Amomongo Hominoid Terrorizes Philippines
Posted by: Loren Coleman on July 5th, 2008
The amomongo (loosely, gorilla) is a creature of Philippine cryptozoology described as hairy, man-sized and ape-like with long nails.
Terror is gripping residents of haciendas in Brgy. Sag-ang, La Castellana, Negros Occidental, Philippines, following the reported existence of a man-sized creature, who recently attacked two residents and disemboweled animals in the area.
Elias Galvez and Salvador Aguilar reported to Mayor Alberto Nicor and the police that they were separately attacked by a “hairy creature with long nails,” on the nights of June 9 and 10, 2008, in Cabungbungan, Brgy. Sag-ang, La Castellana, Philippines.
Aguilar who was able to escape from the creature, was treated at the La Castellana Emergency Clinic for scratches on different parts of his body, police said.
Galvez, on the other hand, who was also attacked by the creature, was rescued by his companions, Nicor told the Daily Star on June 12th.
Brgy. Sag-ang residents described the creature to be about 5 feet and 4 inches tall, and looks like a monkey.
Sag-ang Brgy. Capt. Rudy Torres has confirmed reports of the existence of such creature, called amomongo (gorilla) by residents.
The creature has also allegedly victimized chickens and a goat, who ate their intestines, in May 2008.
Torres said the creature usually strikes where there are no barangay tanods (village guards or paramilitary elements) around.
He called on barangay residents to be vigilant, especially during night time.
People have not been roaming around the barangay at night since the attack against Galvez and Aguilar, Nicor said.
Barangay residents should put out a bait to capture the creature, Nicor suggested.
Brgy. Sag-ang in La Castellana is located at the foot of Mt. Kanlaon , which has many caves.
The creature could be hiding in one of the caves, Nicor said.
The La Castellana police advised Barangay Sag-ang residents to immediately report to them if the creature is sighted.
Later…
Police and residents of La Castellana town are on alert against a wild monkey locally known as amomongo reportedly attacking residents and other animals since last week.
Inspector Teddy Velez, the town’s police chief, said a lot of residents from Barangay Sag-ang have reported of being attacked by amomongo since Tuesday, June 10.
Salvador Aguilar, a resident, told police he was attacked by the wild monkey. He showed authorities the scratches on his face, back and hands. He said several of his neighbors also saw the monkey attacking domesticated animals.
Mayor Alberto Nicor said amomongo is not a witch or aswang but a wild animal. He theorized it is not remote for an amomongo to live in Sag-ang, considering that the area is at the foot of Mt. Kanlaon.
He added the animal may have been suffering from hunger. “This is one possibility because there may be no food now in the mountain. Or it might be that amomongo habitat has been disturbed by humans, thus, it runs wild.”
Velez said he already alerted his policemen as well as the village watchmen and instructed them on what to do in case the animal appears again or attacks residents.
Nicor also alerted residents in nearby barangays even as he advised Sag-ang residents to be calm but to also be prepared with arrows or anything that could be used in fighting the amomongo.
Sources:
“Creature terrorizing residents of farms,” by Gilbert Bayoran, Daily Star, Bacolod City, Negros Occidental, Philippines, June 13, 2008.
“Residents on alert vs ‘wild monkey'” by Erwin Ambo Delilan, Sun Star, Philippines, June 16, 2008.
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Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct).
Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015.
Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.
There had to a be a reason these creatures were terrorizeing people. Maybe the creatures felt that their area was being invaded? Or the creatures were looking for food resources in the jungle and the people got in way by accident?
This falls into the category of a “friend of a friend” story, but I’ll share it because it’s relevant here. I used to have a Hmong friend who told me about how her Philippino friends would always talk about this small humanoid creature that they were taught to be afraid of. Apparently, the story goes, the creatures were known for taking infants or small children, presumably to eat them. Anyway it could very well just be a boogey man story, but her friends always thought of it as a real creature. Could be that this is the same animal.
Very interesting report! I wonder what instructions Velez gave to the local police? The report stated:
“and instructed them on what to do in case the animal appears again or attacks residents.”
When I hear of arrows being ready and such, it kind of makes me nervous on what the instructions could be.
Perhaps baiting the animal and containing it in a cage would be better option. I know there is riot gear available that includes shotgun nets and other nonlethal means for capture or deterrent. Maybe those possibilities could be explored. The fact that there is a Mayor means that there is some form of government. I think there are many better alternatives than “getting arrows ready”.
Obviously the creature attacked for some reason known to it but unbeknownst to us. Maybe we as humans, since we proclaim to be intelligent beings should outsmart the animal in question and not overpower it with lethal force. Just my two cents.
I am not up on my native primates in that corner of the world. Could it be some form of baboon or orangutan? I know those species can be kind of nasty from time to time.
Curious and I will be eager to hear of any more reports or how they deal with these attacks, if they keep happening.
I will be in Cagayan de Oro (Northern Mindinao) in January which is very near Negros Occidental, & will be carrying video equipment. If any further information comes out about this I could possibly spend a few days looking into it…
Stuff my Filipinowife tells me.
My Tagalog spelling may be a little off.
Monkey = Ungoi
Witch = Bruhah (pron. Brew-Hah)
Vampire = Aswang
Cant say much about hairy 5 foot tall hominids,
but my wife says that not far from Laguna (in Luzon),
there’s a creature called “Cuprey”.
It’s a hairy hominid type creature,
said to be half as tall as a telegraph pole.
The Phillipine star (http://philstar.com/archives.php?aid=2008062029&type=2) says they may be monkeys (presumably long tailed macaques, the only primates of any size indegenous to the area) which were previously ransacking homes searching for food. Of course, they aren’t 5 feet tall and don’t generally disembowel goats.
Blood samples were taken though thanks to somebody who “hacked the hairy creature several times ” and are undergoing forensic tests.
cor2879, my wife tells me that the small baby-eating monster you’re writing about is called impakta in her language. It’s kind of a flying, shape-shifting witch. She’s telling me impakta stories right now, and they sound more like fairy tales than anything else. So yeah, it’s a boogey man, not a hominid.