Mongolian Death Worm
We're in Mongolia this episode, with one of the most cheerfully named cryptids, The Mongolian Death Worm. Time to listen to Megan squirm as it's about to get electric!
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EX-CRYPTID
This episode we look at an animal that is as elusive as it is adorable. Deep in the jungles of Indonesian New Guinea, stories of the Bondegezou (meaning “man of the forests”) or the Mbaiso (meaning “the forbidden animal”) enthralled early cryptozoologists for many years. These tiny creatures were described as a small man at only 1.3-3ft tall, but the Moni tribe of Irian Jaya believed they were powerful ancestral spirits. It wasn’t until 1995 that the scientific community actually acknowledged that this was a real animal. It was only first captured on film in 2009 and no live specimen has ever been captured. It is known as the Dingiso. |
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More Info
In the dusty expanse of the Gobi desert, a large worm-like creature is said to sift through the sand. This is a cryptid that is even said to kill, but is this muth, misidentification or monster?
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WHAT IS IT
The Mongolian Death Worm may not be long (at 2-5ft) but it is definitely thick! The width is said to be that of a man’s arm and its overall appearance is like that of a “blood filled intestine”. With a bulging body and gaping mouth, its most distinct feature is a circular row of sharp teeth. It has an exoskeleton but is able to moult if it has been hurt. Although “Worm” is in the name, it is actually most likely a legless lizard, snake or worm lizard (as a worm would dry out in the Gobi Desert where it calls home). |
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FOLKLORE
Supposably mention of the Mongolian Death Worm can be traced back to 1000 years ago, but it only hit the wider public in 1920 and along with it, a wide panic. At one point there was even a nationwide ban on searching for the Mongolian Death Worm, to avoid people perishing from it. There is a tale about a boy who stumbled on a death worm, touching it out of curiosity. The poison from the creature worked fast, attacking the boy again just before he reached his home. The family, horrified from what they had just seen, ran after the worm to try to kill it. They were never seen again...
Supposably mention of the Mongolian Death Worm can be traced back to 1000 years ago, but it only hit the wider public in 1920 and along with it, a wide panic. At one point there was even a nationwide ban on searching for the Mongolian Death Worm, to avoid people perishing from it. There is a tale about a boy who stumbled on a death worm, touching it out of curiosity. The poison from the creature worked fast, attacking the boy again just before he reached his home. The family, horrified from what they had just seen, ran after the worm to try to kill it. They were never seen again...
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SIGHTINGS
There have been various sightings of the worm throughout the years. In 1926 American paleontologist Roy Chapman Andrews was in the area to study unreated fossils, when he was tasked the Mongolian Premier to capture and bring him a specimine of the Mongolian Death Worm. He released a book called On the Trail of Ancient Man, which detailed his experience around the Death Worm, stating that those who he talked to both “firmly believed in its existence and described it minutely”. There have been many other sightings, with Czech explorer (Ivan Mackerle) attempting to find the creatures repeatedly. All attempts have thus far come up short. |
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PROPOSED EXPLANATIONS
Theories that could explain this cryptid include: - Caecilians - Legless Lizards - New species of Snake - Worm Lizards - Bombardier Insect |
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"And it likes the colour yellow."
