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  some undiscovered species of ape-man.

  9

  Tasmanian Tiger

  The thylacine was a carnivorous marsupial originally found in Australia and New Guinea. The

  animal resembled a wolf or dingo with striped hind-quarters, a long tail, and jaws which

  could open to a huge angle. It is more commonly called the Tasmanian Wolf or Tasmanian

  Tiger. By the time English settlers made it to Australia the animal was thought to be extinct

  on the mainland and in New Guinea, with specimens only found on the small island of

  Tasmania.

  Once settlements on Tasmania became more established however the Tasmanian Tiger

  began to be blamed for attacks on sheep and other livestock and so was hunted and shot by

  farmers. Numbers began to reduce dramatically; this human persecution was combined

  with the destruction of their habitat and competition from wild dogs. Such was their decline

  that by 1933 it was believed that there were no more Tasmanian Tigers in the wild and the

  last remaining specimen died in a zoo in 1936.

  So far this is a sadly familiar story; just another example of man’s impact on an environment

  resulting in an entire species becoming extinct just like the dodo. However the Tasmanian

  Tiger has a twist in the tale. In short, the animal may have survived its own extinction.

  Amazingly, since 1936 nearly 4,000 unconfirmed sightings of the Tasmanian Tiger have been

  reported on the Australian mainland. Scientists have been unable to secure any tangible,

  physical evidence that the animal has survived, but the reports continue to be received.

  One of the older but more enduring sightings was in 1973 when Liz and Gary Doyle shot

  some grainy footage of an animal running across in front of them. The animal runs like a

  dog, but the tail is clearly very long and there appears to be stripes on its back end. The

  footage is far from good quality and it has been unable to be verified. It is at least suggestive

  however.

  Sightings in the 1980s by official researchers led the Australian government to take the case

  of the Tasmanian Tiger more seriously. They invested in a year long search for the animal

  but without any success. Despite this, photographs and reports continued to surface on a

  regular basis throughout the eighties and nineties. There were even reports from New

  Guinea that the animal had been seen on a regular basis on the island in its original habitat.

  Research and studies continue into the modern day. A hardcore group of enthusiasts

  continue to search for evidence of the creature with patrols in sighting hotspots, tracking

  expeditions and the detailed collation of reports from members of the public. These groups

  continue to insist that with the number of reports already received it is only a matter of

  time before real evidence of the animal’s survival is uncovered.

  The story of the Tasmanian Tiger is slightly different from some of the ones we have seen so

  far in that we know that the animal is definitively real. Although there is still no conclusive

  proof that the animal has survived, there is still some significant doubt as to whether the

  species may have managed to survive somewhere within the vast, uninhabited expanses of

  the Australian wilderness.

  10

  Fairies

  For many people fairies are little more than the stuff of childhood stories. These mystical

  beings are invariably depicted in modern literature as tiny, human like figures with wings

  and the ability to cast magic spells. But these little creatures have a long and intriguing

  history.

  The term fairy was traditionally used to describe a variety of magical creatures, and over the

  ages the legend became altered and embellished from country to country. For this reason

  their description varies and the creatures are seen as everything from fallen angels through

  to spirits of trees or rivers. Others tales saw them as spirits of the dead or even goddesses.

  Traditionally fairies were seen, in part at least, as malevolent beings. They were known to

  take human babies and leave their own babies behind or even kidnap adults. A whole

  mythology grew up around magical charms and spells that people should use to protect

  themselves from the magic of fairies. It was the Victorians who adapted these various

  versions of fairies into the more benevolent image which we are familiar with today. During

  the late nineteenth century genuine fairy-stories became popular once again amongst

  children and adults alike.

  It was perhaps this renewed attention on the creatures that led to the most famous case of

  “real-life fairies”. In 1920, a series of five photographs were published by Sherlock Holmes

  creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The pictures had been taken by two young girls, Elsie

  Wright and Frances Griffiths, in the English village of Cottingley, Yorkshire. The photographs

  were of excellent quality and appeared to show the girls interacting and posing in their

  garden with small, winged fairies.

  Two of the photographs were taken in 1917 by the girls who claimed that they often went

  to the end of the garden to play with the fairies. These creatures would not appear when

  other people were watching so they had borrowed a camera to prove their existence.

  Experts were called in to examine the evidence. They declared that the plates had not been

  tampered with, and that the photographs “showed whatever was in front of the camera at

  the time”.

  A further three photographs were provided by the girls. This time on marked plates that

  could not be tampered with. For Doyle, who was a keen spiritualist, these images were

  conclusive proof of the supernatural. But the public reaction was mixed at best; some

  agreed with the famous author while others were sceptical, and although they didn’t know

  how it had been done, suggested that the two young girls had managed to fool a credulous

  audience.

  The girls were adamant of the authenticity of the photographs and it wasn’t until the 1980s,

  when they were both old women, that they finally admitted that the whole thing had been a

  hoax. The photographs had not been tampered with; they did just show what was in front of

  the camera as the experts believed. Instead, the “fairies” had simply been pictures cut out

  of a book and propped-up into place using cardboard and hatpins.

  11

  The Cottingley Fairies case shows that while fairies are little more than folklore, there are

  still a significant number of people who are only too willing to be convinced otherwise.

  12

  The Mongolian Death Worm

  The Gobi desert in Central Asia stretches across parts of Northern China and Southern

  Mongolia. Covering over half-a-million square miles, it is the largest desert on the continent

  and includes huge expanses of mountains, plateaus and sand plains. The area is largely

  unknown and sparsely inhabited by humans; although there are a few Mongolian tribes

  eking out a harsh existence. Despite being a desert, the Gobi does contain a surprising

  amount of animal life; from snow leopards and wolves through to camels and gazelles.

  There is, however, a more intriguing animal that local tribesmen say exists in the Gobi. The

  animal is called olgoi-khorkoi which roughly translates to “large intestine worm”; but it is

  now more commonly known as the
Mongolian Death Worm.

  The name itself says a great deal about how the creature is perceived in the region. It is

  described as a large, bright red worm, approximately one-metre in length and as thick as a

  human arm. The animal lives buried deep in the sand and hibernates for the majority of the

  year, only surfacing briefly during the summer months. More disturbingly the creature is

  purported to have the ability to fire venom from its mouth that corrodes anything it comes

  into contact with. This corrosive substance is more than capable of killing and there are

  numerous stories of both people and livestock being attacked. As if this frightening ability

  were not enough the worm is also said to use electric shocks to dispose of its victims. Even

  just touching the worm will result in excruciating pain or death.

  The worm was first highlighted to the wider public in the 1920s when a travelling

  palaeontologist heard the stories of the worm from Mongolian diplomats who were

  absolutely sure of its existence. Unconvinced by them, he began a search for the creature

  but was unable to find any hard evidence of the worm’s existence. Several studies have

  been carried out since then that have tried to find the worm; all without any success.

  It has been suggested that the Death Worm is actually nothing more than a burrowing lizard

  or snake that has been given mythical powers through folklore and campfire story telling.

  There are certainly a number of recognized species that would match the physical

  description of the animal; although of course its reported ability kill is harder to explain. The

  strange powers with which the Death Worm has been endowed are likely to make people

  sceptical about the creature’s existence. The environment of the Gobi desert and the fact

  that the worm buries itself in the sand for long periods of time also make it difficult for

  scientists to carry out reliable search to determine what the animal might really be.

  For most people, the concept of a Death Worm buried deep underground is probably more

  easily dismissed as the work of science fiction or the plot of a bad B-movie. The very idea of

  this creature certainly seems to be little more than a “tall-tale”; however the myth persists

  and it may still be that the Mongolian desert is hiding a dark secret.

  13

  Trolls

  Like many supernatural creatures the exact history of the “troll” is far from clear. However

  the origin of this mythical being can at least be traced to Scandinavia. Tales of trolls in

  Norwegian and Swedish folklore are common, and children have been told stories of them

  for many hundreds of years.

  In the very early legends trolls were nondescript beings living in the woods or caves.

  However, as time moved on and stories were passed along from generation to generation,

  the details of the creatures evolved. The most common view is that they were giant

  creatures, usually very ugly, smelly and dirty. They were also portrayed as being very stupid

  and slow-witted, and many stories recount them being easily out-foxed by humans and

  other creatures.

  Gathering in small groups, trolls would occasionally attack villages to feast on human flesh.

  Like the original fairies of mythology, they would also take human babies and replace them

  with their own. These changelings would then be able to live far more respectable lives as

  humans. Legend has it that trolls were nocturnal creatures and could not go out during the

  day. The reason being, that if they were hit by rays of sunlight they would immediately be

  turned into stone statues.

  There are alternative views of trolls however. Some Norse stories suggest that actually they

  looked just like humans and lived alongside us in our own world. The only difference was

  that some had tails which they disguised under their clothes; or had hair that was

  impossible to comb. The female of these trolls were often beautiful and elegant; as a result

  they were able to seduce men and take them as their slaves.

  Further tales describe trolls as even more powerful, mystical creatures who had abilities

  that were far beyond humans. They could shape shift to take on the form of anything they

  wished, travel on the wind and even make themselves completely invisible. The only way to

  detect their presence was to hear their voices in the woods.

  Trolls are such a part of the culture in Norway that there are dozens of towns and landmarks

  named after them; Trollheimen and Trolltunga for example. Many woods and forests in the

  country have large carved stone figures that are claimed to be trolls frozen as they were hit

  by sunlight. But just like goblins, elves and ogres, trolls are nothing more than fictional

  creatures that have been a huge part of storytelling and legends for centuries, and very few

  people today believe they really exist.

  However we are still intrigued by the legends and these mythical creatures are still a

  mainstay of many films and books in our modern society, particularly in their giant and slow-

  witted incarnation. However the word is probably more commonly used now to describe

  internet users who deliberately try to offend people by making abusive comments online.

  Unfortunately these contemporary trolls cause far more problems than their original

  counterparts. It seems then, for a while at least, trolls will continue to be a minor blight on

  our lives.

  14

  Emela-ntouka

  The scientific world is continuously discovering new species. The majority of these are

  relatively small and obscure animals such as insects, lizards or frogs. Very occasionally larger

  species are discovered, such as the okapi. This creature was thought to be nothing more

  than a legend until specimens were finally identified at the start of the twentieth century in

  the huge rainforests of central Africa. Looking like a cross between a zebra and a large

  antelope, the animal is more closely related to the giraffe. Although relatively rare the okapi

  is now well documented and remains one of the last large mammals to be discovered by

  science.

  But the same unexplored rainforests in Congo and Cameroon may be home to another,

  large unknown species. The animal has been christened emela-ntouka by local tribes which

  means “killer of the elephants”. An intimidating name is matched by descriptions of the

  animal itself. It is said to be the size of a smallish-elephant, with a long, heavy tail and a

  huge single horn on its nose. It is greyish-brown in colour and has thick, strong legs. The

  animal is seen by local people as a mystical beast to be feared, particularly as it is said to be

  capable of goring and killing elephants with its huge horn.

  While investigating the Congo in 1981 Dr. Roy Mackal first encountered stories of the

  “elephant killer”. After further investigation he suggested that the animal might be actually

  be a surviving fossil, that of something like a dinosaur called centrasaurus. This animal is

  closely related to the famous triceratops. Mackal points out that the fossil records of

  centrasaurus, closely match the description of emela-ntouka. The only difference being the

  absence of a neck frill in the descriptions given by locals, although a few accounts do give

  the animal a small ridge round the base of it head. The prehistoric animal explanation is one

  used
in many cases of unidentified creatures, but if there is anywhere on earth that could

  hide such a creature surely these dark, uncharted forests are the ideal place.

  The explanation offered by most scientists is that the creature is simply a large rhinoceros

  that has been misidentified. While there is something to be said for this theory the

  descriptions don’t quite tally; particularly with regards to the thick, powerful tail. Rhinos

  have very small thin tails for an animal of their size; while the big tail of the emela-ntouka is

  so different that it has led some to suggest that the beast is actually semi-aquatic. Some

  descriptions also have the animal with large, almost elephant like ears rather than the small

  ones rhinos have. At the very least emela-ntouka could be some as yet undiscovered sub-

  species of the more familiar plain dwelling rhinos.

  The emela-ntouka may ultimately prove to be pure myth that has grown up from ancient

  tales of local tribes; equally it may turn out to an existing species of rhinoceros. However

  there is still the possibility that there is something more mysterious and unexplained in the

  dark forests of Central Africa.

  15

  Other Great Books by Gary J. Green

 

 

  Monsters of Myth (pdf), Gary J Green

 

 

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