What kind of animal do you think that the Beast of Gevaudan was?

[4465loveyou5577]

For those of you who don't know what it was:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beast_of_G%C3%A9vaudan

Wolf

Wolf/Dog cross

Hyena

Prehistoric predator (Amphicyon/Mesonychid)

Werewolf

Demon

Other

[reptocarl]

It was several wolves acting independently. Wolves wore a serious problem across all Europe during that time. It wasn't until all were killed that the attacks stopped

[4465loveyou5577]

I don't know about that, and when the animal was killed and cut open they found human remains in it's stomach. Plus, wolves don't have a main of fur or a tuft of fur one the tip of their tail.

[Waffles731]

Well actually whats interesting is that they had that problem earlier, the louvre is actually named for said problem
www.cracked.com/...mals-too-unrealistic-movie.html
skip to number 3

[reptocarl]

You have to remember the eye witness accounts were highly variable and inconsistent. One that was shot had scarring on the tail which made a bare patch that made it look like a tufted tail. Europe has both red and grey wolves and some do interbreed causing variable coloring

[reptocarl]

Wolves have been known to kill and eat people

[4465loveyou5577]

Actually the red wolf (Canis rufus) only lives in the US. While there were variations in the color, the general shape was similar. Part of the wolf dog theory is that a serial killer was behind the attacks and he crossed a wolf with a large dog (probably an alpine mastiff which could be up to 39 inches at the shoulder and weigh up to 350 lbs) and trained it to kill. But if you cross a wolf and a dog, you won't get a single animal, you'll get a litter. So it may be that when one of the animals was killed or crippled, they would use another animal from that litter, explaining the slight inconsistencies.

[Waffles731]

I'm still going with werewolf,
Its more fun

[Waffles731]

@asker
The real question is what a Red wolf actually is as there is some debate about that

[reptocarl]

I was wrong about the red wolf but I thought they were in Europe but extirpated. I've research the mastiff angle too but I'm sticking with wolves

[4465loveyou5577]

What about things like the main and tuft, these aren't things that occur naturally in wolves?

[Waffles731]

What about a Jackal, The golden Jackal is found in Europe and hyenas are not and while the jackal may not be found in france, what if a Jackal Bred with a large dogand produced the beast

[reptocarl]

Again these were from an animal that was scarred and the eye witness accounts were never real consistent plus some legend thrown in. Canines can erect their hair which can look like a mane on a thick coated animal

[4465loveyou5577]

Well, none of the eyewitnesses recognized it as a wolf even though they would've been familiar with them. Also, it's behavior wasn't consistent with what is known of wolves. Not only that, but if you crossed a mastiff and a wolf you'd probably have a dog with partially erect ears like the doberman.
www.dobermanpuppies.com.au/.../4612353041.jpg
And if you look at a lot of the depictions of the beast, it seems to have cropped ears.
ccaville.e-monsite.com/.../...attant-la-bete-1.jpg

[reptocarl]

I just don't believe it was a cross. But you're entitled to your opinion

[reptocarl]

The thing is cropping isn't natural. It's man made so if they had truly cropped ears that would suggest a madman. Wolves have erect ears

[4465loveyou5577]

Well the wolf dog theory isn't that it was the result of a wolf that was mixed with a stray dog. Rather the beast of gevaudan was actually a human serial killer who used a viscous animal as his weapon. Specifically that the person behind the attacks crossed a wolf with an alpine mastiff and trained the hybrid (s) to attack and kill humans and also cropped it's ears and cut all of it's fur except for the main and tuft of fur on the tail to give it a menacing appearance. Also this irregular fur pattern would make it more difficult to identify and add to the "fear of the unknown".

[reptocarl]

Plausible theory but it seemed like there would have to have been more than just one. You think he had a pack?

[4465loveyou5577]

Well, wolves and dogs give birth in litters. And if there were multiple animals that were all siblings, it would explain the similarities with slight inconsistencies in the color.

[reptocarl]

But the king set out an army didn't he? Was the madman caught?

[4465loveyou5577]

No, but he sent his army to track down wolves, not kill a person. Interestingly enough it's been speculated that the man who killed the beast (jean chastel) was involved because according it was said that when he killed the beast it ran at him and stopped. Then he raised his gun and shot it. Maybe someone commanded the beast to attack him but it recognized him O_O

[Waffles731]

I've never heard of a serial killer who used an animal as a weapon before

[reptocarl]

@Waffles731 it's been done

[reptocarl]

Interesting. Awsome post! I've enjoyed it

[reptocarl]

Thank you for mho

[Waffles731]

I've often wondered this myself,
But going with body-count this may be actually be a werewolf

[Waffles731]

Great question by the way

[electromagnetic]

a possum?