Catoblepas
Legendary creature, buffalo whose head always looks downward / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The catoblepas (from Latin catōblepas, ultimately from Greek καταβλέπω (katablépō) "to look downwards") is a legendary creature from Aethiopia, first described by Pliny the Elder and later by Claudius Aelianus.
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ad/Catoblepas.jpg/320px-Catoblepas.jpg)
One known description of the Catoblepas is said to resemble a cape buffalo, with its head always pointing downwards due to its great weight. Its stare or breath could either turn people into stone, or kill them. The catoblepas is often thought to be based on real-life encounters with wildebeest, such that some dictionaries say that the word is synonymous with "gnu". Other depictions have it sporting the head of a hog and the body of a cape buffalo. It is sometimes known as an African version of a Gorgon.[1]