Werewolf legends have been told in Europe since the Middle Ages
one of the most notorious legends is known as The Beast of Gevaudan.
The creature, which to this day has never been identified would strike fear to the
people of Gevaudan. Which is a small province in southern France from 1764 to 1767.
Most victims of the beast were partially eaten or never seen again it.
It is unclear if there was only one animal or more. The mysterious and gruesome
killings became the most fatal series of wolf attacks the country has ever seen.
The events costs from beast eventually caught the attention of government and
even King Louie XV. The first reported attack by the Beast took place in 1764.
A young woman was tending to her livestock when the Beast attacked.
It made several attempts to attack the young woman before the cattle drove off the beast.
She stated that the creature looked like a large wolf with reddish fur
fur small ears ,a doglike head, and a long tail.
attack seemed like a one-time events until a few days later,
when the first victim was slayed.
It was a young girl again but this time she wasn't as lucky as the first.
The Beast dragged her body to the woods.
The only thing that they found was her bonnet and clogs. The body was never
recovered throughout the summer the number of reported attacks increased
usually lone people working in the countryside. The villagers began to feel
an overwhelming sense of dread when it came to what was lurking in the woods
near their homes. They began to arm themselves waging war on any wolf that
they'd seen the attacks increased throughout the winter of 1764.
By now some believed that it must have been a werewolf, others that saw the creature
firsthand knew that it was an oversized wolf
and a had to have been hunting in the pack but all agreed that it was no
ordinary wolf King Louie XV became aware of the attacks after a group of
armed men survived the attacks and reported it to the government.
King Louis XV was appalled by the story and personally seemed to it that
the beast was tracked down and killed. The king sent two hunters to the region
in 1765 to track and kill the Beast they believed the animal was a Eurasian gray
wolf and set out to capture it with that in mind.
After months of hunting and hundreds of wolves killed the attacks by the beast
at Java dome still occurred during the course of three years a hundred wolves
were attributed to being nice several victims were reported to be partially
eaten Francois and Tony was the king's own lieutenant who was in charge of the
hunt for the Beast
after years anton finally killed it the creature was very large for a wolf it
was about the size of calf
the Beast was killed by a large caliber bullet self-made with silver
after the killing of this creature marked the end of attacks on the locals
very soon after the killing doctor Boulanger took the Beast and examined
the animal for his report
upon opening the animal stomach he finds the Beast last victim