Wendigo Biology Explained | The Science of the Wendigo

Comments · 3K

• TH

  @ThoughtPotato · 3 years ago (edited) · pinned

  Read the written version of this video and see all the artwork here: <a href="https://thecryptobiologist.substack.com/p/the-science-and-biology-of-the-wendigo">https://thecryptobiologist.substack.com/p/the-science-and-biology-of-the-wendigo</a>

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• TA

  @tamirisepic · 3 years ago (edited)

  I&apos;m glad you&apos;re depicting it as it was intended to be portrayed in the original indigenous stories and not as a skinny werewolf wearing a deer skull. <br><br>Edit: Apparently, another version of its appearance in some Anishinaabe stories is of a monstrous giant that grows with each person it eats and is sometimes covered with ice. In some stories, you can see its original human self encased in ice where its heart should be. Another interpretation is of the human&apos;s corrupted spirit and warped body stitching together the skins of wildlife, other people, and even parts of their environment (usually ice) and incorporated said materials into their form.

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• ED

  @edsonlifts · 3 years ago

  As a med student I have to say: although some concepts of human biology and microbiology are slightly twisted, most of your work here is scientific correct. It’s an impressive and honestly cool way to teach human body mechanics to people that otherwise wouldn’t get the information. Congrats

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• AE

  @aerys9644 · 3 years ago (edited)

  As an Ojibwekwe (Anishinaabe), you&apos;ve done well. I was always taught that talking about Wendigo &amp; other entities of that sort can cause the spirit of one to find you - for so long I was afraid until I talked to my aunty while learning about the boarding school era. She said that the Wendigo was never described as a deer/wolf/human hybrid but more so as a human who was forced to do the unthinkable and consume another human. Colonizers spread disease and forced Indigenous peoples out of their land, forced to lands that were not rich in resources - starvation &amp; sickness were rampant, some people had to &quot;lose their humanity&quot; to survive. It was easier to think of them &amp; the situation as a monster instead of someone who had faced that kind of turmoil &amp; torture. That is how I interpret it.

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• KA

  @kade-qt1zu · 3 years ago

  I think it would be very interesting if you explained another cryptid through a fictional virus, except rather than the victim of the virus being a human, it&apos;s a different species of animal. For example, the chupacabra could be the result of a mutation of the vampire virus that has adapted to infect dogs. Or maybe the more deer-like depiction of the wendigo could be a mutation of the wendigo virus affecting deer.

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• JO

  @joenickerson4862 · 3 years ago

  As a type 1 diabetic this was extremely interesting. When I look at pictures of myself when my blood sugar was extremely high, I looked extremely pale and very gaunt. Perhaps the body&apos;s inability to process sugar in the blood would lead to the paler complexion as well?

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• ME

  @MechEngDommo · 2 years ago

  As an Ojibwe member, one thing to keep in mind is that Wendigo are not mindless. They are absolutely all-consumed by hunger, but they still have vestiges of their memories and can understand human speech. They also don&apos;t inherently have a preference to human flesh, what they have is a need for flesh/protien in general, and they look for opportunities at all times to feed. A part of the reason they tend to be found in the wilderness is that many Wendigo may intentionally be trying to keep themselves away from civilization. The true horror of this transformation is that the person is largely self-aware during and after the process, but has little ability to control their impulses and survival instinct (they are unable to kill themselves). &nbsp;If one should encounter a Wendigo while hunting or fishing, the easiest way to escape is to give up your kill immediately. A Wendigo will hunt and pursue you, however it will usually take the immediate food source. If you give up a deer, you have little risk of being pursued because it may take a day or two for the wendigo to consume it. &nbsp;Throwing a fish however might only buy you a few minutes. &nbsp;<br><br>Another thing. Wendigo are year-round predators, however during the summer months they generally have an abundance of prey items to feed upon and/or scavenge. Often times livestock killings are mistaken for bears or mountain lions, when it is Wendigo, or they may range along rural highways eating road kill. The reason why Wendigo are thought of as winter predators truly comes down to the fact that they are most likely to actively hunt people in the winter when the lack of prey makes people the prime target.<br><br>Finally wendigo are difficult to kill and they do have a sense of self-preservation. They regenerate quickly and can heal anything short of an amputation inside of a few days if they have ample food nearby. They also can&apos;t really feel pain and sometimes are missing digits and lack tongues and lips/cheeks because they bite them off on accident or because they lacked prey and started to self cannibalize. If you do try to kill one, aim for the head or the heart, and make sure to put an extra few rounds into the skull to make sure, then burn the body. Anything less and it&apos;s possible that may not have quite gotten the job done. &nbsp;Also realize that if you are hunting a Wendigo, that it is intelligent, and that it has the sense of smell of a bloodhound and can see in the dark like a cat. It will know you&apos;re there long before you know it&apos;s around. If you see it, it&apos;s because it wants you to see it, or because it&apos;s eating and may be distracted. <br><br>Wendigo that have lived a long time (they can live for a hundred years or more, we found one that was killed by a logging truck while scavenging roadkill that had a Tattoo of his wife and child on his chest from the 1920s from his time in the navy!) are fully feral. The humanity in them is gone and they are nothing but straight up predators. The newer ones still remember what it was like to be a person, and may try to avoid people, but the old ones are 8-10&apos; of pure malice and low cunning. &nbsp;Few live that long, in fact I&apos;d say most don&apos;t last more than a few years before they starve or get hunted down. But the old ones truly are malevolent, because that&apos;s the only way to last that long.

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• AJ

  @ajclements4627 · 3 years ago

  I hope this “biology explained” series continues for a long time, I love these!

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• FU

  @fuzzynuttz5092 · 3 years ago (edited)

  I&apos;m not gonna lie out of all of the cryptids, this one scares me the most not just because of the cannabilism, but the idea that anyone can be twisted and contorted into this monster

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• HO

  @holycrap8367 · 2 years ago

  This kind of unknown creatures explanation in a scientific way is the best series to watch during 3am. Absolutely lovely

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• WI

  @Winged_End_Ov_Days · 3 years ago

  Not gonna lie, this is one of the few that I was bit scared for. As an indigenous person, I grew up being told not to talk about the malignant spirits. But you were very respectful and true to the lore of these dark creatures

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• BL

  @blessedandbiwithahintofmagic · 3 years ago

  I adore how this is delivered as a warning report, finding realistic mechanisms for a very supernatural, incredibly scary condition - the Wendigo seems even more horrific hearing this, especially the 100% fatality rate after activation - kind of like learning about prions. This is truly terrifying.

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