There are many horror stories related to animals circulating in China's folklore, and the protagonists of many horror stories are ferocious animals such as weasels and foxes. Folk once said that "it is better to meet the jackal than to touch the mountain fish". This animal is very scary, can imitate the laughter of human beings to deceive people, and even spread the legend of eating children. What exactly is an animal so terrible? Is there still this animal in China?
Terrifying mountain fish
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > how scary is the mountain fish? </h1>
The xiāo is a terrible primate, and from this ghost word you can see that it is by no means a good species. The earliest record of the story of the mountain fish in China can be traced back to the "Classic of Mountains and Seas and the Inner Scriptures", which is recorded in the book:
"In the south, there are gan giants, with long arms on their faces, black bodies with hair, and they are anti-heeled, and when they see people laughing and laughing, their lips cover their faces, because they are fleeing."
Translated into the vernacular, it means that there is a giant in the south called "Gan", with a human face and very long arms. He has long black hairs. There is only one foot, and the ankle is long in reverse. It has the ability to imitate, and when it sees someone laughing, it will learn to laugh, and its mouth is so big that it covers its face. It is very afraid of people, and when it sees people coming, it runs away.
Although the Classic of Mountains and Seas does not explicitly state what kind of animal this is, it can be inferred from the aspects of "human face", "black hair", "long arm", "imitation ability" and so on. The ancients had a limited understanding of nature, and naturally classified many animals that they had never seen or hated into the category of monsters.
The mountain fish imagined by the ancients
The legends of this period are still relatively neutral in their portrayal of the image of the mountain fish, but the more later folk tales become more and more bizarre and demonized for the image of the mountain fish. The image of the mountain fish in folk tales has changed from a fearful coward to a terrifying monster, and it is even said that it can easily tear up tigers and leopards. At the same time, there was also a saying that "it is better to meet the jackal than to touch the mountain fish", which shows the horror of the mountain fish.
What turned the mountain fish into a man-eating demon is a word of mouth story. In order to keep children from staying outside at night, parents living in rural areas even make up stories of mountain fish eating people to scare them. I don't make any comments about this behavior, but in any case, the suspected primate creature has become extinct in China. However, although the native "mountain fish" in China has become extinct, there is a primate in Africa that is very similar to the "mountain fish".
A warrior who fights with the mountain fish
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > African bass</h1>
The Latin name of the animal is Mandrillus sphinx, which translates to Chinese meaning "Sphinx Macaque". It can be seen that this animal, like the mountain fish, is also a mysterious primate. This animal also has some other names that are not very well-known, such as ghost-faced monkeys, ghost-faced monkeys and so on. Because it is very similar to the "mountain fish" in Chinese folklore, the name of the mountain fish has also been given to it in China.
It is mainly found in the southeastern African countries of Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Congo. The mountain bass is the largest monkey in the world, with a body length of 61-74.6 cm, far longer than many monkeys. The female weighs 11.5 kilograms, while the male weighs as much as half as much as it does, weighing 25 kilograms.
Map of the distribution of the mountain fish in Africa
The most similar thing about this African monkey and the mountain fish is that they both have a strange face. The face of the African mountain fish (hereinafter referred to as the mountain fish) is very terrible, almost like a devil from hell. It has a long face, and its two eyes are dark and deep, as if it can see through people. It has a red nose, which makes it look particularly angry.
And its most terrifying thing is its long fangs, the fangs of the mountain fish have grown out of its mouth, and the people who look at it like two sharp knives have hair in their hearts. Interestingly, the fangs of the mountain fish are a symbol of its status in the ethnic group. The higher the status, the longer the fangs of the mountain fish, and vice versa, the shorter it is.
Open-mouthed mountain fish
Although it is not an animal with Chinese legend, it has a similar feeding habit to the mountain fish. The African mountain fish are omnivorous and eat plants such as leaves in addition to fruits that monkeys like to eat. The mountain fish will also run to the territory of humans to steal food, and as a result, there have been many conflicts with humans, and many mountain fish have been killed.
Mountain fish will eat meat. They will dig up small insects such as ants to feed their hunger, and they will also eat arthropods such as scorpions and spiders. Surprisingly, in order to fill its stomach, the mountain fish will even take the initiative to attack large vertebrates, even the ferocious wild boar.
Mountain fish that eat watermelon
Adult male mountain fish have a particularly short temper and will fight their own kind in order to protect the interests of the individual, and even dare to fight with medium-sized beasts. However, the mountain fish is not as godly as the domestic folk tales and legends, and it does not dare to take the initiative to attack ferocious beasts such as tigers and cheetahs, let alone tear them apart.
Cheetahs are even predators of mountain fish, which prey on females as well as juvenile mountain fish. Cheetahs can climb trees compared to other predators, and even the mountain fish that hide in the trees cannot escape the cheetah's killing. But the mountain fish is a clever animal and can remember revenge. Once the cheetah attacks and snatches the body of a member of its own clan, the mountain fish will chase the cheetah and fight it, and it is not enough to beat it to death.
A cheetah climbing tree
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > the mountain bass is also an interesting animal</h1>
Don't look at the mountain fish is a fierce-looking animal, it is also an interesting animal. To mention a little knowledge that many people don't know, the high priest Raficci in the 1994 Disney cartoon "The Lion King" is a mountain fish, is the mountain fish suddenly less scary?
Holding Simba's mountain fish Rafich
The mountain fish are social animals, and interestingly they are not a matriarchal clan society. The population of mountain fish is generally composed of 600 mountain fish of different sexes and ages, and there are more than 800 mountain fish at the most. The patriarch of the mountain fish is composed of the most respected and well-known old mountain fish in the tribe and also has rich hunting ability. It is responsible for the predation of the command clan and the distribution of prey, and can also enjoy multiple mates.
Like other monkeys, the bass has arboreality. The mountain fish will eat and rest in the tree, but only the male adult mountain fish like to stay in the tree for a long time, and the female mountain fish who have to take care of the cubs will stay under the tree. If you are looking for food, the clan members will rush out under the command of the patriarch.
A mountain fish that pours out of its nest
The breeding of mountain fish is also very interesting. The society of the mountain fish is a patrilineal clan society, and the male mountain fish has the right to control the reproduction. The chief of the mountain fish has the power to choose a mate, and it will choose up to 4 of its favorite females as mates, and the others are for the rest of the tribe to choose. The strongest and most predestining males generally get the most mates, and can choose 2-4 females as their mates.
Male and female mountain fish will turn red all over the body during the estrus period, and the probability of successful offspring if mating occurs is the greatest. Females attract males during estrus, and males follow the females. They will have sex at the right time, usually with one male and multiple females. If the sperm of the male is successfully implanted, the female will enter a 6-month pregnancy. It is generally born from January to April every year, and similar to humans, mountain fish can give birth to 1-2 cubs per litter.
Female mountain bass that feeds their cubs
Although the mountain fish is a patrilineal clan, the male mountain fish will be responsible for their offspring to the end. Male and female goats raise their offspring together, while the offspring of the goats leave their parents at the age of six and live independently.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > the mountain fish is actually very pitiful</h1>
Although the appearance of the mountain fish is fierce and the personality is brutal, they are not as terrifying and dangerous as Chinese folk tales show, but instead they see humans as a terrible animal. In addition to stealing food and fruits grown by humans, the mountain fish did not dare to go near the human settlement. Because they knew that humans had terrible weapons in their hands, they could wipe out a great warrior in the tribe in just one click.
However, Africans are not afraid of the mountain fish, and in exchange for a large amount of economic benefits, they hunt and kill the mountain fish. The specimens that were beaten to death were sold to foreign museums, and they were caught alive and sent to zoos. Native African bass are endangered due to human activities, while brazzaville in Congo is at risk of extinction at any time.
Skull specimen of mountain fish
The international community naturally attaches great importance to endangered mountain fish. The Washington Convention lists the mountain fish as a CITESI class vulnerable animal, and the International Union for the Protection of Animals also lists the mountain fish as a vulnerable animal.
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > concluding remarks</h1>
Although what the mountain fish in our country looks like is still unknown, it is certain that human activities have caused a significant decline in the number of mountain fish. There are still many wild animals in China that are endangered due to human activities. In order to protect the nature on which human beings live, please cherish them and love them.