Source: www.eltribuno.com and PLANETA UFO
Date: 26 March 2019
Article by Ivana Castillo
Argentina: A Big Footprint - The Ucumar Zupai?
The print measures 15 centimeters wide and 25 long, in a humanoid shape. The locals claim strange noises can be heard and that farm animals are disappearing.
Weeks ago, an image went viral that clearly showed a gigantic footprint.
The photo was taken by the owner of the farm located in Ovando. No one knows to which species it might belong.
Appearance of the tracks coincided with stories told by local residents, who claim having heard strange noises in the dark of the night.
The fact is that after the image went viral, the possibility that it could the ever-present Ucumar (a South American Bigfoot) emerged once again. This is not the first time that rumors of this "humanoid" have circulated in the Thermal City, as it generally appears in the same places and areas.
The farm on which these tracks were found is called Don Rosa and is located between the San Martin and Ovando districts, some 300 meters from the river. "A few weeks ago we found that some animals were missing from their pens and we went looking for them in the wilderness. It had rained days before, and there were still several puddles along the trail. Then, as we walked we realized there were some tracks that were not normal, but didn't pay them much mind, and kept going. We found the same tracks again and I took some photos of them," said Nelson Colque, the farm's owner, to El Tribuno.
"But what struck us was the size of the track. It measured between 12 and 15 centimeters wide and some 25 to 30 centimeters long. By its proportions, it truly isn't a normal track," Colque noted.
He also recalled that "the night before the tracks appeared, we were intrigued by the wailing of the dogs. The barked and keened disconsolately. We thought robbers might be afoot and the gamekeeper fired some shots into the air. After firing, the dogs calmed down immediately. What's odd is that whenever people are around, the dogs generally bark but don't wail."
The young man recalled: "This had also happened in a friends farm, adjacent to my own, where the dogs wailed and that's very odd. Some animals were lost last year, but we never found out whether thieves were stealing them or what. The strangest thing was to find an animal torn to pieces. Thieves don't tear animals to pieces; predators do. But we have no clue as to what species the predator belongs to."
"The mutilated pig in question was a large one, and that's why we were always in doubt, since [that property] doesn't have large dogs and it's impossible for foxes to mutilate an animal weighing more than 20 kilos (44 lb.) in such a way," Colque explained.
He also said that there are no pumas or other wild animals in the area to which such a large track could be associated.
The Legend of the Ucumar
Historian, writer and poet Carlos Jesús Maita told El Tribuno who the Ucumar is according to legend.
"It is a traditional legend of Northwestern Argentina. Here in Rosario de la Frontera it came about as a result of popular gullibility and superstition. There are those who claim having seen this mythic, legendary figure. The creature is a sort of human-animal hybrid, a mixture of bear, man and ape," Maita described.
As to its origins, the historian said: [The Ucumar] came about as a consequence of sexual relations between godfathers and godmothers, or between the landlord and one of his maids, in which the child was hidden in a jungle or forest. It wound up living in the woods, and that's how such a humanoid came about."
Another superstition-laden story suggests: "The Ucumar is a creature that lives in forested areas and heads toward populated areas to steal a woman to guarantee his genetic succession."
Regarding its appearance, Maita pointed out that "there are different descriptions of its physiognomy. Some say it's robust, hairy and comes in different sizes. This has to do with the fact that in these areas, and more toward the region of Yungas, there is a bear known as the Ukumari, a nearly extinct species, but which had given rise to this sort of superstition years ago, as its physiognomy, seeing through the fog, could cause confusion. This gave rise to its interpretation as something supernatural."
The historian noted: "Stories have been woven around the Ucumar. Perhaps there was a rape, or animal theft - especially pigs - a slaying of dogs, among others. The popular imagination had already determined that the culprit could be humanoid."
[Translation © 2019 Scott Corrales, IHU with thanks to Guillermo Giménez, Planeta UFO and Ivana Castillo, El Tribuno]