User blog:Goddess of Despair/Season 4 battle 6 American Cryptids vs Eurasian Cryptids vs Australian and African Cryptids

You read it right, today a massive cryptid battle will take place. The animals that elude humanity battle it out to see who survives!

HIstory
Werewolves were said in European folklore to bear tell-tale physical traits even in their human form. These included the meeting of the eyebrowls at the bridge of the nose, curved fingernails, low set ears and a swinging stride. One method of identifying a werewolf in its human form was to cut the flesh of the accused, under the pretense that fur would be seen within the wound. A Russian superstition recalls a werewolf can be recognised by bristles under the tongue. The appearance of a werewolf in its animal form varies from culture to culture, though they are most commonly portrayed as being indistinguishable from ordinary wolves save for the fact that they have no tail (a trait thought characteristic of witches in animal form), are often larger, and retain human eyes and voice.

History
Mothman was first seen on November 15, 1966, near an old munitions dump called the "TNT Area" outside of Point Pleasant, West Virginia. Two young couples were driving by, when they stopped to investigate two glowing red lights. To their horror, they found the lights were coming from the eyes of a humanoid creature, six and a half to seven feet tall, covered in fur, with no apparent head, and large wings in place of arms. They sped off, but the creature chased them, flying alongside their car. They reached speeds of up to 100 miles an hour in an effort to lose the beast, but it was able to keep pace with little effort.

History
Wildmen stories are found among the indigenous population of the Pacific Northwest. The legends existed prior to a single name for the creature.[15] They differed in their details both regionally and between families in the same community. Similar stories of wildmen are found on every continent except Antarctica.[15]  EcologistRobert Michael Pyle argues that most cultures have human-like giants in their folk history: "We have this need for some larger-than-life creature."[16]

Members of the Lummi tell tales about Ts'emekwes, the local version of Bigfoot. The stories are similar to each other in terms of the general descriptions of Ts'emekwes, but details about the creature's diet and activities differed between the stories of different families.[17]

Some regional versions contained more nefarious creatures. The stiyaha or kwi-kwiyai were a nocturnal race that children were told not to say the names of lest the monsters hear and come to carry off a person—sometimes to be killed.[18]  In 1847, Paul Kane reported stories by the native people about skoocooms: a race of cannibalistic wild men living on the peak of Mount St. Helens.[12]  The skoocooms appear to have been regarded as supernatural, rather than natural.[12]

Less menacing versions such as the one recorded by Reverend Elkanah Walker exist. In 1840, Walker, a Protestant missionary, recorded stories of giants among the Native Americans living in Spokane, Washington. The Indians claimed that these giants lived on and around the peaks of nearby mountains and stole salmon from the fishermen's nets.[19]

The local legends were combined together by J. W. Burns in a series of Canadian newspaper articles in the 1920s. Each language had its own name for the local version.[20]  Many names meant something along the lines of "wild man" or "hairy man" although other names described common actions it was said to perform (e.g. eating clams).[21] Burns coined the term Sasquatch, which is from the Halkomelem sásq’ets (IPA: [ˈsæsqʼəts]),[22]  and used it in his articles to describe a hypothetical single type of creature reflected in these various stories.[12] [21] [23]  Burns's articles popularized both the legend and its new name, making it well known in western Canada before it gained popularity in the United States.

History
The first reported attacks occurred in March 1995 in Puerto Rico.[5]  In this attack, eight sheep were discovered dead, each with three puncture wounds in the chest area and completely drained of blood.[5]  A few months later, in August, an eyewitness, Madelyne Tolentino, reported seeing the creature in the Puerto Rican town of Canóvanas, when as many as 150 farm animals and pets were reportedly killed.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-trail_4-2">[5]  In 1975, similar killings in the small town ofMoca, were attributed to El Vampiro de Moca (The Vampire of Moca).<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-5">[6]  Initially it was suspected that the killings were committed by a Satanic cult; later more killings were reported around the island, and many farms reported loss of animal life. Each of the animals had their bodies bled dry through a series of small circular incisions.

Puerto Rican comedian and entrepreneur Silverio Pérez is credited with coining the term chupacabras soon after the first incidents were reported in the press. Shortly after the first reported incidents in Puerto Rico, other animal deaths were reported in other countries, such as the Dominican Republic, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia,Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Brazil, United States, and Mexico.

History
The Manipogo is a serpent-like monster that inhabits the relatively small body of water near the artic coastline of eastern Canada. The creatures stay together after mating and the birth of their offspring, possibly in a pod similar to that of wales and dolphins. Not as famous as its British Columbain cousin, the Ogopogo, the Manipogo still has its fair share of sighings and attention.

History
In Alpine folklore, the Tatzelwurm is a stubby, ferocious, lizard-like creature, 1-7 feet long (depending on what source you read), which is often said to have a cat-like head and, in many accounts, no hindlimbs. Originating from stories of a catheaded, spiked-ridged-backed dragon, the first eyewitness account of the Tatzelwurm (worm with claws) was made by Hans Fuchs, a man who claimed to have seen 2 of them in 1779: the experience led to a fatal heart attack. Later, a relative painted depictions of the two monsters, which were big and looked like lizards. Like the Gila Monster, is said to have a venemous bite.

The Tatzelwurm is rumored to live in several areas of Europe, including Spain and the Austrian, Bavarian, Italian, and Swiss Alps. It has several regional names including Stollenwurn, Springwurm, Arassas, and Praatzelwurm. In 1934 a Swiss photograper named Balkin allegedly saw a strange creature near a log and photographed it. The resulting interest in the creature inspired by Berliner Illustierte to sponser an expedition in search of the Tatzelwurm, but the expedition was a failure and interest quickly faded. Some scientists and cryptozoologists agree the 1934 Tatzelwurm photograph was a hoax, but Tatzelwurm sightings have continued to present day, and German Cryptozoological researcher Ulrich Magin has published several artucles in the Fortean Times and his own magazine Bilk documenting them.

In 1990, near the Italian town of Domodosola, a reptile skeleton that has defied identification was found. Could these remains be the first of a Tatzelwurm ever found?

History
The Owlman, sometimes referred to as the Cornish Owlman, or The Owlman of Mawnan, is a purported cryptid that was supposedly sighted around mid 1976 in the village of Mawnan, Cornwall. The Owlman is sometimes compared to America's Mothman in cryptozoological literature.

The Owlman story began when paranormal researcher Tony "Doc" Shiels was approached by a man, Don Melling, who had been visiting the area on holiday from Lancaster. Melling said that on April 17, 1976, his two daughters, 12-year-old June and her 9-year-old sister, Vicky, were walking through the woods near Mawnan church when they saw a large winged creature hovering above the church tower. The girls were frightened and immediately ran to tell their father. According to Shiels, the family had become so perturbed by the sighting that they had abandoned their holiday three days early and that the father would not allow either of his daughters to be interviewed. Sheils was, however, provided with a drawing of the creature made by twelve year old June. In a later study of the case, Jonathan Downes claims that Shiels first described these events in "a letter", although he does not say who Shiels was writing to.

The story was subsequently related in a pamphlet entitled Morgawr: The Monster of Falmouth Bay by Anthony Mawnan-Peller, which circulated throughout Cornwall in 1976. Two months later, on July 3, 14-year-old Sally Chapman was camping with a friend, Barbara Perry, in woods near the church.

According to her account, as she stood outside her tent, she heard a hissing sound and turned to see a figure that looked like an owl as big as a man, with pointed ears and red eyes. The girls reported that the creature flew up into the air, revealing black pincer-like claws. Sightings of this figure continued to be reported on the following day (when it was described as "silvery gray") and on two occasions two years later, in June and August 1978, all within the vicinity of the church. Previous to their encounter, the girls had read the pamphlet that described the Owlman's appearance to the Melling girls. They contacted Shiels, who encouraged them to draw images separately; he considered them similar enough to verify their story but different enough to rule out conspiracy.

History
<p style="line-height:19.1875px;font-family:sans-serif;">The Yeti or Abominable Snowman is said to be an ape-like cryptid taller than an average human, similar to Bigfoot, that inhabits the Himalayanregion of Nepal, and Tibet.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-2" style="line-height:1em;">[2] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-sikkim_3-0" style="line-height:1em;">[3]  The names Yeti and Meh-Teh are commonly used by the people indigenous to the region,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-4" style="line-height:1em;">[4]  and are part of their history and mythology. Stories of the Yeti first emerged as a facet of Western popular culture in the 19th century.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;font-family:sans-serif;">The scientific community generally regards the Yeti as a legend, given the lack of conclusive evidence,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-bigfoot_5-0" style="line-height:1em;">[5]  but it remains one of the most famous creatures of cryptozoology. The Yeti may be considered a sort of parallel myth to the Bigfoot of North America.

History
<p style="line-height:19.1875px;font-family:sans-serif;">The Beast of Bodmin, also known as The Beast of Bodmin Moor<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-1" style="line-height:1em;">[1]  (Cornish: Best Goon Brenn) is a phantom wild cat purported to live in Cornwall, in the United Kingdom. Bodmin Moor became a centre of these sightings with occasional reports of mutilated slain livestock: the alleged panther-like cats of the same region came to be popularly known as the Beast of Bodmin Moor.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;font-family:sans-serif;">In general, scientists reject such claims because of the improbably large numbers necessary to maintain a breeding population<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-2" style="line-height:1em;">[2]  and because climate and food supply issues would make such purported creatures' survival in reported habitats unlikely

History
Lake Tianchi Monster  is the name given to what is said to be a  lake monster  that lives in  Heaven Lake  (known as  Cheonji  in Korean) located in the peak of  Baekdu Mountain  within the  Baekdudaegan  and  Changbai  mountain ranges encompassing  Jilin Province  of  China  and  Ryanggang Province  of North Korea. <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-1" style="line-height:1em;font-family:sans-serif;">[1]  Some reports argue that there are an estimated 20 monsters

History
The  dingonek  is a scaly, scorpion-tailed, saber-toothed  cryptid  allegedly seen in the African  Congolese  jungles (primarily those of the  Democratic Republic ), and yet another in a long line of West African cryptids—such as the  Chipekwe, the  Jago-nini  and the  Emela-ntouka. At the  Brakfontein ridge ,  Western Cape  in South Africa is a cave painting of an unknown creature that fits the description of the dingonek, right down to its walrus-like tusks.

History
The  Kongamato  ("breaker of boats") is a reported  pterosaur -like creature said to have been seen by natives and explorers in the  Mwinilunga  district's Jiundu swamps of Western  Zambia ,  Angola  and  Congo. <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-1" style="line-height:1em;font-family:sans-serif;">[1]  Suggested identities include a modern-day  Rhamphorhynchus  (pterosaurs lived in the area of Africa where Kongamato has been sighted) <sup class="noprint Inline-Template" style="line-height:1em;font-family:sans-serif;white-space:nowrap;">[verification needed] <sup class="Template-Fact" style="line-height:1em;font-family:sans-serif;white-space:nowrap;">[citation needed], a misidentified bird (such as the very large and peculiar  Saddle-billed Stork ), or a giant  bat. No photos or footage have been taken, leaving most of the stories to rely on large wounds and eyewitness accounts.

History
The  agogwe  is a purported small human-like  biped  reported from the forests of  East Africa. It is 1 to 1.7 m (3.3 to 5.6 ft) tall with long arms and long rust-coloured woolly hair and is said to have yellowish-red skin under its coat. It has also been reported as having black or grey hair. Its feet are said to be about 12 cm (5 in) long with opposable toes. Alleged differences between it and known apes include a rounded forehead, small canines and its hair and skin colour.

History
According to the Aboriginal people of Australia, Bunyips lurk in swamps, nillabongs, creeks, riverbeds, and waterholes. During night, their blood-curdling cries can be heard in the distence as they devour any animal that ventures near.

History
Mokèlé-mbèmbé, meaning "one who stops the flow of rivers" in the  Lingala language  is a legendary water-dwelling creature of  Congo River basinfolklore , sometimes described as living creature, sometimes as a spirit, and loosely analogous to the  Loch Ness Monster  in Western culture. It is claimed to be a  sauropod  by some  cryptozoologists

Voting/battle information
There will be one of each cryptid mentioned above in the fight. The fight will take place in a large forest with a lake nearby. Compare the cryptids like this:

Voting is in the form of points, 2 points for edges or a descriptive paragraph. 1 point for a decent paragraph and 0 for one word or one sentence. Voting ends 3/3/2013.