The Wobo mystery cat is also referred to as the ‘Mendelit’ (Cat World by Dr Desmond Morris) and ‘Rnendelit’ (by Sarah Hartwell, website messybeast.com). Apparently local people in remote parts of Ethiopia, Africa, would recount stories to Victorian explorers of this huge, mysterious cat. It was described as being bigger than a lion and had dark stripes. In neighbouring Sudan it is referred to as the Abu Sotan.
The claims are based on a pelt which, according to Sarah, is or was displayed in the principal cathedral of Eifag. It has been seen by many people.
On the basis that the Wobo only exists in the minds of people in Ethiopa, the most likely explanation, according to Dr Desmond Morris, is that the pelt referred to was an imported tiger skin which led people to imagine that a monstrous creature existed having observed lions or striped hyenas under nocturnal conditions.
Big cats played a big role in the lives of people living in the lands of big cats. The jaguar in South America was and probably still is an iconic totem for local people. The black jaguar (melanistic jaguar) is mysterious and a night creature. This conjures up spirits and the after life.
