Yowie! Move over, Bigfoot; Australia has its own version of the shaggy, brown-haired humanoid, a creature known as the Yowie. Typically described as between seven and eight feet tall, covered in thick, bristly hair, Yowies stand upright and have generally humanoid characteristics. Heavily muscled and possessing a set of powerful jaws, it is said that they are more than capable of killing and eating a human being. A question that is equally pertinent with regard to every creature covered in this book would be this: Why has a Yowie never been captured or killed and subjected to examination? Australia certainly has plenty of space in which humans has rarely set foot, even today; over a million square miles of wilderness remain undeveloped, though most of it has at least been mapped and charted. Some of the more isolated rural areas could conceivably be home to Yowies, and potentially other cryptids, too. Yowie sightings go back for centuries, originating with indigenous aboriginal people, and the accounts share an impressive consistency. Speculation regarding the creature's origins runs the gamut from it being a flesh-and-blood creature (albeit one which has become exceptionally skilled at avoiding contact with human hunters) to it being some kind of supernatural or trans-dimensional entity, capable of phasing into and out of our material reality at will. In this respect, there are comparisons with the Mothman stories, which are featured elsewhere in this book -- and indeed, some of those who have claimed to encounter the Yowie say that it also has glowing red eyes just as Mothman does.

There are better parallels between the Yowie, Sasquatch, and Bigfoot than there are with Mothman, however. The hefty, shambling, hairy humanoids seem to look and behave similarly in both the northern and southern hemispheres. Their favored terrain seems to be forests and wooded areas, offering a degree of protection and shelter not only from the elements, but also from intrusive humans. Wherever it may be, the creature appears to have a definite physical presence. Tracks have been found in the vicinity of Yowie sightings; primate-like footprints, larger and heavier than those of a human being. Some of the tracks have only three or four toes. Another relatively common finding is the foul stink Yowies leave in their wake. Sightings continue to be reported in the twenty-first century.

The website yowiehunters.com.au maintains a database of such sightings, which is available for anybody to read. It also contains interviews with Aboriginal people in which they explain their own cultural beliefs concerning the Yowie; it is a legend with which they are very familiar, as it has been part of their tradition for so long. There are accounts of Yowies causing property damage, tearing up fences, and tossing around or eating animals and livestock. However, despite their fearsome appearance and aggressive roar, there is little in the way of testimony suggesting that the beasts are inclined to harm humans. On the other hand, there are some that attribute the disappearance of individuals in the Outback and remote regions of Australia each year to abduction by Yowies. Monster or myth? Opinion is divided.

As if the snakes, spiders, and crocodiles weren't terrifying enough, the Yowie gives visitors to Australia one more reason to keep their head on a swivel.