Amazing Creatures of Magic is a biweekly blog posted every other Tuesday covering magical creatures that cannot be mentioned within The Pet Corner because all creatures whether real or not, domesticated or dangerous deserve a spotlight within our hearts and minds. A magical or mythical creature will be chosen every other week and be discussed as well-roundedly as possible from the basic information of where they reside to impacts in the wizarding world. In this installment, I will be discussing about one of the most attention-seeking creatures within the wizarding world...

 

the Snallygaster.

   

 

 

Characteristics & Nature

Although its appearance reminds most people of dragons, Snallygasters are actually giant half-bird, half-reptile beasts native to North America. Another characteristic that differs from dragons is that Snallygasters don’t have the ability to breathe fire. With modern wizarding research, Snallygasters are now determined as distant relatives to the Occamy, another aggressive magical creature. The key characteristic of Snallygasters are their sharp fangs made of serrated steel to tear through their prey so don’t go running towards one for an embrace. Due to the combination of their dangerous features and their massive size, Snallygasters are rated as XXXX by the Ministry.

Like dragons, Snallygaster heartstrings can be used as wand cores although this is more common among North American wizards, especially in the United States.

Even with their aggressiveness, Snallygasters seem to be somewhat like curious divas, always seeking attention. In fact, they often compete with another infamous beast, the Loch Ness, for the title of “Most Publicity-Hungry Beast” within the wizarding world. With their curiosity and amazingly bulletproof hides, American wizards had a hard time preventing these beasts from being seen by Muggles. So they took another route: obliviating any Muggle that witnesses a Snallygaster. Even with this method, Snallygasters can be often seen in Muggle newspapers but are, fortunately, usually seen as hoaxes.

 

History

Established in 1949, the Snallygaster Protection League stationed in Maryland where the first Muggle Snallygaster sighting was located has the responsibility of individually Obliviating Muggles. Before this establishment, however, the beast in more than one occasion became the center of attention of American Muggle society. For instance, many Muggle myths of Snallygasters were created during the 18th century such as the belief that they sucked the blood of their victims(which is totally not true, tear maybe, but never suck blood)

Snallygasters reached their highest peak in American publicity during the early 20th century. An increase in claimed sightings by many local Maryland Muggles caused the Smithsonian Institution, the world’s largest Muggle museum, to announce a reward to anyone who was able to get a Snallygaster hide. Even then Muggle President, Theodore Roosevelt, was considering to hunt down the beast personally. Luckily, the MACUSA was able to handle the situation, leading to the Muggles concluding that it was all a hoax. Talk about a close call!

 

Last Thought

To end this edition of Amazing Creatures of Magic here’s a last thought:

What would you do if you were a Muggle seeing a Snallygaster for the first time?

(Remember, they have bulletproof hides.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you for reading this installment of Amazing Creatures of Magic! If you wish for me to mention a specific creature, feel free to comment on this post or owl me. Creatures that can be mentioned range from those known within the wizarding world to those born from myths or lores around the world.

 

 

This blog post has been written by:

Hannah Windsor