I FOUND THIS ARTICLE VERY INTERESTING, MY SPECIALTY IN CRYPTZOOLOGY WOULD BE MAULERS SUCH AS EL CHUPACABRA AND LA BETE DU GEVAUDAN. HOPE THAT YOU LIKE IT.

The Beast of Gévaudan and Other "Maulers"

(originally published in The Cryptozoology Review 1:2, Fall 1996)
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For the residents of the tiny district of Gévaudan, nestled high in the Margeride Mountains of south-central France, the terror began one day in June of 1764. On that day, a young peasant from the village of Langogne was out tending her family's herd of cattle in the Forêt de Mercoire. Suddenly, a tremendous wolf-like animal loped out of the forest, heading towards the girl. Her dogs turned tail and ran at the sight of this terrifying apparition; the cattle charged at the monster. Seemingly undeterred by the cattle, the creature continued to make its way towards the young shepherdess. The cattle charged it once more, this time driving it back into the forest from whence it came (1).

This young woman was much luckier than many later victims of la Bête Anthropophage du Gévaudan (the man-eating beast of Gévaudan), for very few survived an attack by the monster. Descriptions varied widely, but most agreed that it was wolf-like, though nearly the size of a cow. Its chest was wide, its tail long and thin with a lion-like tuft of fur at its end. Its snout was like that of a greyhound, and large fangs protruded from its formidable jaws. The beast was believed to be incredibly agile - it was credited with taking leaps of up to 30 feet (2). The Paris Gazette, carrying a story about the monster, commented that it was reddish in colour, that its chest was wide and grey, and that the hind legs were longer than the fore legs. Another account of the beast, published in the English Saint James' Chronicle, stated that the beast was probably a member of "a new species". Here we have what is quite possibly the first mention of the beast in a cryptozoological light (3).

Although the story of the Beast of Gévaudan is doubtless embellished greatly in terms of its size and other features, the facts remain: some sort of large creature was ravaging the district, killing people more often than livestock. The beast seems to have had a definite preference for attacking victims around the head, oftentimes crushing the skull and eating the entrails. Wounds of this type were also displayed by victims of a similar creature which prowled Limerick, Ireland, more than a century later.

After three long years of terror in the region and the shooting of "wolves" supposed to be the beast (by Antoine de Beauterne, King Louis XV's chief huntsman), the monster was finally killed at the Sogne d'Aubert by a hermit named Jean Chastel.

So who, or what, was the beast? Popular opinion at the time held it to be punishment from God, a Loup-Garou (werewolf), or some sort of demon summoned by a sorcerer. (In fact, some claimed to have seen the beast in the company of a man (4).) Many more believed that it was a wolf or some other natural creature, citing a number of instances in which two or more beasts, presumably a mated pair with cubs, had been seen together (5). Other explanations offered by the learned folk of the day held that the beast was a bear, a wolverine, or even a baboon. Some modern researchers believe it to have been a serial killer who took advantage of a wolf in the area (6). Another popular theory is that the beast was a wolf-dog hybrid (7).

A well-known Celtic sculpture commonly known as the "Tarasque" of Noves, found at the base of the Pyrenees in France, depicts a large wolf-like animal similar to the Beast of Gévaudan. Each of its front paws rests on a human head, and a human arm is under its large jaw (. A similar sculpture found at Linsdorf, in Alsace, France, may perhaps have been used to hold a human skull (9). These animals have been thought to be lions, wolves, bears, or imaginary monsters (10).

A similar creature was referred to as the arenotelicon in medieval bestiaries. The arenotelicon, which was thought to dwell in wild forests, was widely believed to be a European relative of the hyena or tiger. The creature had a serrated ridge down its spine, feet armed with prodigious claws, a maned neck (a feature which appears on some depictions of the Beast of Gévaudan), and was either hairless or covered in short hair (11). A creature similar to the arenotelicon was supposedly captured around 1530. According to some sources this happened in the Hauberg Forest, Saxony, Germany (12), while others say it occurred in the Fannsberg Forest, Salzburg, Austria (13). It was "yellowish-carnation" in colour (14).

There have also been creatures reported in more recent times that are similar to the Beast of Gévaudan. One could perhaps refer to these mysterious creatures, which are often reported to kill sheep, as "maulers." The following list details some of these modern reports.

No. 1. June 1764-June 1767; Gévaudan (now Lozére), France. A series of sightings and killings occurred which was described above.

No. 2. May-September 1810; Ennerdale Water, Cumbria, England. A creature killed sheep and tore open the throat and sucked the blood rather than devouring them (15).

No. 3. January-April 1874; County Cavan, Ireland. An unknown animal killed at least 42 sheep. It tore open the throat, sucking the blood and eating a tiny piece of meat (or no meat at all). The creature left footprints resembling a cat's, but with claws (16).

No. 4. 17 April 1874; Limerick, County Limerick, Ireland. A wolf-like animal killed sheep. Several persons, all of whom had been attacked by the creature, were sent to Ennis Insane Asylum after developing a peculiar type of insanity (17).

No. 5. July 1893; Orel Oblast, Russia. A beast similar to that of Gévaudan terrorized the village of Trosna. It attacked 10 women and children between the 6th and the 24th, killing 3; it was described as long, with a blunt snout and smooth tail (18).

No. 6. November 1905; Badminton, Gloucestershire, England. An animal attacked and killed a number of sheep, sucking their blood and leaving "the flesh almost untouched" (19).

No. 7. 19 March 1906; Guilford, Kent, England. An unknown animal ravaged area farms, killing 51 sheep in one night (20).

No. 8. April-December 1993; Plovdiv, Bulgaria. A mysterious blood-sucking, cat-like creature which had glowing eyes had killed 16 people, including one Scottiz Karpulsky (21).

These maulers are a strange lot indeed, skirting the line between the natural and supernatural as do so many cryptids. Although the specifics of each mauler case vary greatly, some points are common to all. The typical mauler seems to be long and dark- coloured, sometimes with a lighter patch on the chest, and often with small ears and short legs. They seem equally comfortable on two legs or four. They are sometimes almost supernaturally fast, taking enormous leaps of 20 feet or more. They also seem to have a great preference for attacking a victim, whether human or animal, around the head or neck; a great many are credited with sucking the blood of the victim rather than devouring the victim itself. A serrated back is mentioned occasionally, but this is a rare (and probably invented) detail, and many are credited with leaving tracks that appear to be a cat's but which show extended claws.

No previously proposed identification entirely fits the evidence. Wolves and wolf-dog hybrids do not account satisfactorily for the blood loss in the victims, or the peculiar cat- like tracks the maulers leave.

But members of the carnivoran family Mustelidae, the mustelids (such as the weasel, otter and wolverine), share many characteristics with maulers. They are typified as "small, long-bodied, short-legged animals, with thick, silky fur, and ... a fetid odour" (22). This odour is given off during situations where the animal feels threatened, being secreted from anal glands. Nowhere is this odour more apparent than in one of the family's representatives, the striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis).

Another mustelid, the wolverine, is sometimes referred to as the "glutton," for its depredations can indeed be great. Mustelids are fearlessanimals, attacking nearly anything they feel they have even a chance of bringing down. The wolverine and many other members of the family have a preference for either lying in ambush in a tree and jumping upon a victim's head, or leaping at the victim's throat.

One species in particular, the pine marten (Martes martes), fits many characteristics of maulers almost perfectly. The pine marten is a small, weasel-like animal (barely bigger than an average house cat) that preys on rodents and birds, occasionally eating eggs or fruit. The pine marten is unusually agile, living most of its life in trees. It has a dark brown, almost black, colour and a cream-coloured patch around the throat. Most reports of maulers are from areas within the pine marten's range, and it would leave "clawed-cat"-type tracks. (One difference, however, is that martens are nocturnal while most maulers seem to be diurnal; however, this detail is a relatively minor one.)

I am not proposing that maulers are pine martens in the strictest sense; pine martens are far too unimpressive. There may be a subspecies, however, that co-exists with its substantially smaller conspecifics, which would account for sightings of maulers and accounts of their depredations. Maulers seem to kill mainly sheep; a marten of normal size regularly feeds off of large rabbits and other animals larger than itself. Sheep are not large animals--it wouldn't take a very large creature to kill a sheep, or to leave the size tracks maulers often leave.

Many of the supernatural-seeming attributes can be explained plausibly by a mustelid identification, such as the insanity caused by the bite of some of these creatures, which could be explained as a concussion caused by the dropping of the animal onto the skull; to a shard of bone penetrating the brain and causing infection; or trauma from the attack. The seeming ineffectiveness of weapons against maulers (particularly the Beast of Gévaudan) can be attributed to something as obvious as the speed of these creatures.

In conclusion, I propose that the mauler is a new subspecies of the pine marten. We may typify the appearance of the mauler as 2 feet in height, 8 feet in length, black in colour, with a cream-coloured or white patch on the chest. The animal has somewhat cat-like feet, and has a rather elongated body and is exceptionally agile.

Interesting stuff Ansemheart.

There's an artist's sketch of the 'Beast of Gavaudan' in our site Gallery, for those who are interested in seeing the alleged form of the creature as it was considered to be at the time:

Click Here

Wouldn't want to meet it on a dark night

or anytime for that matter.

Could have been any number of animals. The article itself admits that reports were no doubt embellished. A large wolf or sorts, or even a serial killer may have been behind the attacks. Or it could've been this "mauler" animal.

The Brotherhood of the Wolf was an interesting take on the Beast of Gevaudan...
disturbing, but interesting nonetheless...

The beast of Gevaudan was a fascinating story when you read it all. There was actually two I think. The kings dragoons were brought in to hunt it but failed as it managed to escape every time. Eventually the keeper of the kings guns finally managed in trapping it with a large team of men in a meadow. They shot it several times, once right through the eye. It almost escaped before falling down dead. But then the killings started again.

In the account I read it wasnt made clear wether the new killings were because of the same shot beast (the beast was been shot several times before without dying) or wether it was another beast (like the two transvaal lions in the Ghost and the Darkness). In any case the killings started again before Jean Chastel finally shot it with blessed bullets. It was stuffed and displayed at the kings court. It turned out to be an enormous type of rare wolf.

Booser, it actually wasnt an "enormous type of rare wolf."





Drawings of the beast.



Striped hyenas.

Source

I've always liked the wolf/dog hybrid theory.

It must have been an enormous hyena. Not only because of the descriptions of its size but the fact that it was able to kill over 100 people in 3 years. Hyenas are mostly scavengers arent they?

Ah, my second favourite beasty And a revival for a long dead topic to boot? Cool

And yes, it would have to be an incredibly large hyena...not to mention a very agressive one. Hyenas are pack hunters...I don't see why one would suddenly start savaging people (or why it would be able to display the same near indestructability of the fabled creature).

I'm with Seraphina on the hyena theory. It just doesn't fit in.

I'm still going with a wolf/ dog hybrid.

There hundreds of dod/ wolf hybreds up here its one of the main problems with animal control in fairbanks. How would a mix between a wolf and a dog be that deadly and powerfull?

Is there somthing i'm missing? please tell me i'm not being sarcasic someone help me out. I just don't see how a cross between a wolf and a dog is so big and scary

Hyenas are pack hunters, but the Striped Hyenas (which is what the zoologist declared the beast to be) are rarely ever seen with a group and are solitary animals. I remember seeing somewhere that Hyenas kill about 95% of their food, but will scavenge. Perhaps the beast got tired of eating scavenged food and turned on humans. As for the size, I'm unsure, perhaps the eye witnesses of the beast exaggerated it's size and power or maybe this Hyena just happened to be very large for some reason.

it was some sicko sadist with a wolf dog hybrid going crazy on peasants, it had a white patch and puffed tail, a trait found on hundreds of wolf dog hybrids, and i want one!

I just found this.
It's a very interesting piece, these dogs are known to be extremely aggressive and need a very strong owner. Although mainly bred as short haired animal now they would have been longer haired animals before.

The Catahoula Leopard Dog's roots date back over 400 years, to the period of Spanish Exploration of the New World, specifically the Gulf Coast and southern portions of the East Coast of the United States. On these expeditions the Spaniards were accompanied by "war dogs", believed to have been the Mastiff and Greyhound. These dogs would assist in hunting, guarding the camps, and battle. Some of these dogs were wounded or left behind and were captured by the Native Americans of the region. It is believed by historians that these dogs may have bred with the red wolf, a species native to that area. These wolf-like dogs became the companions and protectors of the Native Americans.

About a century later the French, during expeditions along the mouth of the Mississippi River, became intrigued with these strange-looking dogs with haunting light eyes. The French found that the wolf-like dogs had the ability to successfully hunt game in the swamp because of several characteristics including a keen sense of smell and webbed feet. The dogs could also easily retrieve cattle which had wandered into marshy areas. The French had brought with them their own dogs, known today as the Beauceron. The Beauceron dates back to the mid 1500's and was originally used to hunt wild boar. It is believed that in an attempt to create an even better hunter, protector, companion, and herder the French crossed the Beauceron with these wolf-like dogs. The Catahoula Leopard Dog is the descendant of that crossing.

A Catahoula is a loyal friend and protector, as well as being an incredibly versatile working dog. It would be unwise to enter their domain in the absence of their owner.

Catahoulas can be aggressive toward other dogs, and proper socialization is especially important when raising a pup in a multi-pet environment. They are very protective of their food, and a separate food bowl is suggested to alleviate potential conflict with other pets.

The Catahoula can be stubborn or hard-headed. A combination of love, praise, perseverance and a no-nonsense attitude is required when training a Catahoula. Given an inch these dogs will happily take a mile. The owner must assert his/her dominance from day one & continue to re-enforce that dominance when tested, or trouble will follow. While some will always argue an exception to the rule, the Catahoula is not a city dog. Unless allowed to run for a minimum of an hour per day (a walk on the leash or a romp in the park doesn't begin to suffice) they will find other outlets for their energy, including unwelcome and sometimes destructive behavior.

Their conformation is that of a rugged yet agile athlete. They are "headers" rather than "heelers". They gather or "bay-up" cattle and keep them bunched together so the cowboy can move the herd. They will prevent a cow from breaking away and circle the herd as the herd moves.

Catahoulas are also widely used today to hunt wild boar, and when you hear a Catahoula owner talk about them "working hogs" chances are they mean baying up wild boar, not herding domesticated pigs. Catahoulas also make a fine tree dog, being used on coon and squirrel.




They have no fear of larger creatures.
Just imagine something like one of these hybrids attacking you.

Imagine one of these Red Wolf x Mastiff and then have it breed again with the wolves in France.

Dude thats obviously just a dog though. No one is gonna mistake that for some mysterious beast. A huge hyena tho would be a foreign and strange looking animal to french villagers.

The description of the beast of Gevaudan given is of a large aggressive wolf like creature.

Take this sort of dog and breed it with a wolf and you would fit the description.

Back then the Catahoula was high generation wolf meaning it was larger and hairer then nowadays.

Please read the post properly next time. Tia

A zoologist studied the carcas though, and said it was a hyena and I'm sure the zoologist knew what he was talking about, otherwise I dont think he would be a zoologist...

All the reports mention a distinctive stripe down its back, more detailed ones describe its hind legs being shorter then its back legs. Im sure at that time any dog like predator would be described as "wolf like".

Sounds like a striped hyena to me.

More into the striped hyena stuff:

The carcass of the Beast of Gevaudan was measured and weighed. It was around six feet in length and weighed 143 pounds.

A striped hyena can weigh anywhere from 80 - 190 pounds and they range in length from 4 - 5 ft, but I think some striped hyenas have been around 6 feet.

The reports also state the creature was WOLF like.

The kings hunters and even the locals would have seen plenty of wolves around to know what wolf like means.

Ridgebacks and many other dogs have a tuft of hair along their backs. German Shepards often have the appearance of a lowered hind quarter.

Also more than one creature was seen, it would be highly unlikely for one hyena to be running around the country side let alone two.

MadEyePixie, the body was discarded for being all smelly and rotting well over one hundred years ago.
Now all of a sudden 1 zoologist claims to have refound the body and identified it as a hyena.
Sorry just because a person claims to be an expert I never trust anyone 100%.

Actually Tia, the body was stuffed and put on display in a museum. After the body was written off as a wolf, it was discarded in a basement. The zoologist later (about 30 years ago) discovered it and and found it to be a striped hyena.

Ruby, as Booser stated earlier, a foreign animal such as a hyena could instantly be described as wolf like by a French person who hasnt seen one before. As for there being one in France, I read it was a hyena escaped from a menagerie at the Beaucaire fair.

From the info I've looked up recently about striped hyenas and the Beast of Gevaudan, to me it seems like a logical answer to the Beast of Gevaudan identity.

...if that's true, why all the controversy? What's the big mystery, then? If they've had the body all along, why is Animal X still pondering over it?

By the way, nobody ever answered my question on the Animal X board, i think.

I suppose they still ponder over it because some do not want to accept the zoologists statement about it being a striped hyena.

...but if the body IS La Bete and La Bete IS a striped hyena...what's to argue about? Isn't that a bit redundant, like arguing over whether shamu is an orca or not?

Exactly, dragonlady.

yeah it'sa hyena

wolf hybrids are not so big and mean

heehee its ed


its the beast RUN

Yay! Finally, somebody agrees with me!

MadEye, we're not going to agree on this obviously.

If it was a hyena why were so many people killed but not eaten. The attacks were not done for a food source.
There was even an attack where the animal kept attacking it's victim while a few adults beat at it to make it stop.
I've never heard of a hyena do that, but it's pretty commom with attacking dogs.

Interesting information on the Catahoula, Tia. I've never heard any of that before and my dogs (well, except for my Rotti) are part Catahoula. I'd always understood that they were an offshoot of Australian shepherds.

My oldest dog's father was my brother's Catahoula. (I swear that sentence makes sense! ) He was a sweetheart and not at all agressive towards people, though he was an avid hunter. (He'd go out on his own and drive turkeys up into the back yard and he was terrible about attacking possums.) Between him and my brother he was also, most definitely the BRAINS of the operation.

Glad to be of service Elfstone.

I was using the Catahoula as an example of the sort of dog that could have been in the wolf/ dog hybrid. Remember back then it would have been high generation wolf, nowadays there's more dog.

Cor raven, are you going to tell me if you had an animal like this coming at you growling and snarling you wouldn't feel at least a little threatened.

Well, so there's several hypothesis:

· A wolf There were many wolves in Europe just 70 years ago, let it go a couple of centuries. First let's locate le Gevaudan, it's number 41: map
Now let's see where wolves are located in Europe: map If even today there's wolves around there, there surely were back then. Although wolves are generally not more agressive than boars or lynxs that was a hard winter and perhaps deers, rabbits and other usual preys of wolves were hard to find, and the pack became more agressive due to lack of food. Maybe it was a singlw individual who had been thrown out of his pack andwhile he was looking for a new hunting area he met the juicy farmers and cattle.
Common sense tempts us to conclude that if it looks like a wolf, it's a wolf.

· A hyena It's been mentioned that striped hyenas are more solitary than other species. But even so, how could any hyena (one or thirty) be in France? If it had escaped a circus or his master, it would be wandering alone no matter if it was a striped one or a spotted one or a checked one. I think I read somewhere that it could have been a hyena, raised and trained to be the "hunting pet" for a noble of the region, or maybe it had learned the lesson that humans would hit it, lock it up, harm it in some way -an that's why it attacked people.

· A hybrid A dog-wolf hybrid... I can't understand why people love so passonately the idea of hybrids running free killing people. A dog-wolf hybrid would not necessarely be a psycko like this beast, not more than a normal wolf or dog. But then again, had it been this animal people would have described it wither as a dog or as a wolf, not a strange animal.

·A new species Well, I wouldn't consider that very seriously, seeing there are more plausible explanations. It's like a man I saw on tv: "well, we could say that celts built stonehenge carrying huge rocks miles away, but wouldn't it be more ligicalto say that druids had telekinetik faculties?"
No, it's not more logical!!! It's more trendy, exciting or whichever adjective you want, except "logical", "natural" or the like.

My guess is: wolves (either one or more).

Wolves are wary of man, that's why I say it's a hybrid.

Get out the movie The Brotherhood of the Wolf. Don't worry about the movie itself, but go to extras and theres a small doco with a wolf expert in Gevaudan.

Very interesting stuff.

Well I think we can say it was no ordinary hyena. It would also explain the Kings bizarre behaviour if it had escaped from his or a friends of his collection. If the carcass was 6ft long then the living creature was probably a but bigger still owing to slight decomposition and stuffing techniques. Old fashioned techniques weren't that great actually and the animal often "shrank". As in the case of the Transvaal lions which were hastily stuffed and hence shrank.

A 6 - 7ft long hyena in a strange environment probably would be one hell of a dangerous creature. It had teeth measuring 3.5 centimeters long.

I saw it in the cinema and I own the dvd as well. It's a nice film, exteriors are wonderful and photography is just great.
If I recall it correctly, the "one-armed" guy brought some animal from africa and made it breed with ae mastiff or wolf or whatever. Still, it's just a movie.

Wolf certainly does remain a very likely possibility. When the Tsavo lions were attacking, some of the natives attributed supernatural qualities to them, saying that they were really spirits and such. This often happens with maneaters. A normal individual of a well-known native species, doing abnormal things, can be made into something else because of the panic it causes.
I don't really know all that much about the striped hyena, but the spotted hyena is a notorious maneater.

I've posted some info in previous posts of mine.

The reason why I believe it was a striped hyena is because when the body was first examined it was by somebody from that time period. They weren't that bright. They thought weasels gave birth out the ear...

30 years ago, so sometime in the 70s, the body was found in a basement and a zoologist examined it and stated that it was a striped hyena. Now, a zoologist from then would of course know so much more than a random yuppie from back when the beast was killed.

Also with all the info I've been looking up on striped hyenas and the Beast of Gevaudan, it seems like a very good answer to the indentity of the beast.

I dunno. I'll have to do a bit more research, but I remember reading that they can't really prove that the stuffed hyena was one of the beasts. That's what's so fascinating with this story, we'll never really be able prove what actually happened.

There is the possibility that the carcass found wasn't the Beast of Gevaudan, but it was found in the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, where the carcass was kept, then was discarded in the basement and I don't believe the museum would have any other carcasses lying around that could have been the beast. It'd be killer if there were photos of the stuffed carcass. That would probably help solve what it is/was.

Yes I would but a wolf dog hybrid is not a supernatural phenominon, nor would it be more likely to kill and not eat then a hyena

Sorta reminds me of the case with shunka warakin. A statement from the museum or Mr. Jullien himself would be neat and helpful too.

The hyena theory actually does stick if you think about it. Considering the time that the reports started, exotic animal trading was very big. People were fascinated with exotic wildlife especially from Africa. but at the same time, we didnt have all the proper knowledge of how to care for these animals, and often they would be released in the wild, b/c they werent bringing crowds or budgeting or other reasons. And being in a new environment what is a hyena to eat..it cant find zebra, enough carcasses, gazelle, ....but wait...what are they slow moving creatures...mmmmm human flesh....it makes sense. And how are we suppose to take peoples explanations literally, they are often inflamed especially when you are not sure what exactly the creature is. We did a experiment/hoax in lake tohoe...we made a 4 foot long creature that resembled an alligator. We later asked people who witnessed it to describe it...many said with enthusiam and absolute positivity that the creature was 10 maybe 15 feet long and looked like a pleisiosuar. Not even close people. FYI this was not done out of the wickedness of my heart but for an experiment for a critical thinking course on "science and nonsense-pseudoscience and the paranormal for a csu class.

Interesting results in the experiment. Eyewitness testimony can indeed be sadly unhelpful at times.

Great post, rylraven13. Of course, there are still going to be those that will try to tear down the hyena theory.

Yep, and I'm one of them.

How do you answer to this one?

The King who had his own zoo sent some of his own specialised hunters to hunt la bete.
They had seen hyenas before, yet when they encountered la bete they walked away saying it was a wolf like creature.

Wolf like doesnt mean it was a wolf!!!! It just means they have similarites. IE. Pointy fangs, point ears, fluffy fur, etc. If I say I'm cat like, that doesnt make me a cat. If I say my hedgehog is cactus like, that doesnt make him one. Gosh.

Yes, but they'd seen a hyena before.
If it was a hyena or two ( remember that two were killed ) the hunters wouldn't have said wolf like. They didn't know what it was.