On August 20th, I posted a request (posted below) from a Finnish reader, Tapio Mäkinen, for volunteers in an expedition to the Waldviertel region of Austria in search of the Alp. Since that time there have been several sightings of large bat-like creatures in the area. Here are a few of the images:
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One of my Finnish readers, Tapio Mäkinen, alerted me to an expedition to the Waldviertel region of Austria in search of the Alp. He is looking for interested parties to join him once he arrives on location. His website is The Finnish Hunter. He states: "We're leaving Saturday August, 27th and staying two weeks. First we're going to spend two-three days in Vienna to assemble local resourses, but then we're (as soon as possible) going to Zwettl and on out into the woods." Tapio can be contacted through his website.
His description of this cryptid (edited for comprehension): "For you who not are familiar with the Alp it's an ancient creature. It's described in old books and art like "Nachtmahr" (“Night-mare”) by Johann Heinrich Füssli (1802). It was first mentioned in the 16th century and most of the myths about this creature were made up during the 19th century.
The Alp is a sort of huge bat with humanoid features with longer legs and arms. Since there are no clear pictures of this creature one has to rely on eyewitnesses when it comes to it's appearance.
It's covered in fur and is believed to be closely related to flying foxes. The humanoid features are hard to explain but it might be a misunderstanding (it has arms). Most likely it's a thicker part of the humerus and radius bone that might look like arms.
The size of the Alp is disputed and there is a misconception that they are the same size as a full grown man. There is no evidence that this would be the case, quite the opposite. The proportion between the body and the wings are 1:5 or 1:6. An Alp the same size as a full grown man would need a wingspan of about 10 meters to fly. This has never been recorded. The wingspan is more likely 4-5 meters and this would give it a length of about one meter.
There are many differences between a flying fox and an Alp but this is the closest relative. The wingspan of a flying fox is just under 2 meters, so the Alp is bigger.
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| Pteropus or Flying Fox |
The myth about the Alp being a vampyre originates from the myths about vampyre bats. There are bloodsucking bats but they are very rare. It was during the 19th century the myths about the Alp as a vampire began. There were no records of the Alp being a bloodsucker before 1817. The myths about vampyres from the 18th century through the beginning of the 19th century incorporate other creatures and present them as vampires. The stories that the Alp is a blood sucking vampyre has never been proved. There are also myths about the Alp being a shapeshifter and haunt it's victims by entering their mind and giving them nightmares (the appearance of the Alp is enough to give you nightmares, I'll admit that).
My extensive research shows that the Alp is a distant relative to the flying fox. It's extremely shy and has a very long lifespan. There are creatures that can reach almost 200 years. The explanation that the remains of a dead Alp have never been found is that it's a very small population, they live long and in isolated areas. There are probably only 6-8 individuals left and they are spread out over central and eastern Europe. Where they breed, how they nest and other question remains unknown."
The remainder of this post can be found at In Search of the Alp...Lon
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