The Elwetritsch
In the wine country of south-west Germany lives a strange bird with antlers, scales and a long beak. Newcomers are invited to hunt it at night with a sack.
What was reported
The Elwetritsch is a creature of the Palatinate, a region of vineyards in south-west Germany. It's described as a chicken-like bird with feathers and scales, a long beak and sometimes small antlers. It hides in the vineyards and woods and can only be caught at night.
Visitors are sometimes taken on an 'Elwetritsch hunt', told to hold a sack open in the dark and wait while the locals drive the bird towards them. The locals then go off to the pub.
Explanations offered
The Elwetritsch is a joke creature, like the snipe hunt of North America or the Wolpertinger of Bavaria. It's now a local mascot, with a fountain of Elwetritsche in the town of Neustadt.
- When
- Told for generations
- Where
- Neustadt an der Weinstraße, Palatinate, Germany
- Witnesses
- Visitors to the Palatinate, and the locals who send them hunting
- Status
- A joke
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.
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