopus whose only footage is that of a tentacle
dragging a teenager beneath the waves. Somehow, efforts to prove their existence draw blanks as
their existence will only be accepted by the scientific community once a clear photograph,
footage or specimen is caught. Moreover, the possibility that many of these monsters may turn
out to be a hoax created by someone for attention is pretty high.
Moving on, many land cryptids have also been sighted and proven. One example would
be that of a reported dragon that roams the territory of Indonesia. It was rebuffed as ones crazy
imagination until the Komodo Dragon was discovered. The Mountain Gorilla was also once a
cryptid. Hogzilla was also a cryptid until the existence of monstrous boars called the chacoan
peccary in the nation of Paraguay in South America, and the giant forest hog in the nations of
Kenya, Tanzania, Congo, Ghana, Cameroon, the Ivory Coast and Ethiopia in Africa were proven.
Another large boar sighting also led to the discovery of the rare pygmy hippo, which looked like
the cross between a pig and a miniature hippo. Kangaroos, Okapis, Platypuses were all also once
considered cryptids.

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Darrshen Balachanthiran

However, many cryptids still remain unproven like the Bigfoot, the Jersey Devil, the
Chupacabra, the Hellhound and many more. However, two of the most monstrous and exciting
cryptids would be the Megalania, a monstrous ancient Komodo Dragon and the MokeleMbembe, a reported living dinosaur. Megalania became an exciting cryptid thanks to the death of
an explorer, Tim Akrin deep in the Daintree Rainforest of Australia. Luckily, he documented his
journey to meet God with his camera. It was aired as a documentary on Animal Planet as part of
the Lost Tapes show. Apparently, he was bitten by an unknown creature when he placed his hand
under a bush. After that, he showed all the symptoms that someone who was bitten by a Komodo
Dragon would. The footage also revealed that a creature was stalking him, while waiting for his
bacterial infection to weaken him. During his last moments, he was chased and dragged into the
darkness. His highly decomposed body was recovered and tests revealed an unknown type of
bacteria on his body. Furthermore, the Megalania aka The Devil Dragon is a proven species of a
Komodo Dragon that used to roam Australia. However many accounts of large lizards have been
reported even after the date it was thought to have gone extinct, and no, Komodo Dragons never
existed in Australia.
Now for the best part, the Mokele-Mbembe. Locals who inhabit the Congo River basin
claim that a large creature inhabits the Congo for many generations. The identification put
together by the villagers who have no contact with the outside world clearly pictures that of an
extinct apatosaurus. A snake like neck, with a small head, elephant like body, heavy tail and
spikes lining its back. The villagers certainly have no intention of wanting to attract attention as
they are an isolated tribe. Moreover, they also live close to many wild animals like elephants, so
the margin for misidentification is also reduced. So what did they see? They also claim that their
ancestors once killed a Mokele-Mbembe but they died after eating its meat. The symptoms of
their death point towards a disease called Salmonella, a disease contracted due to the presence of
Salmonella germs that are found in reptiles. If this was true, then elephants are no longer in the
equation.
So, could the depth of the ocean and the denseness of our forests be hiding ancient
animals and new monsters? Megalodon, a 60 feet monstrous shark that could easily kill a blue
whale one became the talk of cryptozoology enthusiasts until Discovery Channels documentary
proved to be a fake alongside their Mermaid documentary. However, the possibility of the
survival of the ancient shark Megalodon is still there. After all, only 5% of our oceans have been
explored. Accordingly, the chance of the existence of many monsters is still high. We just cant
fully trust TV documentaries and the internet anymore and make sure you carry a HD camera
whenever you are on the go. A blurry footage does no one any good.

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