Editing Karl Shuker (section)

==Career==
Shuker received a [[Bachelor of Science|BSc (Hons)]] in [[zoology]] from the [[University of Leeds]] and a PhD in zoology and comparative physiology from the [[University of Birmingham]].
He is a Scientific Fellow of the [[Zoological Society of London]], a Fellow of the [[Royal Entomological Society]], a consultant for the Centre for Fortean Zoology, and a member of the [[Society of Authors]].<ref name="Newton, Michael 2005, p. 425">Newton, Michael, 2005, ''Encyclopedia of Cryptozoology: A Global Guide'' (McFarland & Co, Inc: Jefferson), p. 425: "Today, he [Shuker] is globally recognized as an author and researcher on all aspects of animal life and unexplained phenomena, the heir apparent to Heuvelmans himself."</ref><ref name="Coleman, Loren 1999, p. 221">
{{cite book
|first1=Loren
|last1= Coleman
|first2=Jerome
|last2= Clark
|title = Cryptozoology A To Z: The Encyclopedia of Loch Monsters Sasquatch Chupacabras And Other Authentic Mysteries of Nature
|url = https://archive.org/details/cryptozoologytoz00lore|url-access=registration
|date=5 August 1999
|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=978-0-684-85602-5
|page=[https://archive.org/details/cryptozoologytoz00lore/page/221 221]
}}</ref><ref name="Karl Shuker website">
{{cite web
|last = Shuker
|first = Karl
|title = Dr. Karl Shuker – Zoologist, Cryptozoologist, Author
|url = http://www.karlshuker.com
|access-date = 2013-02-18
}}
</ref>

Some of his larger works include ''Mystery Cats of the World'' (1989), ''The Lost Ark: New and Rediscovered Animals of the 20th Century'' (1993; expanded in 2002 as ''The New Zoo''), and ''In Search of Prehistoric Survivors'' (1995), as well as two worldwide bestsellers – ''Dragons: A Natural History'' (1995; reissued in 2006), and ''The Unexplained'' (1996; reissued in 2002).<ref name="Karl Shuker website"/> Shuker also published ''Star Steeds and Other Dreams'', a book of poetry which appeared in 2009.

According to Jonathan Downes, there are a number of little-known cryptids to which Shuker was the first cryptozoologist to bring widespread public attention.<ref name="downes-2007">
{{Cite book
| publisher = CFZ Press
| last1 = Downes
| first1 = Jonathan
| first2 = Karl
| last2 = Shuker
| title =  Extraordinary Animals Revisited
| chapter = Forward
| location = Bideford
| year = 2007
}}
</ref> These include the Sri Lankan [[Jackal's Horn|horned jackal]] and [[Devil Bird]], Gambo the Gambian sea serpent, Goodenough Island mystery bird, New Guinea [[ropen]] and devil pig or gazeka, Scottish earth hound, Indonesian veo and horned cat, New Caledonian du, Irish dobhar-chú, Shatt al Arab venomous mystery fish, Zanzibar makalala, Ethiopian death bird, Zululand kondlo, Arctic North American waheela, [[Kellas cat]], [[Mongolian Death Worm]], [[European Jackal|Hungarian reedwolf]], Fujian blue or [[Maltese tiger]] as shown on the cover of ''Mysteries of Planet Earth'' (1999), Welsh cenaprugwirion, [[bigfin squid]], St Helena sirenian, Timor Sea ground shark, and crowing crested cobra.

Shuker pens two cryptozoological columns ("Alien Zoo" and "The Lost Ark") in ''[[Fortean Times]]'', and contributes regularly to ''Strange Magazine'', to ''[[Fate (magazine)|Fate Magazine]]'', and to ''Paranormal Magazine''. In addition, he is the zoological consultant for ''[[Guinness World Records]]''.<ref name="Newton, Michael 2005, p. 425"/><ref name="Coleman, Loren 1999, p. 221"/><ref name="Karl Shuker website"/>

In a 2012 interview, Shuker stated that three of the most important zoological discoveries of the twentieth century were the [[okapi]], the [[coelacanth]] and the [[saola]] (or Vu Quang ox).<ref name="mongabay-2012" /> Shuker's 2012 volume, ''The Encyclopaedia of New and Rediscovered Animals'' provides a detailed discussion of similar discoveries, including discoveries made as recently as 2011.<ref name="mongabay-2012">
{{Cite web
| title = Beyond Bigfoot: the science of cryptozoology
| work = Mongabay.com
| date = 26 March 2012
| url = http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0326-hance_interview_shuker.html
}}
</ref>

In November 2012, Shuker launched the ''Journal of Cryptozoology''.<ref name="ostli-2013">{{Cite web
| url = http://www.forskning.no/artikler/2013/januar/346103
| title = Kryptozoologene forsøker igjen
| last = Østli
| first = Hanne Jakobsen
| date = 22 January 2013
| publisher = [[Forskning.no]]
| language = no
}}{{Dead link|date=March 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> As the journal's founding editor-in-chief, Shuker has the stated goal of "providing an outlet for cryptozoological research with a genuinely scientific approach," with the hope of elevating the field's reputation among the scientific community.<ref name="cossins-2013">
{{Cite journal
|title = Monster Hunting 2.0
|journal = [[The Scientist (magazine)|The Scientist]]
|date = February 2013
|last = Cossins
|first = Dan
|url = http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-2876303801.html
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130512231832/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-2876303801.html
|url-status = dead
|archive-date = 2013-05-12
}} {{subscription required}}
</ref> Upon announcing plans to start the new journal, Shuker had expressed "hope that cryptozoological researchers will submit papers to the journal that are totally worthy of publication in mainstream zoological journals but which may not be accepted by them simply because their subject is cryptozoological."<ref name="mongabay-2012" /> Remarking that many newly discovered or rediscovered species begin as cryptids, Shuker believes that the field of cryptozoology is at a disadvantage, noting "as soon as one of its subjects is confirmed to be real, it is no longer cryptozoological but zoological instead."<ref name="mongabay-2012" />