Wendigo

The Infamous Cannibal of the Cold.

An extremely hostile cryptid that hunts to satiate its endless hunger. One of the most notorious creatures to ever roam North America.

Anatomy

The characteristics of a wendigo are common knowledge to locals. Depictions, stories, myths, and legends have been built around its figure.
Its stature shadows most men. Its matted black fur absorbs all light god has gifted us with. When it's in the shadows of the forest, the only thing you'll ever see is its phantom-like skull swaying closer to you.
Its face is comprised of an enlarged fox skull fitted with a jaw. Antlers protrude outwards from its head, growing larger depending on their age. No tongue, no ears, no nose, no eyes.
Its frail and sunken body is misleading, as it possesses inhuman performance. Running you down as fast as a grizzly and attacking with the sheer force of a steam train.
The Wendigo has an indented chest cavity, with its ribs split outwards, revealing no signs of any organ structure whatsoever. It has little to no muscle and fat; being able to see the outline of its entire skeletal structure through its skin.
Its dangling hands reach past its knees, equipped with icicle-like claws that rip through flesh effortlessly. If its previous incarnation has an amputated limb, it carries over to its new form.
Its height, weight and various features alter depending on what stage of its life it has reached. Below are the categorized 'nicknames' given to each distinct stage of the Wendigo's lifecycle:

-Pup

Age: 0 to 2 Months Old
Height: 8' (243cm)~
Weight: 250lb (109kg)~
Distinct Characteristics:

• No antler features present.
• Leather-like pelt, similar to the fur texture of a beaver.
• A bellowing voice accompanied by teeth chattering.

-Quarter Crowned

Age: 2 to 6 Months Old
Height: 8' (243cm)~
Weight: 250lb (109kg)~
Distinct Characteristics:

• Antlers begin to grow. Reaching around 6" (15cm~).
• Thicker fur begins to grow.

-Half Crowned

Age: 6 Months to 2 Year Old
Height: 8'9" (267cm)~
Weight: 270lb (122kg)~
Distinct Characteristics:

• Antlers grow to 1' (30cm~) long.
• Most common pelts on the market.
• Will reach its peak running speed at this stage.

-Full(y) Crowned

Age: 2+ Year(s) Old
Height: 9'1" (276cm)~ (can be reported to grow larger)
Weight: 300lb (136kg)~
Distinct Characteristics:

• A large set of antlers extending close to 2' (61cm~) in length
• Longhaired and matted fur. Most sought after Wendigo Pelt in the fur trading industry.
• Tufts of fur missing and scarring from hunts.
• Claws extend to 6" (15cm~) long.
• Commonly has a battle-scarred face on its exterior skull with notches and cracks.
• Extremely silent.

A full-crowned wendigo is considered the most dangerous species located between the United States/Canadian Border.

Behavior

Its unending crusade for the sensation of fulfillment drives this creature's ravenous hunger. The Wendigo has no feeling within its body. Touch, pain, and warmth are cut out of their survival structure completely. The only thing a Wendigo does feel is hunger. Its cursed body will never find relief in eating, being plagued with starvation for the remainder of its life.
Its only lingering taste, the final remnant of its human past, is the taste of human flesh forever coating its mouth.
The Wendigo is incarnated from humans who performed the forbidden taboo. They share basic cognitive functions such as grasping, hand-eye coordination, and familiarization (both locations and faces but that where all the parallels end.
It solely relies on its primal instincts, on par with most predatory mammals in the wild. What makes it stand out compared to other beasts and cryptids is its unresting nature. It never needs to rest, it never needs to eat, it never needs to sleep. All it can do with its immortal life is hunt.

History

Before the first European set foot on this land, the story of the wendigo existed. Haunting the forests of North America, many Native Americans sheltered themselves from the cold winds thought to be the whispers of the wendigo. In a consistent amount of native stories, it is said that when a man consumes the flesh of another man, they have committed the ultimate taboo. Their punishment for this great crime is the unending hunger as you become a creature of the night, forever seeking something you will never gain back.
As the concept of Manifest Destiny awoke many Americans to head west into the country, these tales became more factual. In the first half of the 19th century, Wendigo sightings spiked significantly due to doomed explorers or caravan trains; creating a considerable amount of danger for the next poor souls to cross the threshold.

Dietary Needs

A wendigo cannot process food of any kind. Starving the creature yet never actually dying.
It attempts to eviscerate its prey, slashing and shredding the body into fine strips. A Wendigo almost always attempts to consume the flesh, giving it a perpetual false sense of hope to gain satisfaction
When it attempts to consume substances, it does not gain any mass whatsoever. This led to some researchers in Cryptoanamology pitching the theory of it possessing an anomalous property. Destroying any matter completely that enters its body.
It only grows with time/age and not consumption.

Reproduction

The Wendigo lacks sex organs, leading to no signs that these creatures breed. This is not uncommon amongst Cryptids and Beasts; as most of these monsters are created through supernatural or anomalous means.

Habitat

They are extremely rare to find, but luckily only present themselves in a specific section of the continent. Their found hovering between the US/Canadian border, preferring extremely cold climates. Usually within pine forests, Wendigoes have also been spotted by lakes, rivers, and even pastures in a handful of reports.
The majority of wendigo sightings increase during the winter seasons. A partial reason is due to the number of lost travelers succumbing to starvation and the cold, finding their only survival measure is to consume the flesh of man.
The Wendigo reside mainly in the northmost areas of the United States and Canada.

-United States

• Central Montana, Montana
• Missouri River Country, Montana
• Glacier Country, Montana
• Southeast Montana, Montana
• Yellowstone Country, Montana
• Southwest Montana, Montana
• Missouri Plateau, North Dakota
• Drift Prairie, North Dakota
• Red River Valley, North Dakota
• Blackhills and Badlands, South Dakota
• Missouri River, South Dakota

-Canada

• British Columbia, Canada
• Rocky Mountain, Alberta
• Grassland, Alberta
• Cypress, Saskatchewan
• Five hills, Saskatchewan
• Sun country, Saskatchewan

Hunting a Wendigo

A Wendigo is an extremely difficult cryptid to go up against, even more so depending on its stage in life. But from Dr. Julian Mumphrey's rule on all creatures in his bestiary:

"No matter the challenge, all monsters can be killed."

- Dr Julian Mumphrey

Overall, it cannot be neutralized via shooting its vital organs, as the Wendigo does not possess any. The only method is to destroy its brain, ridding it of its tormenting life for good. The only drawback is that its brain is protected by an extremely hardened exterior skull that is impervious to all attacks.
Between the stages of Pup, Quarter Crown, and Half Crown; the best tactic to neutralize a wendigo is to immobilize it by either snaring it or critically crippling its limbs. Once limited in its mobility, a well-placed shot to the back of its head will guarantee a dead Wendigo.
However, a Fully Crowned Wendigo is immune to all forms of damage and cannot be killed via the brain. It has become a true essence of evil that cannot be destroyed by the destruction of just one of its body parts.
The only reliable method found to destroy a Full Crowned Wendigo is fire, eviscerating the creature down to the molecular level.

"It seems to me, the path of the Wendigo is a path often on par with living hell. An unfortunate sinner, who had to do what he must. Now becomes a demon that only torments itself.

A true irony."

- Julian Kellier, Hunt Warden of Woodend County, Montana

Category
5A Cryptid
Height
8' to 9'1" (243cm~ to 276cm~)
Weight
250lb to 300lb (109kg~ to 136kg~)
Psuedonyms
King of the Woods, The Forest Demon, Cannibal of the Cold, Winter Cannibal, Native Boogeyman, God of the Cryptids

Related Materials

• Wendigo Pelt

"I never knew how soulless the bones of carcasses and corpses were, until you stare right into the sockets of a Wendigo.
Then you trully understand the gravity of death..."

- Katelan Morebridge, Mayor of Woodend