The Skeptics Society & Skeptic magazine

Episode Notes for
Cryptozoology & Science, Part 1
(featuring Dr. Darren Naish)

Dr. Darren Naish

DARREN NAISH is a palaeozoologist, freelance author and science writer of the Tetrapod Zoology column on ScienceBlogs. Affiliated with the university of Portsmouth, he obtained a degree in geology and then gained a PhD in vertebrate palaeontology at this institution. He mostly works on Cretaceous dinosaurs and pterosaurs, and “also messes around with swimming giraffes, fossil marine reptiles, British big cats and stuff like that.”

Darren joined us on MonsterTalk to talk about the intersection of mainstream science and cryptozoology. Topics include:

• How did a credentialed scientist become involved in cryptozoology?
• The relationship between cryptozoology and ethnobiology
• A discussion of “Caddy”
• The most plausible cryptids in Darren’s POV?
• Old photos, rotting creatures, alien big cats, hominids, creatures of the deepest sea — and much, much more…

This is part 1 of a 2 part discussion of the relationship of science and cryptozoology.

Related Links

• BBC Timeline of Alien Big Cat sightings
• Info on the Orang Pendek

Music

Music for today’s episode includes a sample from the theme from the Commodore-64 video game “Mail Order Monsters” and our regular theme by Peach Stealing Monkeys.

The views expressed on this program are not necessarily the views of the Skeptics Society or Skeptic magazine.