The Barmanou
In the high valleys of northern Pakistan, shepherds tell of a hairy, upright 'big man' that roams the mountains.
What was reported
In the mountains of Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan in northern Pakistan, herders and villagers have long told of the barmanou, a large, hairy, ape-like creature that walks on two legs, wears animal skins in some tales and is said to steal from shepherds.
In the 1990s, a Spanish zoologist spent years in Chitral collecting dozens of eyewitness accounts and footprints.
Explanations offered
No body, bones or clear photographs have been found. Suggested explanations include brown bears standing upright, people living wild in the mountains, and folklore. Some researchers link it to similar legends across the Himalayas and Central Asia, such as the yeti and the almas.
- When
- Reported for generations
- Where
- Chitral, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
- Witnesses
- Herders and villagers in northern Pakistan
- Status
- Unconfirmed
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.