This week in #creatureoftheweek we are looking at Llamhigyn y Dŵr aka Water Leaper, a Welsh legless frog monster with bat wings and a long scorpion tail.
Llamhigyn y Dŵr (roughly pronounced “thlamheegin uh duwr”) is a viscous monster from #Welshfolklore who leaps across water before attacking its pray, hence its name #WaterLeaper. It is a huge legless frog with giant bat wings, sharp teeth and a scorpion-like tail 3 times the length of it's body, with a deadly stinger at its end.
As well as being found in the #sea, this terrifying 3-6 foot long #watermonster has also been known to hang out in #swamps, #lakes and #rivers, so if there is any type of water about then be on high alert for the Water Leaper; no one is safe.
You will know if a #LlamhigynyDŵr has been in a lake near you as it's ravenous appetite will leave the lake completely devoid of all life. The river Cennen runs through our land and apparently there used to be salmon in it. However we've never seen any fish in the river so perhaps there is a water leaper about.
They have no natural predators in the wild, the only things deadlier than them are other water cryptids such as #knuckers, #waterhorses, #JennyGreenteeth and sometimes, seriously pissed off fishermen.
Llamhigyn y Dŵr is a right menace, it will not only steal whatever you've caught on the end of your fishing line, but will leap out of the water with a deafening screech, knock you off your boat before drowning you and eating you. It is blamed for snapping fishing lines, destroying nets, eating stray sheep and dogs, attacking unsuspecting swimmers and munching fishermen.
Apparently, just seeing the thing is enough to make people drop dead with fright. But if you manage to survive the sighting, it may get you with its venomous stinger or deafen you with its spine-chilling screech.
To top it all off (as if they're not dangerous enough!) they also attack in packs, attacking from all sides all at once; shrieking, swimming and leaping, rocking boats and toppling sailors and fishermen into the water to their death.
Fishermen used to frequently report sightings, but as of late (since cameras and smart phones) sightings have dried up, which is odd. There was a rumour going round that these "Water Leapers" were actually just stingray...
Yes, rays are common around the cost of Wales and can be found around the entire Welsh coastline starting from the Severn Bridge and ending at the Dee Estuary, and the description does kind of sound like a ray. But don't let these non-believers convince you that these vicious creatures are made up mythical beings! The fishermen have no reason to lie and the Welsh aren't known for exaggerating or embellishing tales.
The rumour was probably started by a Llamhigyn y Dŵr so that you would question its very existence to make you let guard down and be totally unprepared for its attack.
I couldn't find much about how to defeat this monster - what are its weaknesses? Hawthorne repels #CeffylDŵr, does Llamhigyn y Dŵr have something similar? I read that caffeine will make frogs so hyperactive they will have a heart attack and die, I wonder if that might be something to try? But maybe swarms of hyperactive water leapers aren't what we want.
If you know a way to kill or protect yourself from the Water Leaper, please let us know below!
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