Mysterious Creatures : A Guide to Cryptozoology

were awakened by a grunting Kilopilopitsofy
near Belo-sur-Mer, Madagascar, in 1976.
Possible explanation: Surviving Malagasy
pygmy hippopotami (Hippopotamus lemerlei
and H. madagascariensis) that supposedly died
off within the past 1,000 years or so. Both
species were similar in shape to their closest relation,
the common Hippopotamus (H. amphibius),
but smaller, with a length of 6 feet 6
inches and a shoulder height of 2 feet 6 inches.
H. lemerlei’s eyes were placed higher on its head.
African hippos are often aggressive and intimidate
opponents by spraying urine and feces.
They don’t eat people but will attack and kill
them when threatened. H. lemerlei was more
amphibious and lived in west Madagascan
rivers; H. madagascariensis favored the highland
prairies of the interior.
Sources: Jules Sébastien César Dumont
d’Urville, Voyage pittoresque autour du monde
(Paris: L. Tenré et H. Dupuy, 1834–1835);
Josef-Peter Audebert, “Im Lande der Voilakertra
aus Madagaskar,” Globus 19 (1882): 295– 298;
Raymond Decary, La faune malgache, son rôle
dans les croyances et les usages indigènes (Paris:
Payot, 1950), p. 205; Bernard Heuvelmans, On
the Track of Unknown Animals (New York: Hill
and Wang, 1958), pp. 505–506; J. Mahé and
M. Sourdat, “Sur l’extinction des vertébrés
subfossiles et l’aridification du climat dans le
sud-ouest de Madagascar,” Bulletin de la Société
Geologique de France 14 (1972): 295–309;
Laurie R. Godfrey, “The Tale of the Tsy-
Aomby-Aomby: In Which a Legendary
Creature Is Revealed to Be Real,” The Sciences
26 (January-February 1986): 48–51; Solweig
Stuenes, “Taxonomy, Habits, and Relationships
of the Subfossil Madagascan Hippopotami
Hippopotamus lemerlei and H. madagascariensis,”
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 9 (1989):
241–268; David A. Burney and Ramilisonina,
“The Kilopilopitsofy, Kidoky, and Bokyboky:
Accounts of Strange Animals from Belo-sur-
Mer, Madagascar, and the Megafaunal
‘Extinction Window,’” American Anthropologist
100 (1998): 957–966; Peter Tyson, The Eighth
Continent: Life, Death, and Discovery in the Lost
World of Madagascar (New York: William
Morrow, 2000), pp. 140–142, 180–184.
Tua Yeua
Unknown PRIMATE of Southeast Asia.
Etymology: Possibly a misspelling of the Thai
(Tai) words tua yai, “big thing” or “big monkey
thing.”
Physical description: Like an orangutan, but
larger than a gibbon. Dark-red hair.
Behavior: Can stand on two legs.
Distribution: Southern Myanmar; Thailand.
Significant sightings: In the 1880s, a man
named Davison saw a dark-red primate standing
erect in southern Myanmar. Around the same
time, an army captain named Bingham acquired
a dead Tua yeua; he preserved the skeleton, but
it has since been lost.
Possible explanations:
(1) The dark-brown Stump-tailed macaque
(Macaca arctoides) is known in the area and
has a bare, red face and forehead and only a
vestigial tail. It usually travels in troops and
is quadrupedal.
(2) An unknown species of monkey similar
to the RÉN-XIÓNG of China.
(3) A Wildman of the Chinese YE-RÉN
variety.
Sources: William Thomas Blanford, The
Fauna of British India: Mammalia (London:
Taylor and Francis, 1888–1891); Jeffrey A.
McNeely and Paul Spencer Wachtel, Soul of
the Tiger (New York: Doubleday, 1988), pp.
257–258, 263, 266; Bobbie Short,
“Examination of the Nomenclature of
Indonesian Mystery Hominids,” Crypto 3, no.
4 (August 2000): 10–16, on line at
http://www.strangeark.com/crypto/Crypto8.
pdf; Bobbie Short, “Thailand’s Tua Yeua,
Sumatra’s Orang Kubu, the Orang Dalam,
Orang Gadang and Beruang Rambai and the
Orang Pendek,” http://www.n2.net/
prey/bigfoot/creatures/kubu.htm.
Tunatpan
Alternate name for the BUNYIP of Australia.
Etymology: Aboriginal (Australian) word.
Variant names: Tanatbah, Tnata (around Edward
River, New South Wales), Tunataboh (in
New South Wales).
Physical description: Head and neck like an
TUNATPAN 561