Mboya Jagwa - the Dog-Snake of Paraguay

[Night Walker]

Rich in all kinds of animal life as is Paraguay, the average inhabitant or traveller sees but few specimens. Perhaps there is no country in the world where the wild game is so shy, or where its natural haunts are so impenetrable. Curious and fearful indeed are some of these rare animals, according to the stories told by the Indians and Paraguayans of the more remote parts.

Perhaps the most celebrated of these creatures is the "Mboya Jagwa," or dog-snake, a huge water-serpeant which is said to attain a length of from 60 to 100 feet. So far this monster is unknown to science, though one white man now living in Paraguay is said to have discovered a huge skeleton on the banks of a Riacho in the Choco; unfornately, he did not realise the value of his find, and took no steps to preserve this interesting trophy. The Indians describe the creature as having a head like a dog, and as carrying that similarity still further by yelping like a puppy.

From Alexander K. Macdonald's (1911) Picturesque Paraguay, sport, pioneering, travel: a land of promise, stock-raising, plantation industries, forest products, commercial possibilities.

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[NatureBoff]

It's a typical myth imagery of a number of real cryptozoological animals imo. There *are* dog-like cryptids as well as giant snake-like cryptids imo, but there isn't one that's both.

[CharlieCluster7]

Falcor.

[Simbi Laveau]

I looked at the title,and wondered ,but can it sing Honky Tonk Woman.....bah !,

[Lava_Lady]

I looked at the title,and wondered ,but can it sing Honky Tonk Woman.....bah !,

LMAO!! A legitimate question, I think!

It's a typical myth imagery of a number of real cryptozoological animals imo. There *are* dog-like cryptids as well as giant snake-like cryptids imo, but there isn't one that's both.

That it's exactly what the website states, that the native people described it as a snake with a dog like head. and that it makes sounds like a puppy.

Edited March 6, 2013 by Lava_Lady

[CharlieCluster7]

Sounds like the Tatzelwurm... which might be salamanders.

"In Alpine folklore, the Tatzelwurm is a stubby, lizard-like creature. It takes the appearance of a cat with the hind-end of a serpent with no hind legs. It is rumored to live in several areas of Europe, including the Austrian, Bavarian, Italian and Swiss Alps. It has several regional names including Stollenwurm, Springwurm, Arassas and Praatzelwurm. In 1934 a Swiss photographer named Balkin allegedly saw a strange creature near a log and photographed it. The resulting interest in the creature inspired the Berliner Illustrierte to sponsor an expedition in search of the Tatzelwurm, but the expedition was a failure and interest quickly faded. Some scientists and cryptozoologists agree that the 1934 Tatzelwurm photograph was a hoax, but Tatzelwurm sightings have continued to the present day, and German cryptozoological researcher Ulrich Magin has published several articles in Fortean Times and his own magazine Bilk documenting them."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatzelwurm

[Thegreatsilence]

Constrictor snakes look somewhat canine when seen at certain angles, the yelping part was wrongly asssumed due to this resemblance.

[hatecraft]

It's a typical myth imagery of a number of real cryptozoological animals imo. There *are* dog-like cryptids as well as giant snake-like cryptids imo, but there isn't one that's both.

Care to name any of these "real" cryptids?