Creatures that are often times so elusive that there is no physical proof of their existence, and has lead most people to believe that they don't exist at all.
Now despite the fact that there is actually no proof that any cryptids exist, there are certain things that I have noticed about them, and have narrowed down to five things.
So here are five things I've noticed about cryptids:
5. They are masters at Hide & Go Seek.
If a cryptid was to ever enter a hide & go seek contest, they would probably win it, because they are masters at hiding.
Despite the fact that many of the areas of the world where various cryptids are known to live are actually very well explored, no one can actually seem to capture a living or dead cryptid.
A couple of good examples of this would be the search for the Loch Ness Monster and the search for Bigfoot.
Despite the fact that there have been multiple explorations of where Bigfoot is suppose to live (which is apparently everywhere now) or the use of motion sensor triggered trail cameras where they are suppose to roam, no one has ever been able to produce any solid proof that Bigfoot exists, other then a few grainy photos taken by people whom weren't even looking for the creature and could easily be something else entirely, and some photos and videos and footprints that are clear, but have either been found out to be hoaxes, or are strongly suspected of being hoaxes.
As for the Loch Ness Monster, that creature is so good at hiding scientists couldn't even find it after all of Loch Ness was scanned with sonar devices.
4. They're big business
Cryptids have made people a lot of money.
There have been many popular TV shows dedicated to finding cryptids, or has a cryptid as one of the characters. There have also been multiple products that feature cryptids as well (including shirts and toys). You can even pay people to take you on expeditions into these places where these cryptids are suppose to inhabit, and the sites where some of these creatures are suppose to live (such as Loch Ness) have become huge tourist attractions, attracting thousands of wannabe monster hunters every year hoping to catch a glimpse of one of these elusive creatures.
Of course lets not forget the millions of dollars spent on high tech equipment to try to find these alleged creatures.
Plus, who here can honestly say that the creation of the Star Wars character Chewbacca wasn't in some ways inspired by the descriptions of Bigfoot.
3. They don't seem to interact with each other.
Out of all the claimed sightings I have heard about varies cryptids, the one thing I have never heard is one cryptid interacting with another cryptid.
This could be a result of the alleged rarity of these creatures that there are simply not enough of them to actually interact with each other (other than a cryptid of their own species, which is also something that is never seen), or they're just scared of each other and avoid each other (which many known animals actually do).
Of course it could be because people so rarely see a cryptid (and it's usually from a distance, and it's not very clear) that it could be that no one has ever had the opportunity to see a cryptid interacting with another cryptid. It's not like people see Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster everyday, so it shouldn't be surprising that no one has ever seen Bigfoot riding on top of the Loch Ness Monster either.
2. There are multiple explanations for them.
While a few cryptids will have one explanation for it's existence, most of them have multiple explanations.
The two most common explanations for a cryptids existence is that they are either an unknown animal that has simply yet to be discovered, or, as many scientists believe, the misidentification of a known animal (other than those that are out right hoaxes).
Other explanations are that some could be a prehistoric creature that survived extinction (as Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster are sometimes claimed to be) or that they could be aliens (as the Mothman and Chupacabra are sometimes claimed to be) or that they're some kind of spirit like creatures (as the Jersey Devil is sometimes claimed to be).
Regardless of how many logically (and not so logical) explanations there are for a cryptid, there is one true thing that all cryptids have in common...
1. They probably don't exist.
Despite the numerous explorations of areas where the creatures mentioned above (along with many others) have been done in an attempt to find these creatures, no one has ever been able to capture one, or bring back any physical proof that these creatures exist at all. These facts, combined with the logical explanations for the sightings of these creatures (including misidentification of a known animal, and intentionally created hoaxes) has lead many scientists to concluded that most, if not all, probably don't exist, or they just don't exist at all.
Or course I (and many scientists) say they probably don't exist rather than saying that they don't exist at all in most cases because there is a remote possibly (and very remote at that. Basically being on the same level as proving the existence of ghosts, or proving that aliens have been coming to Earth) that a few of them could exist.
Because of this remote possibly that some of these creatures could exist, and the occasional eye witness sighting from someone who doesn't appear to be making their claim up, it keeps people looking for them and wasting their time and money trying to find something that odds are doesn't exist. But still, much like with UFO hunting and ghost hunting, cryptid hunting can be fun, and can lead you to go to all these interesting places and lead people to learn more about history and nature, and maybe even real science along the way.