Comments on: Monckton’s Gazeka

By: valst

valst — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 21:32:14 +0000

Monckton's Gazeka Positively Identified: Living "prehistoric creatures"of PNG

By: jculme

jculme — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 12:44:07 +0000

I must declare at once that I am no expert on animals, let alone mysterious ‘lost’ creatures such as ‘Monckton’s Gazeka.’ But I must tell you that the Gazeka, a mythical beast, was the invention of the well-known English comic actor, George Graves (1876-1949), who introduced it as a bit of by-play in the musical, The Little Michus at Daly’s Theatre, London, in 1905. As a result, Graves’s little idea became a fad of the season and a competition was mounted to encourage artists to give sketches of the Gazeka. Charles Folkard won the competition and the Gazeka suddenly appeared in the form of various items of novelty jewellery, charms, etc, and was taken up by Perrier, the sparking water makers, for a series of advertisements. The Gazeka also featured in a special song and dance in the entertainment Akezag, at the London Hippodrome at Christmas, 1905. You will find further information and a photograph from Akezag at my Footlight Notes website.

By: CryptoInformant

CryptoInformant — Tue, 14 Mar 2006 03:29:01 +0000

Moropus is valid, and, even better, it lived in ASIA! It’s a large, all clawed Chalicothere, but its toes on the back feet are close enough together to be mistaken for hooves. May have had a short trunk.

By: CryptoInformant

CryptoInformant — Tue, 14 Mar 2006 03:08:09 +0000

The closest thing I can think of to this is Moropus, but I’m not even sure that’s still a valid name.

By: U.T. Raptor

U.T. Raptor — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 00:41:51 +0000

giant sloths (and small ones) are exclusively New World animals, as I believe the group which Macrauchenia belongs to is also.

However, there was a marsupial named Palorchestes that fits the description pretty well. I don’t know whether they ever lived in New Guinea, though…

By: Arkansan_88

Arkansan_88 — Thu, 09 Mar 2006 01:39:59 +0000

Well I’ve read the blog and seen the photo. I was reminded of the Mapinguari of Brazil. It is supposedly a giant sloth type monster. Brazil and New Guinea are far from each other so it’s not likely that the Mapinguari and the Gazeka are the same thing.

By: Mnynames

Mnynames — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 19:49:38 +0000

Yeah, the stance and the claws is somewhat suggestive of Megatherium (Giant Sloth) which might just conceivably still be cruising about the jungles of South America, but I was actually reminded of a different Pleistocene beast- The Macrauchenia. It’s more antelope like, at least the way it’s depicted today, but I had a hard plastic toy of one when I was a kid that had a thicker body, making it look more like this depiction.

By: fuzzy

fuzzy — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 02:40:42 +0000

Then there’s the Sloth Bear in India: see National Geographic Magazine, November 2004, Page 82. (Other interesting animal-related articles in that Issue, too ~ remember magazines?)

By: The_Master

The_Master — Tue, 07 Mar 2006 19:01:08 +0000

It reminds me of the Giant Sloth that lived, and probably became extinct, during the Ice Age, because of the humans, or at least our ancestors.

By: Mnynames

Mnynames — Tue, 07 Mar 2006 02:03:28 +0000

The cloven hooves are an oddity though, bringing to mind the Chalicotherium. I know they once lived in America and Africa, but don’t know whether they ever ranged into Asia at all.