cryptozoology?

Question

I sort of know what it is but how would you go about getting envolved in it as a job?

Answer 1

For the most part there is no monetary reward in the field of cryptozoology. If you want to be involved you can volunteer. If you want to get paid I'd suggest taking a course in writing grant proposals.

You won't be able to get a grant to find a Sasquatch, but you might be able to get a grant to record native American oral histories, or to study specific ecosystems in the pacific northwest.

Basically you'll need to have a real degree, deliver real results to your grantors while at the same time you might run across something germane to cryptozoology in the process.

Answer 2

Cryptozoology is pure bullplop. Period. It's no different from "studying" pixies or ghosts. It is a psuedoscience endorsed only by crackpots.

So no, of course no schools offer cryptozoology as major, or even as single subject. You wouldn't expect schools to offer UFOlogy as major would you?

If you want to go out and look for undiscovered creatures then simply major in zoology, which is a legitimate science. Cryptozoology is purely for fruit loops.

We'd better define our terms first. From the Skeptic's Dictionary:

Cryptozoology is, literally, the study of hidden animals. It is the study of such creatures as the Australian bunyips, Bigfoot, the chupacabra, and the Loch Ness monster. It is not a recognized branch of the science of zoology.

You can get a glimpse into this if you visit the website of Loren Coleman, a self-proclaimed cryptozoologist, giving advice on entering the field:

But I'm sorry to say that there are very few classes ever given in cryptozoology (I taught one in 1990) and no formal cryptozoology degree programs available anywhere. So my advice would be to pick whatever subject you are most passionate about (primates? felids? giant squids? fossil men?) and then match it up with the field of study that matches that subject (anthropology, zoology, linguistics, etc.). Pursue that subject, pick the college that is good in that arena, and you can develop your niche in cryptozoology and not go wrong. (I studied anthropology/zoology, and then moved on to more psychological graduate studies to understand the human factor.)

That pretty much sums it up. These folks do not get grants specifically to look for mythical beasts. The scientific grant review process is arduous and extremely critical, and any legitimate scientist would immediately reject searches for yetis, etc., as total nonsense. However, if you write a research proposal saying something like, "The Mgwango tribe of equatorial Africa believes that a large, brontosaurus-like beast called mokele-mbembe lives in their forest, and I wish to go to Africa to investigate this tribe," you might actually get a grant for it--not because the grantors believe you're going to discover a brontosaurus, but because you're promising to find out why the Mgwango tribe believes there's such a beast in their forest, which is an interesting bit of anthropology. If that qualifies as "goofy," then the entire anthropological profession would qualify, I suppose.

In other words, the anthropological side of this research is legitimate. But once someone starts calling themselves a cryptozoologist instead of an anthropologist, they've departed the realm of science. Don't get me wrong. Only a fraction of the world's species have been described in the scientific literature, and new critters are being discovered all the time, mostly tiny ones--bugs and worms and such. Finding more is a serious scientific project. But to go after legendary megafauna chiefly because they're legendary, without any real evidence that they exist--I'm sorry, this is the work of crackpots.

Answer 3

Well, you would go to college to get a degree in biology or zoology, and you would look for graduate schools that offer programs in cryptozoology.

You can do the looking for grad school thing now, by typing "graduate program" and cryptozoology into any search engine.

EDIT: Some Dude, you're confusing cryptozoology with exobiology. It also includes the study of thought-to-be lost creatures such as the Coelocanth or Okapi.

Answer 4

Cryptozoology is not taught in any school or university. The best thing you can do, if you are interested in cryptozoology, is to study biology and/or zoology, anthropology, etc., to keep an open mind towards cryptozoology, and of course to read what is published on it.
Incidentally, do not hope to earn money with cryptozoology (unless you discover one of the "stars" !), instead you should expect to spend money in bulletins, books, magazines, photocopies, etc., not to mention expeditions !

Answer 5

It's a peripheral involvement. Get yourself a job as a museum curator with a big budget. Be prepared to justify how you spend that budget, though.

Answer 6

It is the search of living beings that borders with fantasy:
Nessie
Yeti
Big foot
dinosaurs in middle congo jungle
etc.
Biologist that work on this area are off mainstream.

Answer 7

It's for loonie-tunes, not real scientists. There are no testable hypotheses

Answer 8

http://www.coasttocoastam.com/

Enjoy!