Bonnacon

Bonnacon
A depiction of a bonnacon, from a medieval manuscript.
Grouping Cryptid
Other name(s) Bonacon, Bonasus
Country Paeonia
Region Macedonia
Habitat Open grassy fields

The bonnacon (also called the bonacon or the bonasus) is a mythical animal from the region of Macedonia. It has curled horns and when startled sprays acidic dung that burns on contact with skin "like a kind of fire". The legend may be based on a type of bison in reality. Some suggest that it had some resemblance to the European bison, which became extinct in the wild in 1919. A supposed representation of it appears on the coat of arms belonging to the Hollingshead Family, possibly alluding to a legendary confrontation between one of their ancestors and this beast.[1]

The animal was described by Pliny in his Naturalis Historia: "There are reports of a wild animal in Paeonia called the bonasus, which has the mane of a horse, but in all other respects resembles a bull; its horns are curved back in such a manner as to be of no use for fighting, and it is said that because of this it saves itself by running away, meanwhile emitting a trail of dung that sometimes covers a distance of as much as three furlongs (604 m), contact with which scorches pursuers like a sort of fire."[2]

The bonnacon is also mentioned in the Aberdeen Bestiary.[3]

Evidence

There is no evidence to suggest that the bonnacon has ever existed. Some researchers believe that the creature could have been a form of bison which may have once lived in the region of Macedonia.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 "Unknown Explorers - Bonnacon".
  2. ↑ Book 8, 16
  3. ↑ "Text f12r The hyena continued; the bonnacon - The Aberdeen Bestiary".
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Medieval miniatures of bonnacon.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 7/31/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.