by Kallen, Content Manager | Slapped Ham
The Australian Outback is one of the largest remaining intact natural areas on Earth. Because of its vast and unforgiving terrain, humans have been reluctant to claim the region for themselves. With so little human presence in the Outback, mysteries abound. One such mystery is the enigmatic creature known as the Yowie.
The Yowie
The Yowie goes by many names: Yahoo, Quinkin, Jurrawarra, and Yaroma are just a few. Despite the plethora of names, the description of the creature is nearly always the same: an ape-like body between 5 and 11 feet tall; long, dark hair; a wide, flat nose and extremely long arms; giant feet with toes pointing backward so that it appears to be walking in the opposite direction when you find its tracks.
According to some legends, the Yowie are actually more akin to humans than animals. Some believe that Yowies are actually an evolutionary throwback: a tribe of ancient humans who have not progressed in the same way as modern humans. Certain accounts of the creature suggest that it is highly intelligent. Some cryptid researchers even believe that the Yowie could be capable of speech.
Whether the Yowie is human, animal, or something else entirely, all can agree that encountering one is dangerous. The Kuku Yalanji Tribe of Tropical North Queensland has countless stories in its folklore describing vicious attacks from the violent creatures.
Most Yowie sightings take place in the Outback or in dense bushland. However, the creatures have also been spotted in hinterlands and along highways, so it seems that nowhere is truly safe from the enigmatic creature.
The Sightings
In 1882, naturalist Henry James McCooey published an article in which he described a creature that resembled the Yowie. He stated that its body was covered with long hair that was mostly black, with red around the throat and chest. He said that its eyes were small and restless: too aware to be fully animal. He referred to it as the ‘Australian Ape,’ but modern audiences believe that it was a Yowie.
One of the earliest and most controversial Yowie sightings occurred in 1936. A man named Rich Jones was working with loggers in New South Wales when he snapped several photos depicting what appears to be a large, dark creature sitting on a log with its hands folded in its lap. Some believed that it was just a trick of the light playing on the trees in the background, but Jones insisted the photo was legitimate.
In 1977, the existence of the Yowie seemed to gain significant support when former Queensland Senator Bill O’Chee spotted one of the creatures while on a school trip to Springbrook. He said the creature resembled the popular Star Wars character Chewbacca.
Two years later, a couple, Leo and Patricia George, found the mutilated carcass of a kangaroo in the forest. They looked around and spotted a hairy creature standing nearby. They say that it stared at them intensely for several seconds before running away.
The 1980s was curiously absent of major Yowie sightings. However, in 1996, another young couple driving in New South Wales spotted a creature resembling the Yowie. They said it was tall and shaggy with long arms and no neck.
In 2000, the Yowie made its first appearance on video. A bushwalker named Steve Piper spotted what he believed to be a Yowie in the Brindabella Mountains. He recorded the encounter, known as ‘the Piper Film.’
The Yowie made another appearance on film in 2009 when Andrew McGinn claimed to have photographed the footprint of a Yowie. McGinn, who has researched the creatures for years, claims that the monster that left the footprint killed his dog before fleeing.
In 2010, Yowie sightings continued, with a man in Canberra claimed to have seen a Yowie in his garage. He said that it was covered in hair and had arms that nearly reached the ground.
New and controversial information about the Yowie has been recorded as recently as 2014 when two cryptid-hunters claimed to have encountered several Yowies that seemed to be speaking. According to these men, they even made some progress on teaching the creatures English so they could converse with them.
Even in 2019, the Yowie is making appearances. In January of 2019, a trucker identified only as Gary claims that a creature he believed to be a Yowie darted onto the road from the bush. Gary slammed on the brakes, barely stopping in time. He says that the creature slammed its hands onto the hood of the truck and stared at him for several seconds before continuing across the roadway.
The Cynics
Since the earliest sightings that actually use the name ‘Yowie’ didn’t occur until the 1970s, many believe that stories about the creature are bogus. They believe that those who claim to have spotted the mysterious creature are actually encountering a perfectly normal animal, such as a type of monkey.
However, Rex Gilroy, a Yowie expert, disagrees. He has studied over 3,000 reports of Yowie sightings and believes that the creature is real. According to Gilroy, the Yowie is most likely a relative of the North American Sasquatch and the Himalayan Yeti. He admits that there is no hard evidence, such as bones or fossils, but believes that the countless witnesses are evidence enough that the Outback really is home to the mysterious Yowie.
This is a contributed post by Slapped Ham. Slapped Ham is a website that’s been covering all things strange, mysterious and creepy for over 5 years. They have a Youtube channel with over one million subscribers and have been noted for their eerie, binge-worthy content. You can find them here:
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Cool! Hope they find one of these big foot type of animals some day. Or at least some proof that they exist.
Me too! I was so pleased to read about recent sightings. For the longest time, I thought the sightings had dried up and the creatures died out. So this was very good news! Thanks for visiting CryptoVille! … Susan (CryptoVille)