COROCOTTA

In European legend, the Corocotta was reported by travellers as a lion-sized beast with a wolf’s head. The creature had an unmoving stare, for its eyes did not swivel in their sockets. Instead of teeth, it had a series of bones that crushed whatever it fed upon, so that it might swallow it whole. It was cunningly able to imitate the calls of other animals so that others of their kind might be lured into its vicinity. The Corocotta was believed to be an inhabitant of the wilds of Ethiopia, and is related to the Leucrotta.