Pondering the Mawas Situation

With the death of Dr. Bernard Heuvelmans, 84, one of the fathers of Cryptozoology, on August 22, 2001, we lost more than a cryptozoologist. Indeed, a philosopher departed the scene.

As I look at his lover Alika Lindbergh’s paintings of Heuvelmans, the single quotation that keeps coming to my mind, from my sensitive friend and fellow thinker, is this one:

Cryptozoological research should be actuated by two major forces: patience and passion. – Dr. Bernard Heuvelmans, Cryptozoology, Volume 7, 1988.

I ponder, as well, Dmitri Bayanov’s observations concerning our field, also from the journal Cryptozoology, in Volume 6, 1987:

The first order of business in cryptozoology is to collect and analyze the testimony of witnesses. There is no end to mirth, scoffing, and solemn warning from critics in this connection….It is noteworthy that such an attitude is generally evinced by individuals whose professions are not concerned with collecting and analyzing human testimony. Of course, all testimony is subject to doubt, but it is one thing to state that men are fallible – or that some people are fond of spinning a tale – and quite another to assert that no man is trustworthy, and no witness can tell the truth….

Let me stress that, given the nature of cryptids, and barring their chance discovery, their planned discovery, which is the hoped-for intent of cryptozoology, is almost certain to be preceded by eyewitness, footprint, and photographic evidence. Thus, the existence of such evidence, and the study and evaluation of it, is a clear indication that cryptozoology is proceeding appropriately as a particular line of scientific inquiry.

To all this, in the slow process of discovery, I must add a Coleman footnote: One who actively is involved in cryptozoology has to have an incredible sense of humor to be a good cryptozoologist today.

Therefore, allow me to share through Cryptomundo, from time to time, specific editorial cartoons to add to the mix, this time thanks to the talent of Peter Loh.

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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