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Dave's Mythical Creatures and Places |
Su
| Description | A
wild beast from Patagonia that has a broad tail and carries its young on
its back. It is described by Topsell as a "cruell, untameable,
impatient, violent, ravening, and bloody beast." When it sees hunters
coming after it, "she roareth, cryeth, howleth, brayeth, and uttereth
such a fearefull, noysome, and terrible clamor that the men which watch to
kill her are not thereby a little amazed."
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| Features | The
natives capture this beast by digging pits, which they cover up.
When the beast falls in, it will kill its young so that they will not be
captured. Because it can get cold in Patagonia, the natives prize
the skin of the Su for clothing.
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| Might Actually be | A species
of giant ground sloth, called Megatherium, which is the
largest of the sloths and grew
to be up to 20 feet tall (when standing) and weighed up to 4 tons.
 It had a thick tail with a blunt point. Megatherium is generally believed to have become extinct 10,000
years ago, although more recent fur and skin has been found in caves, and
there have been occasional sightings reported. In the 1890s an Argentinian geographer, Ramon
Lista, saw a large, unknown
creature covered with long red hair go by and several hunters fired at it,
with no effect.
Indians in the area are afraid of the "Mapinguari" which has red hair and lives in the mountains. The creature has a terrible scream and an awful smell, and becomes aggressive if its habitat is invaded.
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