20 of my favorite Mythical Creatures

To the best of my knowledge, none of the animals listed below is real, so please don’t get taken in by a huckster who wants to sell you one.

1 Dragon

This legendary monster was thought to be a giant, winged, fire-breathing snake or lizard. Oddly most ancient cultures that believe in dragons didn’t know about dinosaurs.

2 Griffin

Originating in the Middle East around 2000 BC, the Griffin was said to have the body of a lion and the head of a bird, most often an eagle.

3 Phoenix

This ancient Egyptian bird was believed to live for 500 years or more before setting itself on fire. A new Phoenix was supposed to have been born from the ashes of the previous bird.

4 Chupacabra

This vampiric creature, whose name means goat-sucker, has allegedly been spotted in the Americas from Maine to Chile. it has been described as a panther, dog, spined lizard, or large rodent that walks upright and smells ghastly.

5. Yeti or Bigfoot or Sasquatch

If these creatures existed, they would likely be the same animal, as they are all bear-like or eight like hominids that live in remote mountainous areas. The yeti has been reported in the Tibetan Himalayas, while Bigfoot and Sasquatch are rumored to live in the Northwestern United States and Canada.

6 Skunk Ape

This hairy 7-foot Critter weighs in at 300 pounds, smells like a garbage covered skunk, inhabits the Florida Everglades, and is rumored to be a relative of Bigfoot.

7 Vegetable Lamb of Tartary

Mythical animal or vegetable? 11th century Travelers told Tales of a middle eastern plant that grew sheep as fruit. although the Tails were false, the plant is real. It’s the fern Cibotium barometz, which produces a tuft of wooly fiber.

8 Rukh or Roc

Marco Polo return from Madagascar claiming to have seen this enormous, bird of prey carry off elephants and other large creatures.

9 Jackalope

Sometimes called a warrior rabbit, the Jackalope is a legendary Critter of the American West. Described as an aggressive, antlered rabbit, it appears to be related to the German wolperdinger and Swedish skvader.

10 Adjule

It’s reported to be a ghostly North African wolf dog, what is likely just a cape hunting dog, horned Jackal, or ordinary wild dog.

11 Andean Wolf or Hagenbeck’s wolf

In 1927, a traveler to Buenos Aires bought a pelt belonging to what he was told was a mysterious wild dog from the Andes. this tale encouraged other crypto enthusiasts to purchase skulls and pelts from the same and Market until DNA testing in 1995 revealed that the original sample came from a domestic dog.

12 Fur Bearing Trout or Beaver Trout

The rumor of a fur covered fish dates back to Scottish visitors to the new world who regaled their countrymen with tales of “furried animals and fish” and photographs of pelt wrapped trout. Occasional sightings of fish with saprolegnia ( a fungal infection that causes a white, woolly growth) serve to perpetuate the tall tales.

13 Gilled Antelope or Gilled Deer

This Cambodian deer or Antelope is rumored to have gills on its neck or muzzle that enable it to breathe underwater. In reality, it is the rare Saola or Vu Quang ox, whose distinctive white facial markings only look like gills.

14 Hodag

In Lumberjack circles, the Hodag was believed to be a fetid smelling, fanged, hairy lizard that rose from the ashes of cremated lumber oxen. In 1893, a prankster from Rhinelander, Wisconsin, led a successful “hunt” for the fearsome beast, which resulted in its capture and subsequent display at the county fair. It was later revealed that the Hodag was actually a wooden statue covered in ox-hide, but by then it had earned its place in Rhinelander lore.

15 Sea Monk or Sea Bishop

Reports and illustrations of strange fish that looked like clergyman were common from the 10th through 16th centuries, likely due to socio-religious struggles and the idea that all land creatures had a nautical counterpart. Sea monks were likely angel sharks, often called monkfish.

16 Unicorn

The unicorn’s appearance varies by culture. In some, it’s a pure white horse and in others it’s a bull or an ox-tail deer. But the single horn in the middle of the forehead remains a constant. Unicorns have reportedly been seen by such luminaries as Genghis Khan and Julius Caesar, but it’s likely that such reports were based on sightings of rhinoceroses, types of antelopes, or discarded narwhal horns.

17 Cameleopard or Camel-Leopard

13th century Romans described the camel-leopard as the offspring of a camel and a leopard, with the leopard’s spots and horns on top of its head. The legendary creature in question was actually a giraffe, whose modern name stems from the Arabic for “tallest” or “creature of grace.”

18 Basilisk or Cockatrice

Pliny the Elder described this fearsome snake as having a golden crown, though others described it as having the head of a human or fowl. In fact, no one would have been able to describe it at all, because it was believed to be so terrifying that a glimpse would kill the viewer instantly.

19 Mokele-mbembe

Since 1776 the Congo rainforest, there have been reports of this elephant sized creature with a long tail and a muscular neck. Its name translates as “ one that stops the flow of rivers.” Believers, who point out that the Okapi was also thought to be mythical until the early 1900s, suggest that it may be a surviving sauropod dinosaur.

20 Lake Ainslie monster

Lake Ainslie in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, is frequently said to be home to a sea monster. it is usually described as having a snake-like head and long neck, similar in appearance to the Loch Ness Monster. Recently, these sightings have been attributed to “eel balls,” a large group of eels that knot themselves together in clumps as large as six feet in diameter.

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