Letters to the king about a strange beast

 A rare possible Kashmir giraffid

    Currently, only 3 species of animals related to the giraffe family are known: the giraffe, the okapi and the pronghorn, but at the end of the 19th century, letters from senior British officials to the king may have spoken of a mysterious fourth species of giraffid, Join me to learn about the case of Tygomelia, thank you for reading, without further ado, let's get started.

The encounter with a strange creature 

It was an alleged animal that was reported on November 22, 1870 in the Ottawa region, in what was then British Canada, trapped somewhere in the Kashmir mountains between India and Pakistan or the Himalayas themselves, but was taken to the then British Canada, During the time of British domination, here we have part of the letter to His Majesty Edward VII where the animal was described:

[Creature Illustration]

Sir John E. Packenham, an officer in the English army, who has been spending the last year in Her Majesty's northern provinces, arrived at Fort Buford [in North Dakota] with an animal of rare beauty, and never before captured on this continent, nor has it been known until recent years that the species existed in this country.

It is from the same family as the giraffe, or camelopard, of Africa, and is known to naturalists as tygomelia. They are known to inhabit the high plateaus of Cashmere and Hindoo Kush, but they are most frequently seen on the high peaks of the Himalayan mountains.

 The animal was captured when it was very young, it is completely domesticated and follows its owner like a dog, He is only four months old and is normally about five feet tall, but is able to lift his head two feet, which makes the animal seven feet when upright, it is a dark brown mouse color, large protruding eyes, with faint hints of growing horns.

The wonderful animal was captured north of Lake Athabasca, in the waters of the McKenzie River, it has a crop similar to that of the pelican, so he can survive for several days, he was very fast, being able to outrun the fastest horse in the countryThe black spots on the rich brown color make it one of the most beautiful animals in existence, more beautiful than the Chinese jungle leopard.

 Sir John did not consider it safe to transport this pet by water down the Mississippi River, fearing uncertain navigation and the great change of weather from Manitoba towards the sunny south, he has therefore wisely decided to pass by St. Paul, Minnesota. The commander of Fort Buford provides him with an escort for the trip. She will then proceed through Canada to Montreal, where she will ship her cargo to England.

Identity 

    In the end and due to the dangerous nature of the trip, this animal was left in peace with its owner, It is still not known for sure what this creature described in newspapers and letters to His Majesty was, leaving it a total mystery, some have theorized many identities for this animal.

The first and most accurate is that it was an elk with piebaldism, a mutation that has almost always been seen in deer, but it is very rare in moose, although a specimen of these was recently seen near Falher, Alberta, Canada, here is the photo.

It is possible that it may have been a moose with a similar mutation, so it may be an exaggerated story.

Another explanation is that perhaps it was a pronghorn with an abnormal size and at best a strange type of giraffe, although in the end and if it is not a fraud, Everything could remain a mystery forever or until they find some remains of this creature.

[Reading links]

https://es.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cachemira_(regi%C3%B3n)

https://karlshuker.blogspot.com/2011/02/never-tangle-with-tygomelia-or-tango.html?m=1