Murray NEB.–– In this amazing world we live in, there are some mysterious things. Some are real, some are known as fairy tales and fables. Can you figure out which are which? Look at the gallery at the top, and see if you can find the mythological ones, then read the article and see if you were correct!

First, we have the jaglion. A jaglion is what’s known as a big cat hybrid. They are a cross between jaguars and lionesses. These animals are not usually bred, they are made by mistake. Most zoos keep jaguars and lions in the same enclosure, so sometimes it just happens. There is a big family, the mother (lioness) the father (jaguar), and two jaglions living at Bear Creek.

The next creature we have is a Faun. Fauns, or goat men, were carried over to Roman mythology from the Greek Satyr. The Satyrs’ appearance is based on the god Pan. With legs and a tail of a goat, and the upper body of a man. Most artworks also feature other goatlike features such as horns and pointed ears. Fauns offered their help to travelers in need. Legends say that they are assigned a mortal, as soon as they are born. They know not who you are, but if they ever see you, they’ll know you’re the one they’re meant to protect for the rest of their life. Fauns and Satyrs can disguise themselves as humans to find their mortal, and live in the mortal world.

Next up is the zonkey! They say love is blind, I guess this must be true if a zebra decides to mate with a donkey, creating a zonkey. The zonkey is one of many zebroids, or zebra hybrids, although zonkeys are the rarest. Zebras and donkeys are genetically similar, making zonkeys a fascinating combination of the two. Though these creatures are adorable and fun, they are infertile, so they cannot have offspring of their own. The only downside, besides infertility, is that zonkeys usually suffer from dwarfism, they are small creatures and sadly won’t get any bigger.

The next one is one of my favorites, the coydog. This creature is often mistaken for the wolfdog. It’s easy to guess that this cute animal is a mix between a coyote and a dog. They were bred for generations in Pre-Columbian Mexico, but are now bred in captivity. Wolf-dogs tend to be calmer and more trustworthy, whereas the coydogs are much more mischievous. Recently, some wild coyotes have been known to have domestic dog DNA in them.

A wonderful mystery, one most of you won’t know, the oni. In Japanese myth, onis are people who were truly wicked in their lives that they transformed into demons in hell after they died. But, some were even bad enough to be transformed while still alive! These giant, scary monsters with red or blue skin, horns, and tusks are traditionally the servants of hell. They enact violent punishment on evil-doers and will eat just about anything, including humans. While stories or depictions of oni may vary, they are always seen as very dangerous and extremely powerful villains. They exact Satin’s every will on the people in hell, they are the eternal tormentors.

The last one is from my favorite movie of all time, the Basilisk. The Basilisk is a giant serpent, also known as the King of Serpents. It is a magical beast that is bred by Dark Wizards. The magic used to breed these creatures is condemned and forbidden. Any wizard caught will either be sentenced to death or life in Azkaban, the wizard prison. Herpo the Foul was the first to breed a Basilisk, he accomplished this by hatching a chicken egg beneath a toad which resulted in the creature known as a Basilisk. A basilisk is green in color, with yellow cat-like eyes. The average length of a basilisk is 50 feet or more. Only the wizard that bred this monstrous creature can control it. And only wizards that have been given the ability of parseltongue, the ability to communicate with snakes, even dream of breeding one, or they wouldn’t be able to control it.