No Picture?

Hello, all!

For the first time ever, I've posted about a creature without including a picture.  This is due to a new policy I'm instating:  the exclusive use of public-domain images.  I write this blog for fun, and it doesn't make me a dime -- but that doesn't mean I can't be sued.  While I don't think that's probable, I'd rather not chance it, and so I'm switching to images I can use risk-free.

Many of my old posts include copyrighted images -- I'm aware of that, and I'm working on fixing it.  Bit by bit, I'll be changing this blog's pictutes, and soon enough everything will be clean.  The only problem is that no non-copyright images EXIST of certain cryptids.  That's why the Enfield Horror has no picture -- and why a few other cryptids will also lack one.

In better news, the blog is still going strong!  I've missed a few days since BeastPedia restarted, sure -- but I've also written some fifty posts, and revamped a ton of old ones.  The project continues on!

Why BeastPedia?

It's been about a month since I resumed posting on this blog.  Since then, I've updated about forty times -- something I never thought would happen.  At first, I thought every day would be the day I'd quit -- the day my schoolwork took priority, or the day I got bored, or the day I just forgot.  I didn't trust myself to stick to this project -- which I honestly began as a whim, during a burst of sentimentality.

But I haven't stopped, and I don't plan on stopping, and I'm enjoying myself more than I ever thought I would.  So I guess it's time to address a vital question:  what's the point of BeastPedia?  Does it have a real purpose?  Is it just a vanity?  Does the world need another crypid blog?  After much soul-searching (okay, it was 20 minutes in the shower) I believe I've come up with some answers.  And so without further ado, behold:  my justification for why BeastPedia exists!

Personal Reasons:

1. My ego.  I'm not gonna lie -- the fact that people read this blog has something to do with why I write it.  About thirty of you log on every day -- twenty-eight, if you don't include my mom and girlfriend!  Thinking about that makes me want to write; makes me want to put more information out there for people who are interested.  It's flattering to have your voice heard, and it encourages you to keep speaking!
2. My penance for crappy posts.  The entries I wrote five years ago, when I first started this blog, were really not very good.  I was a high-school freshman, so I think I can be forgiven -- but I don't like the idea of people using my poor-quality stuff as a source.  I think this blog can be a valuable resource (more on that later), but only if I patch up my sloppy youthful writings.
3. It helps me learn.  A good bit of research goes into each article I write -- my posts only include a fraction of the stuff I read.  So while I create posts for this blog, I'm teaching myself ever more about cryptozoology.  Updating BeastPedia is a constructive way to study a subject I love.

Legitimate Reasons:

1. It strikes a middle ground.  I find that a lot of cryptid resoures are either extremely shallow or extremely detailed.  The former doesn't tell you much; the latter drowns you with information.  My goal isn't to be an exhaustive resource -- it's to provide a solid foundation; to give you a good summary of each cryptid I describe.  If you want to read more, I always give you the links!  BeastPedia is a starting point from which your knowledge can expand.
2. It's firmly rational.  Cryptozoology is, or should be, a scientific discipline.  I wince when I see cryptids on paranormal sites; these are possibly-real animals which should be studied as such.  On BeastPedia, I try to give you a logical analysis of each beast.  I give plausible explanations for outlandish monsters, and explain which are most likely.  Everything I write is based in reason and probability -- and I try, at all times, to promote a zoological viewing of cryptids.
3. It fills notable gaps.  Entire books have been written about some cryptids -- but others are scarcely known.  Just today I wrote about the Lau, about which all of our knowledge can be crammed into a paragraph.  Even when there's little information, BeastPedia uses science to expand upon it -- providing context, scientific discussion, and a theoretical framework with which to analyze the beast.  Obviously, I can't add much to discussions about Bigfoot -- but when it comes to the Lau or the Canvey Island Monster, maybe I can.

In essence, my mission statement is this:  I want BeastPedia to be like the encyclopedias after which it's named.  I don't want it to be exhaustive or in-depth, but I want it to be accurate.  I want it to give you the basics -- clearly, simply and rationally.  It may not be the last site you turn to -- but I want it to be the first.

That's definitely an overambitious goal -- especially for a blog celebrating its first month.  And who knows, maybe I won't keep posting forever.  Honestly, I'm a busy person -- I write all my articles on the weekends, posting them one by one during the school-week.  Someday I may even lack the time for that.  For now, though, I'm going to keep writing.  I'm going to make BeastPedia the best blog I can, and I hope my faithful thirty viewers keep enjoying it.  Thanks for reading!

A Different Kind of Revamp

If you're a reader of this blog, I'm sure you've noticed its massive design overhaul.  I've redone the sidebar, adding a search feature and reducing the number of labels.  I've created a useful links page, and moved the "About Me" information to a tab of its own.  I've also added a "subscribe by email" gadget-- if you really like my posts, you can get them in your inbox!

But the most obvious change, I think, is that the site just looks much better.  New typefaces, new colors, new background, new design... BeastPedia has never looked so good.  And I won't take an ounce of credit for it.  All of these features were added by a good friend, who is a fantastic graphic designer.  She's given my blog an amazing facelift, and I can't thank her enough.  A round of applause, ladies and gentlemen!

Lessons from Evolution

Hello, readers!

Most of my posts describe a specific cryptid-- but this time, I want to talk about cryptozoology in general.

It's been a couple weeks since I resumed updating this blog, and honestly, it's been a lot of fun.  I've added a few fearsome critters, described a few new cryptids, and improved the look of the site.  But making new content is only part of my mission here-- I also want to improve the old stuff.

A couple days ago, I started rewriting my shoddily-done 9th-grade posts.  It feels good to have proper entries on the Kongamato and Mokele-Mbembe, and even better to replace the old ones.  I've been doing my re-vamps in the order-- the oldest posts on this blog are the first to get updated.  And that means I'm following the pattern set by my younger self, and starting with Congolese dinosaur-cryptids.

I doubt any of you remember my original posts on these beasties, but they're drastically different than my new ones.  And I'm not just talking about writing quality.  In ninth grade, I was far more... I suppose the word is "optimistic."  I was eager to believe that dinosaurs still lived in Africa-- that the Congo was a mysterious lost world, where prehistoric beasts still lived.

My new posts show a very different tone-- not cynical, per se, but much more skeptical.  Rather than discussing the most popular theories, I discuss the most realistic ones.  Rather than being sensationalistic, I'm writing as factually as I can.  My ninth-grade self would be appalled at me, I'm sure, and would accuse me of being a non-believer.  But that couldn't be farther from the truth.  I'm as interested in cryptids as I've ever been-- and am convinced many of them are real creatures.  But I've changed my methods of cryptid analysis, largely due to my studies of evolutionary biology.

In my opinion, evolution is the most useful tool in a cryptozoologist's arsenal.  If you want to approach this field as a science-- and to predict, with accuracy, the identity of a cryptid-- then understanding some evolutionary concepts is essential.

One of the most important is geography.  Species don't pop into existence out of a void-- all of them have prehistoric ancestors from which they have, over time, developed.  Knowing the ancient wildlife of a region helps us guess what might live there today.  One good example is the Emela-Ntouka, a Congolese "dinosaur" cryptid.  Some people think it's a living ceratopsian.  But these dinosaurs never lived in Africa-- so how could one be found there today?

Here's another question, this one easily solved using geography:  which is more likely to exist, Bigfoot or the Yeti?  The latter, it turns out, is far more probable.  No ape has ever lived in North America, even in prehistoric times.  But the Yeti's range overlaps with that of Gigantopithecus-- a huge prehistoric orangutan of about the Yeti's size.  We know that apes once lived where the Yeti has been sighted-- which means that apes might be found there today.

A second evolutionary concept is habitat.  Every species on Earth is adapted to live in certain conditions.  To support a particular animal, a region must (1) contain enough food for it (2) contain the right types of food for it (3) be the right temperature (4) have places for it to live (5) etc.  Though it fails the geography test, Bigfoot certainly passes the habitat test.  There's plenty of open space in the Pacific Northwest, and lots of vegetation to be eaten.  Nessie, on the other hand, fails this test.  Plesiosaurs can't survive in frigid Scottish lakes, and even if they could, they would never find enough food there.

One final concept I'd like to bring up:  parsimony.  Basically, what this means is that the simpler, less-fantastical interpretation is likely correct.  Which is more probable:  that the Emela-Ntouka is a living dinosaur, or that it's an undiscovered rhinoceros?  I think we all know the answer to that one.

I promise, I'm not trying to take the fun out of cryptozoology.  Much of its appeal lies in its endless possibilities-- who knows what bizarre creatures could be out there!  But personally, I think imagining strange monsters is only part of the excitement.  Deciphering the truth behind legends is even more interesting.  I want to hear stories of monstrous creatures-- and then I want to know where those stories come from.  Science helps us find the fact in fiction-- and to solve the greatest mysteries on Earth.

A Brief Note

I have to admit, I've really been enjoying updating this blog.  So far I've been adding only new entries-- and judging by the hit counter, they've been viewed hundreds (!!!) of times.  I intend to continue doing this, for a while at least-- and soon, I'll start revamping my older posts.  I last wrote about the Mokele-Mbembe in 2008-- and since then, as you might imagine, my writing skills have improved a bit!  Such an interesting beast deserves a better description.  I intend to provide one.

I also wanted to say, though, that spring semester has begun.  At first, I won't have too much work, and would love to post every day.  This is completely overambitious, and I guarantee you it won't last.  But for the time being, at least, I'll write as often as I can.  If I'm gone for a couple days, don't go and think I've vanished.  BeastPedia is back, and I hope to keep it running.  Thanks!

Five Years Later

I was a freshman in high school when I last updated-- or looked at-- this blog.  I've always been interested in cryptozoology, and for a year or two, I had a lot of fun posting about some obscure favorites.  Eventually, though, BeastPedia slipped from my mind.  I completely forgot it existed, honestly... but evidently the rest of the world didn't.  Because when I nostalgically checked on it today, for the first time in years, I found that it had accumulated tens of thousands of pageviews.

To me, this was quite a surprise.  I made this blog for my own entertainment-- I never thought it would be noticed, let alone followed, by anyone else.  Still, if people are reading my posts, perhaps it's time to write a few more.  I can't promise they'll be frequent, as I've got a college-student's workload.  But cryptids have always been a strong interest of mine, and I think I can find plenty to write about.

Looking back at this blog, there's plenty of work to be done.  I wrote about a fair number of cryptids, but there are hundreds I never got to.  The posts I did write are short, and some deserve major updates.  I'd like to make this site more informative, more complete and more detailed if I can find the time.  To start with, I'll be adding a new cryptid tonight... for the first time in half a decade.

Thanks for reading, 30,000 mysterious viewers!  For now, at least, I'm back.