Back in the middle of the 19th century it was dangerous to travel alone through the province Gévaudan. This was due to a nasty animal on the hunt with a hunger for human flesh. Odlet of Gévaudan was characterized as “as a wolf, but not a wolf” and blamed for hundreds of attacks that resulted in 100 deaths and over 300 injuries.
The first reported victim was a 14-year-old shepherd named Jeanne Boulet, who was attacked by the Beast and got her throat ripped out in June 1764. In the next few years the attacks continued when the beast mainly shouted on lonely women and children, but no one was really safe from the animal.
As the number of victims grew, the regional authorities offered a significant reward to the one who killed the beast. Tens of thousands of men accepted the challenge, but monsters avoid them. Then, in early 1765, Jacques Portefaix, a 10-year-old child, became a hero after defending his comrades during an attack and driving the beast away with only sticks. As the word about his exploits spread throughout France the king sent his royal hunters to kill the animal Gévaudan. One of them shot a giant wolf and took bounty and thought the beast was dead, but the attacks continued.
However, it was not until June 1767 that a farmer called Jeanchastel Seemed to put a stop to the reign of the monster. When he learned that the beast was in his area, he went alone into the mountains, obviously armed with silver balls. When the beast tried to attack him, he killed it and took the body to the king, who looked at it shortly before he ordered it to be destroyed.
The Beast of Gevaudan (French), The Beast of Gavaudan (Occitan)
Country: France
