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Vermillion Bird/Zhūquè/Suzaku/Meng Chang Phoenix/Su-Zaku/Ling Kuang
The Vermillion Bird is a creature that was initially a Chinese symbol and was later adapted into Japanese myth. It is one of the Shijin along with the White Tiger, Azure Dragon, and the Black Tortoise. It’s associated with the South, the color red, fire, and summer. It was thought to represent heat, passion, and love, and was also often connected to the Ogura-No-Ike pond. It resembles a large bird with big wings and a long tail, covered in bright red and orange feathers, and these features typically lead to this creature being related to, and confused with, the Phoenix. It has the associated mansions (these being associated with the…
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Zamba Zaraa
The Zamba Zaraa is a bizarre cryptid from the West part of the Segs Cagan Bogd Mountains of Mongolia. One was notably sighted sitting on a rock with its head erect. It hit its tail on the rock to make a sound like a galloping camel and inflated itself to the size of a type of tent known as a yurta. Citations: Shuker, Karl. The Beasts That Hide from Man: Seeking the World’s Last Undiscovered Animals. United States, Paraview Press, 2014.
