PORTLAND, Maine --A proposed $1 million reward for evidence leading to the live capture of Bigfoot, the abominable snowman or the Loch Ness Monster has been withdrawn even before it was formally offered.

Loren Coleman, a Portland author and cryptozoologist, had said details would be released at a symposium at Bates College later this month.

Instead, Coleman announced Tuesday evening that Wizards of the Coast, which produces the Duel Masters Trading Card Game, pulled the plug. The Hasbro Toys subsidiary feared someone could get hurt in the frenzy to find and photograph one of the creatures, he said.

"The media story on this bounty has caused an unprecedented worldwide frenzy in which, apparently, Duel Masters felt a monster hunter could have gotten badly hurt in the race for the million dollar bounty. No one wants that," Coleman said.

Rather than offering a reward for the capture of one the critters, Wizards of the Coast's Duel Masters is launching a contest starting next week for either photos of creatures or evidence of creatures, such as footprints. The grand prize: $5,000.

The photo contest, which is part of Duel Masters' Creature Appreciation Week, will be launched on Oct. 24, and it will run through February.

"Entries are expected to range from actual photos of Bigfoot and lake monsters to mysterious footprints found out in the yard and blurry photos of pet llamas," the company said in a press release announcing the contest.

Despite the tongue-in-cheek tone of the contest, Coleman is a dedicated scientist who has been studying and researching creatures such as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster and Yeti, aka the abominable snowman, for nearly 40 years.

The retired University of Southern Maine faculty member will be the keynote speaker at the upcoming Bates College Cryptozoology Symposium at Bates College in Lewiston.

Also see: Big money offered for photo of creature