Cryptids Proven to be Real Give Us Hope For These 5 Others | Gaia Skip Navigation Log In Sign Up HomeYoga Yoga Home Yoga Practices Yoga Series Yoga Lifestyle Yoga Teachers Yoga Pose Library Fitness & Pilates MeditationSeries Gaia Originals All Other Series Docs & FilmsTopicsNew VideosEvents+ Events+ Home Watch On Demand Watch Live Articles ... RecipesAlternative HealingFood & NutritionEnergy HealingLongevity & WellnessTransformationSpiritual GrowthPersonal DevelopmentExpanded ConsciousnessSeeking TruthMetaphysicsSecrets & Cover UpsAncient OriginsParanormal & Unexplained Cryptids Proven to be Real Give Us Hope For These 5 Others 10 min read By Gaia Staff | February 7, 2020 | Seeking Truth , Paranormal & Unexplained , Cryptozoology AddThis Sharing ButtonsShare to FacebookFacebookShare to TwitterTwitterShare to RedditRedditShare to MoreAddThis59 AddThis Sharing ButtonsShare to FacebookFacebookShare to TwitterTwitterShare to RedditRedditShare to MoreAddThis59 Cryptozoology is derided for pseudoscience and fantastic claims, but when you consider some of the legends that have turned out to be real animals, it lends credibility to other potentially real cryptid creatures. And while the actual beasts are often more believable than the embellished monsters of lore, occasionally they can be pretty bizarre – whether a remnant of the Cretaceous period, a curious hybrid, or an inter-dimensional entity, some of these clandestine faunae are truly plausible. That’s why we’ve compiled a shortlist of animals once-considered cryptids, that have now been proven real, using their stories as hope to strengthen our faith that the cryptid monsters we know and love may someday prove their existence to us. But haven’t we discovered nearly every species of animal on Earth, you might ask? Far from it. In 2016 alone, scientists discovered roughly 18,000 new animal species. That’s not to mention that 80 percent of the world’s oceans are entirely unmapped, unobserved and unexplored, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). So, who knows how many more could be down there. Read through the first list of creatures proven to be real, then read the second list and determine whether there is enough evidence for the yet-to-be-proven-cryptids to have a basis in reality. We’ve provided cryptid pictures to help you along the way. Cryptid Monsters Proven Real Cryptid monsters are known to terrorize and typically reported by a significant portion of a population, or at least a large enough group to confirm that it is indeed an anomalous creature. In earlier years, these animals were brutes fought by hunters and fishermen on outings and were exaggerated to prove their machismo upon returning home. But eventually, these tales became backed by hard evidence, and today we know them well. The Giant Squid 19th-century Scandinavian whalers spoke of the Kraken; an enormous squid whose appendages were found in the bellies of whales and said to be as thick as a ship mast. Fishermen continued to report attacks by these tentacled monstrosities, to the disbelief of landlubbers back home. But eventually, they returned with specimens or found their carcasses washed ashore. In 1853, a large squid with a horny beak and large throat washed aground in Denmark, baffling local scientists. Johan Japetus Steenstrup, a professor of zoology from the University of Copenhagen, identified the creature as a giant squid. Today, the giant squid is a scientifically accepted animal, reaching lengths up to 40 feet long. Their enormity is attributed to something called deep-sea gigantism; a tendency for deep-sea invertebrates to be larger than their shallow-water relatives. But the giant squid isn’t even the biggest mollusk of its kind, that title is reserved for the colossal squid, which reaches up to 46 feet in length. Image: Luis Laria, CEPESMA The Platypus The platypus is a rather bizarre-looking creature and if you attempted to explain it to someone before its discovery, they’d almost certainly believe you were mad. So, it’s an egg-laying mammal with the bill of a duck, the tail of a beaver, the webbed-feet of an otter, and the venom of a snake? Sure. But now the platypus is a well-known creature, lending credence to the possibility of other cryptids that seem to be an amalgam of disparate species. When it was first presented to British zoologist George Shaw, he attempted to rip off its beak, believing it had been glued on. Eventually, he took scissors to the deceased animal, before he realized it was genuine. That particular specimen can be found to this day in a British museum. The Frilled Shark Sea serpents have stoked the fears of sea-farers for centuries, tormenting sailors and swallowing ships whole. From Texas to Norway, reports of sea serpents sprang up in local and national publications during the 19th-century, depicted as gargantuan snakes devouring unwitting mariners while they innocently roamed the sea. Today, the frilled shark could be considered the closest animal to these horrific serpent tales, appearing much like those descriptions written in antiquity, though comparatively smaller. The frilled shark was discovered in the late 1800s by German ichthyologist Ludwig H.P. Döderlein, and later described by Samuel Garman as, “such an animal as that described is very likely to unsettle disbelief in what is popularly called the ‘sea serpent.’” So, it’s a shark, but a frightening one at that, with 25 clusters of 300 sharp, serrated teeth, the Chlamydoselachus africana is one of those relics from the days when dinosaurs ruled the Earth. It’s also one of those deep-sea dwellers, which is part of the reason they are so rarely seen. Images: IMPA/MINOUW Project Cryptid Creatures With Real Potential The Jersey Devil The Jersey Devil, a.k.a. the Leeds Devil, is one of the more popular cryptids of modernity, appearing to thousands of residents, since its first official recording throughout several New Jersey towns in 1909. Scores of people in Trenton, Woodbury and Swedesboro reported a giant winged creature flying through the night, emanating a horrible scream. But as it turns out, Native American tribes in the area had been seeing the Jersey Devil centuries before. One of the old wives’ tales of the devil comes from a woman named Mother Leeds, who became pregnant with an unwanted 13th child, whom she cursed. The child was born normally, but then became a horrendous monster. To this day, it resides in the Pine Barren forests, over a million acres of land preserved on the state’s coast. Described as a cross between a bat and a horse with a long spaded tail, the Jersey Devil has terrified residents of the state, who claim to have found maimed animals and other birds after hearing its cry. Some have written it off as a large bird of prey or a certain type of crane, but others say it is a surviving Pteranodon, a pterodactyl from the Cretaceous period. Enter the hammerhead bat, a.k.a. the Big-Lipped Bat. The hammerhead bat falls into the megabat category which are exactly what you think they are – massive bats. Hammerhead bats can be found in mangroves, swamps, and forests at lower elevations, usually in Africa. Could the Jersey Devil be an invasive, or transported, Hammerhead bat population that established a home for itself in the Garden State? Ok, so it’s not a new species, but it would validate thousands of local residents’ sightings. The Orang Pendek Sumatra’s apeman cryptid, the Orang Pendek is thought to possibly be distant human relative known as Homo floresiensis, sometimes referred to as the real-life hobbit. In the Indonesian language, Orang Pendek translates to “short person,” and it is believed to be an undiscovered primate species, that could potentially be of the genus Homo. Over the years there have been a number of Orang Pendek sightings by travelers, locals, and researchers who have come in search of the cryptid or stumbled upon it by chance. Image: bigfootbase.com The most common characteristics confirmed by these numerous sightings depict the Orang Pendek standing between 30 and 60 inches in height, or about 2½ to 5 feet tall. These cryptids are described as being covered in golden, brown, or grey hair and are bipedal, walking erect in the same manner as humans. But what’s even more bizarre is that they are said to have human-like facial features, differing noticeably in appearance from monkeys. The Megalodon Not just because they’ve recently made a Hollywood sci-fi horror about it, but the chance that a Meg could exist might be better than other cryptids who call the ocean their home. First off, the Megalodon actually existed as recently as 2.6 million years ago during the Early Micoene period, to the end of the Pliocene. It was essentially like a Great White Shark, but two to three times larger. It wouldn’t be too hard to imagine a surviving species of shark with deep-sea gigantism twice the size of a Great White. In fact, there are other sharks that live at significant depths, including the Goblin Shark and the aforementioned Frilled Shark. Bigfoot Almost every culture has its version of Bigfoot; in North America it’s Sasquatch, the Chinese have the Yeren, in Nepal, it’s the Yeti, in Australia it’s the Yowie, and in just about every other region of the world you can find a regional ape-like cryptid. So where are the hard photos and video evidence? There isn’t really a good answer to that question, as Bigfoot is probably the most elusive cryptid there is. But why would so many disparate cultures describe the same type of creature over the course of centuries? Bigfoot is by far the most popular cryptid while also the most divisive, so we’ll leave it to you to decide. Are you a believer? 5. Lake Monsters The Loch Ness Monster is the most widely known example, but when one discovers just how many different alleged lake monsters exist throughout the world, it’s possible there’s some validity to these sightings. On the border between Canada, Vermont, and New York lies Lake Champlain, a 107-mile-long freshwater lake, where residents have reported sightings of a creature, nicknamed “Champ,” or “Champy,” that resembles a Plesiosaur. One of the best sightings (here), was reviewed by FBI forensic analysts and described as legitimate. In the video, one sees the creature’s neck, or possibly its fin, as well as a large torso floating just below the surface. Other lake monsters include Patagonia’s “Nahuelito,” the Leviathan in Sweden’s Lake Storsjön, British Columbia’s Ogopogo, and of course Nessie. Africa has several of its own, as does China, New Zealand, and Turkey. These aquatic mammoths are a global phenomenon. If a lake monster existed it might possibly be a species of dinosaur known as the Elasmosaurus, a long-necked Plesiosaur that inhabited North America during the Late Cretaceous period, about 80 million years ago. Fossilized skeletons of these behemoths have been discovered throughout the United States and can be viewed in museums, including the Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center. Which of these cryptids do you think could be real? Watch this episode of Beyond Belief with the CryptoHunter, John Rhodes, explaining his search for Earth’s rare cryptids: The Cryptohunter Video Player is loading.Play VideoPlayMuteCurrent Time 0:00/Duration 0:00Loaded: 0%Stream Type LIVESeek to live, currently behind liveLIVERemaining Time -0:00 1xPlayback RateChaptersChaptersDescriptionsdescriptions off, selectedCaptionscaptions settings, opens captions settings dialogcaptions off, selectedCzechAudio TrackQuality LevelsPicture-in-PictureFullscreenThis is a modal window.Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.TextColorWhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyOpaqueSemi-TransparentBackgroundColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyOpaqueSemi-TransparentTransparentWindowColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyTransparentSemi-TransparentOpaqueFont Size50%75%100%125%150%175%200%300%400%Text Edge StyleNoneRaisedDepressedUniformDropshadowFont FamilyProportional Sans-SerifMonospace Sans-SerifProportional SerifMonospace SerifCasualScriptSmall CapsReset restore all settings to the default valuesDoneClose Modal DialogEnd of dialog window.Close Modal DialogThis is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button. About the Author Gaia guides people on their personal transformational paths with the world’s largest library of exclusive and original conscious media. Like our members, Gaia staff are driven by curiosity, passion and the desire to grow, as we continue on our own spiritual journeys and quests. Our members inspire our own authenticity: the quest for transformation never ends. If there is a topic you’d like to learn more about, please let us know. You can also join Gaia as a contributing author and help us connect readers to people and ideas that fuel a conscious life. Read More Next Article Oklahoma Lawmaker Proposes Official Bigfoot Hunting Season 10 min read By Gaia Staff | May 13, 2021 | Seeking Truth , Paranormal & Unexplained , Cryptozoology AddThis Sharing ButtonsShare to FacebookFacebookShare to TwitterTwitterShare to RedditRedditShare to MoreAddThis1 AddThis Sharing ButtonsShare to FacebookFacebookShare to TwitterTwitterShare to RedditRedditShare to MoreAddThis1 A hunting season for Bigfoot? One Oklahoma lawmaker has proposed just that. Oklahoma state representative Justin Humphrey has filed legislation that would establish a Bigfoot hunting season in the state. The bill would work with the Oklahoma wildlife conservation division to establish the dates of the season, licensing, and fees. Humphrey is also hoping to establish a $25,000 bounty for anyone who captures the creature, adding he doesn’t want anyone to kill Bigfoot, but rather the license would specify trapping only. Humphrey said in his statement “Establishing an actual hunting season and issuing licenses for people who want to hunt Bigfoot will just draw more people to our already beautiful part of the state. It will be a great way for people to enjoy our area and to have some fun.” Watch more: Read Article Related Articles Previous Oklahoma Lawmaker Proposes Official Bigfoot Hunting Season Gaia Staff | 1 min read What is Cryptozoology? David Mcconaghay | 11 min read Strange Creature Washes Ashore in Georgia, Baffles Scientists Gaia Staff | 2 min read Four Creatures of the Unknown That May Actually Exist Gaia Staff | 4 min read Next More In Paranormal & Unexplained Previous Avi Loeb's Galileo Project to Use Satellites to Scan Earth for UFOs Hunter Parsons | 3 min read US Space Force Hesitant to Take on UFO Study Gaia Staff | 1 min read Constitutional Attorney Explains History of Government UFO Secrecy Tasha Shayne | 2 min read Hillary Clinton Met With Laurance S. Rockefeller to Discuss UFOs Gaia Staff | 3 min read Achieving Modern Enlightenment With Gurdjieff's Fourth Way Gaia Staff | 6 min read An Evolution of Ancient Astronaut Theory's Proof and Proponents Gaia Staff | 6 min read Aleister Crowley: The Wickedest Writer in the World Gaia Staff | 5 min read When Will We Advance to a Type 1 Civilization on the Kardashev Scale? Gaia Staff | 6 min read The Fascinating History Behind the Ouija Board Tasha Shayne | 7 min read Professor: UFOs, Aliens are Human Anthropologists From Future Gaia Staff | 4 min read Baba Vanga; Bulgarian Mystic's Predictions Parallel Nostradamus' Lisa Trank | 7 min read 15th Century Astronomers Saw Activity, Lights on Moon's Dark Side Gaia Staff | 3 min read Death is Not the End of Our Life Force Energy Wendy Ann Zellea | 4 min read An Alien Satellite is in Retrograde Orbit Around Earth Gaia Staff | 7 min read The Baltic Sea Anomaly; A Crashed UFO or Natural Rock Formation? Gaia Staff | 5 min read FAA Releases Recordings of Oregon UFO Event That Scrambled F-15s Gaia Staff | 4 min read What Does It Mean To Be A Witch? Gaia Staff | 5 min read Mysterious Triangular Object Floats Past SpaceX Dragon Capsule Gaia Staff | 3 min read UFOs in Ancient Art: Hidden in Plain Sight William Henry | 11 min read Scientists Keep Finding Building Blocks of Life; Are Aliens Next? Gaia Staff | 4 min read Scientific Study Says Octopuses May Have Come From Outer Space Gaia Staff | 4 min read The Nazi Bell: Proof of a Nazi Secret Space Program? Gaia Staff | 7 min read 5 Answers to the Fermi Paradox: Why Haven’t We Made Contact Yet? Gaia Staff | 9 min read Alien Signals Have Been Discovered in FRB 121102 Gaia Staff | 5 min read Which Kind of Alien Are You? Gaia Staff | 4 min read Six Skills to Hone if You Want to Be Sorcerer Supreme Gaia Staff | 3 min read Mantis Aliens Christine Aprile | 5 min read Soul Contracts Under Review Mo Abdelbaki | 10 min read Are You Blocking Spirit? Tips from James Van Praagh Maria Thomas | 5 min read Spirits in Your Home? Here's What You Need to Know: Kaedrich Olsen | 5 min read Next Body. Mind. Spirit. Every decision we make is inspired by our vision to empower a community of individuals to come together to build a more conscious world. Our unique blend of yoga, meditation, personal transformation, and alternative healing content is designed for those seeking to not just enhance their physical, spiritual, and intellectual capabilities, but to fuse them in the knowledge that the whole is always greater than the sum of its parts. Start Your Trial Watch On Any Device Use the same account and membership for TV, desktop, and all mobile devices. Plus you can download videos to your device to watch offline later. Discover what Gaia has to offer. Get instant access to free videos, helpful articles, and exclusive offers. Email Address yes! sign me up. I would like to receive emails from Gaia. Testing message will be here GaiaAbout GaiaDevicesCommunity GuidelinesTerms of Use and PrivacySpam Policy CommunityHelp CenterCareersWrite for Gaia More from GaiaInvestor RelationsGaia Store Connect With Us Gaia Apps ✕ Log In Username or Email Password Show Log In Forgot Password New To Gaia? View Options & Sign Up. Contact Customer Service Forgot Password Enter your email address and we'll send you a link to reset your password. Email Send Reset Link Link Sent! A link to reset your password has been sent to you. Done We use cookies and similar technologies to run this website and help us make recommendations for you. See our Privacy Policy here. Accept CloseAddThis