The Ajaju was the terror of the Garo people of Achik Asong and Dura Hill in the Garo Hills of India. Nowadays members of this carnivorous species are a lot harder to find.
An ajaju looks like a chameleon with long kneeless legs. Its head may be like a human head or a chameleon’s head in appearance. It has twelve long, sharp, forked tongues that are very flexible and which it uses to lick up its prey’s flesh and blood.
The kneeless legs of an ajaju are like bamboo stalks without nodes. In the trees an ajaju can swing from branch to branch with ease, but movement on land is a lot harder. Chasing someone downhill is virtually impossible for an ajaju, but anyone running uphill would be immediately caught by the creature’s long sickle-like tongues, swallowed, and stripped of flesh and blood by the tongues. Then there would be nothing left save a few bones for the ajaju to spit out with distaste.
To attract prey an ajaju will call out in a shrill voice, “wa-o, wa-o, wa-o”. If someone responds, the ajaju will continue calling, coming nearer and nearer each time. That is why, if venturing into ajaju territory, one must call out in a high-pitched voice. If the ajaju responds, then one must remain silent and focus on putting as much distance as possible between them and the creature.
Ajaju parts are of great medicinal value, including as a substitute for missing bones when resurrecting someone. One narrator claimed to be in possession of ajaju parts from Rongkugiri, taken when a couple of ajajus were killed decades ago.
References
Rongmuthu, D. S. (1960) The Folk-tales of the Garos. University of Gauhati Department of Publication, Guwahati.
A Book of Creatures 
Looks like it belongs in the Fantastic Beasts movies. Honestly I can say that about 99% of these creatures.
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Woah. Want: as a pet. Do not want: to run into in the wild. I picture it’s long, bamboo-like legs camouflaged against the trees. Naturally, by the point you realise that the trees have feet you’ve probably been skewered or eaten. The bamboo spiders from Kong: Skull Island come to mind (nauseatingly bad film, some cool monster design). I mean it does make sense, chameleons are all about camouflage …
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Oooh a chameleon! And a giant one, too.
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Putting a human head on it would’ve been creepier.
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This way is cuter
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If I had a nickel for every creature with long unbending legs I’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice. Right?
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The animal that can’t bend its legs is a surprisingly popular myth to be honest
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I like how this one looks.Long legs, many tongues, looks like a chameleon. This one is really funny yet cool looking.
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Comment unrelated to the current creature: would you consider adding a “natural science” or “mistranslation” tag? Some of my favorite entries are the ones which arise from shoddily translated animals or the bunglings of natural philosophers.
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That sounds good! But it’s kind of troublesome at the same time. Depending on who you ask, people might not accept that tag on some creatures, or might insist it be applied to others. Or even all of them.
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