That’s my personal observation and I’m sure that some people would disagree. I respect that; that’s their prerogative.

And yes, “big hairy wild men” could be an artifact of the human subconscious … but “big hairy wild men” do exist, in the form of gorillas, orangs, and chimps, which were called Wild Men for centuries before they were scientifically described and categorized as apes. I know of no studies of the human brain that have produced illusions of “big hairy wild men”, while studies during which various areas of the brain were stimulated HAVE produced descriptions of imagined entities resembling the “Greys”, which seemed very real at the time to the people who were participating in the experiments.

Even dragons are proposed by some to be some sort of deeply embedded mammalian memory, from the time when our tiny little pre-human ancestors had to hide from dinosaurs. I find that theory interesting but have no strong opinion about it.

As to black panthers, you can go to a zoo or animal sanctuary and see black panthers all day long. Yes, it’s easy for the mind to play tricks, and imagine that dark shape seen in the corner of the eye as a panther, when really it was just someone’s alley cat out for a stroll. I believe that most “black panther” sightings are exactly that kind of mistaken identity or wishful thinking. But I have no doubt that blank panthers really exist, and I find it plausible that they might exist in regions other than the regions from which they originated.

I have no doubt that UFOs exist either. But I think that the vast majority are cause by some sort of natural phenomena.

Mahlerfan- Even if Ufologists can prove some cryptids are associated with their phenomena, if they are still flesh-and-blood animals, I would think they would still be of interest to Cryptozoologists. Just my 2 cents.

I am proud to be both. The extraterrestrial hypothesis (ETH) simply states ’some UFOs are extraterrestrial in origin.’ This seems like a reasonable theory in light of the THOUSANDS of sightings around the world from laymen, pilots, military officers, astronauts, etc. We know that life evolved on this planet, and that there are certainly billions of planets in our galaxy. So it seems reasonable that life evolved elsewhere and has come here for a visit for whatever reasons. Simple enough.

This is not much different than the basic scientific theory proposed by cryptozoology that basically states ’some big foot sightings are of a bipedal ape or hominid’. We know that the human ape walked across the Bering straight from Asia during the last ice age, and we know that there have been many hominid species that have existed on this planet, including a giant called ‘gigantopithecus”. So it seems possible that people are seeing one of the survivors which appears to be an ape or hominid that also walked here from Asia across the Bering straight.

Both theories face similar problems in that the observations are, by nature, very ephemeral.

The observations don’t lend themselves to being reproducible.

I could go on but, since this is a primarily a zoological site, and therefore biased in the direction, I recommend, in the defense of the ETH, you google “Buzz Aldrin” and “UFO” on either google videos or youtube. He basically comes out and says that they saw a ufo on their way to the moon. ET? he doesn’t say. Air force backup? he doesn’t say. Its a good starting off point for the truly curious mind.

It’s a fascinating subject that needs good researcher such as those of you in cryptozoology.

Information will set you free.
Never thought I’d think a thread about UFOs would show up here, or merit my attention. Don’t mean to deride here: it’s just not my interest; animals are. Plain (not!) old earthly animals.

Like the sasquatch.
When pilots of alien spacecraft want our attention, I take for granted they’ll get it. ‘Til that day, I’m earthbound. And loving it.

Let’s do it again, Craig.

I think Feynman was pointing to the irrationality of trying to contact someone by hiding from them.

This is not dismissive of the UFO phenomenon altogether, of course, but the unfounded “leaps of faith” (sorry, Kierkegaard).

Check out The Political Sociology of Alien Encounters by Eric Ouellet at pararesearchers.org. Really interesting reading.

The evidence for some cryptids is more straight forward. Cryptozoologists are not searching for something that defies explanation. In the case of bigfoot, they are searching for a large animal that leaves footprints which correspond to a primate. Alleged hair samples, although inconclusive, are recognized as belonging to some form of primate. Video of the creature shows an upright primate.

If in the future, ufologists begin to tie some of the weirdness associated with the UFO phenomenon and can prove conclusively that some cryptids are related to it, then these creatures will no longer be cryptids. They can be handed over to ufology and cryptozoologists can continue their search for actual physical cryptids.

I have an intense interest in space, and of course I believe that there are many other intelligences in the universe besides our own. I seriously doubt that those intelligences are behind UFO sightings though. I think that if that were the case there would be no doubt of it. They would make themselves known, if only accidentally through their exploration of our planet and their electronic communications transmissions. I believe that UFOs are the product of either human activities, earth phenomena, or local space phenomena. I don’t completely discount the possibility that some UFOs could be alien visitors, but I think that possibility is very remote.

We’re on the right track with programs like SETI, but given the current state of our technology, the aliens will have to come to us; we can’t yet go to them. But I do not believe in the “Greys”, except as a fascinating artifact of the human subconscious.

I consider cryptozoology to be a branch of zoology and as such it is just as much a science. Those people who will accept anything and everything as evidence of real cryptids do a disservice to cryptozoology. In order to be taken seriously as scientists, cryptozoologists must set the same high standards for evidence as the more mainstream zoologists. If the cryptid does actually exist, it will be discovered sooner or later, either by accident as in giant squid carcasses washing ashore, or thru concerted scientific effort such as the intense research that finally brought us to the living giant squid in the wild.