In this Strange Matters Short, Sean discusses the man-eating creature known as the Beast of Gevaudan.   This violent animal terrorized a region in France for several years as it killed as many as a hundred men, women, and children.   During this time the local populace was nearly hysterical with fear, forced to venture outside to make a living knowing all along that there was a huge beast roaming the area attacking anyone it can across.   In an attempt to take down this violent creature, a French officer organized large hunting parties of thousands of soldiers to patrol the area.  Professional wolf hunters were hired to track down and kill the Beast.  Despite all this, the Beast of Gevaudan evaded any attempt to kill it and continued its reign of terror.

After three years of setbacks, embarrassments, and dozens of deaths, the Beast was reportedly finally brought down by a local farmer when he shot and killed a large wolf near his village.  Through the years there have been multiple accounts and theories as to what the Beast of Gevaudan really was.  Most think it was a pack of large and man-hungry wolves, while others believe it could have been an exotic or imported predator introduced into the region.  There has been more outlandish claims of a werewolf or an ancient species still roaming the land. Whatever the true identity of the animal actually was, the Beast of Gevaudan is one of the most unique and unusual cases in history of a creature that specifically enjoyed hunting and slaying humans.

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