A field guide to cryptids
Bigfoot, Nessie, Mothman and friends — and what the evidence really shows.
A 'cryptid' is an animal whose existence is claimed or rumoured but not confirmed by science. The study of them, cryptozoology, sits outside mainstream biology — but the creatures themselves are woven deeply into folklore around the world. Here are the most famous.
Bigfoot (Sasquatch)
A large, ape-like creature said to roam the forests of North America. Reports go back generations and include footprints and blurry footage, but no body, bone or specimen has ever been confirmed. Scientists generally regard the evidence as inconclusive at best.
The Loch Ness Monster
'Nessie' is said to live in the deep waters of Loch Ness in Scotland. The most famous photograph, the 1934 'Surgeon's Photograph', was revealed decades later to be a hoax made with a toy submarine, and sonar surveys have found nothing conclusive — yet the legend endures.
Mothman, Chupacabra and the Yeti
Local cryptids reflect their landscapes. The Mothman was reported around Point Pleasant, West Virginia, in 1966–67. The Chupacabra, blamed for livestock deaths, emerged in 1990s Latin America. The Yeti, or 'Abominable Snowman', belongs to Himalayan folklore much as Bigfoot does to North America.
Sea monsters
Tales of sea serpents and the Kraken go back centuries. Some almost certainly grew from real but poorly understood animals — the giant squid, once dismissed as myth, is now well documented. It is a reminder that the deep ocean remains one of the least-explored places on Earth.
Why the legends persist
Cryptid stories survive because they are thrilling, because wild places really do hold surprises, and because absence of proof is not the same as proof of absence. We cover them for the fun and the folklore — while being honest that, for now, the evidence remains unproven.