#586 Shifty Figures

 Fun Fact #586

Shifty Figures 

When it comes to myths and legends many include hairline escapes but one up in Alaska may not be quite so bad. The Hairy Men or Urayuli are exactly as they sound, 10 ft. tall bipedal creatures which are extremely hairy with glowing eyes and arms that reach down to their ankles. Unlike myths about Yeti or Bigfoot they also have a very well known cry said to be similar to that of a loon (long whistle going from low to high notes with a clear distinction in the notes). They are most often sighted around Lake Iliamna in the southwestern tip of the peninsula with the locals swearing that The Urayuli are real –but peaceful. According to local myth these creatures are children who got lost at night near the lake which is why you should not hunt them or you may harm a close relative. 

Yet a little further in and further up into Alaska stands a similar –but more dangerous myth about the Kushtaka. The Kushtaka or Kóoshdaa káa (The Otter Men) are mythological shapeshifters of western and Central Alaska which most commonly take the form of any species of otter but once the decision is made the individual can only transform into that specific otter and back. For the most part their legends are of horrible tricksters who delight in luring people to their deaths near bodies of water (particularly lakes and rivers). The ways they lure people can vary greatly but for the most part the first thing you notice about them is their whistle from afar off (Low-High-Low) before you hear the sounds of either babies and women crying, or illusions of your family beckoning you away so real they can touch you or fight and kill you should you try to run away. 

Worse yet is they are thought to reproduce by transforming others into Kóoshdaa káa, targeting small children with their illusions which steadily turn into otters as the child does so as well. Alternatively if you lose your own bad luck they will turn “strays” into Kóoshdaa káa to spare them from freezing to death, with the curse that they can never return home.  Last year the entire Tilingnet (indigenous peoples) Federation signed papers saying they’ve seen, or heard a Kóoshdaa káa. For reference The Tilingnet are a group of over 16,000 people, and they’re not the only nation to believe in these things.

However there may be a more logical reason for both of these cryptids than initially thought. In fact the ice-breaking research points to the fact that it may be related to Ice vibrations which are natural vibrations caused by both the heating and cooling of ice sheets more than a mile long. These vibrations shake the ice until a crack forms either changing the vibrations entirely or changing their pitch, and are known to be short affairs lasting on average no more than 1-3 changes in pitch before the ice has enough room to stop vibrating. They then pick back up not too long later starting the cycle all over again and are most common an hour after sun down or sunup. Then there’s the fact that the colder it is the deeper these “Whistles” become. Yet there is a point at which the ice stops whistling but instead releases tension by “Singing” as at 4 miles across and above the vibrations can last enough notes to create whole instrumental songs and are thought to be beautiful to behold although again colder weather tends to impact this with bitter cold known for “Growling Ice”.

Thus in short please be careful of changing/talking ice and of strange people walking alone in frozen wastes. 

Thank you and please have a wonderful day.

Image of a Northern Sea Otter (common along Alaskan Shores) known for looking fluffier on land than in the water.