The Yamapikarya or Yamapikara is a large cat-like cryptid reported from Iriomote Island, Japan. The name means "something luminous in the mountains" in the local language.
Description[]
In appearance, it is a large cat-like creature, similar to a leopard. It is described as having tiger-like colored fur and black spots. There is a wild cat called the Iriomote cat on Iriomote Island, but the Yamapikarya is more than twice as big as the Iriomote cat and is estimated to be 1 meter to 1.8 meters long.
Sightings[]
According to Japanese books on cryptid, there are more than 47 local people who claim to have encountered the Yamapikarya, but very few reports have been compiled in detail.
In 2003, a local man named Shoichi Shimabukuro was walking outdoors to set a boar trap when he saw a Yamapikarya jumping from a rock. It jumped a distance of more than 3 meters.
On September 14, 2007, Prof. Hideo Akiyoshi of Shimane University visited the beach for a fish survey and found a Yamapikarya only 2.5 meters away, measuring 1.8 meters in length, half of which was occupied by its tail.
Explanations[]
Its characteristics are similar to those of the clouded leopard, which is distributed in East and Southeast Asia, and it is believed that the clouded leopard may be its true identity. However, it is not distributed at all on Iriomote Island and its neighboring islands. Considering the area and biota of Iriomote Island, it is impossible for clouded leopards to live there. Therefore, it is very likely that people merely misidentified a large Iriomote cat.