What is a Yowie?
The Yowie is a bipedal hominid reported to live in the wilds of Australia. Oral reports of the creatures date back to the late 1700s by aboriginal natives. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, European witnesses also reported encounters. Originally known as Yahoos, Yowies maintain an aggressive reputation, known for menacing national park campsites and stalking livestock on outback farms. They are most often witnessed alone or with one other creature, regardless of month or time of day.
They are known for emitting terrible odors commonly compared to the stench of a rotting animal. When together, the creatures have been heard communicating with one another in a rapid, garbled speech.
In addition to the term Yahoos, Yowies are sometimes called Bush Apes, Quinkin, Joogabinna, Gubba, and Wild Men, among many more names.
The Bombay Yowie seen by Charles Harper, illustrated by Will Donald (1912)
What does a Yowie look like?
The creature is described by eyewitnesses and through Aboriginal legends as typically over 6’10” and covered in at least 1” long, very coarse, matted hair. The hair colors reported are diverse: white, red, dark brown, and black. Its arms are dis-proportionally long with large, but narrow feet. Aboriginal legends suggest the creatures wield long, talon-like nails. In 1912 a New South Wales surveyor was approached at his mountain campsite by a perceived Yowie. The man described a monster with a “small, chinless human face with deeply set eyes and long canine teeth” that beat its chest and growled at him.
Where is the Yowie found?
Sightings mainly occur in the New South Wales region of Australia, the Queensland Gold Coast Area, and several areas in the Northern Territories. While observed frequently in rural areas, it has been known to wander into residential locations that border these wilderness areas.
Yowie in Media
Possessing a cult-status level of fame like other cryptic hominids across the globe, the Yowie is something of a low-key Australian mascot. Many representations of the creature have surfaced in movies and Aussie pop-culture, including a popular “Yowie” brand of chocolate.
Sources:
Coleman, Loren, and Jerome Clark. Cryptozoology A to Z: The Encyclopedia of Loch Monsters, Sasquatch, Chupacabras, and Other Authentic Mysteries of Nature. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 1999. Print.
Harrison, Dean. “Australian Yowie Research – Home.” Australian Yowie Research.