April 2021 – The Cryptidery

Escaped Octopus!

Posted on April 30, 2021 - June 13, 2021 by The Cryptidery

I was thrilled when I came into the Cryptidery today. I went to my desk and saw that Mohammed had left my camera , with a note saying that it’s finally fixed I had to resist the urge to use it right away. Chores come first, especially when there are living things counting on you.

Finally, in the afternoon, I had some free time. I grabbed my camera and went to my favourite enclosure. I’m sure you can guess which one it is. It is our mascot, after all. The space octopus!

I saw Nushi nearby and got her to help me put on a suit, since the atmosphere in that particular enclosure isn’t very breathable. I must have spent almost an hour in there searching for that octopus.

In case you haven’t seen the enclosure in person, it’s not very big… ok, maybe it’s bigger than it needs to be for an octopus the size of a cat … I might spoil my favourites a bit. There are play structures built on every surface, so it can be hard for a full-sized person to navigate, but space octopuses, like earth octopuses, are very intelligent. They need to be entertained if they are going to be kept in captivity.

I finally gave up the search for the octopus. I had other work to do, so I decided to try again later. I left the enclosure and started taking off the suit. That’s when I noticed a certain display was empty.

Near the viewing window for the space octopus enclosure, there’s a glass case where we keep its helmet. It lets visitors get a closer look and makes it impossible for the space octopus to leave its enclosure. Sometimes we let the octopus have it back so we can put it in a temporary enclosure, usually when we need to go in and clean the permanent one.

But surely, if someone had removed the space octopus to clean its enclosure, they would have let me know before letting me spend an hour looking for a creature that wasn’t there.

With my suit still half on, I went down the hall to see if the octopus was in the temporary enclosure we usually use. On my way there, I heard a loud, familiar noise. Like hundreds of confetti cannons going off at once. My heart sank. I turned and ran to the office, where I found Nushi and Jose. Nushi was very, very focused on his work, like he had somehow missed the noise that had just echoed through the halls. He didn’t look up or acknowledge me when I entered the room. Jose was running around gathering his things. He froze and looked at me like a dog who knew he’d done something wrong.

Apparently, those two decided they didn’t need to put the space octopus in another enclosure when they went in to clean today. They also decided it was best to give the octopus the helmet so they didn’t have to wear suits while cleaning. And when they couldn’t find it afterward, they figured they would just come back and get the helmet later, since they had to wait for the atmosphere to return to normal anyway. Of course, they both swear the entrance to the enclosure was closed and locked the whole time.

The way those two talk. It’s like they think I made protocols just to be annoying!
Maria

Night at the Cryptidery

Posted on April 23, 2021 - June 13, 2021 by The Cryptidery

Well, this is exciting! I can say with absolute confidence that even if you have been to the Cryptidery, you’ve never seen me. If you’ve ever walked past at night and seen lights flashing around, inside or out, that’s probably me. I guess there’s a couple of creatures it may be too, but I don’t think you’d see their enclosures from the road. Of course, no one’s ever snuck around the back parking lot at night… I never, ever have to go back there and shine my lights on any local teenagers… right?

I know this internet thing isn’t the same as meeting in person, but I never got to meet visitors when we were open, so this is pretty neat. Everyone’s always talking about how so much has changed this year, with everything being closed and whatnot. But it’s pretty much been business as usual for me.

My job is mostly building and repairs. I get the habitats running the way Maria wants them, and then I keep them running. There’s a white board in the office where everyone writes down anything they notice that’s broken, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen it empty. I also keep an eye on some of the more nocturnal creatures. Sometimes I might notice something that the day staff missed. With so many creatures, the work is never ending, but it’s rewarding in its own way.

Let me know if you have any questions about the habitats or anything else. If I don’t know the answer, I’ll ask someone who does.

It seems I’m supposed to go fix Maria’s camera now. I didn’t even know she had one. She read “pics or it didn’t happen” somewhere and took it seriously. I’m not sure if the internet is meant to be taken that seriously.

Have a good day,
Mohammed

Howdy!

Posted on April 16, 2021 - June 13, 2021 by The Cryptidery

Jose here! Everyone’s favourite adventurer! I was barely in the door when a mighty excited Maria told me she’d put us on the internets. She wanted me to come introduce myself. As if you all don’t already know who I am!

I’ve just come back from capturing another silver chimera. If you’ve visited the Cryptidery before, you’ve seen our collection outside. They’re not normally part of the tour, not much to look at during the day really. Real shiny, though. This little guy had found his way into someone’s garden. I understand the grandmother of the visitor who reported him had paid a pretty penny for her “garden statue”. Never know where you might find one.

Travelling has been a bit more difficult this past year. I’ve been allowed to travel for business, but I’ve been avoiding the trains and planes. Lots more time spent driving than normal. But some zoos have reported that certain animals are susceptible to this virus. We don’t know which of our creatures might be able to get it, and we’d rather not find out if we can help it, so I’ve been doing everything I can to stay isolated.

That pretty much sums up my job around here. I never stay put for long if I can help it. When I’m here, I’m following up on anything that might lead to another creature. Your reports, news articles, the internets. Sometimes it takes quite a while to find anything credible to follow up on. Sometimes I tell Maria I’d better go follow up in person, just in case, just because I’m itching to get going again.

Remember, curiosity killed the cat (but you’re no cat)!
Jose

Hello. My name is Nushi.

Posted on April 9, 2021 - June 13, 2021 by The Cryptidery

Maria has asked that I also post on this weblog from time to time.

My job at the Cryptidery is to organize the feeding of the creatures. I also help Maria with research. Information on the creatures we house is often hard to find. We sometimes have to learn about them after we have acquired them.

We try to gather as much information as we can before we acquire them so that we can care for them as well as possible and keep ourselves safe as well. Jose will sometimes spend days or weeks following a creature before capturing it to gather information on its chosen habitat, food, and abilities.

Sometimes your reports help us. When you submit a report through the website about a strange creature you have observed, it is best to tell us everything you have noticed, even if it seems unimportant. When we had visitors come in with information, we would often ask a lot of questions, but this is more difficult through the internet. Photographs and drawings can also be useful.

However, it is important to always keep your distance from these creatures. These are not domestic animals. They may be dangerous. Do not put yourself in danger to get a photograph. Do not follow the creature. Some of them have above-average senses and may react negatively if they feel threatened. Leave the potentially dangerous work to Jose.

Thank you for reading.
Nushi

Hello World!

Posted on April 1, 2021 - June 13, 2021 by The Cryptidery

We are finally online Some of our regular visitors have been telling me for years that we need a website. It only took a global pandemic and a year of no visitors for us to slow down and figure it out!

This past year has been a strange one for The Cryptidery (and for everyone else, I’m sure). We’re all still here taking care of the creatures in our sanctuary We’ve got a few new arrivals that I’m sure we’ll be sharing with you soon. It seems like it might still be a while before we can have visitors, though . So this website will be a way for us to stay connected with you, and share with a much wider audience than our little local community!

We’re going to have some contests
You can report strange creatures you might have seen around
I’m sure Jose will be sharing some of the adventures he goes on to capture these creatures
We might even share some photos, if Mohammed can get my old camera working

Parts of this site will be open to the public. But there will be exclusive content for Patrons. We have to keep the lights on around here somehow!

Here’s what Patrons get:

Downloadable info cards These are just like the ones you’ve seen at our enclosures if you’ve ever come to visit. They give a bit of information about one of our creatures and have a drawing (done by me ) that you can colour if you wish. These will be released monthly on the 15th.
If you get a mailed subscription, that month’s card will also be printed and mailed to youFor a little more, I can print out and mail the month’s posts to you, too. It might even come with a couple of extras, maybe a note from one of our caretakers or some stickers… we’ll see what I can fit in an envelope

You can sign up now, but we’ll be counting May as your first month. The first info card will be mailed at the beginning of May and will be available online on May 15th, but I’ve added a free colouring page of our logo that you can download now Check out the downloads link at the top of the page

Feel free to comment or e-mail us if you have any other suggestions for the site! We’re still new to this, and I haven’t spent a lot of time on the internet. Maybe you know something I don’t! There’s a contact form on the home page.

All of us here at the Cryptidery hope you are safe and that this past year hasn’t been too hard on you and your family

Until next time!
Maria