Mapinguari

The Mapinguari (also Mapi, Mapinguary) is a prehistoric cryptid that reportedly lived in the Amazon rain forests of South America. It was consistently described as resembling either an ape or giant ground-dwelling sloth and having red hair, long arms, powerful claws that could tear apart palm trees and rip out the tongues of cattle, a sloping back, backwards feet (said to make a bottle-shaped footprint) and up to 6 feet tall when it assumed a bear-like stance on its back legs, which it did when it smelled a nearby human. It gave off a putrid stench and emitted a frightening shriek, and it could move slowly and stealthily through the forest and surprise the unsuspecting locals. Although the Mapinguari was believed to be carnivorous, by all accounts it did not eat humans.1 Many cryptozoologists believe that the Mapinguari is a close relative of Bigfoot.

Legend has it that arrows and bullets could not penetrate the Mapinguari’s alligator-like hide. A paleontologist’s examination of preserved ancient ground sloth skin samples in the late 19th century revealed hard dermal ossicles, small pieces of bone in the skin of dinosaurs and alligators that protected them from predators. It is possible that such skin would have been impervious to arrows and bullets.2

Despite several efforts, searches for verifiable physical evidence have been futile.3 The only evidence for the existence of the Mapinguari is anecdotal. Theories of the identity of the Mapinguari have suggested that it was a giant primate, a giant ground sloth, or possibly even an unusual giant anteater, perhaps Myrmecophaga tridactyla.4