Sidehill Gouger

Sidehill Gougers are mythological creatures said to inhabit the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia. Little is known about the nature of the Sidehill Gouger as they are a rare and reclusive species, but they have one distinctive feature upon which all Sidehill Gouger spotters agree; the legs on one side of their body are significantly shorter than the legs on the other side of their body.

This unique arrangement is due to the habitat of the Sidehill Gouger, grazing on the grasseses and other vegetation of mountain slopes. They almost never come down to flatter terrain where they are unable to run well. Sidehill Gougers are believed to come in two main varieties, the left-handed Sidehill Gouger and the right-handed Sidehill Gouger (see: chirality). A left-handed Gouger always moves around a hill counterclockwise as it grazes because its left legs are shorter than its right legs, and the right-handed Gouger goes clockwise because its right legs are shorter than the left. The two varieties are sometimes known as clockwise and counterclockwise Gougers as a result. Note that these two varieties are not necessarily separate species; stories persist of rare offspring between left-handed and right-handed Gougers. Since these hybrids have akwardly mismatched leg-lengths and usually do not survive to adulthood, however, it is not known if they are sterile mules. It is possible that Gougers are related to the Haggis, another animal with this peculiar arrangement of legs.

All sources agree that the Sidehill Gouger is herbivorous and quite timid. The size reached by adult Sidehill Gougers is widely disputed, on the other hand; some sources indicate that they are no larger than mountain goats, whereas others attribute major landslides to Sidehill Gougers that become turned around from their usual orientation and dig their feet into the ground for stability. It is this belief that gives the species its name.