The Mongolian Death Worm

The desolate Gobi Desert is said to be the home of a mysterious, deadly creature called Allghoi khorkhoi, also known as the Mongolian death worm. It is described as a fat, bright red snakelike animal measuring two to four feet in length, which is vividly likened to a cow's intestine. In fact, the name Allghoi khorkhoi means "intestine worm." The death worm is so feared among the people of Mongolia that many consider the mere mention of its name bad luck, and it is attributed with the dramatic ability to kill people and animals instantly at a range of several feet. It is believed that the worm sprays an immensely lethal poison, or that it somehow transmits high electrical charges into its victims.

MONGOLIAN DEATH WORM LINK

Hi, Mad-S,
I must say that is a superb title for a topic.
It is a creature of legend (Outer Mongolia - not the Chinese part) and spits corrosive venom and is particularly annoyed by yellow things.
It's highly unlikely to be a worm (i.e. annelidae) -not well suited to deserts.
Maybe a snake or some kind of lizard?
Cyberchums who want a quick guide to beasties and monsters might find this link useful:
theshadowlands.net...

Outer Mongolia was, of course, a communist, Soviet satellite and almost entirely inaccessible to Westerners until a decade ago (it's pretty inaccessible now!) so I don't imagine there will be too much on the net beyond speculation, unfortunately.

Thanks Estragon.

I first heard about this when I was doing a trek through Mongolia and then into northen China in 1997. The guide said that, he had seen a dog which had been attacked by one of these worms. I wasn't sure if it was a legend or real. But ever since I have been fascinated about this creature. Hopefully a specimen will be found.

Kind of makes the water moccassins I grew up around seem tame by comparison...

Pretty freaky stuff

misplaced death adder, that then reproduced with other local snakes...

I lived in Mongolia for two years 1991-93 and the only cryptid I heard of was the Almas, a local variant of bigfoot said to live in the mountains. Interesting though.

XAOS

All I can say is not only is the creature amazing, but the experiences of the posters here are as well!

I've heard about this creature a lot. usually the same thing over and over. Not much info about it but it is very interesting.

i've heard a lot of stories from mongolia about stuff like this. Very interesting.

I think Mongolia is just a name that has this exotic ring to it. "Mongolian Death Worm" sounds better than "Witchita Death Worm." Just like "Mongolian Grill" sounds better than "Con Job."

XAOS

It certainly ahs a ring to it, XAOS: like Manchurian or Patagonian; but it is a reminder that - happily -there are still vast areas that have scarcely been visited for half a century.

And it was known to the loacal inhabitants as the Allghoi khorkhoi, long before westerners ever heard of it.

I glad to say I live in New Zealand. We have no snake's, no large predators. Only animals we have are; spiders(2 of which are poisonous, but are very rare),birds, lizards, deer, goats, cows, sheep, rabbits, stoats, rats, mice, weasels, possums and the occasional sighting of a Sober aussie.

[Edited on 11-5-2003 by Maddas]

But these sightings are still waiting to be verified.

I think its time we introduce Carniverious Kayvies (small marcupials that weigh in around 35 lbs), perhaps that will liven stuff up.

bears!
Our forest needs some bears in it. Somthing to look out for other than dope growers and their plantations.

We could also do with some cute squirrels...

Am I right in thinking that -with one or two exceptions -almost all of NZ's quadrupeds are "imports" - i.e. non-indigenous.
And are there any legends attached to the huge birds that once inhabited NZ?

I was thinking of things like the moa: a sort of 13 ft tall ostrich, cyber-chums.