Collection: Cryptozoology & Cryptids.

'Cryptids' are defined as "Animals who's present existence is unsubstantiated, disputed, or doubted.” – Cryptozoology is quite often labelled as pseudo-science but by definition it is "the study of unknown, hidden, legendary, or otherwise extinct animals." including “Former Cryptids” Those which where doubted but in-fact turned out to be very real... to quote the Smithsonian Magazine: "...The line between real animals and cryptids, is much messier than you might imagine. Carl Linnaeus’ 1735 landmark text of modern biology listed the pelican, antelope and narwhal as 'cryptids' and as recently as the start of the 20th century, the Komodo dragon, the giant squid, and the okapi were thought to be cryptids, before the Western scientific establishment changed its mind in the face of indisputable evidence: the animals' bodies. -- This continues onwards to more recent discoveries today..."

‘Fearsome critters’ are by definition: "creatures of Folklore, tall tales, yarns & other oral traditions, typically from the United States and Canada" - They are the legends of Woodsmen, usually told ‘round the campfire by guides of the North, lumberjacks, hunters & fishermen around the turn of the last century, often for entertainment or to haze newcomers & naive tender-footed city folk, as such, many consider these creatures as "jokes",  "hoaxes”, "pranks" or even sneered at by some as "fakelore." - But: if you consider them only as bold-faced lies, well... you'd better start believing!! - as a matter of fact: Many of these critters have real-world locations named after them, are used in part as long-lasting figures of speech, were based on or inspired by real people, places or events, many were exploited in advertisements for big companies, a few of them are still proudly flaunted as local mascots today, and a couple of them even have museums and festivals dedicated to them, attracting needed tourism & bringing attention to the areas that they hail from! - Their 'sightings & stories' were quite often published in historical documents, magazines, newspapers & books, and few of them even have toys, games, poems, destinations & even dedicated songs. - however ridiculous they may seem or odd they may appear, they are every bit a part of our collective cultures 'lore' as the 'more established' monsters & mythologies of old are. - Most notably: President Teddy Rosevelt [1858 – 1919] hunted both 'the Arizona hodag' and expressed interest in hunting 'The Maryland Snallygaster', Another notable fact is that japanese folklorist 'Shigeru Mizuki'  [1922–2015] classified the critter known as the "Pennyselvania Squonk" as an example of an "American YokaI" in one of his many yokai encyclopedias! - so, all of that said: There is indeed some overlap between mythology, folklore, culture, cryptids & critters, and if these creatures were ever actually believed in at one point, then one could very well consider them to be 'Cryptids of Yesteryear.' -

[I'd like to note that my inclusion of critters next to the cryptids, is not necessarily intended to 'prove' (or disprove) these critters existences, but to at least bring some awareness to long forgotten folklore and shed some light onto these 'mythological underdogs' which have frequently been lost to the annals of time.] - (I also list a few modern examples of similar creatures and legends.) 

‘UMA’ (jp: ユーマ) or ‘Unknown Mysterious Animals‘ is Japanese terminology for modern cryptids, in the context of my website: it’s specifically used to denote a cryptid that either originated in, or is particularly popular in Japan. - Generally, they are not to be confused with folkloric Yokai. (However, because of how Yokai are so vaguely defined, several crossover, & many originate as them!)

Please see also my UFOlogy section for UFO/Alien-focused cryptids and monsters from around (and out of) the world! 

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