Yowie
Australia's hair-covered bipedal hominid.
- Region
- Forested regions of eastern Australia, particularly the Blue Mountains and southeast Queensland
- Documented sightings
- 4 on map →
Overview
The Yowie is a hair-covered bipedal hominid reported across eastern Australia, with sighting clusters in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, the Sunshine Coast hinterland of southeast Queensland, and the forests of northern New South Wales. Aboriginal traditions describing similar beings — variously called Yowee, Doolagahl, and other regional names — long predate European settlement.
Identification
Reported at 1.5 to 3 meters tall with a powerful build covered in dark or reddish-brown hair, a flat face with prominent brow ridges, and disproportionately long arms. Witnesses describe the creature as bipedal but capable of remarkable speed when running on all fours. Footprints are typically 35 to 45 cm in length with five distinct toes.
Lore & Origin
19th-century naturalist Henry James McCooey's 1882 sighting on the New South Wales south coast was the first widely circulated European-authored account; he subsequently offered the Australian Museum £40 to capture a specimen. Researcher Rex Gilroy's 50-year fieldwork archive, the Australian Yowie Research organization, and the 1979 Kilcoy schoolboy sighting (with plaster cast and biology teacher witness) form the modern evidentiary core.