The term “cryptozoology” is said to have been coined in 1959 by Lucien Blancou, a former game inspector in Likouala, a department of the Republic of the Congo, but Blancou used the term in reference to the work of Belgian-French zoologist Bernard Heuvelmans. Cryptozoology is defined as the science of hidden animals, combining three words: kryptos for hidden, zoon for animal and logos for discourse.

In his 1999 book, Unexplained: Strange Sightings, Incredible Occurrences, and Puzzling Physical Phenomena, author Jerome Clark quotes Heuvelmans as saying he originated the term himself, that he wanted to “give a name to the totally new discipline in zoology my research implied. That is how I coined the word 'cryptozoology,' the science of hidden animals.” To further complicate the matter, in his book, In the Wake of the Sea-Serpents, Heuvelmans credits Scottish explorer and adventurer Ivan T. Sanderson with originating the term.

Sanderson, who earned a B.A. in zoology from Cambridge University, as well as a Masters degree in botany and geology became well known during the 1960s, for his eye-witness account of a Kongamato, a reportedly pterodactyl-like creature. Sanderson shot a fruit bat over water, went to retrieve it and was attacked by something he called “the Granddaddy of all bats.” He described the creature as being the size of an eagle and with a “lower jaw hung open and bore a semicircle of pointed white teeth set about their own width apart from each other.” Heuvelmans reported that Sanderson use the term cryptozoology in a 1948 Saturday Evening Post article, “There Could be Dinosaurs.”

Whatever the true origin of the term, Heuvelmans earned his title, "the father of cryptozoology,” writing many books and articles on the subject. In 1975, he created the Center for Cryptozoology in France, where his own library is currently housed. He helped found the International Society of Cryptozoology in 1982. A donation to the Museum of Zoology in Lausanne in 1999 contained over 50,000 specimens, photographs and documents.

The International Society of Cryptozoology maintains the possibility of known animals existing in areas where they are not generally believed to inhabit, and that presumed extinct animals persist in the present or the recent past. Cryptozoologists point to cases where species that are now accepted were initially disbelieved, such as the mountain gorilla, giant squid and American tapir. The komodo dragon, koupey and coelacanth are other cited examples.

Henry Gee, editor of the journal Nature, stated that the 2003 discovery of Homo floresiensis fossil remains was possible evidence that famous cryptid like yetis were founded on grains of truth, adding that cryptozoology could now “come in from the cold.”

The popularity of the Discovery Channel television series “Sasquatch Odyssey” and “Monster Hunters” indicate that cryptozoology is attracting more attention. While some people will may be too easily swayed into believing anecdotal accounts, others will never be convinced, no matter what amount of scientific evidence is put before them.