Mongolian Death Worm: Weighing Facts vs. Rumors Surrounding the Gobi Desert Creature

The Mongolian death worm is a cryptid about a creature that allegedly exists in the Gobi Desert in East Asia. This vast landscape is part of northern China and southern Mongolia.

Also known as the "intestine worm" or "olgoi-khorkhoi," the sausage-shaped animal has neither a head nor a leg but it is poisonous enough to kill everything it makes contact with. Despite its fearsome description, the death worm has not been proven by science to exist.

Gobi Desert Creature

During the early 20^th century, tales about the Gobi Desert creature caught Western attention following the publication of the book entitled On the Trail of Ancient Man by Roy Chapman Andrews. The American explorer first mentioned the apparent existence of the Mongolian worm, sometimes called the "allergorhai-horhai," from local stories during his expeditions to Mongolia during the 1920s.

Since then, the notorious intestine worm gained fame in different parts of the world, with varying depictions of the fabled creature through movies, pop culture, and fictional literature. While the Mongolian sand worm has been considered to be a stuff of myths and legends, some continue to believe in its potential existence. In this article, Nature World News weighs the facts and rumors surrounding the creature.

Is the Mongolian Death Worm Real or Fake?

There are many stories, ranging from print to online sources, about the Mongolian death worm, after it was revealed on Andrews' book. However, the closest plausible evidence that we can get on the cryptid creature comes from reported local sightings based on anecdotal evidence. Amid the mystery surrounding the olgoi-khorkoi, there have been reports of unconfirmed sightings by some Mongolian locals of the Gobi Desert's deadliest animal.

In a June 2010 article of the non-profit organization Snow Leopard Trust, a Swedish Ph.D. student who worked at a research camp in Mongolia at that time revealed that there are still people alive today who saw the Mongolian sand worm. The creature, which is said to live under the sands of the Gobi Desert, is said to be capable of killing camels and even humans in a matter of minutes by spitting an extremely acidic poison.

According to a 2021 documentary, Andrews revealed in his work that the locals told him the Gobi Desert worm is shaped like a sausage, measuring 2 feet long, with no head, tail, or legs. However, in 1932, the American explorer clarified that the Mongolian death worm was probably a mythical animal. Based on the documentary, the killer death worm has a historic folklore dating back thousands of years.

In modern times, some films such as the science fiction series "Dune" and "Tremors" have reportedly drawn inspiration to our cultural knowledge of the famed Mongolian death worm. Yet, the case is not yet closed as some enthusiasts of the "large intestine worm" are still seeking more answers as of the 21^st century.