Yowie

Reports of Yowie-type creatures are common in the legends and stories of Australian Aboriginal tribes, particularly those of the eastern states of Australia.[3] The mid to late 19th Century saw a wealth of sightings, most describing a large, gorilla-like creature (albeit usually bipedal), which lived in remote mountainous or forested regions.[citation needed] Reports have continued to the present day with the trail of evidence following the pattern familiar to most unidentified hominids around the world – i.e. eyewitness accounts, mysterious footprints of hotly-disputed origin, and a lack of conclusive proof. Some recently reported Yowie incidents claim that the death and mutilation of household pets, such as dogs, are the result of Yowie attacks. Other people claim that the animals' deaths can be attributed to attacks by wild animals such as dingoes.[4]

Australian Rex Gilroy, a self-proclaimed cryptozoologist, has attempted to popularize the scientific term Gigantopithecus australis for the yowie.[verification needed] He claims to have collected over 3000 reports of them and proposed that they comprise a relict population of extinct ape or Homo species.[5] There is, however, no evidence that Gigantopithecus ever existed in Australia.