Common Afanc

The Middle Welsh avanc of Llyn Barfog is afanc in Modern Welsh, a word which is now used to mean "beaver". 

The Afanc is a true terrestrial whale; in the past, it was said to resemble a crocodile and have a beaver-like tail that was longer than that of land whales. We shall have yellow eyes, hind flipper legs, crocodile-like teeth, sepia fur, and incisors. The Common Afanc is around 3.4 m long, 1.2 m tall, and weighs 300 kg.

The Afanc can dive up to 250–300 meters, but most of its dives are shallow in both freshwater and saltwater. Its top speed is approximately 35 km/h on water and 12 km/h on land. The Afanc can hold their breath for eight to ten minutes. Similar to sea lions, these crocodile-like cetaceans use their fore-flippers to propel themselves underwater, allowing them to make "flying" motions like missiles. They are also extremely nimble, with the ability to pivot and accelerate rapidly.

Similar to Irrawaddy dolphins and archerfishes, the Afanc had to discharge precise water jets to knock opponents off on land or in port. Afancs can aim precisely up to two to three meters distant and adjust for light refraction. Over time, young land whales learn from their parents to improve their aim.

According to their mount, the Afanc's bite force is less than that of most crocodiles—more than 2500 psi. Afancs live in freshwater, but they also have salt glands in their eyes and a tongue that enable them to survive in saltwater, much like contemporary cetaceans.

The Afanc was said to prey upon anyone foolish enough to swim or fall into its lake. One story describes how it was rendered helpless by a maiden who let it sleep in her lap. This whale was carnivorous in nature, eating various things from deer, wolves, dormice, bears, lynxes, crossbills, macaques, aurochs, and even humans; it was considered unrelated to crocodiles.

The Afanc played roles in the environment because these Welsh cetaceans controlled the numbers of prey and predators, made wallows and access points for other species, and moved nutrients between freshwater and saltwater ecosystems that were connected to rivers.

Reproduction

Afanc's reproduction is inferred from related species:

• They certainly laid birth on land, not in water.

• Gestation likely similar to modern hoofed mammals (whales' closest land relatives).

• Afancs gave birth to a single well-developed calf.

Much better for crocodiles, this animal was cunning and territorial in lochs in Wales. The Afanc are formidable predators with powerful teeth and the capacity to hold their breath for extended periods of time, much like crocodiles; however, there are no extant crocodilians in Britain. They hunt many different kinds of creatures, such as birds and fish.

The Afanc, particularly the dominant males, tended to be solitary and territorial. They spend a large portion of the day chilling or basking in water to regulate their body temperature. Afancs are primarily ambush predators, much like crocodiles rather than cetaceans. They are very clever for mammals, with the capacity for learning, long-term memory, easy enemy targeting, and complex social interactions during mating seasons.

Threats

• Bycatch in gillnets (leading cause of mortality).

• Habitat loss due to dam construction and river modification.

• Pollution—industrial waste, pesticides, heavy metals.

• Boat traffic and noise pollution.

• Overfishing, reducing their food supply.

• Climate change altering river flow and salinity.

• Climate change affecting breeding temperatures.

• Invasive predators (rats) at breeding areas.

Conservation Status

• IUCN Red List: Endangered (EN)

Conservation Efforts

• Establishing protected areas.

• Reducing or banning gillnets.

• Community-based conservation and monitoring.

• Rescue and rehabilitation programs.

• Habitat protection.

• Anti-poaching enforcement.

• Rescue and rehabilitation centers.

• Awareness campaigns against illegal pet trade.

According to Arthurian legend, the Afanc was a natural species in Cornwall, England, Wales, the Isles of Manx, and Scotland. It is currently only found in Wales. This animal, which is an apex predator and has thrived in lochs and rivers throughout Wales, eventually moved to the center of the food chain and separated itself from the true enemies, beavers. These prehistoric Welsh cetaceans are semiaquatic mammals that live in freshwater habitats such as rivers, lakes, and wetlands, as well as brackish and saltwater.

• Movement Pattern: Nomadic

• Individual Type: Solo

• Population Trend: Stable

• Population: 30,000

• Locomotion: Amphibious

• Habitat: Taiga; Montane Grasslands and Shrublands; Temperate Coniferous Forests; Temperate Broadleaf and Mixed Forests; Temperate Deciduous Forests, Temperate Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands; Subtropical Coniferous Forests; Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests; Subtropical Dry Broadleaf Forests; Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands; Stone Forest; Tropical Coniferous Forests; Tropical Moist Broadleaf Forests; Tropical Dry Broadleaf Forests; Tropical Grasslands; Tropical Savannas and Shrublands; Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands, and Scrub; Mushroom Forests; Mushroom Fields; Deserts and Xeric Shrublands; Badlands; Flooded Grasslands and Savannas; Swamp; Bayous/Billabongs; Riparian; Wetland; Mangrove Forest; Cold Bamboo Forests; Tropical Bamboo Forests; Air-breathing Coral Reefs; Graveyard Vale; Mountain; Sky; Warm River; Cold River; Lukewarm River; Subterranean River; Warm Pond; Cold Pond; Aquifer; Warm Littoral; Cold Littoral; Warm Intertidal; Cold Intertidal.

• Earth: 

  • Extant (Resident): United Kingdom (Cornwall; England; Manx; Scotland; Wales)

Coming soon

From Asia to South America, the Afanc originated from the ambulocetid, ancient semiaquatic cetaceans; however, some inexplicable species on the way to Britain caused it to change into a crocodile-like species. The ecological niches exist because crocodiles were extinct in the Cretaceous to Eocene and are now nonexistent in the United Kingdom. In a biome resembling a swamp, Afanc was extremely repulsive. The 15th-century poet Lewys Glyn Cothi provided one of the first accounts of it, stating that it resided in Llyn Syfaddon, Powys.

According to one story, it was rendered helpless by a lady who allowed it to sleep on her lap; the cetacean was chained by the maiden's other villagers as it slept. The damsel, in whose lap it still slept, was crushed by the cetacean's angry thrashings after it was awoken. Ultimately, it was either murdered by Peredur (Percival, Peredur's name in Chrétien de Troyes' Arthurian cycle) or hauled away to the lake Cwm Ffynnon.

Coming soon

• Coming soon

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afanc

• https://cryptidz.fandom.com/wiki/Afanc

• https://www.deviantart.com/ognimdo2002/art/Afanc-903613441