Class IV. The Magickal Bestiary
include not only the Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot, and
other “mega-monsters,” but also many lesser-known
mystery creatures. In the past century or so, many
new species of large animals have been discovered,
including the following:Kodiak Bear [the largest bear] (1899)
Mountain Gorilla (1901)
Okapi [giraffid] (1901)
Mountain Nyala [antelope] (1910)
Pygmy Hippopotamus (1912)
Komodo Dragon (1912)
Andean Wolf (1926)
Bonobo [chimp-like ape] (1930)
Congo Peacock (1935)
Kouprey [forest ox] (1937)
Coelacanth [very ancient fish] (1938)
Chacoan Peccary [big pig] (1975)
“Megamouth” [huge shark] (1976)
Saola [Vu Quang ox] (1992)
Bili Ape [the largest ape] (2002)
“Colossal” giant squid (2003)
Orang Pendek [Sumatran ape] (2003)Some of the most interesting cryptids long-reported
but still unconfirmed include the following:Bigfoot, Sasquatch, Yeti
While reports of giant, hairy, man-
like creatures occur worldwide through-
out much of recorded history, the vast
majority of contemporary sightings
come from America’s Pacific Northwest,
an unexplored wilderness over 125,000
square miles in extent. In this vast ter-
ritory, these creatures are known as
“Bigfoot” or Sasquatch (the Native American name).
Similar, perhaps even identical, be-
ings are called kaptar in the Rus-
sian Caucasus, chuhuna in north-
east Siberia, almas in Mongolia,
kangmi in Tibet, yowies in Aus-
tralia, and yeti in Nepal. In me-
dieval Europe they were
known simply as “hairy
wild men” and were fre-
quent subjects of illustration.
The “bigfoots” of the Pacific
Northwest seem to average about
eight feet tall and leave footprints
about 18” long. The color of
their hair ranges from reddish-
brown through grey to black. Males, females, and in-
fants are reported, often in family groups. They usu-- Introduction: The Physiologus
and the Bestiary
HE BESTIARY (“BOOK OF BEASTS”) IS A
peculiarly Medieval pheno-
menon. Although ancient writers
such as Pliny described and
illustrated various animals,
including many that were purely
imaginary, the first to compile an
“encyclopedia” of all the world’s
known creatures was an anonymous writer nicknamed
The Physiologus (“naturalist”) who lived between the
2 nd-5th centuries CE. Although probably Egyptian, he
wrote in Greek, and his book was so popular that it
was translated into all the languages of Europe. Over
the centuries, as travelers brought tales and reports
from ever-more distant lands, each copier and
translator of the Physiologus Bestiary added to it,
filling in the blanks and expanding the number of
creatures included on land, the seas, and the air.
Though often distorted in descriptions and depictions,
nearly all of the creatures listed are based on real
animals. But the compilers had no way of making
distinctions between actual or imagi-nary beasts—
after all, the unicorn certainly appears no stranger than
the hippopotamus, walrus, elephant, ostrich, kangaroo,
pangolin, and giraffe—to say nothing of the platypus!
And prehistoric creatures once walked the Earth that
were far more bizarre than the wildest imaginings of myth.
The Physiologus and his successors, however,
were less interested in the natural history of these
beasts, birds, and sea-monsters than they were in
allegorical symbolism that could be drawn from them
to illustrate Christian values and morality. In presenting
the animals I have chosen for this Class, I am omitting
all those allegorical references. If you wish, you may
find them in T. H. White’s Book of Beasts, which is a
translation of a late bestiary with copious notes. And
I am not listing common and well-known animals, as in
6.I: “Beast Mastery.” Rather, what you will find here
are creatures of myth and legend. Here be dragons!Lesson 2. Cryptozoology
Cryptozoology (“study of hidden animals”) was coined
by Dr. Bernard Heuvelmans in his personal corres-
pondence among colleagues in the 1950s, after the
1955 French publication of his book On the Track of
Unknown Animals. Cryptozoologists study reports
and sightings from remote places of animals as yet
unknown to science, attempting to discover and
identify new species. These cryptids, as they are called,Corrected pages 3rd printing.2.p65 62 6/10/2004, 4:03 PM