In Florida, which is part of the West Indies, there dwells a beast that cannot be passed over in silence on account of its strangeness and ugliness

In Florida, which is part of the West Indies, there dwells a beast that cannot be passed over in silence on account of its strangeness and ugliness. The natives call it Succarath, and the cannibals Su. It lives chiefly by rivers and along the seashore, and feeds on its prey. When it perceives a hunter pursuing it, it sets its young upon its back and, covering them with its tail, which is very long and broad, takes to flight, thus providing for its own safety and theirs alike. It can be taken in only one way: by means of pits, which the wild men dig along the path of its flight, and into one of which it carelessly tumbles headlong.

From an English bestiary of the 17th century