|
The pamá-yawá (Shuar: "tapir tiger"[1]) is a cryptid felid reported from the Trans-Cutucú and Sangay Volcano regions of Ecuador. It is one of the Ecuadorian cryptids described by Spanish cryptozoologist Angel Morant Forés.[2][3]
Description[]
The "tapir tiger" is so named not because of its physical appearance, but because, due to its size, it is the only animal in Ecuador capable of preying on tapirs. It is described as "very large" and "a uniformly dark grey coloured animal the size of an Amazonian tapir" with paws of enormous proportions. A (diminutive) Wapula hunter named Pedro Anan Churuwia claimed that one paw print was as big as both of his hands.[2] Based on sightings, it is semi-aquatic.
Sightings[]
1969[]
A Macas settler named Juan Bautista Rivadeneira claimed to have seen a pamá-yawá in 1969 on the Morona River, at a distance of 50 or 60 meters:
“ | The sighting lasted ten minutes during which the animal came out of the river and walked lazily on a sandy beach before disapearing from view. He claims it was around 2 m long and 1.30 m in shoulder height. On seeing it, a Shuar guide who was accompayning him exclaimed: pamá-yawá![2]
|
” |
Similar cryptids[]
The wairarima, a very large grey semi-aquatic cat reported from Venezuela, has been connected with the pamá-yawá. "Tigre dantero" also translates to "tapir tiger".
Notes and references[]
- ↑ Eberhart, George M. (2002) Mysterious Creatures: A Guide to Cryptozoology, ABC-CLIO, Inc., ISBN 1576072835
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Forés, Angel Morant Virtual Institute of Cryptozoology "An Investigation Into Some Unidentified Ecuadorian Mammals" cryptozoo.pagesperso-orange.fr (12 October 1999) [Accessed 10 September 2018] — Wayback Machine
- ↑ Shuker, Karl P. N. (2010) Karl Shuker's Alien Zoo: From the Pages of Fortean Times, CFZ Press, ISBN 978-1-905723-62-1