the study of hidden animals. This doesn't mean, however, animals that don't want to be seen but animals that might or might not actually exist. Cryptozoology refers to these animals as cryptids Some animals studied by cryptozoologists certainly do exist. The okapi, or short-necked giraffe, and the mountain gorilla are good examples. When they were first seen by small numbers of people, scientists refused to believe they existed. It took decades before they became official members of the animal kingdom Cryptozoologists believe that we almost certainly haven't discovered all the animals that exist in the world. They believe there must be a lot of cryptids out there that we haven't found yet. By this, they don't mean that they think that undiscovered mythical creatures like the Loch Ness Monster or bigfoot are real animals in the same way as, say,