Beyond Bigfoot & Nessie: Lesser-Known Mystery Animals from Around the World

by Kate Shaw

Most people have heard of Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster. Far fewer have heard of animals like the buru, a lungfish-like monster reported from India; Washington's eagle, supposedly bigger than the bald eagle; the yemish of South America, also called the water tiger; or the Mongolian death worm.
The world is full of mystery animals that might just be real. Beyond Bigfoot & Nessie examines nearly 100 of the world's most plausible cryptids, discussing sightings, background and context, and possible identities of each animal. Some of the mysteries are solved, some are not, but they're all amazing!
Join the host of Strange Animals Podcast for a science-based animal adventure all around the world!

394 pages, Paperback

Published April 19, 2022

Reviews

[Chuck Engelhardt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was not a sit down and read from cover to cover book for me. It was a nice diversion book that had short, independent chapters that I could read when I wanted to read something different. Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed Beyond Bigfoot and Nessie by Kate Shaw. It is not a conspiracy or "whoa, that's wild" approach to cryptids, but a more "let's think about this and what may have really happened" consideration. I liken Shaw's analysis to Jeremy Wade's River Monsters TV series. She gathers the stories, witness and pseudo-witness accounts, analyzes the reliability of the reports, then finally pieces the most probable portions of the descriptions together to suggest a possible reality. She states that she does not believe in replacing one mystery with another, so avoids supernatural and extraterrestrial explanations. If she doesn't have an explanation, and even sometimes when she does, she simply says, "and perhaps it was exactly what they said it was." Thumbs up and thanks to my daughter-in-law, Megan Engelhardt for suggesting I might enjoy it.