The shanzhuangzai (Chinese: "mountain crasher") is a cryptid suid reported from the forests of China's Dabie Mountains, which run along the boundary between the Hubei, Henan, and Anhui Provinces. It is described as resembling a gigantic wild boar.[1]
Description[]
The shanzhuangzai is said to resemble a large, stocky wild boar, and is covered in thick greenish or brownish hair, but also has a baboon-like face and a pointed muzzle. In addition, it has small ears, red eyes, and two tusks.[1]
It emits a foul odour and is extremely aggressive, and is strong enough to fight even wild bulls. More supernaturally, it is believed to be able to create a thick mist which confuses human travellers, allowing it to rush out and ram them from cliffs, before it eats their bodies.[1] Reports of travelling merchants being killed by these animals occured in ancient times, and there have been a handful of similar but vague reports since the 1940's.[1]
Theories[]
Wild boars (Sus scrofa) would be the most obvious explanation for this cryptid, and David C. Xu suggests that the shanzhuangzai is either an unusually aggressive, regional population of wild boar, or simply a folkloric creature based on exaggerated encounters with regular wild boars. It has been suggested that the animal resembles a babirusa (Babyrousa spp.), but these are not known from China, or anywhere in mainland Asia.[1]
Other, more dramatic theories have been put forward, such as the possibility that the shanzhuangzai could be a living entelodont. These were large, powerful, aggressive pig-like animals which seem to have been built for running, and are known to have persisted in China until at least the Early Miocene. Alternatively, Xu also suggests that it may be the descendant of an early species of hornless brontothere, a rhinoceros-like animal believed to have gone extinct in the Eocene.[1]
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Xu, David C. (2018) Mystery Creatures of China: The Complete Cryptozoological Guide, Coachwhip Publications, ISBN 978-1616464301