What was the Beast of Gevaudan?
			(Whoa!!  I know this chick!)
	With the release of the film, "Brotherhood of the Wolf'," many people have taken up a renewed interest in the legendary Beast of Gavaudan.  There is absolutely no doubt that what happened during that terrifying time, actually did happen.  However, the identity of the beast seems to still be a mystery.  Some have fantisized that the beast was an actual existing where-wolf, however, where-wolves are mythological creatures having not a shred of physical evidence (such as remains/fossils) or any serious credibility to their existence.  However, on the other hand people have stated that the beast was merely a large wolf, completely disregarding the fact that no known wolf has ever grown large enough to match eyewitness accounts of the beast or match wounds on victims.  I propose to you on this page, my theory of the identity of the Beast of Gavaudan.      I am fully convinced that the beast was indeed a surviving member of ancient species of animal.  It is becoming more common these days to discover animals that were thought long extinct.  For instance, the ceolocanthe was a fish thought to be extinct long ago, yet now there is a huge number of them confirmed living in schools in the Atlantic just off Island waters.  The discovery of the supposedly extinct Mega-Mouth shark in the mid 20th century stunned the scientific community as well.  And the Dodo bird was thought extinct but later discovered.  Then scientists found a fresh white (meaning it had not permineralized/fossilized) tooth of the extinct Charcaradon megalodon shark (the largest living shark ever at 60-80ft long) proving that somewhere in the ocean it is living.  There is also the legend of the Loch Ness monster and the Lake Ocopogo creature; both believed to be some type of Plesiosaur-like dinosaur (I will put a link up soon, of the most recent photos that convinced the scientific community that they were real dinosaurs).  I could go on and on with discoveries of "extinct" species that are alive and well, but I would like to now introduce what I believe are the strongest candidates for the beast's identity.  All of these animals that I list are prehistoric or extinct animals that have been discovered in the fossil record.  I believe that the Beast of Gevaudan is one of these animals, or possibly a yet discovered animal, that simply managed to survive in some remote area and was brought to Gevaudan.  Many hunters traveled from Europe to other countries in search of exotic game.  It is very possible that a hunter could have killed one of these creatures, which may have had cubs that the hunter would have almost certainly taken back as living trophies.  The movie may have been closer than we think about the beast's origins.      Before I list the candidates for the beast identity, we should refresh on eyewitness accounts and descriptions of the Beast of Gevaudan.  It was said that the beast was as big as a donkey, with a wolf-like head and face and small pointy ears.  It had a rather large thoracic region.  The beast was said to be very agile and fast, able to even leap up to a 20ft distance.  Some eyewitnesses gave the beast a wolf-like tail, while others saw no tail - but who's really looking for tails when you're staring down a ferocious beast?  The beast also had very powerful jaws, as many of the victims had their skull crushed.  The beast was said to be a short furred animal with reddish-grey/brown coloration, with a white patch on its chest.  It was also said to have a dark "spiked" stripe down its back.  However, as for fur and fur color/markings, it is irrelevant to my list of identity candidates seeing as how fossils have no fur or fur color/markings to compare with.      Here now, is the list of candidates for the true identity of the Beast of Gevaudan.  Most have photos (professional quality!) of artists' reconstruction from fossil records.  I hope you enjoy and don't forget to keep an open mind. Andrewsarchus - Andrewsarchus was a ferocious carnivore resembling a wolf-like creature.  It stood 1.8 meters tall at the shoulder and had extremely powerful jaws.    Pic01    Pic02    Pic03 Hyaenodon - Hyaenodon was a huge hyena-like animal which had crushing jaws and reached a size of a small rhinocerous or horse.  It stood approximately 1.4 meters at the shoulder.    Pic01    Pic02    Pic03 Entelodont - Though the entelodont is said to have cloven hooves according to fossil record, I put this here just for its similarities.  It was very large, up to as big as a rhino, and it had teeth structure that would very well match the wound description left by the beast.  The entelodont is said to be a carnivore and supposedly very viscous.   Pic01    Pic02 Theropithecus oswaldi - Theropithecus oswaldi is also known as the Giant Baboon.  It is said that this baboon relative ranged in size from a large Gorilla to twice that size.  It was similar to baboons today except for its huge size.  This creature would also explain some accounts of witnesses who said the beast stood on two legs, plus baboons would have "wolf-like" faces to those unfamiliar with them.  Also, witnesses said the beast made a strange sound, more like a horse than a wolf.  The baboon has a sound that would fit this nearly perfectly. (Sorry, no pics yet) Amphicyonids - Amphicyonids are a group of animals referred to as Bear-dogs.  Various species of Amphicyonids ranged in size from that of a fox to that of Grizzly bears.  They were ferocious hunters with powerful jaws.    Pic01   Pic02      Well, that's all I have for now.  I am continuing to research the fossil record and prehistoric encyclopedias for more possible candidates.  Check back every now and then to see if I've had any updates.  So long. (If anyone would like to share some new info of potential candidates, or simply give your comments, feel free to email me.)