Ivan T. Sanderson
Encyclopedia
Ivan Terence Sanderson was a naturalist and writer born in Edinburgh
, Scotland
, who became a naturalized citizen of the United States
. Sanderson is remembered for his nature writing and his interest in cryptozoology
and paranormal
subjects.
professionally, was killed by a rhinoceros
while assisting a documentary film crew in Kenya in 1925.
As a teenager, Sanderson attended Eton College
, and, at 17 years old, began a yearlong trip around the world, focusing mostly on Asia. Sanderson earned a B.A. in zoology
, with honors, from Cambridge University, where he later earned M.A. degrees in botany
and geology
. On a New York area radio talk show on WFMU in 1965, he said he had "three PhD's", but did not elaborate. (recording available).
He became famous as the most credible witness to see a Kongamato
, after being attacked by a creature he described as "the Granddaddy of all bats". This encounter occurred when he had shot a fruit bat
that toppled into the water. He went to retrieve his catch but was warned by his partner to duck. He described the following events:
"Then I let out a shout also and instantly bobbed down under the water, because, coming straight at me only a few feet above the water was a black thing the size of an eagle. I had only a glimpse of its face, yet that was quite sufficient, for its lower jaw hung open and bore a semicircle of pointed white teeth set about their own width apart from each other. When I emerged, it was gone. ... And just before it became too dark to see, it came again, hurtling back down the river, its teeth chattering, the air "shss-shssing" as it was cleft by the great, black, dracula-like wings."
Sanderson conducted a number of expeditions as a teenager and young man into tropical areas
in the 1920s and 1930s, gaining fame for his animal collecting as well as his popular writings on nature and travel.
During World War II, Sanderson worked for British Naval Intelligence, in charge of counter-espionage against the Germans in the Caribbean, then for British Security Coordination
, finally finishing out the war as a press agent in New York City. Afterwards, Sanderson made New York his home and became a naturalized U.S. citizen. In the 1960s Sanderson made his home at 33 Ivan Road in Knowlton Township located in rural northwestern New Jersey, where he owned approximately 8 acres. He later lived in apartment #516 in the Whitby building on West 45th Street in Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen until his death in 1973.
In 1948 Sanderson began appearing on American radio and television, speaking as a naturalist and displaying animals. In 1951 he appeared with Patty Painter (real name: Patricia Stinnette) on the world's first regularly scheduled color TV series, The World is Yours. This was broadcast in the CBS field-sequential color system developed by Dr. Peter C. Goldmark.
Sanderson's television appearances with animals led to what he termed his “animal business.” Initially Sanderson borrowed or rented animals from zoos in the New York metropolitan area for his TV appearances. In 1950 at a meeting of the National Speleological Society, he met 20-year-old Edgar O. ("Eddie") Schoenenberger, who by 1952 was his assistant (and ultimately partner) in his animal business. Indeed, Schoenenberger ultimately became president of the company, called Animodels, in 1956. Schoenenberger suggested that, instead of "renting" animals, they should purchase and house them, and gain some additional income by displaying them in a zoo. To accomplish this, Sanderson purchased in November 1952 the "Frederick Trench place" a 250-year-old farmhouse, outbuildings and 25 acres (101,171.5 m²) of land a short ways from the ultimate location of the zoo between the communities of Columbia and Hainesburg. He immediately commenced refurbishing and expanding this, while also moving 200 of his rarest animals to a barn nearby so he could keep close watch on them. Then, in the Spring of 1954, he established the zoo itself, "Ivan Sanderson’s Jungle Zoo" (and Laboratory), a permanent, summer, roadside facility along the Delaware River on King Cole Curve on Route 46, in the town limits of Manunka Chunk, White Township, Warren County, New Jersey. It was on land leased from King Cole's, a barbecue restaurant owned by Oscar Smith (now defunct). Sanderson also developed and deployed winter traveling exhibits of rare and unusual animals for sports shows and department stores. A fire on the night of Tuesday or early morning hours of Wednesday, February 2, 1955 destroyed his collection of 45 rare animals kept in a barn at his New Jersey home. Ivan Sanderson's Jungle Zoo was flooded out by the Delaware River during the floods caused by Hurricane Diane on August 19, 1955.
Sanderson would often travel from his New Jersey home to his New York apartment to visit friends and to appear on radio and television programs.
During the 1950s and 1960s, Sanderson was widely published in such journals of popular adventure as True, Sports Afield, and Argosy, as well as in the 1940s in general-interest publications such as the Saturday Evening Post. In the 1950s, Sanderson was a frequent guest on John Nebel's paranormal-themed radio program. He was a frequent guest on The Garry Moore Show
, being one of the first recognized animal researchers on television to bring live specimens on talk shows. As his friend and fellow cryptozoologist Loren Coleman
has remembered in several of Coleman's books, Sanderson's appearances often involved his discussion of cryptozoological topics. Coleman notes that Sanderson could be skeptical. In "Mysterious America," for example, Coleman documents that Sanderson discovered the 1909 "Jersey Devil
" incident was an elaborate real estate hoax.
Sanderson was an early follower of Charles Fort
. Later he became known for writings on topics such as cryptozoology
, a word Sanderson coined in the early 1940s, with special attention to the evidence for lake monsters, sea serpents, Mokèlé-mbèmbé
, giant penguins, Yeti
, and Sasquatch.
Sanderson founded the Ivan T. Sanderson Foundation in August 1965 on his New Jersey property, which became the Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained (SITU) in 1967. SITU was a non-profit organization that investigated strange phenomena ignored by mainstream science.
He died of cancer at his New Jersey residence in 1973.
He died of stomach cancer
in New Jersey, which had become his adopted home.
; Caribbean Treasure, an account of an expedition to Trinidad
, Haiti
, and Dutch Guyana (now Suriname
), begun in late 1936 and ending in late 1938; and Living Treasure, an account of an expedition to Jamaica
, British Honduras
(now Belize
) and the Yucatan
.
Illustrated with Sanderson's drawings, they are well-written and humorous accounts of his scientific expeditions, and anticipate later works by writer-naturalists such as Gerald Durrell
. Unlike Durrell, who collected animals for zoos, Sanderson collected animals for museums and scientific institutions, and included detailed studies of their behaviors and environments. He also killed some for study. Sanderson's behavioral observations in the animals' natural environments were invaluable: much of what was known at that time concerning "exotic" species was based solely upon the examination of dead and preserved specimens.
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, who became a naturalized citizen of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Sanderson is remembered for his nature writing and his interest in cryptozoology
Cryptozoology
Cryptozoology refers to the search for animals whose existence has not been proven...
and paranormal
Paranormal
Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...
subjects.
Biography
Born in Scotland, Sanderson traveled widely in his youth. His father, who manufactured whiskyWhisky
Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Different grains are used for different varieties, including barley, malted barley, rye, malted rye, wheat, and corn...
professionally, was killed by a rhinoceros
Rhinoceros
Rhinoceros , also known as rhino, is a group of five extant species of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. Two of these species are native to Africa and three to southern Asia....
while assisting a documentary film crew in Kenya in 1925.
As a teenager, Sanderson attended Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
, and, at 17 years old, began a yearlong trip around the world, focusing mostly on Asia. Sanderson earned a B.A. in 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...
, with honors, from Cambridge University, where he later earned M.A. degrees in botany
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
and geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
. On a New York area radio talk show on WFMU in 1965, he said he had "three PhD's", but did not elaborate. (recording available).
He became famous as the most credible witness to see a Kongamato
Kongamato
The Kongamato is a reported pterosaur-like creature said to have been seen by natives and explorers in the Mwinilunga district's Jiundu swamps of Western Zambia, Angola and Congo...
, after being attacked by a creature he described as "the Granddaddy of all bats". This encounter occurred when he had shot a fruit bat
Fruit Bat
Fruit Bat can refer to:* Megabats, a species of bat which eats fruit* Les "Fruitbat" Carter, guitarist of Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine* Fruit Bats , an American band...
that toppled into the water. He went to retrieve his catch but was warned by his partner to duck. He described the following events:
"Then I let out a shout also and instantly bobbed down under the water, because, coming straight at me only a few feet above the water was a black thing the size of an eagle. I had only a glimpse of its face, yet that was quite sufficient, for its lower jaw hung open and bore a semicircle of pointed white teeth set about their own width apart from each other. When I emerged, it was gone. ... And just before it became too dark to see, it came again, hurtling back down the river, its teeth chattering, the air "shss-shssing" as it was cleft by the great, black, dracula-like wings."
Sanderson conducted a number of expeditions as a teenager and young man into tropical areas
Tropics
The tropics is a region of the Earth surrounding the Equator. It is limited in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere at S; these latitudes correspond to the axial tilt of the Earth...
in the 1920s and 1930s, gaining fame for his animal collecting as well as his popular writings on nature and travel.
During World War II, Sanderson worked for British Naval Intelligence, in charge of counter-espionage against the Germans in the Caribbean, then for British Security Coordination
British Security Coordination
British Security Coordination was a covert organization set up in New York City by the British Secret Intelligence Service in May 1940 upon the authorization of Winston Churchill.-Operation:...
, finally finishing out the war as a press agent in New York City. Afterwards, Sanderson made New York his home and became a naturalized U.S. citizen. In the 1960s Sanderson made his home at 33 Ivan Road in Knowlton Township located in rural northwestern New Jersey, where he owned approximately 8 acres. He later lived in apartment #516 in the Whitby building on West 45th Street in Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen until his death in 1973.
In 1948 Sanderson began appearing on American radio and television, speaking as a naturalist and displaying animals. In 1951 he appeared with Patty Painter (real name: Patricia Stinnette) on the world's first regularly scheduled color TV series, The World is Yours. This was broadcast in the CBS field-sequential color system developed by Dr. Peter C. Goldmark.
Sanderson's television appearances with animals led to what he termed his “animal business.” Initially Sanderson borrowed or rented animals from zoos in the New York metropolitan area for his TV appearances. In 1950 at a meeting of the National Speleological Society, he met 20-year-old Edgar O. ("Eddie") Schoenenberger, who by 1952 was his assistant (and ultimately partner) in his animal business. Indeed, Schoenenberger ultimately became president of the company, called Animodels, in 1956. Schoenenberger suggested that, instead of "renting" animals, they should purchase and house them, and gain some additional income by displaying them in a zoo. To accomplish this, Sanderson purchased in November 1952 the "Frederick Trench place" a 250-year-old farmhouse, outbuildings and 25 acres (101,171.5 m²) of land a short ways from the ultimate location of the zoo between the communities of Columbia and Hainesburg. He immediately commenced refurbishing and expanding this, while also moving 200 of his rarest animals to a barn nearby so he could keep close watch on them. Then, in the Spring of 1954, he established the zoo itself, "Ivan Sanderson’s Jungle Zoo" (and Laboratory), a permanent, summer, roadside facility along the Delaware River on King Cole Curve on Route 46, in the town limits of Manunka Chunk, White Township, Warren County, New Jersey. It was on land leased from King Cole's, a barbecue restaurant owned by Oscar Smith (now defunct). Sanderson also developed and deployed winter traveling exhibits of rare and unusual animals for sports shows and department stores. A fire on the night of Tuesday or early morning hours of Wednesday, February 2, 1955 destroyed his collection of 45 rare animals kept in a barn at his New Jersey home. Ivan Sanderson's Jungle Zoo was flooded out by the Delaware River during the floods caused by Hurricane Diane on August 19, 1955.
Sanderson would often travel from his New Jersey home to his New York apartment to visit friends and to appear on radio and television programs.
During the 1950s and 1960s, Sanderson was widely published in such journals of popular adventure as True, Sports Afield, and Argosy, as well as in the 1940s in general-interest publications such as the Saturday Evening Post. In the 1950s, Sanderson was a frequent guest on John Nebel's paranormal-themed radio program. He was a frequent guest on The Garry Moore Show
The Garry Moore Show
The Garry Moore Show is the name for several separate American variety series on the CBS television network in the 1950s and 1960s. Hosted by experienced radio performer, Garry Moore, the series helped launch the careers of many comedic talents, such as Don Adams, George Gobel, Carol Burnett, Don...
, being one of the first recognized animal researchers on television to bring live specimens on talk shows. As his friend and fellow cryptozoologist Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman
Loren 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:...
has remembered in several of Coleman's books, Sanderson's appearances often involved his discussion of cryptozoological topics. Coleman notes that Sanderson could be skeptical. In "Mysterious America," for example, Coleman documents that Sanderson discovered the 1909 "Jersey Devil
Jersey Devil
The Jersey Devil is a legendary creature or cryptid said to inhabit the Pine Barrens of Southern New Jersey, United States. The creature is often described as a flying biped with hooves, but there are many variations...
" incident was an elaborate real estate hoax.
Sanderson was an early follower of Charles Fort
Charles Fort
Charles Hoy Fort was an American writer and researcher into anomalous phenomena. Today, the terms Fortean and Forteana are used to characterize various such phenomena. Fort's books sold well and are still in print today.-Biography:Charles Hoy Fort was born in 1874 in Albany, New York, of Dutch...
. Later he became known for writings on topics such as cryptozoology
Cryptozoology
Cryptozoology refers to the search for animals whose existence has not been proven...
, a word Sanderson coined in the early 1940s, with special attention to the evidence for lake monsters, sea serpents, Mokèlé-mbèmbé
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...
, giant penguins, 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 Sasquatch.
Sanderson founded the Ivan T. Sanderson Foundation in August 1965 on his New Jersey property, which became the Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained (SITU) in 1967. SITU was a non-profit organization that investigated strange phenomena ignored by mainstream science.
He died of cancer at his New Jersey residence in 1973.
Personal
Sanderson was married twice. His wife Alma accompanied him in the travels discussed in Caribbean Treasure and Living Treasure.He died of stomach cancer
Stomach cancer
Gastric cancer, commonly referred to as stomach cancer, can develop in any part of the stomach and may spread throughout the stomach and to other organs; particularly the esophagus, lungs, lymph nodes, and the liver...
in New Jersey, which had become his adopted home.
Nature writing
Sanderson published three classics of nature writing: Animal Treasure, a report of an expedition to the jungles of then-British West AfricaBritish West Africa
British West Africa was the collective name for British colonies in West Africa during the colonial period, either in the general geographical sense or more specifically those comprised in a formal colonial administrative entity...
; Caribbean Treasure, an account of an expedition to Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
, Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
, and Dutch Guyana (now Suriname
Suriname
Suriname , officially the Republic of Suriname , is a country in northern South America. It borders French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, Brazil to the south, and on the north by the Atlantic Ocean. Suriname was a former colony of the British and of the Dutch, and was previously known as...
), begun in late 1936 and ending in late 1938; and Living Treasure, an account of an expedition to Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, British Honduras
British Honduras
British Honduras was a British colony that is now the independent nation of Belize.First colonised by Spaniards in the 17th century, the territory on the east coast of Central America, south of Mexico, became a British crown colony from 1862 until 1964, when it became self-governing. Belize became...
(now Belize
Belize
Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...
) and the Yucatan
Yucatán
Yucatán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Yucatán is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 106 municipalities and its capital city is Mérida....
.
Illustrated with Sanderson's drawings, they are well-written and humorous accounts of his scientific expeditions, and anticipate later works by writer-naturalists such as Gerald Durrell
Gerald Durrell
Gerald "Gerry" Malcolm Durrell, OBE was a naturalist, zookeeper, conservationist, author and television presenter...
. Unlike Durrell, who collected animals for zoos, Sanderson collected animals for museums and scientific institutions, and included detailed studies of their behaviors and environments. He also killed some for study. Sanderson's behavioral observations in the animals' natural environments were invaluable: much of what was known at that time concerning "exotic" species was based solely upon the examination of dead and preserved specimens.
Nature/travel
- Green silence: Travels through the jungles of the Orient, D. McKay Co., 1974, ISBN 0-679-50487-7.
- Animal Treasure, The Viking PressViking PressViking Press is an American publishing company owned by the Penguin Group, which has owned the company since 1975. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim...
, September 1937, hardback; Pyramid BooksPyramid BooksJove Books, formerly Pyramid Books, is a paperback publishing company, founded in 1949 by Almat Magazine Publishers . The company was sold to the Walter Reade Organization in the late 1960s. It was acquired in 1974 by Harcourt Brace which renamed it to Jove in 1977 and continued the line as an...
, July 1966, paperback. - Ivan Sanderson's Book of Great Jungles, Julian Messner, 1965, hardback.
- Caribbean Treasure, The Viking Press, November 1939, hardback, ISBN 0-670-20479-X; Pyramid Books, November 1965, paperback, second printing July 1966.
- Living Treasure, The Viking Press, April 1941, hardback, second printing April 1945; Pyramid Books, September 1965, paperback.
- The Dynasty of Abu a History and Natural History of the elephants and Their Relatives Past and Present, Alfred A. KnopfAlfred A. KnopfAlfred A. Knopf, Inc. is a New York publishing house, founded by Alfred A. Knopf, Sr. in 1915. It was acquired by Random House in 1960 and is now part of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group at Random House. The publishing house is known for its borzoi trademark , which was designed by co-founder...
, 1962, hardback. - The Continent We Live On, Random HouseRandom HouseRandom House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
, 1961. - Living mammals of the world in color: A treasury of real-life, natural-color photographs and complete up-to-date, accurate description of 189 mammals, Hanover House, 1958.
- Follow the Whale, Little Brown, 1956, hardback.
- How to Know the American Mammals, Little, Brown and CompanyLittle, Brown and CompanyLittle, Brown and Company is a publishing house established by Charles Coffin Little and his partner, James Brown. Since 2006 it has been a constituent unit of Hachette Book Group USA.-19th century:...
, 1951, hardback.
Paranormal subjects
- Things and More Things (essays), combined and reprinted by Adventures Unlimited Press, 2007, paperback, ISBN 1-931882-78-9
- Abominable Snowmen: Legend Come to Life: The Story Of Sub-Humans On Five Continents From The Early Ice Age Until Today, Adventures Unlimited Press, 2006, paperback, ISBN 1-931882-58-4.
- Invisible Residents: The Reality of Underwater UFOs, with David Hatcher ChildressDavid Hatcher ChildressDavid Hatcher Childress is an American author and publisher of books on topics on alternative history and historical revisionism. His works cover such subjects as pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact, Atlantis, Lemuria, Ancient Astronauts, UFOs, Nikola Tesla, the Knights Templar, lost cities and...
, Adventures Unlimited Press, 2005, paperback, ISBN 1-931882-20-7. - Vimana Aircraft of Ancient India and Atlantis, with David Hatcher ChildressDavid Hatcher ChildressDavid Hatcher Childress is an American author and publisher of books on topics on alternative history and historical revisionism. His works cover such subjects as pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact, Atlantis, Lemuria, Ancient Astronauts, UFOs, Nikola Tesla, the Knights Templar, lost cities and...
, Adventures Unlimited Press, 1992, paperback, ISBN 0-932813-12-7. - Investigating the Unexplained (essays) Prentice HallPrentice HallPrentice Hall is a major educational publisher. It is an imprint of Pearson Education, Inc., based in Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, USA. Prentice Hall publishes print and digital content for the 6-12 and higher-education market. Prentice Hall distributes its technical titles through the Safari...
, 1972, hardback, ISBN 0-13-502229-0. - More Things (essays), Pyramid Books, 1969, paperback.
- Uninvited Visitors: A Biologist Looks At UFOs, Cowles Education Corporation, 1967, hardback.
- Things (essays), Pyramid BooksPyramid BooksJove Books, formerly Pyramid Books, is a paperback publishing company, founded in 1949 by Almat Magazine Publishers . The company was sold to the Walter Reade Organization in the late 1960s. It was acquired in 1974 by Harcourt Brace which renamed it to Jove in 1977 and continued the line as an...
, 1967, paperback.