Bunyip
Bunyip
Legendary roaring monster of aboriginal peoples of Australia. The bunyip is said to live at the bottom of lakes and water holes, into which it drags its victims. The name implies "devil," although bunyips have been given other local names, such as "yaa-loo" and "wowee-wowee."
Some claim that the creature really exists. In 1939, to verify its existence, Gilbert Whitely of the Australian Museum collected reports of a number of sightings. Throughout the nineteenth century, explorers reported seeing and sometimes hearing bunyips, which appeared to be furry, with a dog-like head, long neck, and fins. Whitely concluded, "The bunyip has been thought to have been an extinct marsupial otter-like animal, rumors of whose existence have been handed down in aboriginal legends, the latter corrupted and confused with crocodiles in the north of Australia and seals in the south."
Sources:
Costello, Peter. In Search of Lake Monsters. New York: Coward, McCann & Geohegan, 1974. Reprint, London: Panther, 1975.