A Shadow in the Andes
The night was still in Rengo, Chile, 1958. Campers froze as a hulking figure loomed in the moonlight, its “uhu” cries echoing through the Andes.
They later told La Gazeta it was an “ape-man,” unlike any creature known. This was the Ucumar, South America’s enigmatic Bigfoot-like being.
Known in Argentina and Chile, the Ucumar captivates locals with its hairy form and elusive ways. Unlike North America’s Sasquatch, it roams a land with few large mammals, making its sightings harder to dismiss.
Could this creature be a cousin to Bigfoot, sharing an ancient lineage? With scarce animals to mistake for an upright giant, the Ucumar’s mystery deepens.
A Hairy Giant of the Andes
The Ucumar, also called Ucu or Ukumar-Zupai, is a cryptid of Argentina and Chile. It stands 5-7 feet tall, covered in thick, dark fur, with small eyes and massive arms and legs.
Some say it walks upright like a human but drops to all fours for speed. Locals claim it loves payo, a cabbage-like plant, and emits a chilling “uhu, uhu, uhu” sound, per cryptozoologist Ivan T. Sanderson.
“It’s no bear,” one Argentine farmer told Cryptid Wiki. “It moves like a man.” Unlike South America’s spectacled bear, the Ucumar’s bipedal gait and vocalizations set it apart, fueling tales of a primate-like beast in the Andes’ shadows.
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Voices from the Mountains
Encounters with the Ucumar are vivid and haunting. In May 1958, campers in Rengo, Chile, spotted a creature they described to La Gazeta as an “ape-man.” “It stood tall, watching us,” one camper said. “Its cries made our skin crawl.” Police investigated but found no tracks in the rocky terrain.
Ucumar Stealing Corn
A farmer in Salta’s Pasteadero Chico faced a chilling Ucumar encounter. In the dark of the night, his dogs barked wildly alerting to something in his cornfield, prompting him to grab his flashlight, suspecting thieves. “The dogs were scared and came back right away,” he told El Tribuno, per El Patagonico.
Bravely heading out into the night to confront the suspected thieves, and shining his light around to find them, he froze in terror. “When I pointed the light forward, I was completely terrified because there it was, like a big, hairy, dark-colored gorilla,” he said. The creature, about 1.8 meters tall, moved with slow, powerful steps.
Its gaze turned toward him. “It was walking at a slow pace, very robust, it looked toward me, and that’s when I saw its red eyes,” he recounted. The red-eyed beast vanished into the woods.
Shaken, he stood by his story. “I know there are all kinds of comments and jokes, but I would never lie,” he said. “I assure you, I’ve seen that hairy beast, like a big monkey.”
Now, he avoids the fields after dark. “At night, I don’t want to go out; I hear the dogs, but I don’t go out anymore,” he told a journalist. This account, one of 33 sightings in Salta over a decade, fuels the Ucumar’s legend as a hairy giant haunting the Andes.
These accounts, from different decades and regions, share eerie similarities: a hairy, upright figure that vanishes into the night.
Cousins Across Continents
Could the Ucumar be kin to North America’s Bigfoot? Both are described as tall, hairy, and bipedal, dodging human contact. Cryptozoologists see parallels with Sasquatch, Yeti, and Australia’s Yowie, suggesting a shared ancestor, perhaps Gigantopithecus, an extinct giant ape.
“The Ucumar’s traits match Sasquatch closely,” notes Cryptid Wiki. Both creatures favor remote forests and mountains, leaving oversized footprints.
In 1956, geologist Audio L. Pich found 17-inch tracks in Argentina’s Andes, eerily like Bigfoot’s.
South America lacks native apes, unlike North America’s bears, which are often blamed for Sasquatch sightings. This scarcity bolsters the idea that Ucumar is a unique, possibly related cryptid.
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What Else Could It Be?
Skeptics suggest the Ucumar might be a spectacled bear or a hermit. But bears don’t walk upright for long, and their growls differ from the Ucumar’s “uhu” calls.
“No bear makes that sound,” Cryptid Wiki states, citing local testimony. Hermits, while reclusive, lack the Ucumar’s reported size and fur. South America’s fauna offers few candidates for an upright, 7-foot creature.
Monkeys are small and tailed; pumas are feline. The Ucumar’s distinct form and behavior make misidentification tricky, lending weight to eyewitness tales. After all, what else roams the Andes, watching from the trees?
Legends of the Andes
The Ucumar is woven into Andean lore. Anthropologist Pablo Latapi Ortega says locals view it as a guardian of the mountains, both feared and respected. In Tolor Grande, Argentina, 1957 reports of eerie howls from the Curu-Curu Mountains were linked to the Ukumar-Zupai. Historical accounts stretch back, with Aztec tales of giant humanoids in the 1500s, per Cryptid Wiki. Today, the Ucumar thrives in modern culture. A 2025 video shared by @ElEsquiu on X showed a dark figure, dubbed the Ucumar, sparking heated debate. Its legend echoes global cryptid stories, yet its Andean home gives it a distinct, rugged charm.
Does the Ucumar Still Roam?
The Ucumar remains a puzzle, its shadow lingering in the Andes. Its similarities to Bigfoot—hairy, bipedal, elusive—hint at a deeper connection, perhaps an ancient primate lineage. Verified sightings, from 1958 Chile to 2022 Salta, keep the legend alive. With few South American animals matching its description, the Ucumar’s mystery grows. Is it a lost species, watching from the peaks? Only the mountains know. Seen something unexplained? Email Reports@ParaRational.com. For now, the Ucumar’s “uhu” echoes, teasing us from the Andean dusk.
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