Case file · Cryptid
The 'British badgers' of Basra
In July 2007 rumours swept Basra that British troops had released man-eating, bear-like beasts to terrorise the population, after animals killed livestock and attacked people.
2007 CE · 30.51, 47.78 · status: explained
The account
Local officials and the press repeated the claim; the British military denied it.
The sceptical view
Experts identified the animals as honey badgers (ratels), native to the region and pushed into the city by flooding and changes in the marshes.