Post by Deinobrontornis on Oct 29, 2011 19:13:39 GMT -5
For those who do not know what the Beast of Gévaudan was, here are a couple of pictures and brief description of the Beast of Gévaudan from Wikipedia.
The Beast of Gévaudan (French: La Bête du Gévaudan; IPA: [la bɜt dy ʒevɔdɑ̃], Occitan: La Bèstia de Gavaudan) is a name given to man-eating wolf-like animals alleged to have terrorized the former province of Gévaudan (modern day département of Lozère and part of Haute-Loire), in the Margeride Mountains in south-central France from 1764 to 1767 over an area stretching 90 by 80 kilometers (56 by 50 mi). The beasts were consistently described by eyewitnesses as having formidable teeth and immense tails. Their fur had a reddish tinge, and was said to have emitted an unbearable odor. They killed their victims by tearing at their throats with their teeth. The number of victims differs according to source. De Beaufort (1987) estimated 210 attacks, resulting in 113 deaths and 49 injuries; 98 of the victims killed were partly eaten. An enormous amount of manpower and resources was used in the hunting of the animals, including the army, conscripted civilians, several nobles, and a number of royal huntsmen. All animals operated outside of ordinary wolf packs, though eyewitness accounts indicate that they sometimes were accompanied by a smaller female, which did not take part in the attacks. The story is a popular subject for cryptozoologists.
So as you can see, the Beast of Gévaudan was man-eating dog-like creature. Now over the years, people have given many different suggestions of what it was: hyena, wolfdog, dog, large wolf, and lion just to name a few. I personally think it was a dog, specifically a Tibetan Mastiff. This idea just came to me a few minutes ago while I was watching a video about. For a recap, the Beast of Gévaudan was described as being extremely large, having reddish fur, formidable teeth, immense tails, and large manes. It also known to be very aggressive and daring. The Tibetan Mastiff has all of these characteristics. Just look at these pictures:
The Tibetan Mastiff's immense size, averaging 160 lbs., could explain why The Beast of Gévaudan could maul so many dogs and kill so many humans. The fact that the Tibetan Mastiff was extremely rare and unknown in Europe at that time could also explain why local inhabitants couldn't identify it as any local creature.
What is your opinion on the Beast of Gévaudan's identification?
The Beast of Gévaudan (French: La Bête du Gévaudan; IPA: [la bɜt dy ʒevɔdɑ̃], Occitan: La Bèstia de Gavaudan) is a name given to man-eating wolf-like animals alleged to have terrorized the former province of Gévaudan (modern day département of Lozère and part of Haute-Loire), in the Margeride Mountains in south-central France from 1764 to 1767 over an area stretching 90 by 80 kilometers (56 by 50 mi). The beasts were consistently described by eyewitnesses as having formidable teeth and immense tails. Their fur had a reddish tinge, and was said to have emitted an unbearable odor. They killed their victims by tearing at their throats with their teeth. The number of victims differs according to source. De Beaufort (1987) estimated 210 attacks, resulting in 113 deaths and 49 injuries; 98 of the victims killed were partly eaten. An enormous amount of manpower and resources was used in the hunting of the animals, including the army, conscripted civilians, several nobles, and a number of royal huntsmen. All animals operated outside of ordinary wolf packs, though eyewitness accounts indicate that they sometimes were accompanied by a smaller female, which did not take part in the attacks. The story is a popular subject for cryptozoologists.
So as you can see, the Beast of Gévaudan was man-eating dog-like creature. Now over the years, people have given many different suggestions of what it was: hyena, wolfdog, dog, large wolf, and lion just to name a few. I personally think it was a dog, specifically a Tibetan Mastiff. This idea just came to me a few minutes ago while I was watching a video about. For a recap, the Beast of Gévaudan was described as being extremely large, having reddish fur, formidable teeth, immense tails, and large manes. It also known to be very aggressive and daring. The Tibetan Mastiff has all of these characteristics. Just look at these pictures:
The Tibetan Mastiff's immense size, averaging 160 lbs., could explain why The Beast of Gévaudan could maul so many dogs and kill so many humans. The fact that the Tibetan Mastiff was extremely rare and unknown in Europe at that time could also explain why local inhabitants couldn't identify it as any local creature.
What is your opinion on the Beast of Gévaudan's identification?