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UnknownAnimals&CryptozoologyChapter9

MonstersandMankind

•  Humanshavetoldstoriesaboutmonstersfortensofthousandsofyears

•  Manytellstoriestodayaboutthemunderadifferentname-cryp%ds

Cryptozoology

•  Thestudyof“hiddenanimals”isafieldmostscienMstslabelaspseudoscience

•  Focusesonanimalswhosecurrentexistenceisnotsupportedbymainstreamscience

•  RelaMvelyrecentfield,asmegafaunadiscoverieswerecommonpriortoearly1900s

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MegafaunainthePast100Years

SoWhyNotCrypMds?

•  Cryptozoologistsarguethattherecouldverywellbeotherspeciesyettobediscovered,includingverybigoneslike– SasquatchorBigfoot– LochNessMonster– Mokele-Mbembe– Chupacabra

Man-ApesofNorthAmerica

•  Talesof“wildmen”datebackthousandsofyearsandareseenallacrosstheglobe

•  InN.A.,theytendtobecalledBigfootorSasquatchandtherehavebeenreportedsighMngsin49statesand8Canadianprovinces

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TheBigfoot

•  Typicallydescribedasalarge,hulkingcreaturecoveredindarkbrownorred-brownhair

•  6-10feettall,500pounds

•  Nocturnalandomnivorous

MajorBigfootEncounters

•  NewspaperarMclesin1920stoldstoriesofaraceof“hairygiants”livinginBriMshColumbia

•  LibleelseunMl1957,whenasmalltowninBCdecidedtohavea“SasquatchHunt”todrumuptourism

•  Publicitystuntwaswidelypublicizedandpublishedaboutallovertheglobe

MajorBigfootEncounters

•  Shortlyacer,WilliamRoecametoanewspaperandtoldaboutanencounterhehadin1955

•  Reportedcominguponitinthewoods,watchingitforashortMme,andthenitmovedaway

•  Describeditaslarge,hairybipedwithlongarms,coveredindarkbrownhair

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SighMngsSpread

•  Soon,reportsofasimilarcreaturewerebeingmadeinWashingtonstateandthenCalifornia

•  In1958,giantfootprintswerefoundataworksitenearBluffCreek,CA

•  “Bigfoot”wasdubbedbythelocalnewspaper

SighMngsSpread

•  RayWallaceandhisemployeesthenreportedfindingmorefootprintsandevenseeinga10foottallcreatureliketheoneRoereported

•  Hugeamountofcoverage,andsubsequentlysighMngsweremadecoasttocoastintheU.S.

•  Butthebiggestboosttoallhappenedin1967

ThePaberson-GimlinFilm

•  TwoBigfoothunters,RogerPabersonandBobGimlin,wereshooMngadocumentaryaboutBigfootintheBluffCreekarea

•  The16mmfilmtheyshotshowsalargebipedindarkfurwalkingslowlyawayfromthecamera,turningbackoncetolookatthem

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ThePaberson-GimlinFilm

•  ThewholeencounterwaseerilysimilartowhatRoeandWallacehaddescribed

•  Theyeventookplastercastsofthefootprints,showingverylargefeet

•  ThiswasahugeboosttoBigfootenthusiasm

BFsincetheP-G

•  Hugenumbersofplastercasts,footprints,photos,andvideoshavesurface

•  TheBigfootFieldResearchersOrganizaMonlists5,000reportedsighMngsinpast60years

•  Movies,televisionseries,documentaries,journalarMcles,books,andmore!

CriMcalThinkingaboutBigfoot

•  SeveralpiecesoftheBigfootstoryandthetypicalevidenceneedCTskillsappliedtothem

•  FirstistheevoluMonofthestoriesabouttheman-apesinNorthAmerica– Wentfromindigenouslegendsthatareobviouslysupernaturalinnaturetolong-hairedgiantstothe“Bigfoot”ofRoe,Wallace,andtheP-Gfilm

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CriMcalThinkingaboutBigfoot

•  SecondisthehistoryofhoaxersinsighMngs– Wallace,aknownprankster,laterreportedcapturingaBigfootthatateonlyFrostedFlakescereal!

– Acerhisdeathin2002,hisfamilyrevealedapairofgiantcarvedwoodenfeet,whichtheysaidhehadusedtomakevariousBFprintsovertheyears

– Dozensofothercasesofhoaxesandrecantedclaimsoverthepast20years

CriMcalThinkingaboutBigfoot

•  Thebiggestproblem,though,isthelackofgood,replicableevidenceforBigfoot

•  Reliesoneyewitnessstories,butfamoussighMngsocenturnouttobears,whosehabitateerilyoverlapswithBigfoot’s

•  ThinkbacktoalltheproblemswithmemorywelearnedaboutinChapter7

CriMcalThinkingaboutBigfoot

•  Videosandphotostendtosufferfrombeing“blobsquach”–blurryandnon-interpretable

•  EventheP-TfilmissoinconclusivethatthereislibleskepMcsorbelieversagreeon,evenwithmembersofthesamecamp!

•  PhysicalevidencealsotendstobeproblemaMc

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CriMcalThinkingaboutBigfoot

•  DNAsequencingofhairsresultsinthembeingfromknownanimals(orhumans!)

•  The“research”showingsupposedlynovelkindsofhominidDNAisdeeplyflawedandanexampleofhownottodoscience

BigfootConclusions

•  Thebest“evidence”istheresultofhoaxes•  Eyewitnessreportsarenotreliable•  Physicalevidencedoesnotsupportanewspecies

•  Bigfootisn’tjustdead,hewasneveraliveinthefirstplace

Living“Dinosaurs”

•  Around66millionyearsago,75%ofthelifeonearthwaswipedoutinanexMncMonevent

•  Thisincludednon-aviandinosaursandwater-dwellingplesiosaurs

•  Somepeoplecontend,though,thattherearesMllexamplesofthesecreaturesalivetoday!

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LochNessMonster

•  ThesecondmostwidelyknowncrypMd

•  ReportedlylivesinLochNess,ahugefreshwaterlakeintheScooshhighlands

•  Modernaccountsdatebacktothe1930sanddescribeaplesiosaur-likecreatureof25-30feetlongwitha10-12footlongneck

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FamousNessieSighMngs

•  Firstmajorreportedencounteroccurredin1933

•  Acouplewasdrivingtheircarnearthelakewhensomethingcrossedtheroad20feetinfrontoftheircar

•  LedtoanumberofcreaturesighMngsandevenphotographsandvideooverthenextdecade

FamousNessieSighMngs

•  Mostfamouspicturewastakenin1934,ocencalledthe“Surgeon’sphotograph”

•  Dozensofotherphotos,hundredsofsighMngs,andevenvideohavebeentaken

NessieNow•  The“monster”ofLochNessisbigbusiness,bringinginmillionsofdollarsoftouristrevenuefortheregioneachyear

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Mokele-Mbembe

•  DeepintheheartofAfricawefindanotherstoryofacreatureoutofMme

•  ReportedlysometypeofsauropodthatsurvivedthemassexMncMon

Mokele-MbembeStories

•  Intheearly20thcentury,Europeanexplorersbegansendingtalesbackhomeofahugeandferociousbeastlivinginthelakesandrivers

•  TaleswereiniMallyspreadacrosstheconMnent,fromNigertoSouthAfrica

•  IniMalstoriesvariedwildlyintheirdescripMons

HunMngtheBeast

•  Sincethe1960s,therehavebeendozensofexpediMonsmountedtofind“thelastdinosaur”

•  Rangedfromprofessionalonesledbybiologiststoreligiously-moMvatedonestodocumentaries

•  Thesubjectofatleasttwomovies

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CriMcalThinkingabout“LivingDinos”

•  The“evidence”isverysimilartothatpresentedforBigfoot– Eyewitnessaccounts– Poorqualityphotosandvideos– Lackofphysicalevidence

•  Anothersimilarityisthepresenceofhoaxersinthehistoryofboth

CriMcalThinkingabout“LivingDinos”

•  The“Surgeon’sphotograph”wasexposedasapurposefulfakein1975fromamoviemakerandbiggamehunter– CametolightacerWetherall’sdeath,muchlikewithWallace’sfakedfootprints

•  Manyotherphotoshavebeendiscoveredtobehoaxes,fakes,orjustnotNessie

Nessie&theMovies

•  GenesisoftheearlyeyewitnessaccountscanbetracedtoaverypopularfilmreleasedrightbeforethefirstmajorsighMng…

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Nessie&theMovies

•  ThedescripMonfromthefirstsighMngmimicsalmostexactlyascenefromthefilmofabrontosaurusaback:

“IsawthenearestapproachtoadragonorprehistoricanimalthatIhaveeverseeninmylife.Itcrossedtheroadaboutficyhardaheadandappearedtobecarryingasmalllamboranimalofsomekind.Itseemedtohavealongneckwhichmovedupanddown…andthebodywasfairlybig,withahighback.”

TheactualanimaMonmodelusedin1933’sKingKong

OtherNessieProblems

•  IfNessieisanextantprehistoriccreature,therewouldhavetohavebeenabreedingpopulaMonforthepast66millionyears

•  The“sighMngs”alsoruleoutaplesiosaur,whichwouldnotbeabletophysicallyactlikeNessie

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OtherNessieProblems

•  LochNessisnotlargeenoughtosupportoneplesiosaur-sizedbeast,letaloneapopulaMon

•  It’salsoonlyabout10,000yearsold,whichmeansthecreatureswouldhavemigratedintherefairlyrecently

Mokele-MbembeProblems

•  Sauropods(likeMMsupposedlyis)didnotevenliveinswamps,althoughwethoughttheydidwhenthestoriesfirststarted

•  NoevidenceofabreedingpopulaMon

•  Theindigenouspeopleoftheareahavedeniedsuchathingexistsforalmost100years

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“LivingDinos”Conclusion

•  StoriesseemfedbymediaandpublicfascinaMonwithdinosaurs,ratherthanevidence

•  TherearebillionsofdinosaurssMllalivetoday,butmostpeoplearen’tasexcitedbybirds

≥

AlienGoatKillers!

•  Thechupacabra(Spanishfor“goatsucker”)isarelaMvelynewcrypMd

•  Storiesinmid-1990stelloffarmanimalsbeingkilledanddrainedofbloodviasmallneckholes

•  Soon,hundredsofanimaldeathsacrossCentralandSouthwereblamedonthis

IniMalChupacabraSighMng

•  APuertoRicanwoman,MadelyneTolenMno,gavethefirstdetailedreport

•  Twolegs,long-limbed,spines,darkeyes,veryalien-looking

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TheEarlyChupacabra

•  Otherearlywitnessesdescribeda3-4foottall,hoppingbeast(somesaiditflewaswell)

•  TalesofthecreaturespreadtoasfarawayasRussia,allwithsimilardescripMon

•  Wherecouldsuchabizarrecreaturehavecomefrom?

Chupy&theMovies

•  TolenMno’sdescripMonwasrepeatedandreprintedcountlessMmes

•  Itappearstohavebeenheavilyinfluencedbyamoviesheadmitsshehadseennotlongbeforeher“sighMng”

•  ItwasSpecies,whichstarredanalienandtookplacepartlyinPuertoRico

“Itwouldbeaverygoodideaifyousawit[Species]….[Themonster]mademyhairstandonend.Itwasacreaturethatlookedlikethechupacabra,withspinesonitsbackandall…Theresemblancetothechupacabrawasreallyimpressive.”

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Chupy&theMovies

•  Butitwasn’tSilthatlookedlikethechupacabra…becausesheonly“saw”ita6ershesawthefilm

•  MuchlikewithNessie,herpreviousmediaexperiencesmassivelyinfluencedwhatshethoughtshesawandreported

•  Thistheninfluencedfurther“sighMngs”

AShicingLook

•  Inthe2000s,reportsofthechupacabrabegansurfacinginTexasandacrossthesouthwestUS

•  Thecreatureswerereportedaslookingverydifferentthanbefore

ABodyatLast!

•  Anumberofthese“chupacabra”werekilled,butallturnedouttobeknownanimalswithseverecasesofsarcopMcmange

•  Thiscombinedwithtypicalcoyoteandwilddogpredatorybehaviorandmediacoverageofthe“goatkiller”ledtoanything“unknown”beingcalledachupacabra

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ChupacabraConclusions

•  UncriMcal,sensaMonalizedreporMngledtothestoriesbeingspreaddespitealackofevidence

•  ThisprimespeopletoseeaparMculartypeof“creature”–ocenatnight

•  Noevidenceforchupacabrabeinganythingotherthanastory

Cryptozoology

•  NoneofthesecrypMdshaveanythingclosetosolidevidencefortheirbeingreal

•  Many“cryptozoologists”spendhugeamountsofMmeandmoneyinsearchingforthem,andinsisttheyaredoingsoscienMfically

•  So,iscryptozoologyascienceorpseudoscience?

Cryptozoologyvs.Biology

•  Relianceonanecdotes(eyewitnesstesMmony)andlackofrepeatable,verifiableevidence

•  RejecMonofcriMcismfromexpertsinthefield

•  Lackofrespectformethodsusedbyactualbiologiststodiscoverandcatalognewspecies

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Conclusions

•  Cryptozoologyhasallthehallmarksofapseudoscience,especiallywhencontrastedwithbiology

•  Thecrytpidsseemtobetheproductofwishfulthinking,overrelianceonourfalliblememories,andtheuncriMcalmedia

MediaCriMque#4