Source: Inexplicata

Argentina: A Strange Creature Reported in Salta Province

Police in Rivadavia say it’s a sort of gorilla

A woman identified as Pascuala Alzogaray, who lives in El Divisadero in Rivadavia, in the middle of the Saltean “chaco”, rode her horse 25 kilometers in the middle of the night to request assistance from the police officers at the small community of La Union, since, as she claimed, all local ranchers are frightened by the recurring presence of a strange, hairy humanoid of considerable size.

Alzogaray claims having seen the creature and described it as a sort of gorilla, covered in hair, walking on two legs and with the aspect of “an accursed being.”

“Something must be done about it, it’s the Ucumar,” she told police officers at the barracks, located 500 miles north of the provincial capital.

Pascuala Alzogaray states that she saw the strange creature along with other members of her family, and that fear prompted them to leave the vicinity until the police do something.

Several websites have started disseminating the strange report of a hairy humanoid creature that’s been stalking insular farmers who live deep in the Argentinian north. A region rich in folklore and legends. One of those being that of the Ucumar, a short hairy humanoid with a protruding belly and large feet that has been stalking the region for centuries. It’s said that the creature lives in caves high up in the mountains.

Historian and writer Manuel Lizondo Borda wrote a fascinating passage in his book: Estudios de voces tucumanas: derivadas del quichua (Studies of voices Tucumanas: Derived from quichua):

“Llamábase así a un hombre casi bestial, feo, peludo, que vivía en los montes tucumanos, hace varios anos, y que ocupó mucho la atención pública hasta que fue preso por las autoridades: Se le atribuían raptos de muchachas. (Con este nombre se asustaba a los chicos, para quienes significaba algo así como el monstruo)”  —Manuel Lizondo Borda

“As it is known, a man almost beast-like, ugly, hairy, that lived in the mountains tucumanos several years ago, and that occupied much the public attention until it was captured by the authorities: It’s blamed for the kidnapping of young girls. (The name [Ucumar] was used to scare unruly young males)”

That’s my translation of part of the text by Borda. The strange description falls in line with most urban legends of humanoid beings that kidnap young females. However, a more interesting find is that the word Ucumar –or better yet: jukumari– means ‘bear’ in the Quichua language.

Oddly enough, the description of the hairy humanoid creatures resembles that of a bear; short, stumpy, protruding belly, and large feet.

You see where I’m getting at here, right?

The Andean Bear, or “Spectacled bear“, is native to the mountainous stretch in northern Argentina and is quite possibly responsible for the eerie stories of a hairy humanoid that stalks the villagers.