Roy Mackal
Encyclopedia
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.
, in 1925, Mackal served in the United States Marine Corps
during World War II
before attending the University of Chicago, where he received his B.S. in 1949 and his PhD in 1953. He would spend the rest of his academic career with Chicago as an instructor and researcher until retiring in 1990. Much of his early research with the university was in biochemistry
and virology
, and during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, he contributed to the university’s influential “virus project,” studying bacteriophage
s and the lysogenic cycle. He later served as a professor of zoology
.
in 1965, he took a trip to the Scottish Highlands
and met several members of the Loch Ness Investigation Bureau, who were monitoring the loch in observation vans in hopes of seeing the creature(s). Fascinated by their work, Mackal began monitoring the waters himself and, after raising money in America, he became the scientific director for the project, a position he held until 1975. During this time, the LNIB conducted sonar
probes of the waters near Urquhart Bay and installed underwater strobe cameras with the hopes of providing evidence of the Loch Ness Monster(s). Mackal also designed a “biopsy
harpoon,” a dart-like contraption he attached to a submarine
in order to collect tissue samples from the alleged creature.
The team never had an opportunity to use the biopsy harpoons, and though they did acquire some sonar signals suggestive of large objects in the loch, along with some tantalizing photographs allegedly showing a flipper, they were unable to provide any conclusive evidence that the monster(s) existed. However, Mackal himself was convinced that something lived beneath the waters after recording his own sighting of the creature in 1970, and in his 1976 book The Monsters of Loch Ness, he suggested that a population of large, previously-unknown amphibian
s were living in the loch. (Although Mackal has since changed his mind and now believes that the creatures are zeuglodons, serpentine whale
s believed to have gone extinct several million years ago.)
, an alleged living dinosaur
in the Likouala
swamp region of the Republic of Congo. Accompanied by University of Arizona
ecologist
Richard Greenwell
and Congolese biologist Marcellin Agnagna, Mackal undertook two expeditions, the first in 1980 and the second in 1981, to find and photograph the creature. Mackal himself did not actually see the creature, but he and his colleagues did collect multiple firsthand reports from Congo natives, who, according to Mackal, consistently described a creature similar to a long-necked sauropod. During his interviews with the natives, Mackal also heard anecdotes about the Emela-ntouka
, another possible living dinosaur which supposedly resembles a Monoclonius
or Centrosaurus
, the Mbielu-Mbielu-Mbielu
that resembles a Kentrosaurus
, and the snake- or lizardlike Nguma-monene
.
In 1987, Mackal wrote a book about his adventures in the Likouala swamps called A Living Dinosaur? In Search of Mokele-Mbembe. He had tried to obtain funds for a third expedition to the region, but his plans were never realized, and the mystery of the Congolese “living dinosaurs” remains unsolved.
, the systematic study of “hidden animals,” like Nessie
and Mokele-mbembe
, along with Bigfoot
, the Yeti
, and others, which are not recognized by mainstream science. Along with Richard Greenwell and Belgian
zoologist
Bernard Heuvelmans
, he was one of the founding members of the International Society for Cryptozoology
, which was created in 1982 at the National Museum of Natural History
in Washington, D.C.
, with the hopes of bringing a degree of respectability to what is often seen as a pseudoscience
. The organization published a quarterly newsletter and an annual journal, and members met annually at meetings held at universities throughout the world. Mackal was the ISC’s vice-president for the entirety of its existence, although the organization gradually folded in the early 21st century due to lack of funding and the deaths of Heuvelmans and Greenwell.
Mackal has said of his interest in cryptozoology, “I admit that my own views are tinged with some romanticism, but certainly not to the extent that I would endure extreme hardship, even risk my life, to pursue a dream with no basis in reality” .
Mackal has also written multiple articles that have been published in scientific journals, including the following:
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
biologist
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
best known to the general public for his interest in the Loch Ness Monster
Loch Ness Monster
The Loch Ness Monster is a cryptid that is reputed to inhabit Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It is similar to other supposed lake monsters in Scotland and elsewhere, though its description varies from one account to the next....
and other cryptozoological
Cryptozoology
Cryptozoology refers to the search for animals whose existence has not been proven...
entities.
Academic background
Born in Milwaukee, WisconsinMilwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
, in 1925, Mackal served in the United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
before attending the University of Chicago, where he received his B.S. in 1949 and his PhD in 1953. He would spend the rest of his academic career with Chicago as an instructor and researcher until retiring in 1990. Much of his early research with the university was in biochemistry
Biochemistry
Biochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes in living organisms, including, but not limited to, living matter. Biochemistry governs all living organisms and living processes...
and virology
Virology
Virology is the study of viruses and virus-like agents: their structure, classification and evolution, their ways to infect and exploit cells for virus reproduction, the diseases they cause, the techniques to isolate and culture them, and their use in research and therapy...
, and during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, he contributed to the university’s influential “virus project,” studying bacteriophage
Bacteriophage
A bacteriophage is any one of a number of viruses that infect bacteria. They do this by injecting genetic material, which they carry enclosed in an outer protein capsid...
s and the lysogenic cycle. He later served as a professor of zoology
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
.
Investigations at Loch Ness
Mackal began his serious research into the Loch Ness Monster phenomenon during the 1960s. While vacationing in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1965, he took a trip to the Scottish Highlands
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...
and met several members of the Loch Ness Investigation Bureau, who were monitoring the loch in observation vans in hopes of seeing the creature(s). Fascinated by their work, Mackal began monitoring the waters himself and, after raising money in America, he became the scientific director for the project, a position he held until 1975. During this time, the LNIB conducted sonar
Sonar
Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...
probes of the waters near Urquhart Bay and installed underwater strobe cameras with the hopes of providing evidence of the Loch Ness Monster(s). Mackal also designed a “biopsy
Biopsy
A biopsy is a medical test involving sampling of cells or tissues for examination. It is the medical removal of tissue from a living subject to determine the presence or extent of a disease. The tissue is generally examined under a microscope by a pathologist, and can also be analyzed chemically...
harpoon,” a dart-like contraption he attached to a submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
in order to collect tissue samples from the alleged creature.
The team never had an opportunity to use the biopsy harpoons, and though they did acquire some sonar signals suggestive of large objects in the loch, along with some tantalizing photographs allegedly showing a flipper, they were unable to provide any conclusive evidence that the monster(s) existed. However, Mackal himself was convinced that something lived beneath the waters after recording his own sighting of the creature in 1970, and in his 1976 book The Monsters of Loch Ness, he suggested that a population of large, previously-unknown amphibian
Amphibian
Amphibians , are a class of vertebrate animals including animals such as toads, frogs, caecilians, and salamanders. They are characterized as non-amniote ectothermic tetrapods...
s were living in the loch. (Although Mackal has since changed his mind and now believes that the creatures are zeuglodons, serpentine whale
Whale
Whale is the common name for various marine mammals of the order Cetacea. The term whale sometimes refers to all cetaceans, but more often it excludes dolphins and porpoises, which belong to suborder Odontoceti . This suborder also includes the sperm whale, killer whale, pilot whale, and beluga...
s believed to have gone extinct several million years ago.)
Mokele-mbembe
During the 1980s, Mackal turned his attention to another legendary creature, the Mokele-mbembeMokèlé-mbèmbé
Mokèlé-mbèmbé, meaning "one who stops the flow of rivers" in the Lingala language, is the name given to a large water-dwelling cryptid found in legends and folklore of the Congo River basin. It is sometimes described as a living creature and sometimes as a spirit. It could be considered loosely...
, an alleged living dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
in the Likouala
Likouala Region
Likouala is a department of the Republic of the Congo in the northern part of the country. It borders the departments of Cuvette and Sangha, and internationally, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic. The region has an area of 66,044 km² and an estimated...
swamp region of the Republic of Congo. Accompanied by 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...
ecologist
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
Richard Greenwell
Richard Greenwell
J. Richard Greenwell was a renowned cryptozoologist and explorer. During his lifetime he participated in many expeditions to look for mysterious creatures or cryptids...
and Congolese biologist Marcellin Agnagna, Mackal undertook two expeditions, the first in 1980 and the second in 1981, to find and photograph the creature. Mackal himself did not actually see the creature, but he and his colleagues did collect multiple firsthand reports from Congo natives, who, according to Mackal, consistently described a creature similar to a long-necked sauropod. During his interviews with the natives, Mackal also heard anecdotes about the Emela-ntouka
Emela-ntouka
The Emela-ntouka is an African legendary creature in the mythology of the Pygmy tribes, and a cryptid purported to live in Central Africa. Its name means "killer of the elephants" in the Lingala language...
, another possible living dinosaur which supposedly resembles a Monoclonius
Monoclonius
Monoclonius was a ceratopsian dinosaur from the Judith River Formation of Late Cretaceous Montana and Canada. It is often confused with Centrosaurus, a similar genus of ceratopsian . Monoclonius was described by Edward Drinker Cope in 1876...
or Centrosaurus
Centrosaurus
Centrosaurus is a genus of herbivorous ceratopsian dinosaurs from the late Cretaceous of Canada. Their remains have been found in the Dinosaur Park Formation and uppermost Oldman Formation, dating from 76.5 to 75.5 million years ago....
, the Mbielu-Mbielu-Mbielu
Mbielu-Mbielu-Mbielu
The Mbielu-Mbielu-Mbielu is a cryptid reported from the Likouala Region of the Republic of the Congo. Only a few claimed sightings have been reported, at the villages of Bounila and Ebolo, which were collected by the cryptozoologist Roy Mackal...
that resembles a Kentrosaurus
Kentrosaurus
Kentrosaurus is a genus of stegosaurid dinosaur from the Late Jurassic of Tanzania. Its fossils have been found only in the Tendaguru Formation of Tanzania, dated to the Kimmeridgian stage, between about 155.7 ± 4 Ma and 150.8 ± 4 Ma . Apparently, all finds belong to one species, K...
, and the snake- or lizardlike Nguma-monene
Nguma-monene
Nguma-monene is a cryptid supposedly living in the Republic of Congo, described as being like a large lizard with a serrated ridge on its back.-Sightings:...
.
In 1987, Mackal wrote a book about his adventures in the Likouala swamps called A Living Dinosaur? In Search of Mokele-Mbembe. He had tried to obtain funds for a third expedition to the region, but his plans were never realized, and the mystery of the Congolese “living dinosaurs” remains unsolved.
Cryptozoologist
Mackal is widely considered to be one of the seminal figures in cryptozoologyCryptozoology
Cryptozoology refers to the search for animals whose existence has not been proven...
, the systematic study of “hidden animals,” like Nessie
NESSIE
NESSIE was a European research project funded from 2000–2003 to identify secure cryptographic primitives. The project was comparable to the NIST AES process and the Japanese Government-sponsored CRYPTREC project, but with notable differences from both...
and Mokele-mbembe
Mokèlé-mbèmbé
Mokèlé-mbèmbé, meaning "one who stops the flow of rivers" in the Lingala language, is the name given to a large water-dwelling cryptid found in legends and folklore of the Congo River basin. It is sometimes described as a living creature and sometimes as a spirit. It could be considered loosely...
, along with Bigfoot
Bigfoot
Bigfoot, also known as sasquatch, is an ape-like cryptid that purportedly inhabits forests, mainly in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. Bigfoot is usually described as a large, hairy, bipedal humanoid...
, the Yeti
Yeti
The Yeti or Abominable Snowman is an ape-like cryptid said to inhabit the Himalayan region of Nepal, and Tibet. The names Yeti and Meh-Teh are commonly used by the people indigenous to the region, and are part of their history and mythology...
, and others, which are not recognized by mainstream science. Along with Richard Greenwell and Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
zoologist
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
Bernard Heuvelmans
Bernard Heuvelmans
Bernard Heuvelmans was a Belgian-French scientist, explorer, researcher, and a writer probably best known as "the father of cryptozoology"...
, he was one of the founding members of the International Society for Cryptozoology
International Society for Cryptozoology
-History:The International Society of Cryptozoology was founded in 1982 in Washington, D.C. to serve as a scholarly center for documenting and evaluating evidence of unverified animals; that is, animal species or forms which have been reported in some manner but which have not been scientifically...
, which was created in 1982 at the National Museum of Natural History
National Museum of Natural History
The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. Admission is free and the museum is open 364 days a year....
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, with the hopes of bringing a degree of respectability to what is often seen as a pseudoscience
Pseudoscience
Pseudoscience is a claim, belief, or practice which is presented as scientific, but which does not adhere to a valid scientific method, lacks supporting evidence or plausibility, cannot be reliably tested, or otherwise lacks scientific status...
. The organization published a quarterly newsletter and an annual journal, and members met annually at meetings held at universities throughout the world. Mackal was the ISC’s vice-president for the entirety of its existence, although the organization gradually folded in the early 21st century due to lack of funding and the deaths of Heuvelmans and Greenwell.
Mackal has said of his interest in cryptozoology, “I admit that my own views are tinged with some romanticism, but certainly not to the extent that I would endure extreme hardship, even risk my life, to pursue a dream with no basis in reality” .
Notable works
- Mackal, Roy. The Monsters of Loch Ness. Chicago: The Swallow Press, 1976. ISBN 0-8040-0704-7
- ---Searching for Hidden Animals. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1980. ISBN 0-385-14897-6
- ---A Living Dinosaur? In Search of Mokele-Mbembe. New York: E.J. Brill, 1987. ISBN 90-04-08543-2
Mackal has also written multiple articles that have been published in scientific journals, including the following:
- Mackal, R.P. and L.M. Kozloff. “Biochemical studies of virus reproduction. XII. The fate of bacteriophage T7”. Journal of Biological ChemistryJournal of Biological ChemistryThe Journal of Biological Chemistry is a weekly peer-reviewed scientific journal that was established in 1905. Since 1925 it is published by the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. It covers research in any area of biochemistry or molecular biology. The editor-in-chief is...
209 (1954): 83-90. - Mackal, R.P., J.F. O’Donnell and E.A. Evans, Jr. “An analysis of the acid-soluble fraction of normal and T2r-infected cells of Escherichia coli, strain B”. Journal of Biological Chemistry 233 (1958): 1523-7.
- Mackal, R.P., R. Koppelman, R. Timmons, and E.A. Evans, Jr. “Biochemical studies of lysogeny”. Journal of Biological Chemistry 235 (1960): 175-80.
- Mackal, R.P., F. Meyer, Tao M., and E.A. Evans, Jr. “Infectious deoxyribonucleic acid from gamma bacteriophage”. Journal of Biological Chemistry 236 (1961): 1141-3.
- Mackal, R.P., E. Brody, L. Coleman, B. Werninghaus, and E.A. Evans, Jr. “Properties of infectious deoxyribonucleic acid from T1 and lambda bacteriophage”. Journal of Biological Chemistry 239 (1964): 285-9.
- Mackal, R.P., B. Werninghaus, and E.A. Evans, Jr. “The formation of lambda bacteriophage by lambda DNA in disrupted cell preparations”. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 51 (1964): 1172-8.
- Mackal, R.P., E. Brody, and E.A. Evans, Jr. “Properties of infectious T1 deoxyribonucleic acid”. Journal of VirologyJournal of VirologyThe Journal of Virology is an academic journal that covers research concerning viruses, using cross-disciplinary approaches including biochemistry, biophysics, cell and molecular biology, genetics, immunology, morphology, physiology and pathogenesis...
1 (1967):76-85. - Mackal, R.P., B.I. Weinstein, B. Werninghaus, and E.A. Evans, Jr. “Studies of DNA-infected disrupted cell preparations”. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 62 (1969): 420-7.
- Mackal, R.P., B.I. Weinstein, B. Werninghaus, and E.A. Evans, Jr. “Bacteriophage formation in disrupted cell preparations”. Virology 43 (1971): 185-97.
- Mackal, R.P., B. Werninghaus, and E.A. Evans, Jr. “Origin of DNA and protein in lambda DNA infected disrupted cell preparations”. Biochemical and Biophysical Research CommunicationsBiochemical and Biophysical Research CommunicationsBiochemical and Biophysical Research Communications is a peer-reviewed academic journal in the field of biochemistry and biophysics. Founded in 1959, the journal is published weekly by Elsevier under the Academic Press imprint. As of 2008, the Editor-in-Chief is William J...
42 (1971): 89-96. - Mackal, R.P., B. Werninghaus, and E.A. Evans, Jr. “Infectious DNA preparations from T2 and T4 bacteriophages”. Virology 46 (1971): 192-9.
- Mackal, Roy P., J. Richard Greenwell, and M. Justin Wilkinson. “The Search for Evidence of Mokele-mbembe in the People’s Republic of the Congo”. CryptozoologyCryptozoologyCryptozoology refers to the search for animals whose existence has not been proven...
1 (1982): 62-72.
See also
- Adams, Russell B., et al. Mysterious Creatures. Morristown, New Jersey: Time-Life, 1988. ISBN 0-8094-6332-6
- Clark, JeromeJerome ClarkJerome Clark is an American researcher and writer, specializing in unidentified flying objects and other anomalous phenomena; he is also a songwriter of some note....
. Unexplained! Farmington Hills, Michigan: Visible Ink Press, 1999. ISBN 1-57859-070-1 - Coleman, LorenLoren ColemanLoren 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:...
and Jerome Clark. Cryptozoology A to Z. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1999. ISBN 0-684-85602-6
External links
- Profile and photograph at Cryptozoological Realms
- PubMed, provides access to some of Mackal’s scientific papers