the-amateur-cryptozoologist - Tumblr blog

[the-amateur-cryptozoologist]

I started getting legitimate visions of being attacked by creatures in the woods, so I’m ending my study. I’ll still answer questions but the supernatural entities decided that I was cancelled. Whatcha gonna do?

[the-amateur-cryptozoologist]

On Wendigos

The problem with cryptid encounter reports related to the wendigo is that most of them sound like a misidentified case of That Which Walks on All Fours. Scared people see anything bipedal with claws and antlers and decide that it’s a wendigo. 

Look: Wendigos are not like a deer or dog. They are not a physical creature. Wendigos are a spirit, specifically a cannibal spirit. You probably didn’t see a wendigo, you probably saw That Which Walks on All Fours, or another similar species.

*A user has asked (really, advised) me to avoid the use of the common name of That Which Walks On All Fours, and I’m not one to ignore valid advice.

Questions? Comments? Corrections? Concerns? My ask box is open!

[the-amateur-cryptozoologist]

Cryptid Talk: Megalodon

Ah yes, Megalodon. One of the most notorious cryptids, and sharks in the paleontological record, this shark is mostly known from gigantic teeth. Similar to that of a great white sharks design, Megalodon teeth are nearly twice the size if not larger in some cases. One of the dominant predators of Cenozoic oceans, it was known to have hunted whales and other sharks. For most cryptids, this one actually has a paleontological background and record, and remains one of the most famous fish species from fossils and notorious sea monsters around. Fossils range from 23 million years ago to about 1.6 million years ago, in which no younger teeth have been found. 

So, why is it the center of a cryptid talk? Well, as with many creatures that have bitten the dust far too early for their chance to interact with man, some persist that they continue to exist. It’s not too unfounded of a fact. From Coelocanths to Giant Squids, lots of things that were once thought to be impossible to dwell down there have surfaced. For Megalodon, this thoery comes from a variety of sources, some of which have been disproven since then.

Darwin’s Shark Teeth: On the Challenger’s sailing trip around the world, Darwin and the crew had many interesting fossil finds. One came up from the bottom of the ocean, massive shark teeth. When dated, they originally seemed to be from 10,000 years ago to 15,000 years ago showing a date much younger than seen previously. More recent and more accurate dating methods have since placed the teeth in the accurate time range, and the light coloration due to the preservation of the teeth.

Australia’s Massive White: There were two different sightings of a massive all white shark off the coast of Australia, one occuring in the 1960′s, and the latter in 1981. The incident in the 60′s occured with a group of sailors admitting to an event that had transcribed while docked off of the Great Barrier Reef. While they had been repairing the engines of their 85 foot long ship, a white shark emerged from the waters, rivaling the size of their own boat. Roughly 20 years later off the coast of Broughton Island, the naturalist David Stead encountered a group of crayfish fishermen refusing to go back to their normal spot. Only days beforehand, a massive shark had emerged in a cloud of bubbles, taking the leads and the three foot around solid steel cages full of crayfish and dragging them away. Several said the beast was at least as long as one of the roofs of the dock’s buildings, while several others swore it around 115 feet. 

Black Demon of Cortez: Off the coast of Baja California, there lurks a large black shark of a predatory nature. An elusive hunter, many teams have gone after trying to find this illusive shark. Some say that it’s a megalodon, while melanism could be attributed to a large great white shark. With so few written records of the shark, nothing is conclusive. 

So, what is my final verdict? I’m actually leaning that there may be some undiscovered shark out there. But is it Megalodon? I’m not sure. 

Very recently, so much so that a study hasn’t actually been published yet, a Megalodon skull came out from a private collector’s hold to the Sauriermuseum in Zurich back around at the end of May in this year (2018). What we see isn’t the same narrow pointed snout of the great white shark, but something more along the lines of a bull or tiger shark. This makes sense, considering that unlike great whites that prey mainly on pinnipeds, Megalodon were known to be more aggresive hunters in chasing prey much closer to their own body size. There’s a good chance that the standard appearance of a larger great white isn’t exactly accurate, and instead Megalodon lived a bit differently and looked differently than expected. 

So if a Megalodon does exist in this modern day, it won’t be like the terrifying beasts of the past. We’ll see an animal that probably goes long distances like their cousins, hunting between other large sharks that roam in deeper waters, the occasional whales that travel beneath them, and perhaps even giant squids/colossal squids. It’s not impossible, but the one that haunts the fossil record is likely gone to the winds of time. 

Credit to @evolution-incarnate for sharing the photo of the skull, which with a viewing of The Meg inspired me to take on this bigger piece. 

[the-amateur-cryptozoologist]

Cryptid of the Day: Tennessee Phantom Kangaroo

Description: While kangaroos living outside of their native habitat is a phenomena in Cryptozoology, this kangaroo was different. In 1934, in South Pittsburg, Tennessee, a kangaroo looking creature killed and partially devoured several animals, including German Shepherds. The creature was chased into the mountains, where it was never seen again. 

[the-amateur-cryptozoologist]

Reblog if you went through a cryptozoology/ufo-ology/parapsychology/unsolved mysteries phase as a kid/teen.

just for funsies.

[the-amateur-cryptozoologist]

„mainstream“ media: mothman is a mysterious, dangerous creature, a bad omen, a-

the internet: friend

media: no... no... he collapsed a bridge... he’s a ...monster

internet, wearing a chibi mothman shirt and hugging three plushies: friend

media: ...

internet: f w e n d

[the-amateur-cryptozoologist]

Anyone:*says something about cryptids*

Me:

[the-amateur-cryptozoologist]

Thylacines likely went extinct much later than previously thought – new research found

For three years a team of researchers combed newspapers, old books and Parks and Wildlife records in a bid to collect every sighting ever of the Tasmanian tiger. It was a painstaking process but the reward was a chance to track the extinction of the iconic species.

Small collections of sightings had been collated previously but never before had a group of researchers brought together every recorded sighting of the thylacine. Now thanks to scientists from the University of Tasmania a database exists where anybody can view the details behind every sighting since the 1930s.


UTAS professor and Australian Lauriat Fellow Barry Brook said for the first time they were able to scientifically analyse the sightings to examine when the thylacine went extinct.

There have been no confirmed sightings of Tasmanian tigers since the last captive animal died at Hobart Zoo in 1936 despite there being more than 1200 reported sightings - the most recent of which was made last year.


Professor Brook said it was easier to believe the species went extinct when the last captive animal died because there was no concrete evidence to show the animal still roamed Tasmania’s wilderness.

But, through analysis of the more than 1200 sightings, now collated in their database, Professor Brook and his team found the likely extinction date for the thylacine to be in the late 1990s.

Keep reading

[the-amateur-cryptozoologist]

Me,looking at my phone: :)

My friend: oh what’s making you smile,is it a boy?

Me: huh? Oh sure yeah

My phone screen: Wikipedia article about cryptids

[the-amateur-cryptozoologist]

Cryptid Patches from FaunaObscuraShop

[the-amateur-cryptozoologist]

Stating that a species has no natural predators implies the existence of at least one unnatural predator. I wanna see the species whose sole predator is the fucking Mothman.

[the-amateur-cryptozoologist]

Bigfoot: Has a social insurance number and files taxes quarterly.

Loch Ness Monster: Files eight weeks late and claims all sorts of weird deductions, some of which they even qualify for.

Jersey Devil: Claims to have no taxable income, and nobody has ever been able to prove otherwise.

El Chupacabra: Ongoing effort to have themselves declared an endangered species and therefore tax-exempt have been tied up in federal courts since 2003.

Mothman: Evades taxes like they evade responsibility for all those bridge disasters

[the-amateur-cryptozoologist]

Chupacabras are problematic to ranchers, but that doesn’t mean they should be hunted!

[the-amateur-cryptozoologist]

pls info dump about cryptozoology that sounds awesome

Okay!! I got two of these so i’m going to just tag @literally-just-kirby while I answer!

For starters, i’m an amateur cryptozoologist (no formal schooling, so don’t quote me on this stuff) and my field that I’m focusing on is North American Cryptids. Most recently I’ve been studying the Skinwalker (as in from native american folklore, not the skin stealing creepypasta).

My research consists of listening to accounts of skinwalker and wendigo sightings, fact checking the probability of a true sighting, then starting all over. Why do I also listen to wendigo encounters? Most wendigo sightings are a misidentification of another cryptid based on how the creature is portrayed in modern media!

Wendigo sidebar: The Wendigo is a 50 foot tall cannibal spirit known to possess humans that have eaten human flesh (whether they knew it or not). The creature is native to the northernmost parts of North America, and beyond a few incidents, the Wendigo in its truest sense hasn’t been very active.

Skinwalkers on the other hand are getting more active as humans become more willing to venture alone into deeper parts of the woods. Most sightings are made by small groups of humans while hiking or camping, and these forest encounters tend to end when the creature is successfully scared off by firing gunshots at it.

Based on my research, there does appear to be two different species of skinwalker. The first is the Rural Skinwalker or Traditional Skinwalker. This creature will be found on Native American reservations and in forests, but appears to be more powerful on the reservations. This one can take one or more animal shapes or be partially animal, however the fully animal forms are most commonly described by onlookers as “not quite a [animal]” or “like someone who had seen the animal long ago tried to turn into one”

The second species is very different in that it does not have an animal shape, but lives in suburban settings. Suburban Skinwalkers are more likely to be found looking in people’s window, calling in the voices of family members to be let into the house. This version is up to 10 feet tall, humanoid, and very thin with visible bones.

Both species of skinwalker have displayed the ability to mimic voices, but rural varieties seem more prone to direct copying of spoken phrases.

Avoid skinwalkers at all costs, but if you suspect you have a problem with one, bullets coated in ash seem to be the most effective method of wounding it. Do not try to hunt a skinwalker. Leave before you even see it.

Skinwalker encounters are often preceded by a silence in the sounds of nature, a “tangible darkness”, and even threatening dreams*.

*these are primarily when the sufferer has encroached on Native American territory.

There’s my info dump! I know more if anyone has questions or a specific cryptid they want to here about, and as always if I’ve messed something up, let me know!

[the-amateur-cryptozoologist]

Hot take: Bigfoot is not real and neither is the Loch Ness monster. Unless both species/creatures are immortal!

[the-amateur-cryptozoologist]

Wolves are really big animals! This one does seem massive in comparison to the trees and dog. (That breed can be over three feet tall at the shoulder!). Judging by the ranger’s reaction, this was definitely not a normal resident of their area so its safe to say that this could be considered a “cryptid’. Then again, the black fur reminds me of a lot of historical canine cryptids. What do you think?

2021 all i want is for someone to explain what the fuck this was