Post by kekistani on Jan 10, 2020 6:15:33 GMT 5
Where: Owen Stanley range, Papua New Guinea
Terminology: Monckton's Gazeka (jest), Papuan devil pig, Monckton's devil pig
Sighted in 1906, the Papuan Devil-pig is a proposed suid or marsupial that lives in the Owen Stanley mountain range in peninsular Papua New Guinea. Evidence and sightings occurred past 9,000 feet, where open grassland, shrubland,and forest may be found. The animal is described as such: 5 foot long, 3.6 feet tall, long-snouted/faced with a strangely-set face, a short horselike tail, possibly cloven feet, darkly colored skin or fur with patterns on it, and seemingly herbivorous, as signs of grazing were found on the mountain and the creatures were snuffling and rooting in the grass when seen. vocalization is apparently a long, shrill note. The average size of footprints is around 4X4 inches, both larger and smaller were reported. The footprints appeared cloven-hoofed, and left by a very heavy animal.
History: Evidence for an animal sometimes called a 'rhino' was present in Papua New Guinea. Sailors in the late 19th century would occasionally find large dung heaps (probably cassowary) in the coastal jungles of the island. Natives would talke of a very large "pig" that could reach 6 feet onto a tree to scratch itself. Thus it was theorized that a large mammal did indeed exist in New Guinea. On the Mount Scratchley expedition, Sir William MacGregor reported that,among the known animals (tree-kangaroo, wallaby, papuan dog) there had been seen a large long-snouted animal that they had yet to obtain. Obviously, they had not been able to fetch a specimen before returning.
In 1906, the most famous sighting of this cryptozoological beast occurred, when, during the Mount Albert Edward expedition led by Charles Monckton, tracks and excrement of a large, apparently cloven-hoofed animal were found at over 9,000 feet on the mountain. Monckton sent 2 men, constable Oina and Private Ogi, and porters to track the animal. The 2 later returned at late dusk, with Oina having to have carried Ogi back to camp due to his exhaustion from fear and cold. Ogi had split up with Oina to follow a different trail and encountered a pair of the animals a ways down, and mistook them initially for large pigs. The animals then noticed them, and it was seen the face was odd and elongate. The porters cried out that the pigs were in fact "devils" and fled. Ogi tried to shoot one but was too cold and frightened to accurately shoot. The animals moved away, with one moving off and then calling to the other, who was looking at the men. Monckton sent this account to MacGregor, who confirmed such an animal and its spoor was seen on his expedition, with one having rushed through his camp at night when he ascended Mount Victoria. Monckton remarked that the footprints of Ogi's "pig" and the feces of a large carnivore (he considered it different to the papuan dog, which he did hear and see spoor of) were quite common in the muddy banks of the montane lakes, and that given the time Ogi saw the beasts (evening) they were probably nocturnal.
Curiously, due to media embellishment of Monckton's accounts (hair queues worn by a tribe became tails, for example), many people dismiss this account as fictitious tabloid writing, in the same vein as those from the same period about living dinosaurs. People then and now referred to it as 'Monckton's Gazeka', referring to a then-famous fictional beast called the Gazeka which appeared in a play as an alcohol-induced hallucination (implying Monckton drunkenly hallucinated the beast). This name has unfortunately been misconstrued as the native name for the animal. Eventually even the appearance of the animal and its behavior changed: According to Monckton one paper said it was a rhinoceros, and more (in?)famously, an american paper reported that the Gazeka was a 25 foot tall carnivore that had attacked a tribe of pygmies, only to be shot and wounded by Monckton. This is the account that has made the Devil-pig be seen in the same light as tabloid reports about dinosaurs and aliens. Obviously, the original report and the media stories were quite different!
Explanations: Monckton himself believed the animal was something similar to a Babirusa (Sus Babirusa), and later came by a babirusa-like tusk in a market that he thought may have originated from the devil pig. The babirusa is not known from New Guinea, though they are found in nearby Indonesia. It is possible (though unlikely) that they swam the oceanic border to reach New Guinea or came across in the pleistocene, when sea levels were lower. Another theory posits that the Devil-pig was a surviving diprotodontid similar to Palorchestes , which, apart from the cloven feet, would fit the description. Palorchestids are not known from New Guinea, though Diprotodonts such as Hulitherium or Maokopia (another good candidate, as it is around the right size, has the right diet and fits the description sans the cloven feet) and other australian fauna are. It is not implausible that a Palorchestid could have crossed the land bridge connecting australia with PNG. In support of this it has been proposed the long-snouted ambun carving, traditionally thought to be an echidna, is a palorchestid, on account of its lack of spikes. Of course, this may be down to artistic design and it may well be either one. Others have proposed a tapir of some sort, having migrated from asia by unknown means. One thing Monckton was sure the beast was NOT is a normal pig, as he knew the men who saw the creatures hunted and saw pig at close range on a regular basis.The habitat the animals were encountered in would allow either an unidentified suid, tapir, or marsupial to survive unmolested. However, no sightings have since been reported, meaning the animal may be extinct, though as far as I know there have been no more extensive expeditions to study Mount Albert Edward's and the associated mountain's fauna since.
I have made a map using google which shows the proximity of Mount Scratchley to Mount Albert Edward. As you can see, they are quite close:
Mount Victoria, where the beast ran through Sir MacGregor's camp, is below Scratchley.
