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List Of Top Three Cryptobeasts

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Endlessly Amazed

Endlessly, you know, amazed
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Hi cryptozoologists: I’d like to ask everyone to list their top three cryptobeasts, in decreasing order of how likely they think the beast will be discovered. I'm really curious how we all think of things as likely or unlikely.

Here are mine:
  • Thylacine. Most likely to be discovered.
  • Alien big cats in the UK; second most likely to be discovered.
  • Hominid, such as sasquatch, no matter what continent: third most likely.
Alas, my favorite “doesn’t make list:” the Loch Ness monster.
My favorite doesn’t have to make the list: ivory-billed woodpecker in the US.

If enough FMB cryptozoologists play along, I will tally the results. Thanks, everyone.
 
Mine would be Orang Pendek
Thylacine -
- in a close tie with ABCs.

But I'm not ruling out the discovery of something that we haven't even suspected, somewhere deep in a forest.
 
Of the "big names" on land I would agree, perhaps Orang Pendak being the most likely for number three. However I think there is a good chance of some lesser known cryptid turning up which doesn't make huge headlines possibly a felid like the spotted lion or a blue tiger.

The oceans will probably have a lot of surprises in store so I'd guess they will probably turn up something next, likely a new cetacean which won't make the headlines; but whether we'd class that as a cryptid sea serpent or sea monster I'm not sure!
 
I'm curious as to why people think it's likely the thylacine would be found alive. It's not impossible, but of all the animals on any cryptid list it's the one with the most overwhelming evidence for its non-existence in the wild.
 
oldrover said:
I'm curious as to why people think it's likely the thylacine would be found alive. It's not impossible, but of all the animals on any cryptid list it's the one with the most overwhelming evidence for its non-existence in the wild.
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I think there have been a lot of credible witnesses; but @lordmongrove would be able to give you a better answer. Also it's range used to include IIRC places like Papua New Guinea where it may still hang on albeit a different species or sub species.
 
I guess my list is typical, then. But sometimes it depends on how you perceive a question.

ABC's - At the top not least because these sightings involve animals we know to exist and exotic cats have been discovered in places they shouldn't be. But even if we accept these sightings as physical creatures, are we talking about a breeding population, or that there's the odd escapee/releasee from a potentially illegal collection? If your take is that ABCs are cat-sìth, transformed witches or Bastet having a bimble around the countryside, you may view this differently.

Orang-pendek - Whether a hominid or a more bipedal form of orangutan, there seems a lot of anecdotal evidence for this creature, and it seems to live in a remote enough location.

Thylacine - Well, it gets credit for definitely having existed relatively recently. Still, I hold out little hope.
 
Tunn11 said:
I think there have been a lot of credible witnesses; but @lordmongrove would be able to give you a better answer. Also it's range used to include IIRC places like Papua New Guinea where it may still hang on albeit a different species or sub species.
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It did used to include PNG but the recent (Holocene) remains were all cynocephalus, though there was one reference which showed some doubt as to one of them, but that was looked at in the 60s I think.

I've spoken to Lordmongrove about this several times and I'm aware of the witnesses, some of which are undeniably compelling, but whether they're compelling enough is a different matter.

What I was getting at though is that with the thylacine there's a lot of evidence to overcome to hope that it's still out there. You don't get that with any other cryptid.
 
Something in the deep oceans is most likely to be found, possibly so crypto we don't know about it yet!

then the orang pendak

then something in the yeti mould, not going to suggest a particular continent.
 
oldrover said:
I'm curious as to why people think it's likely the thylacine would be found alive. It's not impossible, but of all the animals on any cryptid list it's the one with the most overwhelming evidence for its non-existence in the wild.
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There is scant and conflicting evidence about all cryptobeasts. I think every person has a different understanding of the evidence and the conclusions drawn. All three of mine (thylacine, ABC, hominid) are ranked very closely together in my view, so on alternate days, I may rank them as hominid, ABC, and then thylacine.

Regarding thylcine: I have never been to Australia, but my understanding of it is that it is big, sparcely populated, and has many square miles of wilderness with hills, mountains, and thick vegetation.

Regarding ABC: The evidence of at least one or a few big cat predators roaming around, sometimes killing sheep in typical big cat fashion, leaving footprints and scat, seems convincing. This evidence is not dismissable by pointing out the hundreds of photographs, with no scale, of housecats roaming around. (People in the UK seem to have a lot of domestic cats roaming around outside.)

Hominid: similar to thylacines, in North America, the territory is big, sparcely populated, and has many square miles of wilderness with hills, mountains, and thick vegetation. Also, I have personally seen, out in the wilderness, weird manipulation of vegetation which is either a human hoaxer or a hominid. If human hoaxer, it would have to be several acting together, doing stuff not on or near a trail, and hope that it will be discovered.
 
Endlessly Amazed said:
There is scant and conflicting evidence about all cryptobeasts. I think every person has a different understanding of the evidence and the conclusions drawn. All three of mine (thylacine, ABC, hominid) are ranked very closely together in my view, so on alternate days, I may rank them as hominid, ABC, and then thylacine.

Regarding thylcine: I have never been to Australia, but my understanding of it is that it is big, sparcely populated, and has many square miles of wilderness with hills, mountains, and thick vegetation.

Regarding ABC: The evidence of at least one or a few big cat predators roaming around, sometimes killing sheep in typical big cat fashion, leaving footprints and scat, seems convincing. This evidence is not dismissable by pointing out the hundreds of photographs, with no scale, of housecats roaming around. (People in the UK seem to have a lot of domestic cats roaming around outside.)

Hominid: similar to thylacines, in North America, the territory is big, sparcely populated, and has many square miles of wilderness with hills, mountains, and thick vegetation. Also, I have personally seen, out in the wilderness, weird manipulation of vegetation which is either a human hoaxer or a hominid. If human hoaxer, it would have to be several acting together, doing stuff not on or near a trail, and hope that it will be discovered.
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I've been to Tasmania and there's an awful lot of wilderness there. I think it's perfectly possible for an isolated population of Tigers to be living somewhere people don't go often - also their 'extinction' is so recent that it could be a myth. ABCs - I believe they are out there, and a breeding population will be found in this country, it's just a matter of time.

Everything else I'm a bit more hazy on, but there seems a lot of anecdotal evidence for the Orang Pendek. I'm also a bit on the fence about some form of Bigfoot, but I think there could be something in it.
 
We definitely seem to have settled into three broad categories of most likely cryptids.

Some kind of hominid, whether a specific one or mystery hominids in general.

ABCs, I'm assuming mostly in the UK, whether a breeding population, or individuals that have escaped or been released (which, let's face it, could become real temporarily at any time).

The thylacine, which we'd all love to turn out to be living.

I don't think @lordmongrove has weighed in yet. I think i remember reading a list he made years ago, with thylacine at the top and orang-pendek in second place. I wonder whether his thoughts have changed.
 
If a new species is discovered that is large and strange enough to be impressive, how do we know it was responsible for cultural tales? Flip that around in that cultural tales of a large and strange animal means there is VERY little likelihood that it is a new species as yet undiscovered.

The phrasing of the question is important. It's fun to speculate but I get hung up on the definition of cryptids. Since the definition is so loose and broad - out of time, place, or scale (or anything "weird" these days) - the most likely is "out of place" animals since they appear regularly where they just aren't supposed to be. That's a given for today's ability for global transport. We already know out of place big cats, alligators, kangaroos, large snakes, etc. happen. But what's the bar where they are "cryptids"? And don't we have to have a "legend" or body of reports to explain before we can consider a thing a cryptid?

Example of the muddled nature of "cryptids": Nessie. The cause of Nessie reports is undoubtedly attributable to many things. But if you say "Nessie as a large unknown animal in Loch Ness" that's a non-starter. Maybe Nessie has been practically solved by noting the legend accumulated from all those other causes - waves, birds, the occasional visiting animal, hoaxes.

There is very much a spectrum of plausibility from oddities that happen, but are rare, to things that are completely implausible like dogmen.

TL; DR summary: I don't have a list - I overthink most things.
 
catseye said:
I've been to Tasmania and there's an awful lot of wilderness there. I think it's perfectly possible for an isolated population of Tigers to be living somewhere people don't go often - also their 'extinction' is so recent that it could be a myth. ABCs - I believe they are out there, and a breeding population will be found in this country, it's just a matter of time.
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So have I, and I was lucky enough to do so to talk about thylacines. There's a lot of space there, I was very taken by that, but there's not a huge amount. I'm not saying there isn't enough to support a population as I've no doubt there is, but I think it's the idea that their extinction was possibly a myth that I'm getting at. I wonder whether people know just how much of a consideration this was, and just how depressing the evidence of their decline was.


Endlessly Amazed said:
Regarding thylcine: I have never been to Australia, but my understanding of it is that it is big, sparcely populated, and has many square miles of wilderness with hills, mountains, and thick vegetation.
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Agreed, but we aren't necessarily talking about the the whole continent's potential, rather a specific species in one isolated part. That said, I think I'm rambling about thylacines again and it has little direct relevance to the original point of your thread. I apologise and will shut up unless asked.
 
oldrover said:
That said, I think I'm rambling about thylacines again and it has little direct relevance to the original point of your thread. I apologise and will shut up unless asked.
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I like it when you ramble about thylacines. It reminds me of earlier times when perhaps the forum felt more homely. Do so whenever you wish.
 
PeteByrdie said:
I like it when you ramble about thylacines. It reminds me of earlier times when perhaps the forum felt more homely. Do so whenever you wish.
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Yes. Please everyone ramble away - but also list your top three.

@Sharon Hill - I deliberately left it vague and undefined. I wanted to read what others had on their lists. BTW, if you have any, please join in. Nobody here will hold it against you. :)

@Frideswide: weird animals in the ocean deep: I hope there are giant octopi, sharks, squid (even larger than the current giants), whatever. I know almost nothing about oceans.
 
For me

1 The Almasty, I know @lordmongrove says he's been within a few metres of one and I accept his word

2 British ABCs I think there's a strong possibility of a small viable population

3 Something in the oceans, maybe an unclassified cetacean
 
Endlessly Amazed said:
Hominid: similar to thylacines, in North America, the territory is big, sparcely populated, and has many square miles of wilderness with hills, mountains, and thick vegetation. Also, I have personally seen, out in the wilderness, weird manipulation of vegetation which is either a human hoaxer or a hominid. If human hoaxer, it would have to be several acting together, doing stuff not on or near a trail, and hope that it will be discovered.
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Can you tell us a bit more about this?
 
Tricky.

Firstly I don't see ABC's as 'cryptids' in the UK, they're far far more likely to be an introduced species (or more than one), because 'people are idiots' and let stuff escape/go.

I think it seems a vanishing small chance that there is any kind of water horse, much as I like the idea.

I feel it's also very unlikely (tiny tiny tiny tiny non-zero chance) there are any crypto-hominids extant. It seems unlikely, if only because the same stuff/stories/myths being bandied about in 1980, are still being bandied about now with no solid evidence whatsoever. My Bayesian view is that eventually absence of evidence starts to look like evidence of absence, so 'really really really really unlikely'. In practical terms, zero.

Dragons, real. Nope. Dragons figurative. Yes.

Thylacines, maybe, reasonable, but very small non-zero chance.

Some large squid we don't know about. Reasonable, but small non-zero chance.

Some kind of very large amphibian, bit like the Chinese salamanders (e.g. Andrias davidianus). Reasonable, but smaller non-zero chance.

So:

(1) Giant squid currently unknown to science (the oceans are big)
(2) Andrias davidianus type giant salamander, turning up where one isn't expected.
(3) Thylacine

(4) Honourable mention for 'horse-eels'. The UK is in the right place for them geographically and there are credible reports of 50lb+ Anguilla in New Zealand (and less credible reports of far larger). Not out of the question that there is a very large freshwater eel we don't know about and a long term viable population (1000+ animals) scattered across the west coast of Ireland and Scotland would be thinly enough spread to remain out of sight for the most part.

Numbering pretty much arbitrary, I barely see any difference in the odds tbh.
 
Endlessly Amazed said:
Hi cryptozoologists: I’d like to ask everyone to list their top three cryptobeasts, in decreasing order of how likely they think the beast will be discovered. I'm really curious how we all think of things as likely or unlikely.

Here are mine:
  • Thylacine. Most likely to be discovered.
  • Alien big cats in the UK; second most likely to be discovered.
  • Hominid, such as sasquatch, no matter what continent: third most likely.
Alas, my favorite “doesn’t make list:” the Loch Ness monster.
My favorite doesn’t have to make the list: ivory-billed woodpecker in the US.

If enough FMB cryptozoologists play along, I will tally the results. Thanks, everyone.
Click to expand...
Why not put a survey up and add everything people come up with?
 
Endlessly Amazed said:
... I thought, perhaps mistakenly, that we could not any longer create new surveys. Also, survey implies a known and limited set of options - and I am a poor cryptozoologist, especially with ocean life.
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(1) The operant label is "poll."

(2) Yes, whoever initiates a thread has the option to implement a poll when creating the thread. The editing window presented when creating a new thread has two tabs - one for each type of thread registered members can create (Discussion; Poll). To create a poll, click on the Poll tab to display the poll editing and poll options elements.

(3) IMHO the way EA laid out the intended number and type of responses (e.g., effectively multiple sub-polls; some ranked, some not ...) does not lend itself to implementation within a single poll.
 
Endlessly Amazed said:
I hope there are giant octopi, sharks, squid (even larger than the current giants), whatever.
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Most language experts agree that - since octopus is of Greek, not Latin, origin - octopi is an incorrect plural. (Apparently it would be incorrect in Latin as well.) It's octopuses, or if you prefer, octopodes (with four syllables, accent on the second). Oddly, though, octopi seems to be the oldest known English plural.

I hate to be so pedantic, but I was coincidentally wondering this morning if I would come across a plural of octopus, so I was primed.


My list:
  • Orang Pendek
  • Thylacine (Yes, there's plenty of evidence of absence, but I remain hopeful.)
  • Mokele-mbembe (A long shot, but it would be so cool.)
 
As far as named crypto beasts go
Orang Pendek
Mongolian Death Worm
The Naga

For undiscovered species of known animals, a large six gilled shark and an even gianter giant squid than we already know of.
 
I'm afraid I don't think any of them exist, so if I were to pick a top three I'd have to rank them in order of how much I wish I did believe there was a possibility.

1) Not a cryptid but, thylacine. I should add here that I do acknowledge that it's possible but I've never come across any evidence for which I considered their continued existence to be the most likely explanation.

2) Mapinguary, but only as a ground sloth.

3) Queensland tiger, perhaps a large unknown species of quoll. Maybe there was something in the Cape York area 100 years ago, but the evidence isn't the best.
 
Agree with @Coal that an escaped big cat in the UK doesn't really count as a cryptid.
Also agree with several posters that something in remote stretches of the ocean is by far the most likely to turn up.
A long-necked seal is a potential discovery.
Some sort of mega-shark or an even more colossal squid is not beyond the realms of possibility.
If we're talking terrestrial cryptids, then I certainly don't hold out any hope for Bigfoot or any similar hitherto unknown hominidae.
But an unknown beastie of modest size in Papua New Guinea, whether reptile, amphibian or just possibly a very small mammal, wouldn't surprise me that much.
 
Mouldy13 said:
For me

1 The Almasty, I know @lordmongrove says he's been within a few metres of one and I accept his word

2 British ABCs I think there's a strong possibility of a small viable population

3 Something in the oceans, maybe an unclassified cetacean
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I was in a few meters of what MAY have been an almasty. It was tall and moved on two legs.
 
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