Farewell, Scott Norman by Matt Bille

Who is Scott T. Norman? Those not involved in cryptozoology won’t know, and perhaps won’t care. But they should.

Scott, who died this past week from a blood clot at the too-young age of 45, is an example of an overlooked figure in science these days, the dedicated amateur enthusiast. Such people have always been the unsung heroes of science. With the exception of some specialized groups (bird-counters and asteroid hunters come to mind), 21st-century science tends to pay little heed to the amateur.

Scott was enraptured by cryptozoology only in the last decade of his tragically short life, but he threw himself into the quest to learn more about the unconfirmed animals that might be out there. In addition to creating some of the leading websites to collect and disseminate information, Scott befriended almost everyone in this field, shared his enthusiasm with everyone he met, and, most significantly, put his money and his body where his heart was. Scott went tramping through the least-known regions of Africa, at significant personal risk and largely at his own expense, to chase down reports of unknown apes and reptiles.

He never found definitive evidence, but that’s not the point. The point is that cryptozoology, science in general, and the world at large need people like Scott Norman.

We’ll miss you, Scott. I hope you have your answers now. Farewell, Scott Norman ~ Matt Bille

Loren Coleman About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct). Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015. Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.

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