BCWPA Organism Archives
Organism Archive Explorer
Danger Level
Population
Organism Summary
Hodag
CURRENTLY VIEWING
Organism Database Screen
November 1, 2024 at 3:18:43 PM
Last Updated:​
BCWPA Case Number:
Information on this organism has been made available to the public by the BCWPA.
Hodag
Names: no other names known
Habitat: the Northwoods of Wisconsin
Size: up to 3,500 lbs
Diet: mud turtles, water snakes, oxen, fish, and any food left out near its location; it also consumes white bulldogs on Sundays (if possible)
Reproduction: seasonally monogamous; performs courtship ritual
Society: solitary or in couplings
One of North America's most bizarre chimeras, the Hodag is described in Wisconsin folklore as having two bull's horns, green eyes, and the grinning, tusked face of an elephant on the head of a frog. A bulky animal, the Hodag balances on four thick, short legs that end in sharp, curved claws; on its back are similarly shaped points, protruding from the spine in evenly spaced increments like a Stegosaurus. This 'fearsome critter's' tail ends in a deadly, forked spear. Hairy, foul-smelling, and fierce, it often appeared in Paul Bunyon tales; it was once thought to have been an extinct animal—until it began making appearances once more on the lake shores near Rhinelander, WI.
A fire-breathing carnivore, Hodags are born from the…