17/05/2026
When it comes to the Nahanni and its rugged, prehistoric exterior, it doesn't take much for one to believe that the stories of giants and wild men not only living, but thriving, within its mysterious interior are true.
In fact, long before Alexander Mackenzie even thought of becoming an explorer, the Dene spoke of wild men living deep within the forests.
In fact, the Dene were terrified of these elusive creatures. They knew these creatures to be real. As real as the wolf or the bear or the deer and because of this, they went to great lengths to stay away from them.
They were mainly known as hairy, cannibalistic, giants, with eyes that glowed red in the night and arms that hang down below their knees.
English adventurer Michael H. Mason, wrote in his 1924 book "The Arctic Forests" that the Gwich'in, a tribe of First Nations people from Northern Yukon who frequented the Nahanni, called the Nakani the 'Mahoni" and described them as “terrible wild men, with red eyes, and of enormous height, completely covered with long hair.”
And Hudson's Bay Company inspector, Phillip Godsell, a man who spent half a life time around campfires in the Great Slave Lake region, likened them to gargoyles and described them as “troglodytes, twice the size of ordinary humans, who went about naked, save for a coating of evil-smelling hair…"
These canibalisric giants would leave behind long, narrow foot prints in the snow. Early pioneers and explorers described how they looked incredibly similar to a humans print except much longer and the big toe seemed to more prominent than the other four.
The reports never spoke of seeing nail marks on the prints but some did mention seeing claw marks next to the tracks as though whatever had left them had dragged its long claw-like fingers through the snow.
The Nakani were believed to inhabit the canyons and caves of the Nahanni valley and according to a man named Allan Adam, whose an expert in the Dene language, there's an old word for the South Nahanni River, the river the flows through the Valley, and that word is 'Na’aahdee', which means River of Giants.
What is the origin of this....I don't know. I can hazard a guess, as the canyons throughout the Valley are miles and miles long and sport a dramatic display of geography that would no doubt be full of deep twisting caves carved out by centuries of river water.
It's also believed that The Nakani migrate to the southern, more hospitable lands, like other animals, during the winter months or that they possibly hibernate like a bear as Nakani attacks during the winter are exceedingly rare.
This is probably unrelated, but when it comes to the creature that's in the woods behind my grandparent's house, it's only there between middle to late fall and early spring. Which suggests to me it's a creature from the high north and winters down here where the winters are usually less intense.
Besides the possible migration theory, the Dene as well as early European explorers have taken note of certain behaviors these creatures exhibit.
It's said that the Nakani would sn**ch up lone children or hunters and carry them into the deep woods where they would devour their catch.
The Nakani would also stalk party's or groups from the shadows or under the darkness of night. They were known to climb trees and wait just out of the firelight, attempting to separate their prey from the group.
If they couldn't. They would then taunt their victim by throwing rocks and sticks or even whistling from the darkness.
They're also reported to be able to make a sound that resembles human laughter.
This sounds like classic Bigfoot activity to me.
The Dene have also noticed that there seems to be two main reasons the Nakani seek out people, the first being 1) food but their main goal was kidnapping women.
Girls who strayed too far from camp, especially around dusk or dawn were more often than not taken and never seen again.
Every once in a while, one of these intended victims would escape and they would report that their attack was preceded by an intense sickening smell or that they were even overcome by a sense of petrifying fear, which would stop them from moving! Almost as if they were hypnotized or under a spell.
