Man-Beasts

Over the centuries many people have claimed to have seen strange humanlike animals that walk upright. The animal component of these man-beasts is most commonly described as being some form of ape, with the best known of these manapes being bigfoot or Sasquatch, the yeti or abominable snowman, the almas, and the Minnesota Iceman.

Occasionally, however, a man-beast is described as being part human and part something else, such as a reptile, a bird, or a fish (in which case they are known as mermaids or mermen). Manreptiles, also called lizard men, are typically said to leave behind three-toed footprints, as is the case with the Honey Island swamp monster of Louisiana, the Thetis Lake monster of Canada, and the Scape Ore Swamp lizard man of South Carolina. Man-birds are usually said to have the wings of birds or of bats, although the Mothman of West Virginia is said to have wings similar to a moth’s.

Other man-beasts, like the chupacabra, are described as resembling no known animal. While there is no proof that manbeasts really exist, in the case of certain man-beasts—particularly apelike ones— there have been enough reported sightings by credible witnesses to convince cryptozoologists that they might someday find such proof.

SEE ALSO:

• Abominable Snowman
• Bigfoot
• Lizard Men
• Mothman

SOURCE:

The Greenhaven Encyclopedia of Paranormal Phenomena – written by Patricia D. Netzley © 2006 Gale, a part of Cengage Learning