The Tratratratra
In 1658, a French governor in Madagascar described a calf-sized animal with a human-like face. Scientists later found the bones of giant lemurs.
What was reported
In 1658, Étienne de Flacourt, the French governor of a colony in southern Madagascar, wrote about the tratratratra, an animal described to him by local people: about the size of a two-year-old calf, with a round head and a face like a man's, which lived alone in remote areas and was rarely seen.
For centuries, it was taken as a legend or exaggeration.
Explanations offered
In the 19th and 20th centuries, scientists found bones of several kinds of giant lemur, some as large as a gorilla, that lived on Madagascar until about 1,000 years ago or later. Many researchers think the tratratratra was one of these, and that Flacourt's informants were describing a living memory.
- When
- Described in 1658
- Where
- South-west Madagascar
- Witnesses
- A French governor, from local accounts
- Status
- Partly confirmed
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.