The Veo

On the Indonesian island of Rinca lives a creature called the Veo.  This cryptid is found in the island's mountainous center, where it emerges at night to feed on termites.  The Veo is larger than a horse, and its hide is covered in armored plates.  The creature looks rather formidable-- but thankfully, it eats only insects, and locals do not fear the beast.

If you've studied your obscure mammals, the Veo might seem familiar.  Except for its size, it's a near-perfect match for a creature called the pangolin.  These little beasties-- sometimes called "scaly anteaters" are found throughout Africa, Asia and Oceania.  They have platelike armor, long tongues and insectivorous diets.  There are plenty of pangolins in southeast Asia-- and the Veo sounds just like a large one.

If you've read my recent posts, you know how I feel about extinct creatures.  They're cool, but I consider their survival unlikely-- moreso the longer they've been dead.  The Veo, though, is one cryptid I actually believe to be prehistoric.  Very close to Rinca is an island called Borneo-- where fossils have been found of gigantic fossil pangolins.  The largest living species are about four feet long, but these ancient varieties could be twice that size.  What's more, they died out only thousands of years ago.  It's not a far stretch to imagine their continued existence.

Now, I've heard other ideas about the identity of the Veo-- that it's an ankylosaur, for example, or another armored dinosaur.  To me, these theories sound silly.  Which seems more likely to you:  the survival of a giant pangolin for ten thousand years, or the survival of a dinosaur for sixty-five million?  Besides, anklyosaurs didn't eat insects-- while all pangolins do.  If the Veo is real, there's no doubt in my mind about its identity.

Read more about the Veo:
http://asiaparanormal.blogspot.com/2010/01/10-mysterious-cryptids-of-asia-part-2.html
http://www.newanimal.org/giant-animals.htm
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