Phantom cats or Alien Big Cats (ABCs) are exotic felids reported roaming in areas they are not native to. The term also applies to widespread but unconfirmed reports of unknown big cats allegedly roaming a region. Such animals are phantom cats because people report they sighted them, but authorities don’t have evidence they exist. Reports … Read more
The Mngwa (or Nunda) is an alleged big cat from the folklore of coastal Tanzania in East Africa. The man-eating cryptid is native to the forests of eastern Tanzania along the Indian Ocean coast. The name Mngwa is from a word meaning “mysterious creature.” The creature’s other name Nunda means the “fierce one.” (George Eberhart, … Read more
The marozi, or spotted lion, is an alleged variety of lions native to the Aberdare mountain (Kikuyu language: Nyandarua) range of west-central Kenya, north of Nairobi. The region, with an average elevation of 11,500 feet (3500 meters), is an example of a mountain ecosystem. Reports of marozi-like felids also come from the Mau escarpment in … Read more
The Ozark Howler is a cryptid from the folklore of the Ozarks, a mountainous region covering parts of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. Natives claim the Ozark Howler is a vicious bear or cat-like creature that prowls the remote mountainous woods of the region. It has a terrifying howl and is thought to be extremely … Read more
The eastern cougar was a population of the North American cougar (Puma concolor couguar) that inhabited Eastern North America. Some wildlife experts consider the eastern cougar a distinct subspecies from the western population. However, other experts believe that eastern and western cougars belong to the North American subspecies Puma concolor couguar. European settlers extirpated the cougar … Read more
The Zanzibar leopard was a population of leopards (Panthera pardus) native to Zanzibar Island (Unguja). Zanzibar Island is the largest single island in the Zanzibar archipelago, part of the United Republic of Tanzania. The leopards lived in the dense forests of Unguja, including the Jozani forest, now part of the Jozani Chwaka Bay National Park. … Read more
The Maltese tiger, also known as the blue tiger, is an alleged blue color morph (color variant) of the tiger (Panthera tigris). Most reported sightings of Maltese tigers occurred among the critically endangered South China tiger population. However, there are also claims of sightings of blue morphs among populations in Burma and Korea. Biologists and … Read more
The Mitla is an alleged medium-sized carnivorous cryptid described as a black dog-like cat or cat-like dog. The first description of the mysterious Mitla came from the British explorer and adventurer Lieutenant-Colonel Percy Harrison Fawcett (1867-1925). He reported sightings of the elusive cryptid in the Amazonian rainforest near the Madidi River of Bolivia, South America, … Read more
The wampus cat is a cryptid that features in the folklore of rural Appalachia, including East Tennessee. Descriptions of the beast vary between localities and the narrator. Some accounts portray it simply as a cat-like creature. Others describe it as a fearsome, scary, ghoulish, or fiendish beast that prowls in the dark, making blood-curdling howls, … Read more
The Onza is a purported big cat, similar in size and characteristics to a small cougar, which is said to live in the mountains of the Sinaloa region in north-western Mexico. The Onza is thought to originate back to the Aztec era when legends suggest they were kept as pets by the elite. Description Cryptozoologists … Read more