French zoologist Bernard Heuvelmans coined the term cryptozoology in the late 1950s to describe the study of unverified animals that turn up in sighting reports, explorers’ accounts, archeological artifacts, and folklore. Back in 1993, The Scientist reported that cryptozoologists, the scientists who try to track down previously undescribed animals, were becoming an endangered species (The Scientist, 7[1]:1, Jan. 11, 1993). Practitioners found it hard to get funding and were scorned by colleagues, our story said, meaning that only a few dozen active investigators were left worldwide.
But now, from Sweden, comes word that the outcome may not be so terminal after all. ‘On January 1, 2005, GUST [Global Underwater Search Team] of Motala, Sweden, is starting the world’s first school for cryptozoologists,’ writes Jan Sundberg in an E-mail to The Scientist.
GUST was founded in 1997 with the aim of looking for lake monsters such as Nessie in Scotland, Storsie in central Sweden, and Selma in southern Norway. The organization’s course will include six months of theory and one week of practical search in Lake Vattern, Sweden, says Sundberg, who is the group’s expedition leader.
‘You will learn how cryptozoology emerged, what it’s said to be, and what it means to you,’ Sundberg says. ‘You will also learn how international cryptozoologists work, how you spread the knowledge about it, and what use it could be to you.'” (The Scientist)
