Likely to Exist
Cryptids that I think are most likely to actually exist all have something in common. They either exist in the fossil record, or the relatively recent past or they are slightly different versions of actual animals that currently exist, or they are purported to exist in relatively poorly explored places. The following is a non comprehensive list.
Thylacine- My understanding is that there are vast swaths of Australia and Tasmania that are sparsely populated. It definitely does not seem outside the realm of possibility that small populations of these creatures may still exists somewhere out there.
Sea Serpents/unknown sea creatures- This is sort of a “duh” moment, but there are definitely going to be sea creatures out there that we have not yet identified. It’s more likely that most of these discovered creatures will be sharks or whales and not a totally new classification of wildlife.
Alien Big Cats- All over Europe and the United States there are sightings of big cats,sometimes black in color, sometimes not, that are claimed not to be native. I feel like there is a pretty good chance that these things exist, at least in the US. I’m not sure that they are native species, they are more likely escaped exotic pets who have managed to survive and eke out a living in the wild.
MIGHT actually exist
Bigfoot and all other hair hominids around the world are classified in my “Might exist” bucket. They are my favorite cryptids, and the ones I find most compelling, but I have to admit they are not as likely to be real as I would like, and they are likely not all the samething, think of it as a sliding scale of likelihood. I’ll also say this, Author Jacob Desjarlais in his book “The Florida Skunkape: A Complete History” makes a great point about Skunkapes and Gorillas. We have a good idea of how many gorillas exist in the wild in Africa, a wild part of the world that lacks alot of the same infrastructure we have in the us and definitely lacks the stability of the United States. If we can find and count the gorillas of the Congo, we should, in theory, have no problem with bigfoot and his cousins in the Unite States.
Bigfoot- The big one, the granddaddy of all cryptids. The Bigfoot of the pacific northwest and Canada/Alaska has tons and tons of evidence in its favor. Unfortunately most of that evidence is the weakest form of evidence available which is eyewitness testimony. People get up in arms when you say that, but just because you say eyewitness testimony is a weak form of evidence you are just saying that memory is fickle and easily manipulated consciously and unconsciously. IT doesn’t mean that you are calling all eyewitnesses liars. There are lots of foot prints, many of which are probably fakes, many are probably mistaken identity, a few may be real. There is enough space in the pacific northwest, plenty of food, and a creature like Bigfoot could certainly exist in a literal way, it would fit into the animal kingdom in a way that makes sense. I wont get into all the other regional sub variations of the Bigfoot with one exception (coming up next) butI will say this, any place that has a lot of wooded area may have legit sightings, if they exist,but I would say the further east, and the denser the population, the less likely it is.
Skunkape- I am a Florida man, but not THAT kind of Florida man. I love the idea of Skunkape, but Skunkape is one of those Bigfoot variations that has a lot of different descriptions, some that are a carbon copy of Bigfoot and others that are much more ape like. Florida has vast swaths of wilderness, but a pretty dense population. So, there is a lot of potential that this isn’t a proper “Bigfoot”. We know that there are populations of monkeys living in florida, it is also pretty likely that escaped apes whether from labs or zoos or escaped pets are living in Florida. The climate is pretty friendly to a lot of invasive species, so it could definitely be an invasive species of ape that is mistaken for other things.
Orang Pendek- For my money, the orang Pendek is probably the most likely to exist ape man. I don’t think its a relict population of homo Florensiensis, or any other fossil hominid, if it’s real its probably some kind of sub species of Orangutan, or definitely more closely related to Orangutans than we are, and much more ape like than human like.
Yeti- Yeti is very similar to orang Pendek for me. It’s in the right part of the world for a creature like that to exist. However, its worth noting that a lot of what we think we know about Yeti is a construct of western ideas that sort of co opt local stories. Remember, the word “Yeti” means “That thing over there” and not necessarily a big hairy hominid. To me its more likely the yeti is a rare or undiscovered bear than it is an ape of some sort.
Megaladon- A favorite cryptid for many is the Megaladon, often reconstructed as a gigantic 50-60 foot great white shark. I put Megaladon in the maybe category not because I think a literal fossil copy of Megaladon exists. I think if there was a 60 foot mega predator that predates on large whales still existed we would have noticed by now, or the whalers of Nantucket would have noticed in the 19th century. That said, I think that there is likely some sort of large shark out there, maybe a bigger great white, or a species that is similar but larger that occupies a different niche for food stuff, if there was a large animal out there eating the same stuff a great White does or eating whales, I feel like there would be some more major evidence.
Definitely not real, if it is I’ll eat my belt
There are some cryptids out there that i feel like we all nee to admit just aren’t and cannot be real. This of course assumes that you approach cryptozoology from the same place i do, that cryptids are flesh and blood creatures OR they are myths. Animals and descriptions of animals that simply cannot physically exist are right out. I think that these sorts of animals I’m listing below are animals that fit squarely in the mythological and folklore realm of cryptozoology, like all cryptids do to a certain extent , but these creatures hold the distinction of being uniquely absurd or physically impossible.
Mothman- A humanoid with wings? No. Just no.
Chupacabra- Some sort of chimera mix of a vampire bat and kangaroo? Or just a new species of blood sucking dog with mange? Also no.
Batsqautch- See Above.
Lizard Men- There is nothing that is known to exist that remotely resembles this creature. For the life of me I cant remember where I heard it, but somewhere ina documentary, maybe Monsterquest, where some woman reporting a “lizard man” to the local sheriff and he immediately dismissed it saying something like “A lizard man? That’s just CRAZY you probably saw a Sasquatch”
Conclusion
My approach to cryptozoology is more grounded and historic in nature than many people, I understand that. I am sure that some people will say “but you should keep an open mind” and that is generally true, but you shouldn’t keep a mind so open that it falls out of your head. When we hear truly fantastical stories our first assumption should be that its mistaken, or some sort of construct, not that its paranormal or somehow the one exception to every natural rule we know of. There are rules in the natural world, if these creatures exist, then they have to follow the same rules. If they don’t follow those rules that’s ok, they are still folklore, myths, and those things are still worthy of time and study in the proper context.
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