Mysterious Creatures : A Guide to Cryptozoology

Gabon Orangutan
Mystery Primate of Central Africa.
Variant name: AIZ 6624 (specimen catalog
number).
Physical description: An unusually small variety
of chimpanzee. Weight, 6 pounds. Dark,
gray-brown skin on face, ears, back, and lateral
portion of limbs. High, hairless forehead. Small
face. Protuberant eyes. Narrow nose. Hands and
feet small in relation to the body. Lacks thumbs
and big toes.
Behavior: Said to travel in a group of 100.
Distribution: Gabon.
Significant sighting: A specimen was obtained in
August 1957 by Phillip J. Carroll and sent to the
Anthropological Institute of the University of
Zürich. It had fallen from a tree, injured itself, and
died three weeks later. Carroll claimed it was with
a group of 100 other chimps of the same size.
Probable explanation: The individual was a
young Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) with severe
deformities of the skull and skeleton.
Sources: Adolph H. Schultz, “Acrocephalo-
Oligodactylism in a Wild Chimpanzee,”
Journal of Anatomy 92 (1958): 568–579; Ivan
T. Sanderson, Abominable Snowmen: Legend
Come to Life (Philadelphia: Chilton, 1961), p.
186; Michael K. Diamond, “Setting the
Record Straight on the ‘Gabun Orangutan,’”
Pursuit, no. 48 (Fall 1979): 142–145.
Gabriel Feather
A single Bird feather housed in El Escorial
Pa la ce near Madrid, Spain.
Etymology: Said to have come from a wing of
the Archangel Gabriel.
Physical description: A rose-colored feather of
extraordinary beauty.
G
183
Present status: Acquired by El Escorial sometime
after the palace was built between 1563
and 1584 by King Philip II. Seen in 1787 by
William Beckford. Apparently, the Monastery
of San Lorenzo at the palace no longer owns this
relic.
Possible explanations:
(1) A feather of the Resplendent quetzal
(Pharomachrus mocinno) of Central America,
a bird of the Trogon family sacred to the
Aztec and Maya Indians and famous for its
plumage. But the prized wing and tail
feathers of the male are green, not rose.
(2) A plume from one of New Guinea’s
Birds of paradise (Family Paradisaeidae).
Survivors of Ferdinand Magellan’s voyage
around the world took back to Portugal
skins of these birds obtained from the
island’s inhabitants in 1522. Count Raggi’s
bird of paradise (Paradisea raggiana) has
rose-colored plumes, which Karl Shuker
suggests might account for the Gabriel
feather.
Sources: William Beckford, Italy: With
Sketches of Spain and Portugal, vol. 2 (London:
R. Bently, 1834); Karl Shuker, “Angel Feathers
and Feathered Snakes,” Strange Magazine, no.
19 (Spring 1998): 24–25; Karl Shuker,
Mysteries of Planet Earth (London: Carlton,
1999), pp. 150–153.
Gabriel Hound
Black Dog of northern England.
Etymology: First recorded around 1665. Originally,
a spectral dog in a pack led by the pre-
Christian spirits Herne or Gwyn that escorted
souls to the underworld; in Christian folklore,
the pack was transferred to the care of the