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The Cryptid Zoo: Marozi The marozi, or spotted lion, is a mystery cat of eastern Africa. Unlike most cryptids, there doesn't seem to be anything particularly absurd about it. It is biologically quite plausible, and it doesn't seem to have any supernatural powers or other weird characteristics from folklore. Unfortunately, this cryptid is probably no longer out there to be discovered. Sightings of it died out several decades ago, and there seems to be little hope that any marozis are still roaming the mountains. How did the marozi become spotted? To answer this question, we must first examine the spots that exist in regular lions. Normal lion cubs have spots much like a leopard, but instead of black spots on an orange background, they have brown spots on a tan background. Otherwise, the pattern is the same. They only have these spots when they are young. As lions mature, they quickly lose their spots. Sometimes adult lions have a few "ghost" spots that are barely visible, because they are darker tan on plain tan and therefore only show with close inspection, but for the most part, the lion is assumed to be an unspotted animal. The marozi looks like a lion, but it is spotted as an adult. Like lion cubs, they possess spots that are easily visible, being brown on a tan background. According to native folklore, large numbers of marozis inhabited the Aberdare Mountains from ancient times until about 30 years ago, when they were killed off. Marozi skins and skulls were secured before the last of them presumably died out. According to the testimony of trackers and hunters, the marozi is smaller than a normal lion and males may have a truncated mane. Because of the existence of skins and skulls, the marozi was obviously a real animal. The only question is exactly what it was. I will start with the most prosaic possibilities and gradually move to the more daring explanations. One idea is that the marozi was simply a mutation, like the white lions that show up regularly in some areas due to a recessive gene. Since it would only need a small change to retain cubhood spots as an adult lion, this possibility is quite likely, and if it could be proved, it would also mean that the animal would no longer be of interest to cryptozoologists. Cryptozoologists are not interested in freaks and mutations of a known species, unless those animals happen to fulfill the requirements for being their own subspecies. You can find out more about the Marozi and/or Leopons from the following sources: Clark, Jerome and Coleman, Loren. Cryptozoology A-Z. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1999. Pages 153-154 ~Authors~Would you like your nonfiction book indexedin The Cryptid Zoo? Ask if you can send areview copy. Dower, Kenneth. The Spotted Lion.
2007年04月24日 09点04分
