Every year, around the world, more and more strange beings are found for the first time. Usually these discoveries are simply different species of insect but sometimes, just sometimes, scientists find a new type of rat.
Could it be possible that there are huge animals existing in the wild, but still hidden from researchers and monster-hunters? Yes, it could. With so many remote, uninhabited regions of the globe, it’s surely only a matter of time before one (or all) of the below creatures are found, tranquilized and put in a zoo for our entertainment. Should you decide to head off to try and locate any of these creatures, don’t forget your travel insurance.
Bigfoot | USA
Possibly the most famous of all undiscovered creatures (and one of the most famous men in America), Bigfoot is thought to roam around the northwest region of the United States. Also known as sasquatch, he is a three-metre-tall apeman with an unpleasant smell and thick brown fur, so it seems strange that his most recognisable characteristic is the size of his feet.
Skamania County, Washington passed a law in 1969 making it an imprisonable offence to kill Bigfoot. Amazingly, this law stayed in place until 1984 – when it was updated to class the killing of Bigfoot as homicide.
In 1924, gold prospector Albert Ostman was abducted by a sasquatch and didn’t escape for six days. His sworn testimony states that, while camping, he was picked up in his sleeping bag and carried away to a plateau, where he met a family of four bigfeet. He eventually got away but, fearing ridicule, kept his ordeal secret for the next 33 years (until a time when tales of kidnapping by families of giant apemen were more acceptable). It’s an intriguing story and one that’s notably missing the “probing” element so common to most American paranormal abductions.
Chupacabra | Puerto Rico
The chupacabra is an unidentified creature thought to be responsible for killing hundreds of animals and drinking their blood. With a name that translates as “goat sucker”, the Chupacabra is said to attack its prey and suck them dry before (creepily) arranging the bodies in order of colour and size.
Whereas sightings of Bigfoot are boringly consistent, those who’ve encountered chupacabra give wildly different accounts of its appearance. Some say it has scaly skin, others say it has fur or feathers; sometimes it is described as having big legs like a kangaroo, whereas other times it is said to have wings. Nobody knows what the real chupacabra looks like.
Since the first sightings in Puerto Rico, the chupacabra (and its victims) have been seen all around the Americas. So far, all chupacabras that have been killed or captured have turned out to be dogs with mange, but this absolutely does not mean that the creature doesn’t exist.
Loch Ness monster | Scotland
No list of undiscovered animals would be complete without the Loch Ness monster – one of the world’s most popular mysteries and the only creature on the list willing to accept the label “monster”.
The Loch Ness monster is sometimes called “Nessie” – an affectionate little nickname for what is, most probably, some kind of dinosaur. Numerous serious searches of the Loch have been undertaken with no conclusive evidence being found, but this hasn’t stopped Nessie becoming a star of films and cartoons. The monster is a big attraction and brings a lot of tourism to the area – a fact that in no way influences the number of sightings by local businessmen.
Almas | Mongolia
Almas (Mongolian for “wild man”) are said to be short humanoids covered in reddish-brown hair. Investigations into the creatures have suggested that they could be part of a group of Neanderthals sometimes thought to remain alive in central Asia; either that or a cross between Neanderthals and modern man. No explanation has been given of the exact circumstances leading up to the creation of such a man/beast hybrid, so one can only assume that things must get quite lonely in the Mongolian mountains.
Emela-ntouka | Democratic Republic of the Congo
Emela-ntouka, the killer of elephants, is a semi-aquatic beast found (but not yet) in the Likouala swamps of central Africa. Local tribes say that it is a grey/brown colour (like a rhino), has a horn on its nose (like a rhino) and generally looks a lot like a rhino. However, despite what you might be thinking, the emela-ntouka is definitely not just a misidentified rhino – it’s got a much bigger tail.
Some believe the emela-ntouka to be a living dinosaur (related to the triceratops) that has somehow survived to the present day. If so, he would have plenty of friends to play with – the Democratic Republic of the Congo is also said to be home to mokele-mbembe (similar to a diplodocus) and kongamato (a terrifying sounding pterosaur). It may seem silly to believe that there could be huge monsters hiding in the African jungle, but in the past reports such as these have turned out to be only slight exaggerations; tales of giant, powerful hairy men were laughed at for centuries – until the first mountain gorillas were eventually discovered in 1902.
The abominable snowman | Nepal
One of the many sasquatch-like apemen found around the world, the abominable snowman is the Himalayas’ version – a Bigfoot on ice. It’s possible that there really is an unknown creature living in the mountains of Nepal, but no conclusive evidence has been found yeti.
The most surprising thing about the abominable snowman/yeti is how many quality sightings there have been. Numerous Himalayan expeditions have returned with tales of the creature, often accompanied by photos of footprints or unidentifiable hair samples. Even Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man to climb Everest, saw giant footprints in the snow and was intrigued enough to return to the area years later on a dedicated yeti-hunt.
With sightings continuing in the 21st century, it seems that, of all these weird creatures, the abominable snowman is the most likely to turn out to be real. I do hope his feelings aren’t hurt when he finds out what we’ve been calling him all these years.