Magiczoology in the Americas
The discovery of the New World was one celebrated not only by Muggles, but by the magical community as well. When the first witches and wizards first set foot on this new continent, they had no idea what would come from it. They thought not only of Magical Creatures, but also new discoveries in Herbology, Potions, wandmaking, even what could be learned about magic from the natives already living there. The world of magic had changed forever.
One of the things that made Magiczoology so interesting in its early days was the fact that much of it had to be learned at a certain level of urgency as opposed to a more laid back, observational technique. New territories were being settled into and homesteads were being built, but every new occurrence was a scare, because it was all so unknown. Witches and wizards wanted these new creatures discovered and documented, and they wanted it done immediately.
And for all the academic texts listing European names as being the ones to discover certain species in the Americas, most of them are lies. While the witches and wizard may have been the first people from their homelands to see these creatures, the native peoples of wherever they had gone had already known full well that these ‘newly discovered’ creatures existed, and in some cases, for many, many years. But, as with many aspects of American history, anything that was already know by the native populations was either ignored or dismissed as pure myth.
It is seen as quite idiotic in this modern age, seeing as how eager the wizarding population was to learn as much about these new lands as possible. It can even be considered sad, because lives have been lost in the past due to these pigheaded attitudes. One famous case proving this took place in New Orleans in 1893 when a strange new creature caused the deaths of several dozen men. Eventually, it was proven that these killings were the doings of a sole Deer Woman wandering loose in the city (a creature that several tribes spanning from the Great Plains to the Pacific Northwest had know about for many years).
Even today, new species are being discovered all across the Western Hemisphere. The Amazon rainforests still yield many new discoveries of creatures, both magical and mundane, and the deep oceans are worlds onto themselves, with humans only having a small window into what life forms exist below the surface. There may even be lands out there that have yet to be discovered, possibly providing us with infinitely more ecosystems of creatures. The discovery of the creatures all around our homes has already proven that the subject of Magical Creatures has changed and will continue to change.
And so that brings us here. The knowledge we already possess about Magical Creatures, their habits and habitats, and how they survive among us. Witches and wizards use what has been discovered, not so much to memorize what it is we already know, but to use said knowledge in order to expand our own understanding of the world and delve deeper into what may be out there.
Why Magicizoology Matters
I could write on and on about the subject of Magiczoology, but none of it would mean anything if those who read it and don’t even understand why they are learning about it. It is an eternal question, one that many students have used to try and get out of their class work. It is one I have pondered over myself, even before I began to teach.
As said in the previous section, learning about any given subject is not done for the simple sake of memorizing what some dead old man discovered hundreds of years ago. We use what we learn because it serves as a basis to take us further, and not just in the subject of Magical Creatures. Many new species have been found because Magiczoologist knew the habitation patterns of Creatures already knows to the wizarding world. And from those discoveries, even more species yet were discovered, spreading out further and further into the rest of the world.
Not that learning what has been already been discovered is not important in and of itself. Much of what is taught about the care of Magical Creatures is practical in nature. We study the habits and needs of Magical Creatures in an attempt to learn how to coexist and help one another. Essentially, humans and creature hold the same desires in life: survival and preservation of future generation.
And just as we care for the preservation of Magical Creatures into the generations to come, I am certain that creatures desire us to survive as well. The world is made up of connections to one another. If one falls, we all fall. It is the simple law of balance that holds us together, but also what will be able to break us apart.
Care of Magical Creatures and the lessons we learn from it teach us not only about feeding habits and other such practices, but more so how to preserve the world we live in for our children, and their children, and their children’s children. This is a book filled with lessons not just on creatures, but on survival.
Classifications
The universal system of classification set forth by Offices of Regulation and Control of Magical Beasts all over the world has been essential in classifying all manners of beasts and beings. And as a former teacher, I can speak from experience that the average student will spend about 1.3 seconds reading a page in their textbooks. This useful system has been proven effective even for the most attention defective witches and wizards. There are five categories as follows:
Department of Magic (D.O.M.) Classification
Being___________Classified as worthy of equal rights / does not have a D.O.M. Classification
XXXXX__________Known wizard killer / impossible to train or domesticate
XXXX___________Dangerous / requires specialist knowledge / skilled wizard may handle
XXX____________Competent wizard should cope
XX_____________Harmless / may be domesticated
X______________Boring
Remember, not every creature in the world can be neatly fit into these tight little categories. Some creatures will have special notations next to their ratings further explaining this.