Science is rarely kind to “crypto-zoology,” which posits the existence of “hidden” creatures such as yeti, chupacabra, and Korean unicorns. It used to be that you could return from the weekend in the woods to regale your Sasquatch-hunting friends with tales of mysterious nocturnal sounds, a chase in the darkness, and—dramatically pulling a bag from your pocket—a tuft of the unseen creature’s hair that had caught on a tree branch! Maybe your friends believed; maybe they did not. But, in the end, who could say exactly what you might have found?
And then scientists came along, science-ing these kinds of wonderful stories into scientific oblivion using science-y mitochondrial and nuclear DNA testing of purported Sasquatch bits. Such results have never been kind to crypto-zoology, often turning up possum and human DNA rather than anything Sasquatch-y.
But, if I’m remembering my Alexander Pope correctly, humans love to keep looking for mysteries:
Read 7 remaining paragraphs | Comments
