The "Indian prairie fiends" were unidentified animals exhibited by Mander's Menagerie in the United Kingdom during the 1860's. The name was later used by rival menageries, by Mander's itself, as well as by P. T. Barnum in the United States, to refer to the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii). Mander's original prairie fiends were described in a newspaper advertisement:
| “ | Most wonderful creatures. Head like the Hippopotamus. Body like a Bear. Claws similar to the Tiger, and ears similar to a Horse.
|
” |
Clinton Keeling suggested that the prairie fiends were Nandi bears, and that the "prairie" from which they hailed was the East African grasslands.[1] Karl Shuker, on the other hand, suggests that they may have been living ground sloths, and that the "prairie" was the South American pampas.[2] Alternatively, he writes that it is possible that they may simply have been Tasmanian devils like the later prairie fiends.[3]
Notes and references[]
- ↑ Keeling, C. H., "The British Nandi Bear?," Animals & Men 6
- ↑ Shuker, Karl P. N. (2016) Still In Search Of Prehistoric Survivors: The Creatures That Time Forgot?, Coachwhip Publications, ISBN 978-1616463908
- ↑ Shuker, Karl P. N. ShukerNature: WHEN NANDI BEARS AND GROUND SLOTHS CAME TO TOWN? TWO EARLY EXHIBITIONS OF CRYPTIDS IN ENGLAND? karlshuker.blogspot.com [Accessed 16 September 2019]