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Description
Binomial Name: Vromatherium eberharti
Common Name: Mapinguari
Length: 2-2.3 meters (6.6-7.55 feet)
Height: 1.52-1.8 meters (5-6 feet)
Weight: 300-350 kg
Integument: Like some ground sloths, it has a layer of osteoderms underneath its skin. This allows it to be almost impenetrable by both spears and most types of bullets. It's true fur color mostly reddish-brown, with the red color being enhanced by the red algae that grows on its fur due to its slow metabolism. It has a large, black stripe across its chest and a black snout with a black circle on its forehead, giving the appearance of this creature as having a mouth on its belly and a single eye.
Distribution: Spends most of the year in the Peruvian Andes, but comes down to the Amazonas state of Brazil during the fall.
Habitat: Temperate Cloud Forests for most of the year, but comes down to the lowland, tropical rainforests on the edge of the Amazon every fall.
Diet: Mostly eats the fruit of the bacaba palm during the fall. It's main diet is unknown.
Ecology: A megafaunal herbivore. Is mainly a nocturnal animal, usually avoiding large bodies of water. It's feces is highly-prized among beetles and is similar to a horse's. It is also observed living alongside herds of white-lipped peccaries, most likely to benefit from their foraging habits as well as more heightened senses.
Defense: Along with its osteoderm covering, the Mapinguari is known to be extremely stinky, most likely either due to the algae growing on its fur, or scent glands that release the putrid smell. It is also known to charge at its enemies with arms wide open and try to claw the adversary. One account describes a single Mapinguari going a 3 week rampage, where it killed 100 cattle. Because only the tongues of the creatures were ripped out, and the Mapinguari is almost exclusively vegetarian, it most likely the rampage was the work of a male defending his territory from any other large, herbivorous mammals.
Predators: Besides the occasional hunter and jaguar, Mapinguari adults are impervious to predation. Youngsters are sometimes taken by cougars and bush dogs, but this rarely happens since the mother is extremely protective of her young.
Status: Given how rarely seen they are and how little we actually know of this creature, we cannot put a definite answer as to their status. Thus, the Mapinguari is listed here as Data Deficient.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

So, after a long time, I have finally decided to get back to drawing. Had perhaps the artist block of the century, but I eventually overcame it. I decided to do something different this time instead of the usual prehistoric animal, and instead did something relating to cryptozoology. I was thinking of doing a hypothetical scenario of Bigfoot or Nessie, but I decided to do a cryptid that is a bit more obscure. The end result of my decision was the Mapinguari, and after researching about this creature, I learned of some very intriguing things regarding this animal.

The Mapinguari in folklore is described as a man-sized beast covered in hair and having a single eye and a mouth on its chest, and backward turning feet. When hearing of this, its pretty obvious that no one is going to take this creature seriously. However, more recent reports (from the 1930's onwards) describe a beast of slightly different, and more believable nature. The sightings describe a red or black creature covered in long hair, with a standing height equal to a man, and backward's facing feet. It is said to be unaffected by spears or bullets, and is known to release a vile stench when threatened, as well a deafening roar or human-like shout. The Mapinguari is also said to mostly live in the mountains and only descends during the fall, most likely to eat fruit. Additional info states the creature is nocturnal, avoids large bodies of water, follows peccary herds, is in-turn followed by an army of beetles, eats babaca palm fruits by bending the tree, is powerful enough to kill cows, and doesn't tolerate humans for the most part. Based off all this, the leading theory as to what the Mapinguari could be was a ground sloth. It makes sense for the most part. Some ground sloths are known to have reddish-brown hair, and defecate horse-like feces. They also have a layer of osteoderms underneath their skin which would theoretically be able to withstand spears and potentially bullets. Ground sloths also have feet that seem to face backwards thanks to their giant heel. As for the stinky smell, that might be due to algae, which is seen in modern sloths and might have been present on ground sloths because they to have a slow metabolism. Ground sloths also survived for quite some time, with the youngest mainland fossils dating to just around 6000 years B.C. It should also be noted that the Amazon rainforest is perhaps the best place to hide a large mammal from the rest of the world, since it wasn't until 2013 that the Kabomani Tapir was discovered in a few isolated pockets of the Amazon. If any place on land could hide a large mammal, the Amazon would be one of them.

So overall, the ground sloth comparison seems sounds, and it's what prompted me to take a try at this guy, since its perhaps the only cryptid that may actually have some evidence backing up its existence (at least more than Bigfoot, Nessie, and the Chupacabra combined). However, after doing more research, I realized that the ground sloth comparison might be a bit too hopeful. Indeed, it would seem that whenever one is dealing with a bipedal, hairy mammal, the magic rule is applied: Either it s a guy in a suit, or a bear. In this case, the latter. Yeah, it would seem the most likely candidate for the Mapinguari is the Spectacled Bear.

There are a lot of things about the Mapinguari that seem to scream Spectacled Bear. First, the linear dimensions of both are roughly the same, both able to look a man in the eyes. Second, the fur color of the Spectacled Bear matches that of the Mapinguari sightings, being mostly black with markings around the face and torso making it look like it has one eye and a mouth on its chest/belly. As for the reddish color reported by some, Spectacled Bears are known to have a brownish-blonde color that, under the right light, would make it look a little reddish.

es.mongabay.com/2018/06/camara…
cdn.discordapp.com/attachments…

Spectacled bears also descend from higher elevations to feast off fruit and plants, tend to avoid humans when needed, also has feet with a really long heel that looks like its going backwards, and while being mostly vegetarian, will eat meat from time to time. Spectacled Bears can also make some really weird sounds, adults having a loud roar while babies almost sounding like a cross between a human baby and a bird.

www.facebook.com/sbcsocietyper…

All in all, it would seem that Spectacled Bears are perhaps the most parsimonious explanation to the Mapinguari's true identity*. But before all of you start groaning at how another cryptid turned out to be some already known animal, I have some surprising news for you. All the sightings of the Mapinguari were taken outside the normal range of the Spectacled Bear. The red-fur variety was sighted in the Brazilian States of Acre and Amazonas, while the black-fur variety was sighted in more southern Brazilian states, like Matto Grosso, and there are even some sightings as far down as Paraguay. As far as we know, no Spectacled Bear has ever been recorded as far east as the northwest border of Argentina. What's more, sightings of another cryptid, the Ucumar, are also said to be the work of Spectacled Bears, but the Ucumar is said to be found as far south as Rengo, a city 50 miles south of Santiago, Chile. How is it that so many of these sightings of creatures that match the description of the spectacled bear being found outside the species' normal range? Perhaps the Spectacled Bear is much more widespread than we thought? The majority of sightings of the Mapinguari and Ucumar were taken sometime during the early to mid 1900's, and Spectacled Bears are extremely adaptable, with ranging from temperate cloud forest all the way arid desert. Traces of Spectacled Bears have been found as far north as Panama, and an extinct cousin, T. floridanus managed to make its way as far north as Maryland. The idea of a large carnivoran living alongside humans without many noticing seems odd, but its not entirely out of the question. Modern cougars and leopards are extremely wary around people despite their close proximity. They usually only hunt at night, and many people are unaware that these cats are present in their location. Since spectacled bears aren't even carnivorous for the most part, and they too will go out of their way to avoid human contact, the idea of them perhaps slinking past people at night and hiding in the remote Andes and parts of the Amazon Rainforest (which is already stated to be a good hiding place for large mammals), would not be too hard to imagine. Such a notion would be quite a find if proven true, and going by the current evidence, it's perhaps the most likely. In this way, the Mapinguari is a special. Unlike other cryptids, which tend to be extravagant but later turn out to nothing significant to begin with, the Mapinguari is significant at every angle you look. On one hand, it could be a late-surviving ground sloth hiding away in the Andes and Amazon, and on the more logical and reasonable hand of being a case of misidentification of a bear, it would still be significant as all the sightings take place where we never knew Spectacled Bears were present. Whatever the future holds, the Mapinguari will perhaps always be, to me, the most significant cryptid of them all.

Sources:

Mapinguari the Amazonian Mylodon: patagoniamonsters.blogspot.com…

Tremarctos floridanus: fossilworks.org/?a=taxonInfo&a…

Are there Andean bears in Panama?: www.bearbiology.org/wp-content…

*Note that the Spectacled Bear comparison doesn't fit the fact this creature is spear and bulletproof.....

Description
Binomial Name: Vromatherium eberharti
Common Name: Mapinguari
Length: 2-2.3 meters (6.6-7.55 feet)
Height: 1.52-1.8 meters (5-6 feet)
Weight: 300-350 kg
Integument: Like some ground sloths, it has a layer of osteoderms underneath its skin. This allows it to be almost impenetrable by both spears and most types of bullets. It's true fur color mostly reddish-brown, with the red color being enhanced by the red algae that grows on its fur due to its slow metabolism. It has a large, black stripe across its chest and a black snout with a black circle on its forehead, giving the appearance of this creature as having a mouth on its belly and a single eye.
Distribution: Spends most of the year in the Peruvian Andes, but comes down to the Amazonas state of Brazil during the fall.
Habitat: Temperate Cloud Forests for most of the year, but comes down to the lowland, tropical rainforests on the edge of the Amazon every fall.
Diet: Mostly eats the fruit of the bacaba palm during the fall. It's main diet is unknown.
Ecology: A megafaunal herbivore. Is mainly a nocturnal animal, usually avoiding large bodies of water. It's feces is highly-prized among beetles and is similar to a horse's. It is also observed living alongside herds of white-lipped peccaries, most likely to benefit from their foraging habits as well as more heightened senses.
Defense: Along with its osteoderm covering, the Mapinguari is known to be extremely stinky, most likely either due to the algae growing on its fur, or scent glands that release the putrid smell. It is also known to charge at its enemies with arms wide open and try to claw the adversary. One account describes a single Mapinguari going a 3 week rampage, where it killed 100 cattle. Because only the tongues of the creatures were ripped out, and the Mapinguari is almost exclusively vegetarian, it most likely the rampage was the work of a male defending his territory from any other large, herbivorous mammals.
Predators: Besides the occasional hunter and jaguar, Mapinguari adults are impervious to predation. Youngsters are sometimes taken by cougars and bush dogs, but this rarely happens since the mother is extremely protective of her young.
Status: Given how rarely seen they are and how little we actually know of this creature, we cannot put a definite answer as to their status. Thus, the Mapinguari is listed here as Data Deficient.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

So, after a long time, I have finally decided to get back to drawing. Had perhaps the artist block of the century, but I eventually overcame it. I decided to do something different this time instead of the usual prehistoric animal, and instead did something relating to cryptozoology. I was thinking of doing a hypothetical scenario of Bigfoot or Nessie, but I decided to do a cryptid that is a bit more obscure. The end result of my decision was the Mapinguari, and after researching about this creature, I learned of some very intriguing things regarding this animal.

The Mapinguari in folklore is described as a man-sized beast covered in hair and having a single eye and a mouth on its chest, and backward turning feet. When hearing of this, its pretty obvious that no one is going to take this creature seriously. However, more recent reports (from the 1930's onwards) describe a beast of slightly different, and more believable nature. The sightings describe a red or black creature covered in long hair, with a standing height equal to a man, and backward's facing feet. It is said to be unaffected by spears or bullets, and is known to release a vile stench when threatened, as well a deafening roar or human-like shout. The Mapinguari is also said to mostly live in the mountains and only descends during the fall, most likely to eat fruit. Additional info states the creature is nocturnal, avoids large bodies of water, follows peccary herds, is in-turn followed by an army of beetles, eats babaca palm fruits by bending the tree, is powerful enough to kill cows, and doesn't tolerate humans for the most part. Based off all this, the leading theory as to what the Mapinguari could be was a ground sloth. It makes sense for the most part. Some ground sloths are known to have reddish-brown hair, and defecate horse-like feces. They also have a layer of osteoderms underneath their skin which would theoretically be able to withstand spears and potentially bullets. Ground sloths also have feet that seem to face backwards thanks to their giant heel. As for the stinky smell, that might be due to algae, which is seen in modern sloths and might have been present on ground sloths because they to have a slow metabolism. Ground sloths also survived for quite some time, with the youngest mainland fossils dating to just around 6000 years B.C. It should also be noted that the Amazon rainforest is perhaps the best place to hide a large mammal from the rest of the world, since it wasn't until 2013 that the Kabomani Tapir was discovered in a few isolated pockets of the Amazon. If any place on land could hide a large mammal, the Amazon would be one of them.

So overall, the ground sloth comparison seems sounds, and it's what prompted me to take a try at this guy, since its perhaps the only cryptid that may actually have some evidence backing up its existence (at least more than Bigfoot, Nessie, and the Chupacabra combined). However, after doing more research, I realized that the ground sloth comparison might be a bit too hopeful. Indeed, it would seem that whenever one is dealing with a bipedal, hairy mammal, the magic rule is applied: Either it s a guy in a suit, or a bear. In this case, the latter. Yeah, it would seem the most likely candidate for the Mapinguari is the Spectacled Bear.

There are a lot of things about the Mapinguari that seem to scream Spectacled Bear. First, the linear dimensions of both are roughly the same, both able to look a man in the eyes. Second, the fur color of the Spectacled Bear matches that of the Mapinguari sightings, being mostly black with markings around the face and torso making it look like it has one eye and a mouth on its chest/belly. As for the reddish color reported by some, Spectacled Bears are known to have a brownish-blonde color that, under the right light, would make it look a little reddish.

es.mongabay.com/2018/06/camara…
cdn.discordapp.com/attachments…

Spectacled bears also descend from higher elevations to feast off fruit and plants, tend to avoid humans when needed, also has feet with a really long heel that looks like its going backwards, and while being mostly vegetarian, will eat meat from time to time. Spectacled Bears can also make some really weird sounds, adults having a loud roar while babies almost sounding like a cross between a human baby and a bird.

www.facebook.com/sbcsocietyper…

All in all, it would seem that Spectacled Bears are perhaps the most parsimonious explanation to the Mapinguari's true identity*. But before all of you start groaning at how another cryptid turned out to be some already known animal, I have some surprising news for you. All the sightings of the Mapinguari were taken outside the normal range of the Spectacled Bear. The red-fur variety was sighted in the Brazilian States of Acre and Amazonas, while the black-fur variety was sighted in more southern Brazilian states, like Matto Grosso, and there are even some sightings as far down as Paraguay. As far as we know, no Spectacled Bear has ever been recorded as far east as the northwest border of Argentina. What's more, sightings of another cryptid, the Ucumar, are also said to be the work of Spectacled Bears, but the Ucumar is said to be found as far south as Rengo, a city 50 miles south of Santiago, Chile. How is it that so many of these sightings of creatures that match the description of the spectacled bear being found outside the species' normal range? Perhaps the Spectacled Bear is much more widespread than we thought? The majority of sightings of the Mapinguari and Ucumar were taken sometime during the early to mid 1900's, and Spectacled Bears are extremely adaptable, with ranging from temperate cloud forest all the way arid desert. Traces of Spectacled Bears have been found as far north as Panama, and an extinct cousin, T. floridanus managed to make its way as far north as Maryland. The idea of a large carnivoran living alongside humans without many noticing seems odd, but its not entirely out of the question. Modern cougars and leopards are extremely wary around people despite their close proximity. They usually only hunt at night, and many people are unaware that these cats are present in their location. Since spectacled bears aren't even carnivorous for the most part, and they too will go out of their way to avoid human contact, the idea of them perhaps slinking past people at night and hiding in the remote Andes and parts of the Amazon Rainforest (which is already stated to be a good hiding place for large mammals), would not be too hard to imagine. Such a notion would be quite a find if proven true, and going by the current evidence, it's perhaps the most likely. In this way, the Mapinguari is a special. Unlike other cryptids, which tend to be extravagant but later turn out to nothing significant to begin with, the Mapinguari is significant at every angle you look. On one hand, it could be a late-surviving ground sloth hiding away in the Andes and Amazon, and on the more logical and reasonable hand of being a case of misidentification of a bear, it would still be significant as all the sightings take place where we never knew Spectacled Bears were present. Whatever the future holds, the Mapinguari will perhaps always be, to me, the most significant cryptid of them all.

Sources:

Mapinguari the Amazonian Mylodon: patagoniamonsters.blogspot.com…

Tremarctos floridanus: fossilworks.org/?a=taxonInfo&a…

Are there Andean bears in Panama?: www.bearbiology.org/wp-content…

*Note that the Spectacled Bear comparison doesn't fit the fact this creature is spear and bulletproof.....