Cuddly Cryptozoology

Cryptozoology is the study of "cryptids", animals that are thought to be extinct or the stuff of mythology. I've been following my Grandfather out into the field since I was knee-high to a bowtruckle and have come across many species thought to never exist. I thought I'd share some of the cuddlier ones I come across.

[cuddlycryptozoology-blog]

Audrey III

Wanted to share this baby with you even though she’s technically a plant, and therefore not usually the purview of a cryptozoologist. This is Audrey III and she was a gift from a botanist I’ve worked with before.

Audrey III was grown from a cutting from the actual Audrey II (about whom a musical called “Little Shop of Horrors” was created). 

I was pretty worried about receiving such a valuable gift, since I am notoriously bad at keeping plants alive (it’s shameful - total black thumb. I’ve been known to kill cacti) but her carnivorous nature means that she’s actually been doing pretty well with me. 

She’s too young to be talking yet, and my botanist friend promised to tend to her once a year to keep her bonsai sized. This is essential since left to grow, these plants are DANGEROUS. Even small sized she’s still plenty big enough to give a nasty nip if you’re not paying enough attention to her though!!! You can see in the photo below how small she is (and hopefully will stay!!!).

Please don’t ask me about Audrey III’s species or genus classification - I’m a cryptozoologist, not a cryptobotanist. And anyway, the cryptobotanists are having an argument about the proper classification, something about the DNA being unlike anything they’ve ever seen. But you can find out a little bit more about the species HERE. 

[cuddlycryptozoology-blog]

Puffskein

This is a puffskein. To be precise, this is my mother’s puffskein, Charlotte. I had brought it home for myself but the two of them bonded and Mum refused to give her back.

Puffskeins are great pets and experienced a surge in popularity by their mention in the Harry Potter books. Small little balls of fluff, they can eat pretty much anything. This one is fed whatever mum is cooking for dinner but they will also eat cat or dog kibble and bugs from around the house. Allergy to puffskeins is extremely uncommon. They do tend to shed a bit though and longhair breeds will require regular brushing. 

Of course like most pets they will demand attention. Charlotte’s favourite place to nap is on whatever book you are trying to read, or on your laptop keyboard. 

The first puffskeins were a soft, custard yellow and that is still the most common colour. But fanciers have produced breeds in various colours and marking patterns. Charlotte’s coat is referred to as tipped or shaded; she has the traditional custard colouring but with a darker tip to each strand of fur.

If you would like information on how to acquire a puffskein of your own, visit HERE.

[cuddlycryptozoology-blog]

Sea Gryphon

Today’s cuddly cryptid comes to you from the Gryphon Conservation and Breeding Centre. A big thank you to Chris (one of the workers at the sanctuary) for letting us get to know Meghan, a baby Sea Gryphon.

A gryphon (also spelled griffin or griffon) is said to have the body, tail, and hindquarters of a lion and the head, wings and front legs of an eagle. In reality a gryphon has the head, body, legs, wings and tail of a gryphon and is not closely related to either lions or eagles, but rather from an entirely separate class of animals that have evolved with six limbs rather than the usual four. Any resemblance to eagles and lions is thanks to convergent evolution and the fantastic pattern recognition skills of humans.

A full grown gryphon is usually a bit too fierce and bitey to fall into the purview of this blog but babies are almost always cuter than adults. Even baby gryphons are extremely dangerous and should only be handled by experts, like Chris. Meghan’s claws are incredibly sharp and will easily cut through bare skin Her beak is already powerful enough to easily break a person’s finger.

Meghan was orphaned when poachers killed her parents so Chris has been raising her since she hatched. Raising a baby is a full time job itself, so it’s amazing that Chris takes care of her and oversees the Centre’s various breeding programs.

As mentioned previously, Meghan is a Sea Gryphon. She’s very fond of water and loves her bath time. Chris keeps her diet as close as possible as what her birth parent would have raised her on: fish and other seafood with the occasional bit of seal or dolphin. But she’s also happy to eat the occasional beetle or grasshopper she catches while stalking around in the grass.

Chris is currently working on getting Meghan to fly. Without gryphon parents to learn from it has been an uphill battle and it is likely she will never fly well enough to be safely released into the wild. There is not currently a breeding program for Sea Gryphons (their wild numbers are relatively robust) but she will continue to be well taken care of at the Gryphon Centre and will be invaluable as an educational animal.

If you are interested in helping the Conservation and Breeding Program please find more information HERE. 

[cuddlycryptozoology-blog]

Strawberry Mouse

Strawberries are weird. I mean, what sort of self respecting fruit has its seeds on the outside? They are delicious though, and when doing some late season strawberry picking I came across the little fella I want to introduce you to today. 

So. One of the strawberries in the above photo is not like the others. 

Tada! 

This little guy is a strawberry mouse (not to be confused with a strawberry moose. That’s another post entirely). If you have strawberry bushes in your garden you might have a family of strawberry mice living in them.

The unusual appearance of the strawberry mouse lets them hide from would be predators while they feast upon the various pest species that plague strawberry plants. 

As well as eating pests, the digging strawberry mice do around the plants aerates the soil, promoting plant health. 

Strawberry mice make great pets. This wild one had no problem with being picked up and even once I put her back in the bushes she came out to investigate what I was up to. In fact, she was so friendly it was tricky to get her to stay away from the camera long enough to get photos that didn’t look like this.

Besides their unusual colouring and tail “tuft”, strawberry mice are anatomically very similar to normal mice, which Teacup Lion has done a thorough study on the anatomy of HERE.

[cuddlycryptozoology-blog]

Rare Albino Jackalope

Jackalopes are a North American critter that people thought were a cross between a Jackrabbit and an Antelope. Hence the portmanteau of a name. Taxonomically they belong to Family Leporidae, same as rabbits and hares.  They’re often mistaken for common rabbits or hares since they only grow antlers during their breeding season.

Jackalopes show the same colour variations of other lagomorphs but albinos are exceedingly rare in the wild. I found this little guy starting to make a burrow under a log.

999 times out of 1000 it’s best to leave wild animals to themselves. But unfortunately Alice (as I came to call her) had an injury to her left hind leg. Leaving her behind would have been a death sentence since her vivid white coat makes it almost impossible for her to hide from predators (which is probably what caused the leg injury in the first place). It also turns out that her eyesight isn’t great (another problem common in albinos). Thankfully she was surprisingly friendly for a wild animal so I was able to catch her and rehome her in a sanctuary established for cases like this.

At first she was pretty shy but she soon became very accustomed to her new life and has become a bit of a favourite at the sanctuary. She comes when called and is utterly spoiled by the volunteers.

Tame Jackalopes actually make very good pets for the budding Cryptozoologist. But please do NOT attempt to take one from the wild. It’s rare for them to be as tamable as Alice. See a reputable breeder such as: https://www.etsy.com/au/listing/482326250/jackalope-jackrabbit-antelope-bunny?ref=shop_home_active_29