Iraq: Recent weeks have seen reports of strange animals around Basrah.

For over a month now, people in Basrah have been circulating rumors about a strange, bear-like deadly creature that attacks people at night with its strong claws. Locals in rural areas around Basrah claim it has killed three people and injured six others, and that it usually pounces on its victims as they are sleeping outdoors during hot summer nights, when electric power outages are common. Farmers at Garmat Ali, Abu Skheer, Jisr and Shikhatta were so alarmed, they assigned guarding duties at night to prevent its attacks, the Nahrain website and Radio Sawa reported last week...

The animal is known locally as the Garta or 'the muncher,' and mothers in Basrah used to tell scary stories about the Garta to their children so they would not wander out alone at night. Old families in Basrah believe the animal brings bad luck because it is mostly found in cemeteries at night. The unusual phenomenon, however, is their sudden appearance in large numbers near the city and their increasingly aggressive behavior.

Rumours are circulating that British troops have deliberately brought the creatures, or their eggs, into the city as a means of spreading chaos. Some of the animals have been killed, and are believed to be the indigenous Hog Badger.

Rumors of Strange Creatures Abound in Basrah—IraqSlogger, 6th July 2007.