Comments on: Nguoi Rung Reclaimed: Vietnam Vets’ Rock Ape Living History Project

By: kryptos006

kryptos006 — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 19:32:55 +0000

I feel that it is relevant to point out the case of the discovery of the mountain gorilla despite its geographic irrelevancy to nguoi rung. If you recall, natives had known about this great ape known as ngila for centuries. These selfsame natives mentioned the ngila to as many foreign travelers as was possible and yet this African "man-ape's" status of existence remained unknown. Nevertheless, the creature was not actually living sub rosa as is often suggested. It was ethnoknown, but testimonies were not the only evidence that suggested its existence. Ewart Grogan discovered a ngila skeleton in 1899, but, like other evidence that is attributed to cryptids, it was lost. The problem I have with the nguoi rung is that, with the mystery of Sasquatch being so prevalent in North America, one might assume that a similar creature would be notable to American soldiers. Assuming this is accurate, which it is according to the above article, then the question of why there has not been any physical evidence presented for the nguoi rung is inevitable. As Matthew Bille said in a comment from a past Cryptomundo post, "the evidence for the nguoi rung is strictly circumstantial." Am I missing a piece of the puzzle, because if I am, please fill me in.

By: DWA

DWA — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 16:36:56 +0000

I actually don’t think that kryptos006′s point and the ethnoknown nature of the animal are mutually exclusive.

The saola was obviously long ethnoknown, but I didn’t have an inkling until I heard of the Western research efforts a couple years or so before the actual confirmation. I wouldn’t expect saola to have been high up on the priority list of the American military in Vietnam, regardless whether they heard stories or not; and I think nguoi rung falls into the same category. Namely: ethnoknown, but not part of the society-at-large’s knowledge (as witness the North Vietnamese expedition).

I think the point is valid (and it’s the same as mine): Americans saw this as sort-of-expected, and had other priorities, so, well, here we are.

By: Loren Coleman

Loren Coleman — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 16:28:57 +0000

I understand and appreciate kryptos006's point but, of course, the term nguoi rung undermines the argument. While Americans called these cryptid primates "Rock Apes," the use of nguoi rung by the locals reflects the native eyewitness experiences with this unknown animal.

By: kryptos006

kryptos006 — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 16:20:22 +0000

I think that too many individuals that are essentially unaware of the known fauna from regions that are relatively exotic pass off sightings that would never cease to fascinate mainstream zoologists as the unusual, but taxonomically recognized, animals. It seems pertinent to point out that nearly all evidence for nguoi rung is strictly testimonial. I think this is largely because of the unfamiliarity of American residents while in Vietnam.

By: Mibs

Mibs — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 01:15:47 +0000

Hmmm... Vietnamese Rare Gibbon?

By: Paranormal Searchers via Facebook

Paranormal Searchers via Facebook — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 02:34:24 +0000

Good stuff!

By: DWA

DWA — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 23:39:12 +0000

Probably worth saying again what I’ve said each time I’ve seen this topic come up previously:

Americans in Vietnam with no jungle experience probably wouldn’t have been surprised to see man-size centipedes or giant pterosaurs. This probably largely accounts for the apparent nonchalance of a number of these reports.

Keep in mind that the saola, a 300-pound bovid living in this region, wasn’t confirmed until almost two decades after the last US troops left.

If the orang pendek, sasquatch and yeti deserve attention from science, this does too.

By: armst3k

armst3k — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 21:17:07 +0000

I’ve posted on this before, but thought it was worth mentioning again. My father, who was a member of Force Recon at the time, mentioned that they encountered a number of these when originally securing the infamous “Rockpile” of Marine lore – before this became an observation and artillery base, it was originally used as a sniper’s post. He said that there were many of these creatures living midway up the mountain, and possibly inside it. Before my father’s group decided to land by helicopter on top of the mountain, they had thought about climbing to the top instead, but decided against it as the majority of the area was covered in monkey feces, which unfortunately made for great infections.

I’ll mention to him that this topic was brought up again on your site, as he was pretty excited to hear that people were talking about it back in March.