Chameleons and certain fish can change the color of their skins. Tadpoles and caterpillars turn into something totally different in the course of growing up. Looking at these facts, some people have wondered if there is anything out there in the animal kingdom that experiences more radical changes, a true shapeshifter. Certain creatures of cryptozoology are already supposed to have shapeshifting powers of one sort or another. In some sightings of the chupacabra, witnesses say that this creature can change its outward appearance. Devotees of reptoids often claim that these beings can assume human shape when they want to.

As you might imagine, mainstream cryptozoologists have little interest in shapeshifters, but fringe cryptozoologists have a great deal of interest in the subject. In fact, some fringe cryptozoologists blame the elusive character of all cryptids on shapeshifting powers. According to such theories, perhaps Bigfoot turns into a deer to escape from scientists who want to track it, and perhaps the Loch Ness monster turns into a cow or a log when it doesn't want people to notice it. It doesn't take much imagination to realize that if shapeshifters did exist, they would be very elusive creatures, nearly impossible to detect and capture.

But it does take a lot of imagination to believe in shapeshifters. Believers tend to be highly imaginative people who are willing to believe in nearly anything. As a result, shapeshifters are usually welded into a gigantic mish-mash of beliefs that often includes aliens, the paranormal, and conspiracy theories of all kinds.

You can find out more about Shapeshifters from the following sources:

Clark, Jerome. Unexplained!. Detroit: Visible Ink Press, 1999. Pages 519-527

Gale, Thomson. Creatures of the Night

Did Presidents and Others Shapeshift?

Greene, Rosalyn. The Magic of Shapeshifting.

~Authors~ Would you like your nonfiction book indexed in The Cryptid Zoo? Ask if you can send a review copy.

Hall, Jamie. Half Human, Half Animal: Tales of Werewolves and Related Creatures. Bloomington, IN: Authorhouse, 2003.

Hall, Jamie. Portal of Transformation

Icke, David. The Reptilian Agenda e-zine

Is Prince Charles a Shapeshifter?

Redfern, Nick. Three Men Seeking Monsters: Six Weeks in Pursuit of Werewolves, Lake Monsters, Giant Cats, Ghostly Devil Dogs, and Ape-Men. New York: Paraview Pocket Books, 2004. Pages 90-99, 184, 220

Shapeshifters, Shimmers and Transfiguration

Utlah. The WereWeb

Wikipedia, The. The Beast of Bray Road

Wikipedia, The. Shapeshifting

Yaiolani. The Werewolf and Shapeshifter Codex