What is the Beast of Gévaudan?
The Beast of Gévaudan (French: La bête du Gévaudan) was an allegedly cow-sized, wolf-like creature that terrorized the population of the former province of Gévaudan in the Margeride Mountains in south-central France from about 1764 to 1767. The creature is associated with 198 attacks, including 36 wounded and 88 dead. It preferentially attacked humans, even singling them out from cows in a field. The beast was said to be all black, and travel at very quick speeds, slaying its victims before they had a chance to react. It had a lion-like tuft of fur. Today the story of the Beast of Gévaudan is a cryptozoological curiosity, bit of historical intrigue, and an essential component of local French folklore.
