British Bigfoot is Extinct, but Nessie is Alive & Well

Toying with Nessie!
Snapped during the biggest hunt for Nessie in 50 years in 2023!

As a hopeful ‘believer’ in the existence of Bigfoot, I had always assumed that it was a creature of faraway places, like the mountain steppes of the Himalayas or the impenetrable forests of the Pacific Northwest, or some uninhabited, no man’s land, where large, ape-like creatures could plausibly remain undetected.

However, when I began researching this phenomenon, I was shocked to discover that there were also numerous reports from Britain dating back 100s of years and that they even had Modern-day reports of Bigfoot-like creatures across the country.  

Many of these accounts described a tall, bipedal, muscular and hair-covered, wild man, with a domed head and a face something resembling something like that of a ‘caveman’, or chimpanzee, with a flat muzzle and a human-like nose.

Of course, my first instinct was to seek out witnesses and see if there was any historical evidence to back up these modern-day sightings and what I found was a creature called the Woodwoose, a mythical creature whose popularity seems to have become prominent in Europe from the 12th century onwards, where they are depicted as wild, hair-covered men, upon the architectural adornments of cathedrals, tapestries and in heraldic coats of arms of prominent European families.

So far, so good… it’s not often that one finds such corroboration in history, especially one so closely related to other mythical entities in Europe, such as the Satyr, Faun, Ogre, and Leshy, which are similarly described as shy, forest-dwelling, hair-covered beings who are not beyond carrying off the occasional maiden, from time to time! Could this be the key to the unravelling of the wildman mystery, I thought?

Were scenes such as these commonplace during medieval times?

Sadly, no! After 6 years of searching the length and breadth of the country for this creature, I have found scant evidence that it still exists in our land. Undoubtedly, there are more than a few eyewitness reports, but these are notoriously lacking in attribution, often being 2nd or even 3rd hand reports and too often emanate from sources who have a ‘skin in the game’ or at least something to gain from this legend!

My sad conclusion is that even those 12th-century carvings that feature so prominently upon the holy houses of Europe are themselves a form of inherited folklore, a memorial in cloth and stone to the stories of a bygone era and that although they may have once existed in Europe, they were probably extinct by the time these carvings and tapestries were created.

But that doesn’t mean that Britain does not have any cryptid creatures in its midst. Indeed, my ‘faith’ in one of these ‘cryptids’ in particular was recently revived when I had the privilege of documenting the biggest search for Nessie in 50 years for a new TV series – Weird Britain.

WEIRD BRITAIN
a new television series investigating the mysteries, histories, 
folklore & fables of teh British Isles!

Our team, equipped with Thermal drones, ROVs, Hydrophones, Sonar, and Night Vision technology, worked closely with expedition organiser and founder of Loch Ness Exploration – Alan McKenna to document his crowd-sourced observation of the waters of Loch Ness and finally find proof of the elusive beast!

And although definitive evidence was not obtained, there were many triumphs throughout the expedition weekend, such as; hydrophone ‘bloops’ which were obtained aboard the vessel Deepscan while we filmed Alan McKenna and our expert guest – Ken Gerhard listening to the sounds of the loch, interviewing Matty and Aga, two wild swimmers who had come to lend their aquatic expertise to the hunt and filmed a three humped object near Fort Augustus; and speaking with Japanese-born translator, Chie Kelly, who snapped 61 photos of the beast from the shores of Dores Beach in 2018, but did not share the pictures for five years for fear of being ridiculed until being overwhelmed by the spirit of the most extensive search for Nessie in half a century realised that she could no longer keep them secret, causing Veteran Nessie-hunter and Guinness Book of World Records holder - Steve Feltham to declare them: “...the most exciting photographs ever taken of the Loch Ness Monster!” 

Hanging out at Urquhart Castle a Nessie Hotspot!

We have to remember that the Loch Ness Monster, unlike the British Bigfoot, has 90 years of continuous sightings and even has older sightings dating back to 565 AD, with corroborative reports being made by eyewitnesses from every walk of life and from 100s of countries around the world. Whereas the British Bigfoot is a feature of the High Middle Ages and disappeared from our histories until the advent of yeti mania in the early 20th century and again later when bigfoot mania reappeared on the media scene with the hugely successful – Finding Bigfoot!

Written by Andy McGrath

Based upon excerpts from Beasts of Britain by Andy McGrath

available from all good online retailers: 

Photos/Artwork

Toying with Nessie: Photo by Andy McGrath 2023

Wodewose surrounded by dogs: from the Queen Mary Psalter, England, c. 1310–1320, Royal MS 2 B VII, f. 173r

Weird Britain Logo: designed by Matt Everett

Hanging out at Urquhart Bay: Photo by Andy McGrath 

MONKEY MONSTERS!

Gosainkunda Pass lies directly north of Kathmandu and is a popular trekking route for tourists due to its close proximity to the capital and the popular pull of Gosainkunda Lake, which draws Hindu and Buddhist pilgrims from far afield to see the place where Shiva pierced a glacier with his trident to obtain water after swallowing a poison that threatened to destroy the world, thus, parenthetically creating Gosainkunda Lake in the process. Nepal is a well-traveled country that has been on the Western bucket list of must-see nations since the late 19th century, and its many legends, including that of the Yeti, are well known. And yet, this mysterious nation may also harbour another mystery species in the form of a ferocious, giant monkey the locals call, Kra-Dhan. And, although sightings of these terrifying creatures are seemingly rare, what is certain, is that those who survive an encounter with this imposing primate are left convinced that they are lucky to have escaped with their lives!

What’s in a name? The name Kra-Dhan name comes from a Bahnar word whose origins are uncertain. Also known as Bec-boc, Bekk-bok, and Con luo iuo i.

Monstrous Measurements: Resembling a large, upright monkey. Approx. 5 ft. tall. Black face. Yellow eyes. Long, yellow fangs. Well-built but sinewy, grey-haired body. Long-tail. Long, thin legs.

Terrifying Tracks: Large tracks – 18 inches long, 8 inches wide, with a 4ft. stride.

Beastly Behaviours: Walks on its hind legs. Very aggressive. Reputed to be able to change colour like a chameleon. Has a ferocious call that sounds like an insane laugh, a raucous roar, or aggressive chattering. Organised. Groups are led by a large dominant male and consist of several individuals of mixed ages and genders. Territorial. Ambushes humans and animals in groups of 7-8.

Hairy Habitat: Gosainkunda Pass, Nepal; Annam Highlands, near Kon Tum and Pleiku, Vietnam.

Scary Sightings: 

1953: Entomologist George Brooks and Physician George Moore were ambushed by seven to eight hairy, five-foot-tall, upright, monkey-like creatures while travelling through the Gosainkunda Pass, Nepal, en route to Kathmandu. Moore, who at the time had assumed that they had encountered the infamous, Yeti, recounted their harrowing experience in the article titled, “I Met the Abominable Snowman” (A True Story) in the May 1957 issue of Sports Afield, where he described himself and Brooks, being assailed by the animals after becoming separated from their porters, who were further back along the trail. Moore said of the creatures that were led by a large male, who announced his presence with a raucous roar, accompanied by the angry chattering of the group: 

“…a hideous face thrust apart the wildly thrashing leaves and gaped at us. It was a face that seemed to extend from ear to ear, and long, yellowish teeth were chattering. But those eyes, beady, yellow eyes that stared at us with obvious demoniacal cunning and anger. That face!!!… A hand pushed through the leaves. Then a quick movement and a shoulder… As the creature emerged through the dark leaves, we strained to make out his form…The creature was about 5 feet tall, half crouching on two thin hairy legs, leering at us in undisguised fury. Claws or hands seemed dark, perhaps black, while his bedraggled, hairy body was gray and thin. It shuffled along with a stoop the way a Neolithic caveman might have walked. Well-built and sinewy, it could prove to be the most formidable opponent. Teeth bared, it snarled like an animal. Two long fangs protruded from its upper lip… Suddenly, a sharp flicking movement behind it caught our eyes, a tail…Other figures were approaching now from several directions. We could make out 6 or 7 of them through the mist. One appeared to be carrying a baby around its neck. They seemed to mean business as they growled at each other. The one that had pushed through the foliage first was the leader. There was little question as to his authority as he led the attack…” 

The two men, who were indeed in dire straits, decided to fire their guns over the heads of the enraged beasts in the hope of frightening them away, which, after three gunshots per man, seemed to have driven the creatures back, albeit temporarily. The two men could now hear the angry chattering of the beasts, hidden somewhere in the undergrowth, preparing for another surprise assault. Trapped, they knew that their only hope of escape lay in the arrival of their porters, which duly happened when Shiva (the Gurkha boss of the porters), having been panicked by the sound of gunfire, came hurrying along the trail, searching for his employers. 

“Similar in appearance to known species of platyrrhines and catarrhines, in some respects, though massively outsized. Standing from 5 – 6 ft. in height. These monstrous primates are usually highly aggressive and are just as comfortable on two legs as they are on all fours. Most types possess a tail. They have long, narrow, clawed feet.”

1943: A Kra-Dhan killed a man near Kon Tum, Vietnam. In his book Abominable Snowman – Legend Come to Life – Ivan. T. Sanderson writes of the incident: “There is a report that one of these creatures either committed murder or was responsible for a murder near Kontum in 1943. Unfortunately, the matter was tried by the local native court, of which no records were sent to the central French Authority.” He goes on to add: “This is not by any means the only report of these Kra-Dhan to be made to foreigners, and we have heard of similar entities in areas far to the west of Kontum.” 

Beastly Theories:

Extant Orangutan Population: Could a surviving mainland population of Orangutan, A species that is now limited to the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, explain the legend of the Kra Dhan and Bekk Bok? It seems unlikely. Neither the physiological proportions nor the behaviour of the Kra Dhan matches those of the Orangutan, which, while not docile, is neither an actively aggressive species nor territorial, thus making an organised troop ambush on perceived intruders somewhat out of character. Orangutan fossils have been found in Laos, Vietnam, and China; however, not unexpectedly, there is no evidence of their presence in this region beyond the early Pleistocene. 

Giant Mountain Macaque: Abbe Pere David, the discoverer of the Giant Panda, noted that a giant mountain macaque (a baboon-like monkey) was believed to exist in eastern Tibet. Could a phenomenon like insular gigantism, wherein the pressure of an isolated and limited environment causes a species to become outsized, have taken effect in an isolated population of mountain macaques, forcing them to become large and more aggressive in order to survive in the unfertile mountains and foothills of Nepal? 

Could an unknown subspecies of giant mountain Macaque be responsible for the
legend of the Kra-Dhan?

Unidentified Giant Monkey: Loren Coleman and Patrick Huyghe write in ‘The Field Guide to Bigfoot and Other Mystery Primates’ of Giant Monkeys that may inhabit the temperate regions of Asia and the Americas. The Giant Monkey is described as being 4-6 ft. tall, with a doglike or baboon-like face and pointed ears. It has dark piercing eyes and shaggy black or red hair and would seem a perfect match for what both Brooks and Moore encountered in the Gosainkunda Pass, Nepal, in 1953.

Excerpt from Beasts of the World (vol.1) Hairy Humanoids

By Andy McGrath

Photos/Artwork:

Gosainkinda Pass, Nepal: By Ananda Raj Devkota - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40285490

Kra-Dhan Sketch: Mort Kunstler reconstructed the scenes from descriptions furnished by Dr. Moore.

Angry Rhesus Macaque: By Tapas Biswas - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=49727828

The Beast of Beadnell (Testimonial)

The British Big Cat phenomenon is a rather curious add on to cryptozoology, and yet the odd circumstances surrounding it, (the possibility of an unknown population of large predatory cats inhabiting the UK) still make it a subject that is interesting to many researchers. Chiefly, this is because these out of place animals are not meant to be here. 

The conditions that ultimately led to their hidden habitation of the British countryside may have even been due to an ill-thought out and poorly implemented piece of government legislation - The Dangerous Wild Animals Act, 1976 - that not only made the conditions under which these animals were now expected to be housed, financially prohibitive, but also did not provide any support for those owners who could no longer afford to keep their animals. 

It is now roundly assumed that many owners simply set their animals loose, hoping I suppose, that they would eek out a quiet existence in the wild. However, quite the opposite appears to be true and in the intervening 47 years, Big Cat sightings have grown, year on year.

The following encounter was reported by an RAF engineer who encountered a Big Cat in the Autumn of 2021, and is presented verbatim in the witnesses own words:

"Me and my wife had spent a day up in Beadnell, Northumberland visiting family.  

At around 9pm we set off back home in our car.  I was driving. It took about twenty minutes in the car from Beadnell along winding roads to finally intersect the A1 southbound. Turning on to the A1, the journey would take about 1 hour to reach Blyth our home.  

Blyth Road (A1) Southbound
©Copyright David Dixon and licensed for reuse under 
Creative Commons Licence.

As per usual, my wife was nodding in an out of sleep and I was listening to the radio.  About a quarter of an hour later we were passing the turn off to Alnwick, it was really dark and we were on the duel carriageway section of the road.  

About 5 minutes later, the road narrowed down to a single carriageway and I was driving at the speed limit (60mph) with my head lights on.  

Out the corner of my peripheral vision I spotted an animal crossing from left to right. I didn’t have time to brake, it was so quick, but what I saw was something out of the ordinary; a creature large and black.

Even my headlights didn’t pick up any detail of the animal, it was a pure black silhouette of a very large cat. It was too big to be a domestic cat!  

I’ve been to Africa and have seen big cats in the wild up close, like cheetahs and leopards, and this thing was of comparable size and the way it moved reminded me of these animals.  

Unfortunately, my wife was asleep and cannot recall this incident. But I’m clear in my mind that what I so on that night was something out of the ordinary and pretty strange.

Karl Mercer."

There are countless other witnesses, who like Karl, were wholly unaware of this phenomena and are now left with the unsettling awareness that a population of predatory big cats is now resident in the UK.

Moreover, this widespread population (the numbers of which are unknown) is homegrown and could even be in its 4th or 5th generation - making these big cats as much a part of the local fauna as other established non-native species, such as the grey squirrel and Canada goose.

Written by Andy McGrath

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 Read more about Alien Big Cats in my book: Beasts of Britain.

The Aberdeenshire Apeman

Since the days of the legendary Big Grey Man of Ben MacDhui, Scotland has seemingly been an epicentre of Wildman sightings in the UK.

What follows below is the eyewitness testimony of one such Scottish Wildman encounter that took place in Aberdeenshire in the winter of 2019.

The report has been abridged, yet is still presented verbatim, in the witnesses own words:

"Hello, we’ve encountered something that we think was a British Bigfoot in Aberdeenshire (N.E. Scotland).

We stayed in a holiday cottage in the middle of the countryside in mid-December 2019. We'd stayed there the previous winter as well and adored the place and had a wonderful time. 

We returned last year and spent a really uncomfortable 10 days there. I saw no animals besides the sheep in the field and they acted oddly. I remember saying at the time 'there's something up'; they didn't go near the bottom part of the C-shaped field or spread out; they were bunched at the middle of the top part of the field the entire time.

There was a horrible creepy feeling that my Husband and I both felt the entire time. On many of the nights we kept hearing this strange long, low siren call which hadn't been there the previous time echoing around the woods late at night. It was after midnight, as well. We were a few miles away from two towns, but neither had any reason to have a siren going, let alone after dark to all hours. My Husband and I were both creeped out. I was up at all hours of the night checking on the kids and seeing if the doors were locked. 

The previous holiday my Husband and Eldest (aged 6 at the time) would go out for night walks, star gazing and watching animals playing in the late evening and night. Not the second time; we were afraid to go out, there was just a constant feeling of dread which didn't much improve during the day. Everywhere around the cottage there was just a feeling of needing to be on alert for danger which was bizarre. At the house we heard bangs, knocks and clangs out in the woods. 

We also went to visit a nearby rock formation and there were a few people there with dogs that were acting up. My kids love dogs, so we were happily chatting to the owners and so many of them said they were acting up; wanting nothing to do with a walk and pulling to go back to the car.

One night after getting back to the house and locking the door. I was putting some ice cream we had been eating into another container in the kitchen. Normally, I would store it in the outside freezer, but had decided not to, because of the malevolent feeling in the air. I remember that I was too scared to even look at the windows and I had consciously pointed my head at the floor, in case something was in the window (there are no curtains in the kitchen).

Then I heard two knocks on the window and looked up to see what had made the sound. It looked like a chimpanzee hand, very dark skinned, with hairy, bare palms. It knocked again with two fingers, the second two were curled in. It then leaned into the window and gaped at me, I didn't see teeth but I could have been distracted by the glowy green (towards the yellow end spectrum) eyes. It kind of had a Homer-Simpson-like protruding muzzle; not a proper muzzle, but definitely protruding. Like, if you were to puff up your cheeks. It wasn't as sharp a glow as a cats, it was blurry. The head appeared domed but not pointy. Its fur was black or very, very dark brown fur. I was about 2.5m away and not happy.

The kitchen, where a huge face stared menacingly at the witness while
tapping on her windowpane!

I looked away so it wouldn't think I was challenging it, backed to the door, turned the lights out, closed both doors (kitchen to hallway, glass door) and hallway to living room (solid wooden door) so that no light got out. I checked the front door again and tucked the curtains closed in the living room, and sat on the arm of the sofa to stop people getting past me. 

I didn't tell my husband, I was afraid that he'd go into the kitchen to see, with a poker and that outside door is from the 90's and flimsy! I was scared that if it decided to come in it'd be through it no problem. I could not say anything in case my husband went out and it kicked off, endangering him and our children.

It thumped on the window within minutes, as soon as I'd sat down. We heard it over the TV loud enough to startle everyone, I blamed it on my jacket falling and stopped my husband going to check. I was terrified it'd look through the little window by the fireplace. I put a DVD on and persuaded my husband and son not to go for a walk, saying it was creepy outside.

That night I didn't sleep well, I'd get up and look out the window and see that the sheep were in a circle, horns out, not grazing or sitting down, just looking towards the house. It was a clear night, the moon was out. All night I heard the clack of a stone moving (gravel drive) or scrunching, about 4 or 5 times usually toward the other side of the house in front of the kids bedroom. Next door's dog was going skeppy angry and whining for hours.

The next morning no wildlife; before we left for the day, while they were eating breakfast I checked all around the house, in the byre windows and around the back of it. The grass in front of the window was trampled, but no prints; it was very dry and the ground was packed. I  noticed that there was a smudge on the window, where the thing had knocked, that was too high for a person to reach. There's 4/5 steps up to the kitchen level of the house and its face was a few inches above my eye level, and I'm 5 foot 7 inches tall.

It’s horrible to talk about now, it was wider than the damn windows though and its head filled one of those panes of glass, it was broader than the entire window! The face was snarling and menacing, I'm not sure if it had no teeth or decided to slow reveal them as I bugged out too soon, but its expression was readable and it was not happy. It lurked outside most the night, I was up at 2, 3, 5 and it only buggered off towards 6. 

Thinking back on its appearance, it had heavy jaw, with more muscles up the sides; a lot more powerful looking than a humans, but the chin didn't come to as much of a point. Its face was a lot longer looking and flatter than a humans too, with more space under the nose and from the mouth to chin and a protruding brow ridge. The nose was broad, very fleshy looking, and didn't stick out much. It had a Homer Simpson like mouth that stuck out a bit, and its eyes were bigger than a gorillas, more human-like and had a green watery reflection that wasn't sharp like a cats. I didn't really see its ears, but noticed that the hair on its head was longer.

Its fingers were like a gorillas, but huge, broad and rubbery looking and had fuzz on the back and wiry hairs towards the top. It only extended the first two fingers and knocked the glass with both of them, one after the other. It was right-handed. Its thumb looked funny, but I can't say how. At that point that it leaned in, I noped out of there!

If it growled, it was very faint and I'm now unsure. Nothing huge and loud. When I remember it, it's kind of flashbulb memory, it feels like my ears go 'hurrrrrrrr!' to themselves deep inside, then I get that ear wash pounding sound, but first there's that 'hurrrrr!' which coincides with it leaning in.

At the time I had no idea what it was, was it real? Was it a monster? Was it some sort of spirit thing? It was threatening, it was something unknown and I hid it from everyone. Thinking about it gives me the screaming abdabs, the hair on the back of my everything is standing up and my back's gone cold just talking about it. It still scares me!

Another strange thing happened the following day, which I later connected to the incident. We were visiting a local beauty spot when I heard a thump, a crunch of vegetation, and a stick cracking. I looked over expecting to see a deer but saw nothing. There were no sounds of birds or anything, everything was completely silent. I still had no idea what I'd seen the night before and was trying very hard not to think about it. Then two stones came flying out of the treeline; they sailed high up into a birch tree's branches before landing by my feet. They were about an inch across, and I could see dirt still on them. I was well impressed with the aim as both of them landed within 6 inches of each other. 

Then the air changed and felt rumbly, static and thick. It was like the air had gone fuzzy and was pressing on my face. I thought 'Okay, there's something here that wants me to go away, I'd better head down now'. I had a pagan friend who believed in land spirits and who had told me that one of these spirits, called a Cailleach, was said to throw stones when it was angry."

The area in which this sighting took place is on the borders of the Cairngorms National Park; a pristine area that has long been associated with tales of the Wildman. Could this sighting constitute a modern day report of the Big Grey Man or maybe, one of his descendants?

Written by Andy McGrath

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Listen to my audiobooks - Beasts of Britain and Beasts of the World - to find out more about Hairy Humanoid sightings in the UK and around the globe! 

The Wenvoe Wildcat

On the 4th November, a local woman and her 2 daughters spotted a black panther while driving through Wenvoe, in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales.

The woman, who had never heard of the Big Cat phenomenon before, said:

"I was driving through Wenvoe, close to Culverhouse Cross, when my youngest daughter said that she had seen a bear. I looked over to a field on my right and saw what looked to me like a lioness. It had a long tail and was all black. It walked like a lion, and looked like a panther."

She added: "We watched it walking in the field for 2 minutes, before deciding to leave. It was still in the field when we drove off. I don’t know how far away it was, but I had a very good view of the animal and it looked big, like a lioness."

Over the years Wales has had more than its fair share of Big Cat sightings, and this recent encounter further solidifies the theory that a growing population of these large predators may be taking root in the British Countryside.

Have you witnessed a big cat in Britain? 

Written by Andy McGrath

Check out Beasts of Britain Audiobook

Apeman of Abernethy

Abernethy Forest, Scotland is the largest part of what remains of the Old Caledonian forest, located in Strathspey in the Scottish Highlands. In August 2012, it was the location of an alleged British Bigfoot encounter made by two brothers, whilst on their annual camping holiday.

One of the most compelling aspects of this particular sighting, is that one of the brothers, had spent 37 years working as a primate keeper in zoos around the UK; making his description of this creature, fascinating.

"...it was like a bonobo, but with a much flatter muzzle.”

The 2 brothers had arrived at their campsite the evening before and woke early the following morning, to hunt in a nearby field that had a rabbit warren.

One of the brothers, said: “I usually hunt alone because my brother has a heavy footfall, but after a few steps, I couldn't hear him behind me, so I looked back to see if he was still there. Both his mouth and eyes were wide open and he was looking straight past me. There was a dark figure crouching down with its back to us. It looked like it was eating berries from the bush. It stood up and turned and to look straight at me. It must have stood seven to eight feet tall!  It was covered in jet black hair all over its body, except for the upper chest and face and its skin was very dark, except for its bottom lip, which looked pink. It had a wide nose and large eyes and looked to be around four feet across its shoulders, with longer hair on its forearms and on its chin. Its features reminded me of an older bonobo chimpanzee, but the face was much flatter, especially around the mouth. It was going bald on top and to my eyes, it was like a bonobo, but with a much flatter muzzle.”

He added: “I have never been so scared in my life, although it never once took a step towards me or made any threatening movement, it was just the fact that it should not have been there. It then turned and walked off into the treeline, looking back one more time, to see if we were following it. Then it was gone. “

Scotland is a vast and pristine nation that boasts a tiny 1.9% of its landmass devoted to urban sprawl. If a Bigfoot-like creature were to survive undetected somewhere here in the UK, I can think of no more remote a habitat in our beautiful isles, than here!

Many legends exist that allude to the possible existence of a bipedal, ape-like creature, living undetected in some of the most remote and isolated regions of our planet.

Over the last 50 years, trace evidence of these animals; like footprints, hair samples, film and photos have been captured, catalogued and studied with an almost microscopic zeal, by the obsessive devotees of this particular zoological fetish!

However, what many students of this genre do not realise is that Britain and Europe too, have tales of tall, hairy, wild men; called Wodewose; whose images can be found carved upon our ancient cathedrals and woven into the medieval tapestries of our Noble heraldry.

There are, amazingly, modern day accounts of these mysterious ape-men, and those few who do encounter this unknown animal, often struggle to understand what it is that they have seen. In this case, our witness, a primate keeper and experienced outdoorsman, was expertly qualified to judge what type of animal it was that he and his brother encountered; yet still shocked by the zoological implications that such an animal could be living undetected here in Britain.

How could it be possible that a type of 'Wildman' could be roaming our countryside, avoiding the detection of our teeming millions and managing to live sustainably off of the available resources in the British countryside?

Scotland is a vast and pristine nation that boasts a trifling 1.9% of its landmass devoted to urban sprawl. If a Bigfoot-like creature were to endure here in the UK and resist our best attempts to capture and catalogue it, I can think of no more remote a realm in our beautiful isles, than there!

It is no surprise then, taking in to consideration the provident conditions present and the sparsity of human habitation, that from time, some of the locals and visitors this pristine area of the UK claim to have had encounters with strange, bipedal, 'ape-men', that resemble in appearance, the North American Sasquatch.

Find out more about other Hirsute Hairymen in my audiobooks: 

Beasts of the World: Hairy Humanoids & Beasts of Britain 

 

People of Mu

Could the Menehune still live in the mountain forests of the Hawaiian Islands?
By Heath Cajandig - Heart of Kauai, CC BY 2.0, 

Even though the Menehune were said to be displaced when the first settlers arrived in Hawaii, some people still believe that the Menehune are roaming the islands, carrying out tricks on people. Indeed, an 1820 Census of Kauai listed 65 people as 'Menehune.' Other Hawaiian mythology records refer to a few other forest dwelling races: the Nawao – who were large and wild hunters descended from Lua nu'u – the Mu people and the Wa people.

What’s in a name? Manahuna (a term used for low class people) Nawao, People of Mu.

Monstrous Measurements: height 2 – 3 ft. Nawao and Mu people are said to be taller. Hairy, stout and muscular. Red or dark skin. Protruding forehead. Big eyes. Long eyebrows. Short, thick nose. Sharp, pointed ears. Small mouth. Broad shoulders. Round belly. Usually well dressed.

Beastly Behaviours: Nocturnal. Has a deep voice. Normal language is telepathic, expressed with whispers or growls. Said to be able to learn human language. Works at night to bold fishponds, stonework’s, irrigation ditches, houses, and monuments. Also said to carve petroglyphs! Likes playing games, music, dancing, singing, diving and sports. Is afraid of owls and dogs. The Menehune have been known to use magic arrows to pierce the heart of angry people, igniting feelings of love instead. They also enjoy cliff diving, and according to local lore, they were smart, extremely strong and excellent craftsmen. They were rarely seen by human eyes, and they are credited with mighty feats of engineering and overnight construction.

Deadly Diet: Eats bananas, shrimp, milk, fish, squash, berries, sugar cane and sweet potatoes.

Hairy Habitat: Lives in caves, lava tubes, hollow logs, or banana leaf huts in the mountain forests of the Hawaiian Islands, especially Kauai.

Scary Sightings: Late 18th Century: In the late 18th century, a census of the island of Kauai by King Kaumualii, counted 65 Menehune in the Wainiha Valley. (This could possibly refer to low class or very impoverished Hawaiians as a similar derivation of this term, Manahuna, is used for low class people.)

1940s: About 45 elementary schoolchildren saw a group of Menehune jumping up and down among some trees on the Waimea Parish Property in the 1940s. When they noticed that they were being watched, the Menehune apparently disappeared into a secret tunnel near the parish house.

July 19th, 1975: 700 miles south-west of Hawaii on the island of Fiji, 6 witnesses described seeing 8 figures, 2 feet tall and covered with black hair, run behind some bushes and disappear.

Beastly Evidence:

Megalithic Builders: These industrious master builders used their great strength to build temples (heiau), fishponds, roads, canoes and houses. One such structure they are believed to have built is Kikiaola, also known as the Menehune Ditch, a historic irrigation ditch that funnels water from the Waimea River on Kauai. Another one of their amazing feats is the legendary overnight creation of the Alekoko Fishpond on Kauai, which archaeologists estimate to be around 1,000 years old.

The worked facing stones of Kikiaola purportedly created by the first wave of Hawaiian settlers prior to 1000 CE who are now called the Menehune, hence the common name for this irrigation channel being the "Menehune Ditch"

Royal Fishpond: It is said that they built the Alekoko Fishpond for a princess and her brother. The shy but strong group lined up in a double row, which stretched 25 miles (40 km) to distant Makaweli. The workers passed stones hand-to-hand to build the pond. They worked at night so as not to be seen by others, cutting, transporting and fitting stones for their projects in a long bucket brigade. If they were discovered, their work would have been abandoned.

Twin Pillars: The Menehune were promised no one would watch them at work, which was carried out after dark. However, one night the royal siblings snuck up and watched the thousands of Menehune at work, only to fall asleep. At sunrise the Menehune discovered them and turned them into twin stone pillars that can be seen today in the mountains above the fishpond. Interrupted by the sun, the Menehune left two gaps in the fishpond wall. Many generations later, Chinese settlers filled the gaps to raise mullet, but the stonework that closed the gap was far inferior to that of the mystical Menehune.

Population census: an 1820 Census of Kauai listed 65 people as 'Menehune.

Beastly Theories:

Pacific Proto-Pygmy: Hawaiian legend has it that many centuries ago, the Menehune were a mischievous group of small people, or dwarfs, who lived hidden in the forests and valleys of the islands before the first settlers arrived from Polynesia. These Menehune, who roamed the deep forests at night, were said to be about two feet (60 cm) tall, though some were as tiny as six inches (15 cm), small enough to fit in the palm of a hand. They enjoyed dancing, singing and archery, and their favourite foods were bananas and fish.

Menehune bank from 1946. Made for Bankof Hawaii as a promotional giveaway to encourage island children to save their pennies.

Original Inhabitants of Hawaii: Some scholars, such as folklorist Katharine Luomala, theorize that the Menehune were the first settlers of Hawaii, descendants of the Marquesas islanders who were believed to have first occupied the Hawaiian Islands from around 0 to 350 AD. When the Tahitian invasion occurred in about 1100 AD, the first settlers were subdued by the Tahitians, who referred to the inhabitants as ‘Manahuna’ (which means ‘lowly people’ or ‘low social status’ and not diminutive in stature). They fled to the mountains and later came to be called ‘Menehune’. Proponents of this theory point to an 1820 census which listed 65 people as Menehune.

Folklore & Fable: Another description that has been passed down in local folklore is of the three Menehune of Ainahou. Ainahou is a forest on the north side of Halekala Crater on Maui. The three Menehune were called Ha'alulu, Molawa and Eleu. All the other Menehune living in Hawaii knew them well because they possessed very unusual powers. Ha'alulu means "to tremble" and it seemed like this little man was always cold, but his magic gift was that whenever he would start shaking, he would become invisible and could travel anywhere without being detected. Eleu in Hawaiian means "quick and nimble" and whenever Eleu moved, he was so quick that he disappeared and no one could follow him. Molowa's name means "lazy," but what most people didn't know was that whenever he appeared to be sleeping or lazy, his magical self-became imperceptible and he would go around the island and do good deeds.

Written by Andy McGrath

Find out more about other Littlefolk in my audiobook: 

Beasts of the World: Hairy Humanoids