Tatzelwurm

The cool sounding Tatzelwurm is a dragon/lizard type creature rumoured to live in parts of Europe such as the Switzerland, Austria, France, even Italy. (It is known as the Stollenwurm in Switzerland, Bergstutzen in Austria and Basilisco in Italy.)
The animal has a snake~like body (2ft to 4ft long) with two clawed front legs, but minus hind legs. Reports have claimed the Tatzelwurm can have the face of a cat or a horse and folklore claims that it is able to defend itself by expelling toxic odours capable of killing a man.


Tatzelwurm: the cat~serpent

Sightings have been numerous (althought admittedly getting rarer as time goes on) and one was as recent as 2009 where locals in Tresivio, a region of Italy on the Swiss border, claimed to have seen the lizard. True? False? Peoples excited imaginations running amok? Who knows, personally I don't find these stories that hard to believe if one dismisses the more fanciful descriptions such as having a cats head.
Perhaps the Tatzelwurm was a giant salamander that was once native to the European Alps? Bernard Heuvelmans, who many think of as the father of modern Cryptozoology, has a theory it could be related to the Gila monster of the American Southwest. Other investigators believe the Tatzelwurm might even be an unrecognized variety of otter.
Sadly as with most mysterious creatures and legends we might never learn the truth unless some fossil or skeleton is discovered and experts can examine the remains.

A more fanciful recreation of Tatzelwurm