Case file · Cryptid
The Beast of Benais (Touraine)
In 1693–94, a series of attacks around Benais and Bourgueil in Touraine killed or injured dozens of people, mostly shepherds and elderly women; the intendant reported it to the king.
1693 CE · 47.29, 0.20 · status: official
The account
Another attack in 1751 at Nouzilly drew comparisons with Gévaudan. Historian Frédéric Gaultier suggests a pair of unusually aggressive wolves.
The researched reading
Deadly wolf attacks in a famine year, remembered as a beast.
| Explanation | Weight | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Something known, misidentified | 40% | The historian Frédéric Gaultier attributes the deaths of shepherds and old women around Benais and Bourgueil to a pair of unusually aggressive wolves. This came during the famine of 1693–94, when wolf attacks on people increased. |
| A cultural story | 20% | Reports to the king and later comparisons with Gévaudan made the attacks into a single “beast”. |
| Undetermined | 20% | The share a generic explanation had beyond what has been shown for this case: it fits many cases like this one, but has not been demonstrated for this one. |
| Perception, memory or mind | 12% | Fear in a famine year exaggerated size and strangeness. |
| An unknown or out-of-place animal | 4% | Nothing points to an unknown or exotic animal. |
| A hoax or fabrication | 2% | No sign of fabrication. |
| Genuinely anomalous | 2% | Real deaths with a likely animal cause. |
Official position: The intendant of Tours reported the attacks to the king; hunts were organised.