Status: Discredited
Location: North Africa (Western Sahara)
Description: Reported by natives to be an unknown species of Canine which live and hunt in packs, and possibly even spirits which take the form of dogs.
Alternate Explanation: Identified as a rare breed of African Wild dog which it is believed were mistaken for the Adjule.
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Name: Agogwe
Status: Unconfirmed
Location: Eastern Africa
Description: Supposedly a small, human or ape-like creature which lives in the jungles of East Africa. They are unique particularly because they walk upright like humans and yet are definitlely akin to apes. Agogwe are said to have reddish-yellow skin under a wooly coat of reddish-black hair.
Alternate Explanation: These creatures could be Bonobos, the human-like and endangered African apes which walk upright about 25% of the time.
Reports: This cryptid was first reported in 1900 by Captain William Hitchins:
"Some years ago I was sent on an official lion-hunt in this area (the Ussure and Simibit forests on the western side of the Wembare plains) and, while waiting in a forest glade for a man-eater, I saw two small, brown, furry creatures come from dense forest on one side of the glade and disappear into the thickets on the other. They were like little men, about 4 feet high, walking upright, but clad in russet hair."
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Name: Ahool
Status: Unconfirmed
Location: Indonesia (Java)
Description: A large flying animal which bears resemblance to a giant bat. Some reports of the Ahool have been described as living pterosaurs. Little concrete or reliable evidence exists on the Ahool, but most reports say that the Ahool has leathery wings like a pterosaur (however pterosaurs are now known to have had short fur covering their wings to prevent heat loss).
Alternate Explanation: The Javan Wood Owl is a rare but frightening creature which could be mistaken for the Ahool. It has a relatively large wingspan (1.2 meters), and a strange flat face with large black eyes accentuated by dark rings. This is the most likely culprit for Ahool rumors, but how the feathers of the owl could have been mistaken for leathery bat-wings is still unclear.
Reports: The first report of the Ahool was made by Ernest Bartels while exploring the Salek mountains of Java.
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Name: Akkorokamui
Status: Unconfirmed
Location: Reported Off the coast of Japan and Thailand (Funka Bay)
Description: The Ainu, an ethnic group of Japan indigenous to the Kuril Islands. Their folklore tells of a frightening sea monster which bears resemblance to a gigantic red octopus. and which dwells in Funka Bay. It is said that the creature can be easily spotted from a long distance because of its enormous size and vibrant color. The Ainu remain fearful of the Akkorokamui because their fishing vessels regularly use the same waters in which it is reported. Fishermen often carry long sickles to protect them from this creature should it attack. And attacks have happened before.
Alternate Explanation: The Ainu could simply be a species of giant octopus which was confused for a sea monster, although the reported size of the Akkorokamui far exceed records of giant octopus lengths. A giant squid is also another possibility, though less likely to venture inland as an octopus.
Reports: The Englishman John Batchelor describes an encounter:
Status: Unconfirmed
Location: Caucasus, the Pamir Mountains of Central Asia, and Alti Mountains of Southern Mongolia
Description: Almas is Mongolian for "Wild Man" and is reportedly an unknown species of hominid, however they are said to resemble 'wild people' more than apes (hence the name). They are described as human-like and bipedal standing anywhere from five to six and a half feet tall. Their bodies are covered with reddish-brown hair like a chimp's, but their faces look more human with a pronounced brow, receded jaw, and a flat nose. These descriptions are akin to scientist's estimates of what a Neanderthal may have looked like.
Alternate Explanation: Scientists generally reject the possibility that these creatures exist, because of the improbably large numbers which would be necessary to maintain a breeding population and because climate and food supply issues make their survival in reported habitats unlikely. Other species of ape may have been mistaken for the Almas. Footprints and other biolgical evidence suggests that similar apes may reside in the mountains.
Reports: In 1430, Hans Schlitberger recorded his personal observation of these creatures in the journal of his trip to Mongolia as a prisoner of the Mongol Khan.
Ivan Ivlov, a pediatrician in 1963 recorded an observation of a family group of Almas. Ivlov interviewed some of the Mongolian children, and discovered that many of them had also seen Almases.
Status: Unconfirmed
Location: Reported Off the coast of Japan and Thailand (Funka Bay)
Description: The Ainu, an ethnic group of Japan indigenous to the Kuril Islands. Their folklore tells of a frightening sea monster which bears resemblance to a gigantic red octopus. and which dwells in Funka Bay. It is said that the creature can be easily spotted from a long distance because of its enormous size and vibrant color. The Ainu remain fearful of the Akkorokamui because their fishing vessels regularly use the same waters in which it is reported. Fishermen often carry long sickles to protect them from this creature should it attack. And attacks have happened before.
Alternate Explanation: The Ainu could simply be a species of giant octopus which was confused for a sea monster, although the reported size of the Akkorokamui far exceed records of giant octopus lengths. A giant squid is also another possibility, though less likely to venture inland as an octopus.
Reports: The Englishman John Batchelor describes an encounter:
In the morning, we found the whole village under a cloud. Three men, it was said, were out trying to catch swordfish, when all at once a great sea monster, with large staring eyes, appeared in front of them and proceeded to attack the boat. A desperate fight ensued. The monster was round in shape, and emitted a dark fluid and noxious odor. The three men fled in dismay, not so much indeed for fear, they say, but on account of the dreadful smell. However that may have been, they were so scared that the next morning all three refused to get up and eat; they were lying in their beds pale and trembling.A Japanese fisherman later described his close encounter with the Akkorokamui:
"And I saw ahead something huge and red undulating under the waves. I at first thought my eyes deceived me and that I was merely seeing the reflection of sun upon the water, but as I approached, I could see that in fact it was an enormous monster, 80 meters in length at least, with large, thick tentacles as big around as a man’s torso. The thing fixed me with a huge, staring eye before sinking out of sight into the depths."
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Name: Almas (or Almasty)Status: Unconfirmed
Location: Caucasus, the Pamir Mountains of Central Asia, and Alti Mountains of Southern Mongolia
Description: Almas is Mongolian for "Wild Man" and is reportedly an unknown species of hominid, however they are said to resemble 'wild people' more than apes (hence the name). They are described as human-like and bipedal standing anywhere from five to six and a half feet tall. Their bodies are covered with reddish-brown hair like a chimp's, but their faces look more human with a pronounced brow, receded jaw, and a flat nose. These descriptions are akin to scientist's estimates of what a Neanderthal may have looked like.
Alternate Explanation: Scientists generally reject the possibility that these creatures exist, because of the improbably large numbers which would be necessary to maintain a breeding population and because climate and food supply issues make their survival in reported habitats unlikely. Other species of ape may have been mistaken for the Almas. Footprints and other biolgical evidence suggests that similar apes may reside in the mountains.
Reports: In 1430, Hans Schlitberger recorded his personal observation of these creatures in the journal of his trip to Mongolia as a prisoner of the Mongol Khan.
Ivan Ivlov, a pediatrician in 1963 recorded an observation of a family group of Almas. Ivlov interviewed some of the Mongolian children, and discovered that many of them had also seen Almases.
"It seems that neither the Mongol children nor the young Almas were afraid of each other."
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Name: Altama-Ha
Status: Myth
Description: Little is known about the Altamaha-Ha. There is a lack of any real physical evidence supporting its existence, and is known about only because of because of local lore. It is said inhabit the vast nexus of abandoned rice-fields and streams near the Altamaha river in Georgia (one of the greatest freshwater contributors to the Atlantic Ocean). The monster supposedly breeds in the river, but lives in the oceaan. The monster is said to resemble a giant water-snake possibly as large as 40 feet long.
Alternate Explanation: A long log and some overactive imaginations.
Reports: There have been no recorded sightings of this creature.
Status: Myth
Description: Little is known about the Altamaha-Ha. There is a lack of any real physical evidence supporting its existence, and is known about only because of because of local lore. It is said inhabit the vast nexus of abandoned rice-fields and streams near the Altamaha river in Georgia (one of the greatest freshwater contributors to the Atlantic Ocean). The monster supposedly breeds in the river, but lives in the oceaan. The monster is said to resemble a giant water-snake possibly as large as 40 feet long.
Alternate Explanation: A long log and some overactive imaginations.
Reports: There have been no recorded sightings of this creature.
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Name: Amomongo
Status: Unconfirmed
Description: The Amomongo is a creature from Phillipine mythology. Often called the negros ape because of reports from La Castellana of Negros Oriental, these 'wild monkeys' are said to inhabit the caves near the base of Mt. Kanlaon. The Amomongo is said to be man-sized with long nails and shaggy fur coating its body.
Alternate Explanation: There are few possible explanations (besides a hoax) seeing as no other wild apes live in the area.
Reports: Local police reported that the creature attacked two residents of the settlement and disemboweled goats and chickens in the area, for the purpose of eating the entrails.
Status: Unconfirmed
Description: The Amomongo is a creature from Phillipine mythology. Often called the negros ape because of reports from La Castellana of Negros Oriental, these 'wild monkeys' are said to inhabit the caves near the base of Mt. Kanlaon. The Amomongo is said to be man-sized with long nails and shaggy fur coating its body.
Alternate Explanation: There are few possible explanations (besides a hoax) seeing as no other wild apes live in the area.
Reports: Local police reported that the creature attacked two residents of the settlement and disemboweled goats and chickens in the area, for the purpose of eating the entrails.
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