Hippoturtleox

The hippoturtleox is the name given to a strange semi-aquatic cryptid caught off Lake Duobuzhe in Tibet. In September of 1984, news of the strange animal discovered 12 years earlier was written in headlines across the world. 

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In 1972 in Lake Duobuzhe, Tibet, an animal of unknown origin was captured by locals. It was a small dog-sized animal, with an ox-like body and hippo-like skin, turtle-like legs or flippers and a pair of short curved horns on its head. Cruelly, the animal was shot in one of its “flippers” and then bayoneted to death by Chinese soldiers for an unspecified reason. 

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Cryptozoologist Richard Greenwell dubbed it the hippoturtleox in the spring 1986 issue of the International Society of Cryptozoology’s newspaper. Due to there being no photographs or physical evidence, it will likely remain a cryptid until a second one is captured and sent for analysis. Its description is similar to a baby Huponiu, a separate cryptid in the nearby Qinghai wastelands, which is the same biome as the hippoturtleox.