Omajinaakoos

uhm-uch-in-aw-kose

The omajinaakoos or "the ugly one" in Cree, is a cryptid inhabiting the many swamps and lakes around the southern Hudson Bay taiga and the central Canadian Shield forests. In Cree mythology, the omajinaakoos is an otter-like creature with pale skin like a corpse, with a hairless wolverine-like face, and a long tail. Their diet consists of waterfowl and hunt by staying motionless on the banks of the water and then ambushing them. They are often thought to be bad omens. Although they were generally thought to be purely mythological, it was called into question in 2010 when two Health Canada nurses training at the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Band Nation said their dog Sam hauled out what appeared to be an omajinaakoos. Indigenous folklore of similar animals go as southwards as Whitefish Nation, between Sudbury and Lake Huron. Many elders say they were once common animals but now became rare.