International Society of Cryptozoology

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Logo of the International Society of Cryptozoology, featuring the okapi.

The International Society of Cryptozoology (ISC) was a an international organisation intended to formalise cryptozoology. Founded in January 1982 at a Smithsonian meeting hosted by George Zug, the society elected Bernard Heuvelmans as President, Roy P. Mackal as Vice-President, and J. Richard Greenwell as Secretary. Its stated goal was to promote "scientific inquiry, education, and communication among people interested in animals of unexpected form or size, or unexpected occurence in time and space," and it published a journal, Cryptozoology, and the ISC Newsletter.

Cryptozoology ceased publication in 1996, and the ISC ended activities in 1998 due to financial problems, though its website was online until 2005.

Notable members

The final ISC Board of Directors was composed of Bernard Heuvelmans (ISC President), Roy P. Mackal (ISC Vice President), J. Richard Greenwell (ISC Secretary), Aaron M. Bauer, C. K. Brain, Eric Buffetaut, Angelo P. Capparella, Eugenie Clark, Colin P. Groves, David Heppell, Christine Janis, Grover S. Krantz, Anthony P. Russell, Nikolai Spassov, Zhou Guoxing, and Peter A. Jaszi. The Editorial Board for Cryptozoology was composed of Greenwell, Walter H. Birkby, Susan Cachel, John Colarusso, C. Lavett Smith, Leigh M. Van Valen, Michael P. Walters, M. Justin Wilkinson, Bernd Wursig, and George R. Zug, who was also on the original Board of Directors.

Honourary members

The ISC elected 17 Honorary Members, who automatically became Life Members and received all ISC publications for the rest of their lives. The 17 Honorary Members, and the reasons for their election, were:

• Majorie Courtenay-Latimer, South African naturalist who co-discovered the coelacanth in 1938.
• Athol M. Douglas, Australian naturalist noted for investigations of the thylacine.
• Robert L. Downing, American U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist who investigated eastern puma sightings.
• Richard S. R. Fitter, British naturalist who was a founder of the Loch Ness Phenomena Investigation Bureau.
• John Green, Canadian journalist noted for his extensive bigfoot research, including his sightings database.
• Marie-Jeanne Koffmann, French-Russian physician and mountaineer who investigated hundreds of almas reports.
• Theodore Monod, French ichthyologist who published cryptozoological material in his journal, African Notes.
• Robert H. Rines, American engineer noted for his searches for the Loch Ness monster with the Academy of Applied Science.
• Andre Capart, Belgian marine biologist who was a long-time collaborator of Bernard Heuvelmans.
• Tim Dinsdale, British auronautical engineer who was one of the Loch Ness monster's most dedicated investigators.
• John Hunt, Baron Hunt, British mountaineer who discovered two sets of alleged yeti tracks in the Himalayas.
• David James, British MP who helped establish the Loch Ness Phenomena Investigation Bureau.
• Ingo Krumbiegel, German mammalogist who wrote what Heuvelmans considered the first cryptozoological book, Von Neuen und Undentdeckten Tierarten (1950).
• John Napier, British primatologist who studied the evidence for bigfoot.
• Peter Scott, British naturalist and painter who had an interest in the Loch Ness monster.
• Bob Titmus, American-Canadian tracker, hunter, and taxidermist who spent 40 years investigating bigfoot in the field.
• Forest G. Wood, American marine biologist who investigated the giant octopus.

External links

• Official website, archived on Wayback Machine