Sunday, March 28, 2010

Bonnacon

The Bonnacon (also called the Bonacon or the Bonasus) is a mythical animal from Asia. It has curled horns and emits burning dung. The legend may be based on a type of bison in reality. A supposed representation of it appears on the Coat of Arms belonging to the Hollingshead Family, possibly alluding to a legendary confrontation between one of their ancestors and this beast.

The animal was described by Pliny in his Naturalis Historia: "There are reports of a wild animal in Paionia called the bonasus, which has the mane of a horse, but in all other respects resembles a bull; its horns are curved back in such a manner as to be of no use for fighting, and it is said that because of this it saves itself by running away, meanwhile emitting a trail of dung that sometimes covers a distance of as much as three furlongs [604 m], contact with which scorches pursuers like a sort of fire."

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonnacon