Lore 285: Oh My

Summary

Lore Episode 285: “Oh My” - A Detailed Summary

Host: Erin Mahnke
Release Date: July 28, 2025

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Introduction: The Eternal Hunt

In Episode 285, titled “Oh My,” Erin Mahnke delves deep into the dark and intricate relationship between humans and apex predators throughout history. She explores how the ancient instinct to hunt has intertwined with folklore, leading to some of the most terrifying tales of man-eating beasts. This episode not only recounts historical accounts but also examines the underlying causes that push these magnificent creatures to become menacing predators.

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The Joanina Library’s Unlikely Guardians

Erin begins by painting a vivid picture of the Joanina Library in Coimbra, Portugal, a baroque marvel housing over 200,000 books, some predating the library itself. Maintaining such an extensive collection required innovative preservation methods. Surprisingly, the library's protectors weren’t humans but two species of bats: the European Free-Tailed and the Soprano Pipistrelles.

“...hundreds upon hundreds of bats take over the library’s hollow halls and swoop madly through the air, gobbling up every insect that might dare to threaten a book. It’s the perfect example of a symbiotic relationship.”
— Erin Mahnke [02:37]

These bats provided a natural extermination service, ensuring the preservation of priceless volumes in exchange for an endless food supply. This harmonious coexistence set the stage for a broader discussion on human-animal relationships.

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The Evolution of Hunting and Its Folkloric Entanglement

Tracing back to Homo erectus 1.7 million years ago, Erin explains how hunting has been a fundamental human activity essential for survival. As civilizations evolved, so did hunting techniques—from rudimentary stone tools to sophisticated bows, arrows, and firearms. However, with the advent of agriculture and animal husbandry, the necessity of hunting diminished, relegating it mostly to sport and sport alone in modern times.

“Hunting is part of our very blood.”
— Erin Mahnke [06:08]

Beyond its practical aspects, hunting became steeped in mythology and folklore. Erin illustrates how various cultures personified hunters in the form of bird deities, often representing wisdom and foresight.

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Kasagake: The Demon Bear of Hokkaido

One of the most harrowing tales Erin recounts is that of Kasagake, a monstrous brown bear in Hokkaido, Japan. In November 1915, after years of destroying the ecosystem by overfishing, Kasagake emerged from hibernation with an insatiable hunger for human flesh. The bear terrorized the region, killing multiple families and instilling fear across the community.

“It was November of 1915 when farmers in a remote part of Hokkaido, Japan began to notice something strange...”
— Erin Mahnke [11:05]

Despite initial attempts to neutralize the threat with a hunting party, Kasagake remained elusive and deadly until finally slain by a dedicated group of 60 men. The bear’s death did not end the fear; instead, it led to dark rituals and a legacy of vengeance embodied by the mayor's son, who vowed to kill more bears in Kasagake's honor.

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Man-Eaters of Tsavo and Njombe: The Apex Predators Unleashed

Erin transitions to Africa, recounting the infamous Man-Eaters of Tsavo—two massive brown bears that ravaged the vineyards of Kenya in 1898. Unlike typical bears, these creatures attacked indiscriminately, devastating entire communities. Similarly, in Njombe, Tanzania, a pride of lions known as the Man-Eaters of Njombe terrorized the region from 1932 to 1946. These lions exhibited unprecedented behavior, targeting humans as their exclusive prey.

“A single lion needs to eat 50 people each year to be in prime healthy condition.”
— Erin Mahnke [19:44]

These accounts highlight how environmental degradation—such as habitat destruction and depletion of natural prey—forces apex predators into unnatural and aggressive behaviors towards humans. The relentless attacks in Njombe were so severe that locals attributed them to witchcraft, believing that the lions were shapeshifting sorcerers known as Simba Yaamtu.

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Operation Fantasia: Foxes as Psychological Weapons in WWII

Shifting focus to wartime ingenuity, Erin narrates the bizarre story of Operation Fantasia, a World War II initiative by the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the precursor to the CIA. The plan aimed to exploit Japanese superstitions by releasing radioactive-painted foxes to sow fear and disrupt morale.

“We have made a stuffed fox with a human skull affixed to its head, equipped with a simple mechanical device for raising and lowering the jaw.”
— Erin Mahnke [36:28]

The operation involved taxidermists modifying foxes to appear menacing by attaching human skulls and creating eerie facial movements. Initial tests in Washington D.C. caused enough panic to validate the concept—but the plan was ultimately abandoned following the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, rendering it obsolete.

“...the idea was based on nothing else but baseless racism.”
— Erin Mahnke [39:13]

Erin critically reflects on the racist underpinnings of Operation Fantasia, acknowledging the flawed assumptions made by American strategists who underestimated Japanese resilience and dismissed their culture's complexity.

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Human Impact: The Root Cause of Beastly Rampages

A recurring theme in Erin's narrative is the profound impact humans have on animal habitats. Whether it’s Kasagake driven by overfishing or the lion prides of Tsavo and Njombe pushed into aggressive territories due to habitat loss and prey depletion, the episode underscores that these man-eating epics are often a direct consequence of human interference.

“When we take away animals’ food, what do they have left to eat but us?”
— Erin Mahnke [25:44]

This reflection serves as a poignant reminder of the delicate balance between human expansion and wildlife preservation. Erin suggests that these tales are not merely folklore but cautionary stories about the repercussions of environmental neglect.

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Conclusion: The Thin Line Between Humanity and Beasts

Erin Mahnke concludes by emphasizing that the fear of being hunted by wild beasts taps into a primal, inherited fear rooted in humanity's evolutionary past. These stories of man-eating animals are not just about the creatures themselves but also about the fragile relationship between humans and nature.

“The most dangerous creatures aren't always the ones with claws and teeth. A predator hunts with patience, with instinct, and with a sharp edge of hunger.”
— Erin Mahnke [27:15]

Through Episode 285, “Oh My,” Lore masterfully blends historical accounts with mythological elements, offering listeners a comprehensive exploration of how human activities can inadvertently provoke nature’s wrath, leading to some of history’s most chilling man-eating legends.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• On Symbiotic Relationships:

  “...hundreds upon hundreds of bats take over the library’s hollow halls and swoop madly through the air, gobbling up every insect that might dare to threaten a book. It’s the perfect example of a symbiotic relationship.”
  — Erin Mahnke [02:37]

• On Hunting as Innate:

  “Hunting is part of our very blood.”
  — Erin Mahnke [06:08]

• On Kasagake’s Terror:

  “It was November of 1915 when farmers in a remote part of Hokkaido, Japan began to notice something strange...”
  — Erin Mahnke [11:05]

• On Lion Predation:

  “A single lion needs to eat 50 people each year to be in prime healthy condition.”
  — Erin Mahnke [19:44]

• On Operation Fantasia’s Racism:

  “...the idea was based on nothing else but baseless racism.”
  — Erin Mahnke [39:13]

• On Human Impact:

  “When we take away animals’ food, what do they have left to eat but us?”
  — Erin Mahnke [25:44]

• On Primal Fear:

  “The most dangerous creatures aren't always the ones with claws and teeth. A predator hunts with patience, with instinct, and with a sharp edge of hunger.”
  — Erin Mahnke [27:15]

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Final Thoughts

“Oh My” serves as a stark reminder of the consequences that arise when humans disrupt nature’s balance. Through riveting storytelling and meticulous research, Erin Mahnke not only recounts terrifying legends but also invites listeners to reflect on the broader implications of humanity’s relationship with the natural world.

Transcript

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There are.

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Many beautiful libraries in this world, but the Joanina Library in Coimbra, Portugal, might be the most stunning of them all. Featuring three stories of ornately painted ceilings, gilded archways, and bookcases made from exotic wood, this baroque marvel has been in operation since the mid 18th century. Then of course, there are the books themselves. 200,000 of them in fact, some even older than the library itself. All of which needed to be carefully preserved and maintained. But the task?

[Erin Manke]

Well, it's easier said than done.

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Paper, leather and paste aren't the hardiest of materials after all. There is temperature and humidity to worry about.

[Erin Manke]

Not to mention meddling hands and the.

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Simple degradation that comes with time. But the greatest threat to the Joanina's priceless volumes? Well, that would be the bugs, eager to turn this rare archive into a tasty midnight snack. Yes, the Joannina was going to need top rated exterminators.

[Erin Manke]

And luckily, for nearly 300 years, they've.

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Known exactly who to call two partners.

[Erin Manke]

Known as the European Freetail and the Soprano Pipistrelles. And they just so happen to be.

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Two species of bats. That's right. Every night when the scholars filter out and towering stacks settle into darkness, hundreds upon hundreds of bats the take over the library's hollow halls and swoop madly through the air, gobbling up every insect that might dare to threaten a book. It's the perfect example of a symbiotic relationship.

[Erin Manke]

In exchange for protecting the books, the bats get an all you can eat buffet.

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Not a bad deal, right?

[Erin Manke]

It's one of those surprising yet not uncommon examples of humans and animals coexisting.

[Sponsor Representative]

As we have throughout history. But unfortunately, not all interspecies encounters Are quite so beneficial. Sometimes the beasts grow hungry for a meal that's a little more filling and.

[Erin Manke]

Go looking for something new.

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Or should I say someone? I'm Erin manke, and this is lore changes fast. Not to date myself here, but when.

[Erin Manke]

I was a kid, A big day.

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Out involved buying a few packs of.

[Erin Manke]

Garbage pail kid stickers before stopping at.

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The video rental store to pick up ET on vhs. And that was just a few decades ago.

[Erin Manke]

Multiply that by centuries or even millennia, and most of our hobbies, daily activities.

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And technology Are nearly unrecognizable from those in the past.

[Erin Manke]

And yet, certain things do endure. Making music, for example, and telling stories. Practicing religion and the use of language. But believe it or not, there's one universal human action Older than all of.

[Sponsor Representative]

These that is still in practice today. That is the art of hunting.

[Erin Manke]

As it turns out, humans have been.

[Sponsor Representative]

Hunting animals for food since before homo sapiens ever existed.

[Erin Manke]

An early human ancestor Called homo erectus Was developing hunting techniques a whopping 1.7.

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Million years ago ago, and we haven't stopped since.

[Erin Manke]

When art and storytelling finally did come about, Hunting was one of the first subjects ever covered. Ancient images of the hunt have been discovered on rocks and in caves In.

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Europe, southern Africa, the sahara desert, and beyond.

[Erin Manke]

You know those famous paleolithic cave paintings.

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Of bulls in altamira, Spain? Yeah, those paintings were started 34,000 years ago. The question, of course, is always why?

[Erin Manke]

And sure, we know why early people hunted. After all, everyone needed to eat.

[Sponsor Representative]

But why record these hunting exploits? Why was remembering past hunts so vital.

[Erin Manke]

That it literally gave rise to the.

[Sponsor Representative]

Invention of art and storytelling?

[Erin Manke]

Well, in the words of scholar James a. Swan, Hunt stories pass along the wisdom of hunting to future generations and.

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Energize people with the spirit of nature.

[Erin Manke]

In other words, for the very first time in human history, Written symbols and.

[Sponsor Representative]

Images Were used to pass on knowledge.

[Erin Manke]

Knowledge that could mean the very line.

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Between survival and starvation.

[Erin Manke]

As humanity evolved, so, too, did the act of hunting. Roughly 10,000 years ago, humans began to.

[Sponsor Representative]

Bring dogs along with the hunt.

[Erin Manke]

The mesopotamians began hunting on horseback. Hunting tools evolved from crude stone implements.

[Sponsor Representative]

To spears and bows and arrows. And now guns. Also, the more agriculture developed, the more.

[Erin Manke]

Civilization could finally cultivate their own crops, Allowing us to rely less and less.

[Sponsor Representative]

On meat for survival.

[Erin Manke]

Animal husbandry reduced the need for hunting even more. Flash forward to today. And most of our meat comes from factory farms, Leaving Hunting primarily to hobbyists.

[Sponsor Representative]

Or people in remote regions of the world.

[Erin Manke]

But still the tradition endures.

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It seems that hunting is part of our very blood.

[Erin Manke]

And it's never just been practical. All throughout hunting history, the practice has.

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Been entangled with folklore.

[Erin Manke]

In mythologies all over the world, there.

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Are stories about gods whose job it is to oversee the hunt.

[Erin Manke]

And oddly enough, most of them happen to be birds.

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Take for example, the Navajo black God.

[Erin Manke]

A hunting spirit manifested into a crow. For the native Koyukon people of Alaska.

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A raven oversees the hunt. While in South America, it's a condor.

[Erin Manke]

Meanwhile, in parts of Africa, an eagle.

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Spirit hovers over the hunters, making sure that everything goes according to plan.

[Erin Manke]

And then of course, there's Artemis. From Greek mythology, AKA Diana. To the Romans, goddess of nature, young women, childbirth, animals, healing, sudden death, archery.

[Sponsor Representative]

And yes, the hunt. Look, she was a busy lady.

[Erin Manke]

In one story about Artemis, her brother Apollo challenged her to an archery competition, betting that she couldn't strike a small.

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Black spot far off in the water.

[Erin Manke]

Not one to turn down a contest.

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She accepted and struck the object with ease.

[Erin Manke]

But when she went to collect her kill, she was horrified to discover that.

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Her brother had tricked her into murdering her own true love, Orion.

[Erin Manke]

Grief stricken, she honored her beloved by placing him into the skies as a.

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Constellation, along with his dogs, Canis Major and Canis Minor, where they may joyfully hunt for the rest of eternity.

[Erin Manke]

In most stories, hunters are portrayed as.

[Sponsor Representative]

Noble heroes, strong, capable warriors keeping the beasts at bay and the villagers bellies full.

[Erin Manke]

In fact, one historical politician became so obsessed with the heroic image of the hunter that he wanted to embody it himself. Commodus, Emperor of Rome and contender for.

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The most deranged evil guy to have.

[Erin Manke]

Ever existed, dressed up as a gladiator, climbed into the coliseum and proceeded to kill 100 bears in a single day. After that, he decided he was the reincarnation of Hercules himself. And sure, 100 Bears is, well, a lot of bears. But here's the thing. Those bears were penned into the arena while Commodus shot them from the balcony overhead. Not exactly an act of bravery. And if Commodus teaches us anything, it's.

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That not all hunters are heroes.

[Erin Manke]

And in fact, in the most famous hunting lore of all, they might just be demons. Here, imagine it's the dead of winter, the days have grown short, and you've.

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Just stepped outside, bundled up against the cold.

[Erin Manke]

Perhaps you're taking a chilly walk to.

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Work, or just getting a bit of fresh air, when suddenly you hear a ferocious rumbling coming from the Sky.

[Erin Manke]

Looking up, you see what makes your blood run cold. It's a demonic hunter on horseback, galloping across the clouds. Behind him trails a frothing parade of.

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Lost souls, rippling like a storm. Black dogs and wolves yip at their feet and shadows swirl, darkening the stars.

[Erin Manke]

Some of their horses have six legs.

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Or eight, with fire blazing in their eyes. And then they all begin to chase you.

[Erin Manke]

It's a terrifying image on its own. That hellish hunting party tearing through the midwinter sky. But what's even more terrifying is that seeing it is said to be an.

[Sponsor Representative]

Omen and of impending doom. Variants of the tale have been told all throughout Europe.

[Erin Manke]

But it was none other than Jacob Grimm who, noticing a pattern, coined a.

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Term for this motif. He called it the wild hunt. From generation to generation, humans have killed wild animals for food, ritual, sport and spiritual practice.

[Erin Manke]

We have become the ultimate apex predator. In short, we've gotten a little cocky. Cocky enough that sometimes nature decides to.

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Put us in our place.

[Erin Manke]

Which begs the question, what happens when.

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The hunter becomes the hunted?

[Erin Manke]

In the Chinese folktale, the Old Woman.

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And the Tiger, a murderous tiger kills and eats a woman's son. A ballad from the Black American south warns of a wild boar in these woods that eats men's bones and drinks their blood.

[Erin Manke]

In a Congolese version of the Boy.

[Sponsor Representative]

Who Cried Wolf, a child is devoured by a crocodile. While in India, the Khasi people tell tales of a giant man eating python. All across the world, all these stories speak to one universal fear. The very real threat of being devoured alive by wild animals. We've talked in the past about the.

[Erin Manke]

Beast of Gevaudan, an enormous, mysterious beast that terrorized 18th century France, killing 113.

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People over the course of just three years.

[Erin Manke]

It would seem like a mere legend.

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If it weren't horrifyingly true.

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But that hyena like menace is far.

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From the only monster to manifest in the real world.

[Erin Manke]

It was November of 1915 when farmers in a remote part of Hokkaido, Japan began to notice something strange.

[Sponsor Representative]

First crop supplies went missing. Then herd animals began to disappear. There was no doubt about it. A predator was on the prowl. And it was big.

[Erin Manke]

On November 20, the beast was officially.

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Spotted for the first time.

[Erin Manke]

And this thing was a sight to behold. Towering at 9ft tall, all 750 pounds.

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Of it were covered in dark golden fur.

[Erin Manke]

Its curved fang like canines were as.

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Long as a woman's hand is wide, capable of biting down with £20,000 of force. And its paws were tipped with long Rakish claws. It was a bear, but not just any bear. This was an usuri brown bear, also known as the black grizzly, one of the largest brown bears in the world.

[Erin Manke]

A brown bear that in late November.

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Should have been hibernating.

[Erin Manke]

It wasn't long before a hunting party.

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Formed to take care of this bear burglar before things got out of hand.

[Erin Manke]

They managed to track it down in.

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The forest where they shot and wounded the creature.

[Erin Manke]

Sure, they hadn't managed to kill it, but they figured injuring it would be good enough. Certainly the bear would be too frightened.

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Of people after that to return to town, right?

[Erin Manke]

Well, alas, the poor townspeople would soon.

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Learn how very wrong they were. The first kill occurred on December 9th of 1915 when the bear entered the.

[Erin Manke]

Otis family home and killed a woman.

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And child before dragging the woman's lifeless body into the trees.

Killing.

[Erin Manke]

The following day, it tore down the.

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Wall of the Miyoki family home where.

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It killed five more people, including a pregnant woman who the bear began to eat. It survived a hailstorm of bullets to come back three days later to pillage nine more homes for food before vanishing.

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Again into the forest. Finally, a hunting party of 60 men.

[Erin Manke]

Including professional government sharpshooters, followed a trail.

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Of blood into the woods.

[Erin Manke]

There they found the bear resting beneath.

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An oak tree where they shot and killed it, ending the reign of terror for good.

[Erin Manke]

When the smoke cleared, the bear had.

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Killed seven people, injured three more and destroyed a full two thirds of the settlement.

[Erin Manke]

But while you can kill a bear, you can't kill a story. After its death, villagers began to whisper.

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They said the bear had been possessed.

[Erin Manke]

They referred to it as a demon bear proper and gave it the name.

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Kasagake, which means diagonal slash from the should.

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They even celebrated its death with a.

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Blood ritual in which villagers opened the bear's body and licked its blood from its ribs. For some, these stories would follow them for the rest of their lives.

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The mayor's son, Okawa Horayoshi, was only.

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Six years old when he witnessed the attacks.

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But he swore an oath to kill.

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10 bears in honor of every victim taken by Kesagake.

[Erin Manke]

Eventually, he not only succeeded, but exceeded his pledge. By the time he reached the age.

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Of 62, he had killed 102 bears.

[Erin Manke]

Meanwhile, 17 years prior to the bear attacks, the Tsavo region in southern Kenya faced a terror of its own. It was the spring of 1898 and.

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A new bridge for the Kenya Uganda Railway was going up over the Tsavo River. Railroad workers labored Tirelessly throughout the day.

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And retired to their tents near the.

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Work site every night.

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And like any big group of workers.

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On the job, they passed around their fair share of rumors.

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Gossip about the foreman, maybe, or jokes.

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About the quality of the food.

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But there was one rumor that rippled.

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Through the camp faster than all the rest. That of a pair of maneless lions that were dragging workers from their tents in the night and eating them.

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At first, the head engineer on the project, Lt. Col. John Henry Patterson, wrote.

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The whispers off as tall tales.

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At least he did until he saw.

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It happen with his own eyes. At about midnight, Patterson would later write.

[Erin Manke]

The lion suddenly put its head in at the open tent door and seized.

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A man by the throat.

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The unfortunate fellow cried out, let go.

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And threw his arms up around the lion's neck. The next moment, he was gone.

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Soon after, the lion struck again. Patterson recorded all the grisly details of the moment.

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And when the next body was found.

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He wrote, the ground all around was.

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Covered with blood and morsels of flesh.

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And bones, but the head had been.

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Left intact, save for the holes made.

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By the lion's tusks on seizing him, and lay a short distance away from.

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The other remains, the eyes staring wide open with a startled, horrified look in them. It was the most gruesome sight I had ever seen.

[Erin Manke]

After that, the men put up fences.

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But the lions leapt over them.

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They lit fires at night and clattered empty oil tins in hopes of scaring.

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The creatures off, but the lions ignored them.

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Watchmen would be guarding one camp, and the lions would strategically attack another, never.

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Targeting the same camp two nights in a row. Nothing was working.

[Erin Manke]

No. What they needed was bait.

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Human bait.

[Erin Manke]

And so Patterson himself volunteered as tribute. He put his own body on the line, and then when the lions came.

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For him, he shot them.

[Erin Manke]

No one knows for sure exactly how.

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Many men were killed by the end of the horrific spree.

[Erin Manke]

Some records list 28 deaths, but in Patterson's 1922 book, the man Eaters of Tsavo, he claims a harrowing 135 human.

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Lives were lost today.

[Erin Manke]

If you want to see the Man.

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Eaters of Tsavo yourself, you can.

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Their taxidermied bodies are on permanent display.

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Right in my home state of Illinois at the Field Museum in Chicago.

[Erin Manke]

Oh, and by the way, that regional name, Tsavo, it may have been something of a self fulfilling prophecy, because it turns out that the word has a rather foreshadowing translation.

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It literally means the place of slaughter.

[Erin Manke]

But if only two lions can do.

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That, Kind of damage? What about an entire pride? It was just after sunset when the man set off along the winding path home.

[Erin Manke]

It had been another long, hard day.

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Working as a kitchen servant at a Swedish mission in the southern highlands of.

[Erin Manke]

Tanzania, and he was eager to call it a night. With only a hurricane lamp to light.

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His way home, the man journeyed through the dark.

[Erin Manke]

Jacaranda trees towered over him and the.

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Night winds played in the branches. Perhaps he thought of his soft bed waiting for him at home.

[Erin Manke]

Maybe he took a breath, appreciating the.

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Beauty of the rustling forest. And sure, I'm speculating here, but I.

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Like to imagine the man had one.

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Small moment of peace before what came next.

[Erin Manke]

Because that's when a nine foot long.

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550 pound monster sprung out of the dark woods.

[Erin Manke]

Back at base, the missionaries heard an.

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Animalistic scream roaring through the trees.

[Erin Manke]

They tore after it, but by the time they made their way to the poor kitchen hand, there was very little left of him.

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The man eaters of Njambe had struck again. But for context, let's rewind. It was in 1932 when the rumors began to spread. Villagers whispered of friends and family vanishing without a trace. Mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, gone in a blink. Or worse, found disemboweled in their own backyards. The culprit? None other than a pride of killer lions.

[Erin Manke]

Now, I want to be clear here. Lions don't usually eat people. A lion's typical diet consists of wild.

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Game like antelope, pigs, buffalo, zebras and things like that.

[Erin Manke]

But sometime around 1932, one pride got a little taste of, let's just say.

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A rarer cut of meat.

[Erin Manke]

And whoever their first victim was, they must have been pretty tasty, because once.

[Sponsor Representative]

The big cats tried it, they couldn't get enough.

[Erin Manke]

That's right. The man eaters in the Jambe, as they came to be called, was a.

[Sponsor Representative]

Pride that ate exclusively humans. No pigs, no zebras, just people.

[Erin Manke]

There were even accounts of lions charging into herds of livestock, snatching a herdsman off the back of a bull and.

[Sponsor Representative]

Running back out again without so much as a glance at the cattle.

[Erin Manke]

And at this point you might be wondering, how many of us would a.

[Sponsor Representative]

Lion need to eat to sustain itself per year?

[Erin Manke]

Well, don't worry, I've got you covered for bear survival. Eating nothing but human adults. A single lion needs to eat 50 people each year to be in prime healthy condition.

[Sponsor Representative]

Though that number goes up to 150.

[Erin Manke]

Then multiply that by the roughly 15.

[Sponsor Representative]

Lions of the Njombe pride and well.

[Erin Manke]

Math can sometimes be scary. Hunting across a 1500 square mile territory there in Tanzania, these lions ushered in.

[Sponsor Representative]

A reign of terror unlike any seen before or since.

[Erin Manke]

They snacked on people like popcorn. And they were smart too. While most lions are nocturnal, these ones.

[Sponsor Representative]

Hunted by day, when townsfolk would most likely be out and about.

[Erin Manke]

The pride would also split up to.

[Sponsor Representative]

Orchestrate multiple attacks at once and Traveled.

[Erin Manke]

Up to 20 miles each night so.

[Sponsor Representative]

They could ambush a new unsuspecting town at dawn.

[Erin Manke]

And if you think staying home with your door locked might keep you safe, think again. Because when the area went into full blown lion induced lockdown, the man eaters began leaping onto thatched rooftops, tearing their.

[Sponsor Representative]

Way through and dropping down onto their victims from above.

[Erin Manke]

And there was apparently one body part that the lions seemed to enjoy the most. They were always careful to crack open.

[Sponsor Representative]

A victim's skull and lick out the brain. Kill after kill, village after village, one.

[Erin Manke]

Thing became glaringly clear to the people.

[Sponsor Representative]

Of Njambe, these were no ordinary lions. No, not ordinary at all. In fact, they might be the result of witchcraft.

[Erin Manke]

And to be honest, they may have.

[Sponsor Representative]

Been onto something here.

[Erin Manke]

You see, around the same time that.

[Sponsor Representative]

The lions began their rampage, head tribal leader and legendary witch doctor Matamula Manjera was accused of corruption and stripped of his position.

[Erin Manke]

And he wasn't exactly happy about that. Legends emerged claiming that Matamula and his assistants were secretly herding lions from village.

[Sponsor Representative]

To village, targeting the witch doctor's enemies.

[Erin Manke]

Some said the killings would continue until.

[Sponsor Representative]

Matamula was reinstated in the tribe. Soon enough, villagers began plying Matamula with gifts, hoping to protect themselves or even sway him into sending his lions after their enemies.

Now, if you've ever heard the phrase.

[Erin Manke]

Like herding cats, this might not seem.

[Sponsor Representative]

Like a plausible explanation, but that's only.

[Erin Manke]

Because you're missing one small detail. You see, the villagers didn't believe that they were dealing with cats at all.

[Sponsor Representative]

But Simba Yaamtu, or as you and I might call them, Werelions.

[Erin Manke]

According to legend, Simba Yaamtu were either corpses or living people with the ability to shapeshift into animals. And this second option was a problem because it meant that lions could be anyone. For all the townspeople knew their best friend or sister or husband could be.

[Sponsor Representative]

One of those flesh eating monsters in disguise.

[Erin Manke]

People became terrified to speak about the.

[Sponsor Representative]

Lions for fear that one of the Werelions was among them and if insulted, would seek revenge. Just imagine how utterly terrifying this period of time must have been for them.

[Erin Manke]

Not only were they Literally being hunted.

[Sponsor Representative]

By a pack of ravenous beasts.

[Erin Manke]

But in their darkest hour, they couldn't even turn to their own family for solace, just in case that they too.

[Sponsor Representative]

Were part of the danger.

[Erin Manke]

Nothing and no one was safe. In fact, most of the stories that.

[Sponsor Representative]

We have from this era come not.

[Erin Manke]

From the locals, but from the white missionaries who, because they didn't share the same superstitions, were willing to talk openly.

[Sponsor Representative]

About what was going on.

[Erin Manke]

The age of the man eaters continued for not one, not two, but 15 years. In the course of that time, new.

[Sponsor Representative]

Members of the pride were born, and.

[Erin Manke]

Their mothers taught them to feast on human flesh, ensuring the tradition would continue.

[Sponsor Representative]

From generation to generation. But thankfully, all things good or bad, come to an end eventually.

[Erin Manke]

And in 1946, after over a decade.

[Sponsor Representative]

Of failed attempts, game warden George Rushby successfully tracked the pack and killed one of the lionesses. Clearly, her diet had been kind to her. Her coat, it said, was glossy and her teeth pristine.

[Erin Manke]

From there, Rushby and his men spent.

[Sponsor Representative]

Days hunting down the rest of the pride until every last member had been slain. The reign of the man eaters had finally been brought to an.

[Erin Manke]

We tend.

[Sponsor Representative]

To think of ourselves as separate from nature, above it, even immune to the doubts and dangers that animals face in the wild.

[Erin Manke]

But when something like the Ninjambe man eaters come along, it's a reminder of.

[Sponsor Representative]

Where we truly stand that is right here on planet Earth, just like every other creature.

[Erin Manke]

And it can be frightening. Yes, the notion that we might not.

[Sponsor Representative]

Be as far removed from the food chain as we thought, but in all these stories, there's something vital that we have yet to discuss why these attacks happened in the first place.

[Erin Manke]

After all, lions don't typically hunt humans.

[Sponsor Representative]

Neither do bears or tigers or any of the other ravenous beasts that we've mentioned today.

[Erin Manke]

Well, as it turns out, every single.

[Sponsor Representative]

One of those killer animals had one thing in common. Their habitats had all been threatened by us.

[Erin Manke]

In the case of Kasagake, the bear colonists in Hokkaido had overfished the region so greedily, the bears had little left to eat. And the lions of Tsavo? Well, over the previous century, 90% of.

[Sponsor Representative]

African lions natural habitat had been destroyed to make room for, that's right, human beings.

[Erin Manke]

And in Njombe, you could blame a.

[Sponsor Representative]

Vengeful witch doctor, but there is another explanation.

[Erin Manke]

Because right before the attack started, the local government attempted to mitigate a cattle plague by deliberately killing off a large.

[Sponsor Representative]

Number of the region's prey animals.

[Erin Manke]

In other words, when we take away animals food, what do they have left.

[Sponsor Representative]

To eat but us?

[Erin Manke]

Oh, and speaking of Kesagake, that brown bear in Japan, you know how I.

[Sponsor Representative]

Said the villagers held a postmortem blood ritual, licking the bear's blood from its lips?

[Erin Manke]

And yeah, apparently this wasn't their first.

[Sponsor Representative]

Taste of the stuff. For hundreds of years before Kesagake's wrath.

[Erin Manke]

Befell the region, the indigenous Ainu people there in Hokkaido had practiced a tradition.

[Sponsor Representative]

Called ihomante, or the sending of the bear.

[Erin Manke]

First, they would find a newborn cub. Then they would kill its mother and take the cub back to the village.

[Sponsor Representative]

To raise it as their own.

[Erin Manke]

At least until a year later, when the cub would be lashed to a.

[Sponsor Representative]

Post in the town center and slaughtered.

[Erin Manke]

The bear's throat would be slit, and.

[Sponsor Representative]

The villagers would drink its warm, flowing blood.

[Erin Manke]

I'll leave you with the words of.

[Sponsor Representative]

One of the witnesses of Kessagake's death rite.

[Erin Manke]

When the night began, the families were in a frenzy. Their behavior was becoming hardly different from.

[Sponsor Representative]

That of the bears. History often has a way of shattering our assumptions.

[Erin Manke]

Looking back, perhaps the line between man.

[Sponsor Representative]

And beast isn't so clear after all.

[Erin Manke]

I hope you've enjoyed today's journey of.

[Sponsor Representative]

The lions and tigers and bears of this world.

[Erin Manke]

As history shows, the most dangerous creatures aren't always the ones with claws and teeth. A predator hunts with patience, with instinct, and with a sharp edge of hunger.

[Sponsor Representative]

Human and animal alike. But when the balance shifts, when the.

[Erin Manke]

Hunter becomes the hunted, it stirs something ancient within us. A primal fear inherited from millennia of.

[Sponsor Representative]

Kill or be killed survival.

[Erin Manke]

And I have one last story for.

[Sponsor Representative]

You in which that fear itself becomes a weapon. Stick around through this brief sponsor break to hear all about it.

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Ever notice how ads always pop up at the worst moments when the killer's identity is about to be revealed during that perfect meditation flow on Amazon Music, we believe in keeping you in the moment. That's why we've got millions of ad free podcast episodes so you can stay completely immersed in every story, every reveal, every breath. Download the Amazon Music app and start listening to your favorite podcasts ad free included with prime.

[Erin Manke]

All of Us Know.

[Sponsor Representative]

The Story after the deaths of over.

[Erin Manke]

2,400Americans in 1941's attack on Pearl harbor.

[Sponsor Representative]

The US government scrambled to retaliate against the Japanese.

[Erin Manke]

But pretty quickly they realized that there.

[Sponsor Representative]

Was a bit of a problem.

[Erin Manke]

No matter how badly they were beaten down, the Japanese soldiers just would not quit.

[Sponsor Representative]

Rather than surrender, the Japanese would fight to the death.

[Erin Manke]

And it was because of this that the US Came to a realization. Battering these troops physically would not be enough. They had to find a way to.

[Sponsor Representative]

Also destroy their morale.

[Erin Manke]

And thus, in 1942, the OSS was formed, a precursor to what would eventually become the CIA. And this group was tasked with dreaming up strategic ways to destabilize the Axis.

[Sponsor Representative]

Powers through psychological means. Or as you might know it today, psyops.

[Erin Manke]

These guys started tossing out all sorts.

[Sponsor Representative]

Of ideas onto the table, from making.

[Erin Manke]

Propaganda pamphlets to distributing misinformation, to broadcasting demoralizing news segments in enemy territory. But not all the ideas were quite so, let's just say, practical. Take the exploding pancake mix, codenamed Aunt Jemima, or a perfume spray designed to smell like human excrement. But the wildest idea of them all had to be a little project called Operation Fantasia. It all started when OSS founder William Donovan told his team to outfox the Axis enemies. And, well, one scientist by the name.

[Sponsor Representative]

Of Edgar Salinger took that order very, very literally.

[Erin Manke]

Salinger had spent his early years as a businessman in Tokyo, and while there, he had picked up a bit of the local folklore, specifically legends of the kitsune, a mischievous Japanese spirit that took the form of a fox. What if Salinger proposed we could exploit the Japanese superstitions to our own advantage? And thus Operation Fantasia began. The idea was simple. Step one, create a bunch of fake kitsune. Step two, sprinkle them around Japan. Step three, wait for the Japanese to see them. At which point, their superstitious nature would cause them to interpret the creatures as portents of doom and thus destroy Japanese morale.

[Sponsor Representative]

Win the war, and hey, what could go wrong, right?

[Erin Manke]

Well, the original idea called for making fox shaped balloons, although they eventually decided.

[Sponsor Representative]

To use real foxes instead of, that.

[Erin Manke]

Is, real foxes spray painted with spooky.

[Sponsor Representative]

Glow in the dark paint.

[Erin Manke]

The United States Radium Corporation even provided the specially made radium laced paint for the project. Now, this paint had a habit of.

[Sponsor Representative]

Sliding right off of the fox fur.

[Erin Manke]

So veterinarians at the Central Park Zoo were tasked with figuring out how to.

[Sponsor Representative]

Get the stuff to stick.

[Erin Manke]

After running numerous tests on raccoons, they finally succeeded.

[Sponsor Representative]

All systems go.

[Erin Manke]

The next roadblock was figuring out how.

[Sponsor Representative]

To actually deliver the foxes to Japan.

[Erin Manke]

Given the fact that Japan is an.

[Sponsor Representative]

Island, it was assumed that the foxes.

[Erin Manke]

Would have to be dropped in the water and swim ashore. But this raised two questions. Could the foxes even swim? And second, would the glowing paint wash.

[Sponsor Representative]

Off in the water?

[Erin Manke]

To answer these questions, the OSS did the only reasonable thing. That is, they dropped a bunch of foxes they painted with radioactive paint into the Chesapeake Bay. Luckily, they did swim to shore, but most of the paint indeed ended up washing away. It seems like having them swim to.

[Sponsor Representative]

Land might not be the best move. On top of this, they decided that paint alone wouldn't be dramatic enough to make regular foxes look like menacing evil spirits.

[Erin Manke]

And so they brought in another group.

[Sponsor Representative]

Of experts to make the foxes look even more demented. These experts, why, that would be taxidermists.

[Erin Manke]

According to an article in the Arizona Daily Star from August 19th of 1946, and I quote, the taxidermists went to work and stuffed and mounted several deceased foxes minus their rump and hind legs, so the remainder could be strapped upright.

[Sponsor Representative]

On the backs of the live foxes.

[Erin Manke]

In such a manner that they appeared.

[Sponsor Representative]

To be running along on their hind legs.

[Erin Manke]

And it wasn't just fox parts they.

[Sponsor Representative]

Strapped onto these poor creatures. Oh, no.

[Erin Manke]

They also used human skulls. In the words of Salinger himself, we have made a stuffed fox with a human skull affixed to its head, equipped with a simple mechanical device for raising.

[Sponsor Representative]

And lowering the jaw.

[Erin Manke]

So as to simulate the opening and.

[Sponsor Representative]

Closing of the mouth of the skull. Seriously, you cannot make this stuff up.

[Erin Manke]

And as the cherry on top, the OSS planned to enlist the help of Japanese citizens with allied sympathies to pretend to be possessed by these bonafide kitsune uttering, and I quote, strange chants to.

[Sponsor Representative]

Make the whole charade more realistic. And finally, the project was ready.

[Erin Manke]

There was only one thing left to do before sending the deranged fox taxidermy human skull monstrosities over to Japan. It was time to test how these things actually affected civilians. One fine day in 1943, 30 freshly painted foxes were shipped to Rock Creek park in Washington D.C. and then they.

[Sponsor Representative]

Were set loose to terrorize the American public.

[Erin Manke]

According to the National Park Police, horrified citizens, shocked by the sudden sight of the leaping ghost like animals, fled from the dark recesses of the park with the screaming jeemies.

[Sponsor Representative]

They was official.

[Erin Manke]

The foxes were freaky enough to go to Japan.

[Sponsor Representative]

Operation Fantasia's time had come at last.

[Erin Manke]

And then, just as the long awaited plan was about to be set in motion, the US sent something else to.

[Sponsor Representative]

Japan that rendered the whole scheme obsolete.

[Erin Manke]

I'm referring, of course, to the atomic.

[Sponsor Representative]

Bomb, the one that vaporized Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

[Erin Manke]

The war ended without the Operation Fantasia.

[Sponsor Representative]

Foxes ever touching Japanese soil. And that may be for the best.

[Erin Manke]

Because the thing is, it never really would have worked. Why? Well, because the entire premise the project was based on Japanese citizens rampant superstitiousness and gullibility was rooted in nothing else but baseless racism. Scholar Vince Haughton may have said it best. The entire plan he wrote, was based on the perceived sense of cultural superiority. That was utter nonsense. American contempt for Japanese society blinded us to the fact that this was the nation that had kicked our butts at Pearl harbor using ideas and technology we hadn't even thought of yet. We would never have tried this against the Germans.

[Sponsor Representative]

The Germans were urbane, they were cosmopolitan.

[Erin Manke]

They were European, they were white. The Japanese were Asian, they were superstitious, they were gullible, they were primitive.

[Sponsor Representative]

They would be easy to dupe.

[Erin Manke]

Sadly, he concluded, we learn the truth the hard way.

[Sponsor Representative]

This episode of Lore was produced by me, Erin Manke, with writing by Jenna.

[Erin Manke]

Rose Nethercott, research by Jamie Vargas, and.

[Sponsor Representative]

Music by Chad Lawson.

[Erin Manke]

Don't like hearing the ads? I've got a solution for you. There's a paid version of Lore available on Apple Podcasts and patreon that is 100% ad free. Plus subscribers there also get weekly mini bonus episodes that we call Lore Bytes. It's a bargain for all of that ad free storytelling and also a great way to support this show and the.

[Sponsor Representative]

Team that makes it.

[Erin Manke]

Lore is much more than just a podcast though. There's the book series available in bookstores and online, and two seasons of the television show on Amazon Prime Video information about all of that and more is.

[Sponsor Representative]

Available [e-mail] and you can also follow.

[Erin Manke]

This show on blue sky threads, YouTube and Instagram. Just search for lore podcast, all one.

[Sponsor Representative]

Word and then click that follow button. And when you do, say hi. I like it when people say hi. And as always, thanks for listening.

[Narrator]

Marketing is hard, but I'll tell you a little secret. It doesn't have to be. Let me point something out. You're listening to a podcast right now and it's great. You love the host. You seek it out and download it. You listen to it while driving, working out, cooking, even going to the bathroom. Podcasts are a pretty close companion. And this is a podcast ad. Did I get your attention? You can reach great listeners like yourself with podcast advertising from Libsyn Ads. Choose from hundreds of top podcasts offering host endorsements or run a pre produced ad like this one across thousands of shows. To reach your target audience in their favorite podcasts with Libsyn ads, go to Libsynads.com that's L I B S Y N ads.com today.