Cryptids

[Mister Agenda]

Thanks for the response! I always find it interesting that so many atheists believe in the existence of alien life even though there’s no tangible evidence any such life exists.
I do not see why cryptozoology would not be a science; it fits the definition of a methodological study of the natural world. Nobody thinks that there are no undiscovered animals that exist today (or animals previously thought to have gone extinct who still exist). It certainly has a purpose and sometimes hits scientific gold (i.e. the coelacanth). The word science has a particular meaning, it’s not some magic trophy given to only those whom you agree with or respect. When thousands claim to have seen a large bipedal primate in the forests of North America I think it’s perfectly scientific to methodologically investigate its existence.

You can tell cryptozoology isn't a real science because it focuses on the fabulous. It's regular zoologists that actually discover new animal species.

At some point, it's reasonable, after making a thorough investigation that consistently turns up no hard evidence, to conclude it isn't worth further investigation barring new information.

An 'ology' is the study of something. Until you know that something actually exists, what you're really studying is unsubstantiated claims about something. You can't know enough about the subject to call it a legitimate science, except as a sub-category of the systematic study of folklore.