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A juvenile Malayan tapir (Tapirus indicus).
The tigelboat was a cryptid chimaera reported from the Indonesian island of Borneo in 1975.[1][2] A portmanteau derived from "tiger", "lion", "bird", and "goat".[2], the tigelboat was described as having the body of a tiger; the neck of a lion; the trunk of an elephant; the ears of a cow; the legs of a goat; chicken-like feet; and a goat's beard.[1] The only known tigelboat was allegedly captured in November 1975 and kept alive for a short time in a prison at Tenggarong, Kalimantan Timur Province, Indonesia.[1][2]
Karl Shuker notes that the tigelboat's reported characteristics of a striped body, a trunk, cow's ears, goat-like legs, and clawed feet are consistent with a juvenile Malayan tapir (Tapirus indicus). Tapirs are believed to be extinct in Borneo, but there have been occasional reports of live Bornean tapirs over the years, and the tigelboat being a new species of tapir could also explain the presence of the mane and "beard".[1][3][4] George Eberhart concurs that, if it was not a hoax, this is the most likely explanation.[2]
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Shuker, Karl P. N. (1997) From Flying Toads To Snakes With Wings, Bounty Books, ISBN 0-7537-1305-5
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Eberhart, George M. (2002) Mysterious Creatures: A Guide to Cryptozoology, ABC-CLIO, Inc., ISBN 1576072835
- ↑ Shuker, Karl ShukerNature: TAPIRS AND TIGELBOATS – DOES THE MALAYAN TAPIR STILL EXIST IN BORNEO? karlshuker.blogspot.com [Accessed 15 December 2018]
- ↑ Shuker, Karl P. N. (1995) In Search of Prehistoric Survivors: Do Giant 'Extinct' Creatures Still Exist?, Blandford, ISBN 9780713-724691