Heuvelmans, Bernard

Bernard Heuvelmans (1916–ca. 2001) French scientist Bernard Heuvelmans was perhaps the first person to take a scientific approach to the study of creatures whose existence is in dispute. As such, he is generally considered to be the founder of the science of cryptozoology. Indeed, he was the first to use the word cryptozoology to describe such studies. Heuvelmans first became interested in previously unknown animals in 1948. At that time, after spending several years studying and writing about natural history, he came across a 1948 Saturday Evening Post article by Ivan T. Sanderson that suggested dinosaurs might not be extinct after all. This inspired Heuvelmans to investigate a variety of mysterious animals, and in 1955 he presented his research in a book titled Sur la piste des bêtes ignorées (1955), later published in English as On the Track of Unknown Animals (1958). Heuvelmans wrote many more books and articles on related subjects, such as the kraken, the Minnesota Iceman, dragons, and unidentified hominids, but only one of his other books, In the Wake of Sea-Serpents (1968), has been translated into English. He also continued to travel the world in search of various unknown animals, and in 1975 he established an organization devoted to such research, the Center for Cryptozoology. In addition, Heuvelmans became the first president of the International Society of Cryptozoology upon its founding in 1982.

SEE ALSO:

• Cryptozoology
• Kraken
• Minnesota Iceman
• Sea Serpents

SOURCE:

The Greenhaven Encyclopedia of Paranormal Phenomena – written by Patricia D. Netzley © 2006 Gale, a part of Cengage Learning