What is cryptozoology?
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, it is the study of legendary animals – cryptids – with the hope of proving they’re real. In other words, it is the study of mysterious animals people say they’ve seen, with no real evidence to prove it.
Scientists like Dr. Michael Voorhies, a paleontologist at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln are discouraged by the search for cryptids. “Imaginary monsters are fun,” he says, “but not nearly as interesting as real living or prehistoric things! And most sightings are easily explained as hoaxes, or misidentifications of well-known things.”
Many experts agree with Dr. Voorhies. But every once in a while, cryptozoologists make a discovery that knocks the experts on their ears. They find proof that one of the legends really does exist. And that keeps crypto-fans searching long after other people have given up.
COELACANTH
For example, until 1938, scientists believed the prehistoric fish known as Coelacanth had gone extinct 65 million years ago, along with dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals. So imagine how surprised they were when fisherman caught a three-foot Coelacanth off Comoros Islands near Madagascar.
Now imagine the shockwaves fifty years later when a five-foot Coelacanth was caught in 1998 near Indonesia – thousands of miles from the colony thriving in the Indian Ocean near Madagascar.
“It’s a spectacular discovery,” said marine biologist Mark Erdman of the discovery in BBC News report. “It certainly opens the possibility of all types of other fish and sea monsters that might some day pop up.”
ORANG-PENDEK
Want another example? Orang-pendek, a five-foot mystery ape was considered a 150 year old legend in Sumatra, until British explorers Adam Davies and Andrew Sanderson found hair and footprint evidence to support its existence in 2001.
DNA extracted from the ape hair, is unique. It proves a species unlike any other primate is living in the remote jungles of Bukkantingi, Sumatra, an ape no one has been able to photograph, so far. Is it Orang-Pendek? Davies and Sanderson say it is, but without pictures or video footage, they can’t convince the rest of the world. But they won’t give up until more details have been confirmed.
GIANT SQUID
Even the giant squid -- an enormous version of the ordinary squid fishermen (and seafood lovers) see every day – was considered mysterious and rare until Japanese scientists captured undersea photographs of it off of the Ogasawara Islands September in 2004. A tentacle 18-feet long broke off the animal before it swam away from the baited hook and the cameras, so scientists estimate its entire body must have been more than 26 feet long.
WHY US? WHY NOW?
Why did we decide to write a book about animals that may or may not be real? Each of us loved the mysterious stories of Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster and other cryptids when we were kids. So we wrote this book to help you get excited about them too.
Sometimes, the questions we ask are as important as the answers. Imagining what MIGHT be sometimes opens the door to remarkable discoveries in hard science.
Many of these stories may be just that – stories people made up to explain things they didn’t understand. But if one or two turn out to be real, we’ll understand life on earth just a little bit better. And we’ll be glad we had the courage to wonder.
We hope you’ll have moments of doubt and wonder as you read over this book. Because that’s just the reaction any smart reader should have to a book of unsolved mysteries. But remember, life is full of surprises. You never really know what you’ll find lurking just around the bend. The adventures unfold when you’re not afraid to find out. | 
