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The Beast Of Gevaudan - History's most terrifying and well-documented cryptid

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posted on Feb, 24 2013 @ 12:24 AM
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reply to post by jimbo999
 


I'm guessing this is the legend in which the movie "Brotherhood of the Wolf" was based? Fantastic movie.

Thanks for sharing this one



posted on Mar, 1 2013 @ 09:50 PM
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I just watched some long show on H2 today, about the beast of Gevaudan. It was very good and worth watching, though I do not remember the name of it. They did a comparison, on the computer, of a picture of the beast with wolves, dogs, coyote, hyena and other dog like animals. The computer concluded that the picture of the beast was most like that of a hyena. At first this sounded unlikely, but some accounts of the beast say that it sounded like it laughed and hyenas sound just like they are laughing.
hyenas are also the only animal that has a bite force capable of decapitating someone (wolves are unable to do this). hyenas are also very smart and can be trained to kill.
Apparently the french man who killed the beast once and for all, was an outcast because he was protestant and not catholic. According to this show, his story of killing the beast is unlikely because the beast would have to be very still in order for him to shoot it right through the heart (as the man said he did). Perhaps he owned the beast and shot it in order to become a hero. Well he brought the dead beast to Paris to collect the reward and it stood there for a while until it began to stink. It then disappeared.
A french museum reported that they had a hyena on display in the 1800s that could very well have been the beast of Gevaudan. Researchers went there and discovered that some older animals that are in bad shape are usually dismantled and used to finish other incomplete skeletons with there bones. One of the museum curators said that he believed that that was the fate of the beasts body.
The TV program concluded that the beast was very likely to be a hyena that this french man bought from Africa and used to kill people until he decided to kill it for the reward.

It was full of information and they made a very good case for the beast being a hyena.



posted on Mar, 20 2013 @ 02:42 AM
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reply to post by Batan
 


That's very interesting - thanks for that info. I'd like to see that show. The only problem I have with that theory though, is that the attacks continued long after this man's claims of killing it - in another village shortly after it disappeared from the Gevaudan vicinity. Also, hyenas are not generally hooved - yet most eye-witnesses describe the beast as having hooves.

Cheers,

J.



posted on Jun, 8 2013 @ 04:59 PM
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I think I've heard a similar story somewhere, perhaps it was a documentary. But it was definitely about a wolf like creature terrorising rural areas and killing people, perhaps this same one. Very interesting, and could be a spark for a werewolf tale, as someone in the discussion said.



posted on Jun, 8 2013 @ 05:47 PM
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reply to post by fedeykin[
the creatire was the size of a horse and could jump 28 feet in one bound? I really don't think this was a person with a bearskin on their back. Back then people may not have been as educated as us, but they were just as intelligent
edit on 8-6-2013 by riffraff because: (no reason given)



posted on Jun, 24 2013 @ 06:20 PM
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OP, very enjoyable and well researched thread. Another historical cryptid that I had not heard about until now. Great job.

I'm not sure I buy the hyena theory. It has some similarities to the multitude of descriptions, but not quite close enough. Not saying that it wasn't hyenas for sure, but I'm leaning more towards the side of it being something else.

In general:
There's a couple of key points here that I think some are conveniently ignoring. First of all, it would not have been a single animal/person, since reports stated it was sometimes seen with a much smaller female that did not attack. Second of all, is the length of time in which this creature was said to have made appearances. Are posters here saying that a single 'beast' or man could live for at least four centuries?

There would have had to have been enough specimens to sustain the species for that long.

Why these points are important to the hyena theory; for one, it's the female hyenas that are typically the larger of the species. They have a matriarchal hierarchy. Though, in fairness, most people attacking, being attacked or fleeing in blind terror from this thing probably weren't going to take the time to peek between the legs-- and female hyenas do have some rather, *ahem* unique genitalia, which could be easily mistaken for a male's.

A story of a man finally killing the beast once and for all seems like it could be mostly sensationalism-- to ease the public fear. Especially since the killings kept on happening.

For argument's sake, let's say they were hyenas. These creatures work in packs, and any other specimens required for a population during that duration would more than likely have been working together to bring down their prey. Like wolves, they are pack animals.
Also for argument's sake, let's say that some depraved and deranged nobleman actually did have a pair of hyenas imported for his own twisted amusement. At least one of them would have had to have been some mutant monster specimen to be the consistent 'horse size' that's described. Granted, if a nobleman wanted some monsters capable of wrecking brown-trousers-inducing horror, he'd hunt around for the biggest, nastiest ones he could find.

That said, the Mesonychids just fit the descriptions better. Toes and hooves, the long thick tail, the size, among others. It wouldn't be the first time that ancient species survived into more modern times, unknown to us, and with seemingly no evidence in the fossil chain. Animals can be extremely elusive. Another thought; if they were suffering as a species in that area at that time, wouldn't that possibly make them more prone to aggressive hunting due to lack of other prey? Lots of humans around, let's eat them, they're easy to kill. (Sadly, women's clothing usually isn't designed for defending oneself or fleeing quickly in a panic. Especially back in those times.)

The varying reports on just what colour this beast was, interested me and got me thinking. It would either be solely due to lighting conditions, or possibly different coat patterns of separate specimens.



posted on Mar, 23 2016 @ 08:32 PM
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I've studied books on this animal(s) and personally think that it was a greyhound/wolf hybrid. I think it would be interesting if someone did a DNA test on some of the victim's bones (if permission was given) to see if any canine DNA could be found and identified.



posted on Jun, 25 2016 @ 11:03 PM
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My favorite maneating story of all time!My personal opinion is wolves.There was a similar case in India a few years ago and underestimating wolves intelligence is easy for anyone who hasn`t studied them.Maneating animals are usually very difficult to hunt down and kill.Even common predators are stealthy,there are lots of bobcats where I live and in my 55 years I have seen only a few.Still yet,La Bete IS a strange case,too bad we will never know the truth.Ah,that silly ass documentary The Real Wolfman was garbage.For example the silver bullet test,The lead balls used in muskets would deform easily and not penetrate as deeply as silver would,most were smoothbores so there wouldn`t have been much loss of accuracy and at 20 yds either should have done the job.Maneating wolves were common in France,Coutard and his pack even entered Paris.The Beast`s story is fascinating,Love this thread



posted on Jun, 26 2016 @ 09:09 PM
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Most likely a large dog breed with mange..



posted on Jun, 27 2016 @ 07:01 PM
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Seen speculation of large dogs or wolf-dog hybrids and agree that's a possibility,especially a hybrid animal.France has a long history of wolves killing peope though,Antoines beast was certainly a wolf,though a very large one.Chastels was probably one as well,though there were wild stories and descriptions of it.Some said Wolves,dogs,Hyena,and of course a werewolf.Some witness's claimed it spoke to them,laughed,and ran on 2 legs.Just a fascinating and tragic story,never to be solved due to time and lack of physical evidence.



posted on Jun, 27 2016 @ 09:02 PM
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originally posted by: Awen24
...there was a movie (fictional) made on the topic, too, which is well worth a look if you're interested. I loved it - it's still among my favourite movies today...

www.imdb.com...


Beat me to it!



posted on Mar, 6 2017 @ 06:20 PM
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What a wonderful post, well presented. Thank you.. for your hard work.



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