“Wild Things”

What creature does this Wild Thing remind you most of?

What characteristics do these wild things share with actual wild creatures?

“Wild Things” are the inventions of author and illustrator Maurice Sendak from his classic book Where the Wild Things Are. But there have been wild things around for

many many years…

• This is a Griffin!• The griffin or gryphon is a mythical quadruped with the foreparts of an eagle and the rear, tail and hindquarters of a lion.

Griffins can be found in Ancient Eygyptian art ! Ancient means very old. So it looks like Griffins have been around a long time in stories and myths.

Pegasus is one of the best known creatures in Greek mythology. He is a winged divine horse usually depicted as white in color.

Here is a Manticore: The manticore) is a Persian legendary creature similar to the Egyptian sphinx. It has the body of a red lion, a human head with three rows of sharp teeth (like a shark), and a trumpet-like voice. Other aspects of the creature vary from story to story. It may be horned, winged, or both. The tail is that of either a dragon or a scorpion.

Manticore soft sculpture

In Bavarian folklore, a Wolpertinger is an animal said to live in the alpine forests of Bavaria in Germany. It has a body made of various animal parts — generally wings, antlers, tails and fangs, all attached to the body of a

small mammal. The most popular description is that of a horned rabbit or a horned squirrel.

Close up of a Wolperdinger

Is it possible there might be a real-life Wild Thing?

• Okapi! The okapi, is a giraffid artiodactyl mammal native to the Ituri Rainforest, located in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in Central Africa. Although the okapi has striped markings that remind us of zebras, it is most closely related to the giraffe.