The cryptozoologist
By Tom Mercer
Carbondalian at heart
James Perkins had always been fascinated by the incredible diversity of life forms on Earth. He had studied birds, insects, mammals and the countless forms of sea life for years. Although he lacked a formal education in biology, he pursued his interest with total commitment. He was always eager to learn more about every life form in existence on planet Earth. He developed a special interest in those living entities that exhibited the most extreme variations in form or behavior. So it came as no surprise to his friends that James, eventually, developed an interest in cryptozoology, which is generally defined as the study of legendary animals that were thought to exist in the past but could possibly still survive in the present.
One day, James was chatting with a man who shared his interest in cryptozoology, and the man told him about a beast which locals claimed to have seen in the forest just a few miles from town. James was intrigued. That night he could not stop thinking about the possibility of proving that such a creature actually existed. Still, he knew that the existence of the creature the man told him about was probably nothing more than a legend or a story that had been shared over a late-night campfire. But James also knew, even though the sighting may have been nothing more than a misidentification of a common inhabitant of the forest, he would be compelled to search for the unknown creature.
The very next morning, James began preparing for his planned search for the beast. He retrieved his camping gear from the garage, packed several days worth of meals and drove to the trailhead bordering the dense forest. The skies were clear, and James was excited. He looked forward to confronting the unknown, and he imagined what it would be like to be known as the man who proved the existence of a hitherto unknown form of life.
He quickly donned his backpack and began walking into the forest. As he made his way deeper into the woods, he continued to fantasize about future accounts of this adventure appearing in newspapers, magazines and on the local television news channels. He even thought about the possibility of writing a book documenting his successful search for the currently unknown animal.
It was growing dark when James located a decent campsite beside a small stream. The site would afford him a good view of the surrounding area. It was growing dark and James lit a fire. He ate a small meal, then crawled into his sleeping bag for the night. The sky was clear, the stars shone brightly and his thoughts were sharply focused on his impending adventure.
James awakened the next morning rested and ready to begin his search. He was preparing a small breakfast when he noticed the foot tracks in his campsite. The tracks had been made during the night, as he slept. He examined them carefully. They were made by a large bipedal form that had apparently circled his campsite several times before departing. The prints were not made by a bear, a lion or any other animal that James was familiar with. He was impressed by the sheer size of the footprints and the deep impressions of the unusually long claws. James decided to move even further into the forest, hoping to sight the unknown beast.
As he moved deeper, he located additional signs of the beast’s passage. He was still examining a new set of footprints when a long, deep wailing sound captured his attention. The sound was unlike anything James had ever heard, and he immediately had second thoughts about spending another night in the forest. The wailing sounds continued and seemed to be coming closer, so he quickly gathered his belongings and began the return to his vehicle as fast as possible.
Upon returning to his car, James found deep claw marks in the car’s paint. The damage was clearly done by an animal that would not tolerate his continued presence in the forest. So, the would-be cryptozoologist jumped into the driver’s seat and drove as fast as he could all the way home.
As Aesop wrote centuries in the past, “Be careful what you wish for … “