History

The International Society of Cryptozoology (ISC) was founded in 1982 in Washington, D.C. to serve as a scholarly center for documenting and evaluating evidence of unverified animals

Cryptid

In cryptozoology and sometimes in cryptobotany, a cryptid is a creature or plant whose existence has been suggested but is unrecognized by scientific consensus and often regarded as highly unlikely. Famous examples include the Yeti in the Himalayas and the Loch Ness Monster in...

; that is, animal species or forms which have been reported in some manner but which have not been scientifically proven to exist. The study of such animals is known as cryptozoology

Cryptozoology

Cryptozoology refers to the search for animals whose existence has not been proven...

, and Cryptozoology was also the title of its journal. The President was Bernard Heuvelmans

Bernard Heuvelmans

Bernard Heuvelmans was a Belgian-French scientist, explorer, researcher, and a writer probably best known as "the father of cryptozoology"...

, and the Vice-President Roy Mackal

Roy Mackal

Roy P. Mackal is a retired University of Chicago biologist best known to the general public for his interest in the Loch Ness Monster and other cryptozoological entities.-Academic background:...

. The Secretary was J. Richard Greenwell (died 2005), of the University of Arizona

University of Arizona

The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...

. Loren Coleman

Loren Coleman

Loren Coleman is an author of books on a number of topics, including cryptozoology, who was born in 1947 in Norfolk, Virginia and grew up in Decatur, Illinois.-Education:...

, John Willison Green, and several other prominent cryptozoologists were either Life Members, Honorary Members, or Board Members.

The official emblem of the society was the Okapi

Okapi

The okapi , Okapia johnstoni, is a giraffid artiodactyl mammal native to the Ituri Rainforest, located in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in Central Africa...

, which was chosen because, although it was well known to the inhabitants of its region, it was unknown to the European scientific community

Scientific community

The scientific community consists of the total body of scientists, its relationships and interactions. It is normally divided into "sub-communities" each working on a particular field within science. Objectivity is expected to be achieved by the scientific method...

 until the English explorer

Exploration

Exploration is the act of searching or traveling around a terrain for the purpose of discovery of resources or information. Exploration occurs in all non-sessile animal species, including humans...

 Harry Johnston

Harry Johnston

Sir Henry "Harry" Hamilton Johnston, GCMG, KCB , was a British explorer, botanist, linguist and colonial administrator, one of the key players in the "Scramble for Africa" that occurred at the end of the 19th century....

 sent to London an Okapi skin which received international attention in 1901.

The journal Cryptozoology was published from 1982 to 1996. The Society also published a newsletter ISC News.

The ISC ended its activities in 1998 due to financial problems, though a website continued until 2005.

According to the journal Cryptozoology, the ISC served "as a focal point for the investigation, analysis, publication, and discussion of all matters related to animals of unexpected form or size, or unexpected occurrence in time or space."

The New International Society of Cryptozoology

With their website, Facebook group and the tagline 'studying the impossible since 1982' the International Society of Cryptozoology has resurfaced once again in 2011 with the single goal to reestablish itself within the Cryptozoological community.

Now based in London, England and sponsored by Roslyn Walker

Roslyn Walker

Roslyn Walker is an escape artist and stuntman famous for recreating Harry Houdini's most technically challenging escape stunts including the suspended straitjacket escape and the world famous Mirror Handcuff Challenge.Most recently Roslyn Walker set two new World records within the field of...

the new incarnation of the I.S.C. has kept many of the old values its predecessor set in place, including using the image of the Okapi for its logo. It is notable for the youth of many of the members [a total of seventy as of the beginning of November, 2011].