The Tripodero (Latin, Collapsofemuris geocatapeltes) is a creature which draws its roots from North American lumberjack oral traditions.
Description[]
The Tripodero of California’s deep chaparral is not a bulky creature, possessing as it does a stout torso, a head which is mostly snout, and a tail not dissimilar to that of a kangaroo, but it can be a tall creature when it so chooses. This is due to to the Tripodero‘s odd biological quirk of telescopic legs, which it uses to slowly elevate itself above the dense scrubland in search of prey. Once it has located a target, it then uses its elongated snout to ‘shoot’ a ball of clay (a supply of which it stores in its left jaw in a manner similar to that of a hamster) at its target with pinpoint accuracy, stunning the victim. The Tripodero will then retract its legs into powerful muscles which it uses to bulldoze its way through the bushes to the site, where it will commence eating the animal at its leisure. It will consume every last part of its kill, even the bones.
Further reading[]
"The Tripodero" from Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods (1910) by William T. Cox
"The Tripodero" from Fearsome Critters (1939) by Henry H. Tryon