Mapinguary

(1) An Iowa reconstruction of the
Jefferson's ground sloth,
Megalonyx jeffersoni. This model
has been identified by
eyewitnesses asthe Mapinguary.
Image credit Don Glut.



We know that 96% of this last great wilderness remains unexplored. We also know that 1/3 of all mammals declared extinct in recent centuries have been found to still exist.

Add this to what I've learned out here, and there's only one conclusion: although as yet there's no smoking gun we need to take David Oren's theory very seriously indeed.
     - Pat Spain, Beast Man: Nightmare of the
       Amazon.
The Mapinguary or Mapinguari, also known as the Isnashi, is a large hairy cryptid said to exist in the deepest recesses of the Amazon Rainforest. The natives there describe it as a bipedal ape like animal with long hair, a bad smell, a single eye, and a mouth in its stomach.

Most cryptozoologists - and even some 'real' zoologists - believe that it exists as a relict giant ground sloth, most likely Glossotherium or Mylodon, or a descendant thereof.

Physical appearance and biology

(2) The Amazon Rainforest,
the supposed range of the 
Mapinguary.
Image credit Wikipedia.


Historically, witnesses have described the Mapinguary as a large ape-like creature with a single eye on its face, and a large mouth in its stomach. It has been said to possess backwards-facing feet.

More recent, firsthand eyewitness reports describe the animal as a tall, red-haired biped with large claws, with little mention of single eyes or mouths in the stomach.

 

Behaviour and traits

Some historical accounts have claimed that the animal will not cross any bodies of water, a trait which presumably limits its movement in a location like the Amazon.

 

Possible role in Amazon ecology

With the possble exception of the Brazilian tapir (the largest confirmed land mammal in South America), the Amazon does not have any large browsers. The tapir, the only animal which could be considered to hold such a position, is too small to reach the higher branches of trees, a niche a ground sloth would hold fairly well.

A recent study carried out by Oxford has found that, because of the apparent extinction of large megafauna like ground sloths and glyptodonts, the Amazon Rainforest is growing far more slowly, since most of the animals left are small and unable to properly disperse seeds via waste. If the Mapinguary does exist, it would presumably be an important part of the Amazonian ecosystem in this respect.

According to natives, the Mapinguary is the protector of the rainforest: indeed, some of the known attacks occured on people who may have been harming wildlife. Edinalo, who was laying oil pipelines in the Amazon River, was attacked and gave up his job, and a number of eyewitnesses have been attacked whilst stalking wild pigs or peccaries. This may also indicate some kind of symbiotic relationship between the Mapinguary and the pigs.


Notes and references

 

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