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Early last year, we took a look at Cryptomundo, a site that scours the Web for news of "the most elusive and rare animals (cryptids) on this planet Earth." Since then, sightings of such mysterious beasties as beaked whales, Chinese lake monsters, and Tasmanian Tigers have only heated up, as have the postings of Cryptomundo's intrepid bloggers: Loren Coleman, Craig Woolheater, John Kirk, and Rick Noll.

When we asked Loren Coleman some questions about the site and his chosen field, he talked to us about how the media's been hoaxed, the never-ending popularity of Bigfoot, and why he doesn't "believe" in cryptozoological species...

Can you define the term, cryptozoology, for us?

Cryptozoology comes from the root words, (which) are Greek: "kryptos" for "hidden," "unknown," "enigmatic;" plus "zool" for "animal" and "logos" for study. Thus, literally, "the study of hidden animals." The animals are hidden, but not totally "unknown" or "mythical," per se.

To be part of cryptozoology, the animals have to be "ethnoknown," known by the local peoples and natives, even if not recognized by science and formal zoology yet. The word was first coined in the 1940s by zoologist Ivan T. Sanderson, then re-invented in the late 1950s by zoologist Bernard Heuvelmans. Sanderson (a Scottish scientist who became an American) and Heuvelmans (a Belgian who lived in France) are regarded as the godfathers of cryptozoology. I knew Heuvelmans and Sanderson, and I now work fulltime as a cryptozoologist.

There are no degrees given in the field yet, but credit courses have been given at some universities and there is a growing body of people working fulltime just as cryptozoologists. Read the full profile...