The Bunyip

The bunyip is a creature from Australian Aboriginal legends. Its name means “devil” or “spirit.” According to the legend, the bunyip is a water monster that lives in rivers, swamps or billabongs. The early Aboriginal drawings depict the bunyip as a beast with a horse tail, tusks, and flippers.

Said to be nocturnal, the bunyip comes out of the water to snatch and eat all kinds of animals, including women and children.

The bellowing cry attributed to the bunyip could also be the calls of other animals, like the koala or barking owl.

Is the bunyip real or imaginary? You decide.

Image from planetetheria.com

(A bunyip appears in my book, Pursued by Magic)