UFO Map

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Cryptids

Beasts and predators

When sheep, goats or chickens die and the tracks match no known predator, legends of beasts are born. Sometimes real tragedies lie behind them, as in 18th-century Gévaudan; sometimes big cats escaped from private collections; and sometimes – as with the chupacabra – dogs and coyotes suffering from mange.

cases
8
years
1577–2023

Disputed: 5 Explained: 3

  1. 16th century

    1. 1577 Beasts and predators · Disputed Black Shuck in the Churches of Bungay and Blythburgh Bungay and Blythburgh, Suffolk, England, United Kingdom During a violent storm, a huge black dog reportedly burst into two Suffolk churches, killing worshippers – a pamphlet published the same year described the event.

  2. 17th century

    1. 1685 Beasts and predators · Explained The Werewolf of Ansbach Principality of Ansbach, Franconia, Germany A child-killing wolf in Ansbach was believed to be a dead official reincarnated – once killed, it was dressed in human clothes and hanged on a gallows.

  3. 18th century

    1. 1764–1767 Beasts and predators · Disputed The Beast of Gévaudan Margeride Mountains, former province of Gévaudan, France Over three years, one or more predators killed over a hundred people, mostly children and women, in the mountains of southern France – the king sent hunters.

  4. 1980–1989

    1. 1983 Beasts and predators · Disputed The Beast of Exmoor and the Marines on the Moor Near South Molton, Exmoor, Devon, England, United Kingdom A Devon farmer lost more than a hundred sheep with torn throats in three months – the government sent Royal Marines sharpshooters onto the moors.

  5. 1990–1999

    1. 1995 Beasts and predators · Disputed The Birth of the Chupacabra in Puerto Rico Canóvanas and other municipalities, Puerto Rico After a series of mysterious sheep and goat deaths, a Canóvanas resident described a spiny, bipedal creature with huge eyes – the “goat sucker” legend was born.
    2. 1995 Beasts and predators · Disputed The Beast of Bodmin: Government Report and River Fowey Skull Bodmin Moor, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom The agriculture ministry found no evidence of big cats on Bodmin Moor – days later, a boy found a leopard skull in the River Fowey.

  6. 2000–2009

    1. 2007 Beasts and predators · Explained The Cuero Chupacabra Cuero, DeWitt County, Texas, United States A Texas ranch owner had a hairless canid that had allegedly been killing her chickens stuffed – DNA testing showed it was a coyote.

  7. 2020–2029

    1. 2023 Beasts and predators · Explained The Kleinmachnow “Lioness” near Berlin Kleinmachnow, Brandenburg, Germany Video of a large animal at a forest's edge set off a hunt with police, helicopters and drones – after a day and a half, the “lioness” was judged likely a wild boar.