Have you ever wondered what is cryptozoology when you've stumbled across the term online or in a book? When I was younger I spent a lot of time abroad in Saudi Arabia because my father was a dentist on an American army base. In these countries watching TV was not really an option because of the language barrier and most of the channels were religion related.

This left me with a lot of time on my hands to read and my father introduced me to books on the unexplained. I was instantly caught up in it all - I loved it! One word always cropped up and caused me problems ( mainly with pronouncing it ) so I asked my father what is cryptozoology.

In a nutshell cryptozoology is the study of creatures that have very little, or no proof of existence. Sounds pretty ridiculous when you explain it that way but it covers many interesting legends and myths. Instead of answering the question 'what is cryptozoology' with just a plain explanation you should add the most famous of creatures this particular study offers. Bigfoot/Yeti/Abominable Snowman, The Loch Ness Monster, The Jersey Devil.

These are just some of the examples of the more famous Cryptozoology creatures or cryptids. Who wouldn't be interested in this? Sure, their are skeptics out there but most of us love the idea of a dinosaur that survived extinction living in the bottom of a Scottish Loch or an ape like humanoid that eludes detection in certain areas of the world. It's exciting to believe these creatures exist, it gives us a feeling of the unknown.

So what is cryptozoology? why use the term? Well the Greek word Kryptos means 'hidden' when translated into English language. Zoology is the basic study of animals - from this we get the term cryptozoology. You would think that cryptozoologists are constantly ridiculed but their field is considered quite seriously these days. This is down the the fact that they have had some success in recent history.

The most recent success was as recent as March the 24th in 1998 when they confirmed the existence of the Hoan Kiem Turtle. Whilst not being a hairy humanoid or a prehistoric dinosaur it was still quite an occasion, being able to confirm the existence of any cryptid is a great achievement.

So when you encounter the question what is cryptozoology you can answer confidently without the fear of being ridiculed. It is a very interesting subject that caught my attention as a child and still tweaks my imagination to this day.