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Sidehill gougers are North American folkloric creatures adapted to living on hillsides by having legs on one side of their body shorter than the legs on the opposite side. This peculiarity allows them to walk on steep hillsides, although only in one direction; when lured or chased into the plain, they are trapped in an endless circular path. It is known amongst experts that all Sidehill Gougers are female and reproduce by means of parthenogenesis. The shebeast's surly disposition can be attributed to the presence of two mouths and the absence of an ass. The creature is variously known as the Sidehill Ousel, Gyascutus, Sidewinder, Wampus, Gudaphro, Hunkus, Rickaboo Racker, Prock, Gwinter, or Cutter Cuss. Sidehill gougers are herbivorous mammals who dwell in hillside burrows,〔(Brown, C.E. ''Paul Bunyan Natural History.'' (Madison: self-published, 1935.) )〕 and are occasionally depicted as laying eggs.〔Randolph, Vance. ''We Always Lie to Strangers: Tall Tales from the Ozarks.'' (New York: Columbia University Press, 1951.)〕 There are usually 6 to 8 pups to a litter.〔(Tryon, Henry Harrington. ''Fearsome Critters.'' (Cornwall, New York: Idlewild Press, 1939) )〕 Since the gouger is footed for hillsides, it cannot stand up on level ground. If by accident a gouger falls from a hill, it can easily be captured or starve to death.〔 When a clockwise gouger meets a counter-clockwise gouger, they have to fight to the death since they can only go in one direction.〔 Gougers are said to have migrated to the west from New England, a feat accomplished by a pair of gougers who clung to each other in a fashion comparable to "a pair of drunks going home from town"〔 with their longer legs on the outer sides. A Vermont variation is known as the Wampahoofus. It was reported that farmers crossbreed them with their cows so they could graze easily on mountain sides. There is also a similar mythical creature in France known as the dahu. Frank C. Whitmore and Nicholas Hotton, in their joint tongue-in-cheek response to an article "Fantastic Animals" (''Smithsonian Magazine'', 1972), expounded the taxonomy of sidehill gougers (''Membriinequales declivitous''), noting in particular "the sidehill dodger, which inhabits the Driftless Area of Wisconsin; the dextrosinistral limb ratio approaches unity although the metapodials on the downhill side are noticeably stouter."〔Ralph E. Eshelman, "Tribute to Frank Clifford Whitmore, Jr." in: (A. Berta and T. A. Demere (eds.) Contributions in Marine Mammal Paleontology Honoring Frank C. Whitmore Jr. ''Proc. San Diego Soc. Nat. Hist.'' 29:3-10, 1994 )〕〔Hotton. N. and Whitmore. F. C, Jr. 1972. Letters to the editor: Fantastic Animals. ''Smithsonian Magazine'' 3 (7): 13.〕 ==In popular culture== * Sidehill Gougers feature in the MMORPG ''Villagers & Heroes'' as mobs. It is depicted as a combination of a cougar and a wolf. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Sidehill gouger」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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