Chupacabra: Puerto Rico, 1995
Livestock deaths and Madelyne Tolentino’s account gave a recognizable shape to a new blood-feeding monster.
Unverified#0283
OPEN ARCHIVE
Observations
Documented events, historical claims and public reports. Event dates and review status are listed separately; unidentified does not mean extraterrestrial.
Event year, not the article publication date.
Megamouth: the shark in a sea anchor
A large shark unfamiliar to science appeared when marine equipment was recovered.
An explanation exists#0271
Giant squid: a camera in the deep
The animal was known from bodies long before its first photographs in its natural habitat.
An explanation exists#0269
Saola: a discovery beginning with hunters' horns
Researchers began with unfamiliar hunting trophies rather than an encounter with a living animal.
An explanation exists#0267
Okapi: from striped hide to a giraffe relative
An account of an animal unfamiliar to Europeans changed when complete skin and skulls became available.
An explanation exists#0265
Coelacanth: a fish from the 1938 catch
A fish with fleshy fins proved to be a living representative of a lineage known from fossils.
An explanation exists#0263
The Loch Ness Monster: Nessie’s history, searches and evidence
From a medieval story to environmental DNA and reports in 2026: what is known about Nessie and why the question still attracts investi…
Insufficient evidence#0087
“Yeti” DNA samples: bears and a dog
Genetic analysis tested nine specimens attributed to a Yeti.
An explanation exists#0047
Makalu: the footprints described as “Yeti tracks”
An Indian expedition reported tracks in snow in April 2019. The animal itself was not verified.
Unverified#0045