Wendigo Biology Explained | The Science of the Wendigo

Another entry in the mysterious archives uncovered at Angelwood University, authored and recorded by a scientist known only, at this time, as "Zeiger." His topic for today: the biological properties of the Wendigo.

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This video was edited by @CyanRameron, who does excellent work!

Is the Wendigo a taboo subject?

First, I am very willing to adjust this as new information is brought to my attention!
However, in my research, I have found that belief in a certain 'shapeshifter' is often conflated to apply to the wendigo as well. Anyone reading this please correct me if I'm wrong, but Indigenous peoples don't appear to hold wendigo itself sacred, though certain people have requested that any depictions of this particular shapeshifter to stay out of any media adaptations or even discussions by non-native people due to an inherent lack of cultural experience and knowledge. On the other hand, books about Wendigo lore hav been written by indigenous authors like Basil Johnston for public reading, and I cited one of his books as a source.
I tried to be true to the lore and also relate any additions back to the original legend of the embodiment of selfishness, as well as the spirit of the Wendigo in modern times.

Some sources:

Additional sources:

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[adwitatherealadwita]

I'm so glad that you're actually portraying the Wendigo as it was intended to be portrayed in the original indigenous stories, and not as a skinny werewolf wearing a deer skull.

Edit: Apparently another version of the Wendigo's appearance in some Anishinaabe stories is of a monstrous giant that grows with each person it eats, and is sometimes covered with ice. In some stories you can see it's original human self encased in ice where it's heart should be. Another interpretation is of the human's corrupted spirit and warped body stitching together the skins of wildlife, other people, and even parts of their environment (usually ice) and incorporated said materials into their form. Interesting stuff.

[fuzzynuttz]

I'm not gonna lie out of all of the cryptids, this one scares me the most not just because of the cannabilism, but the idea that anyone can be twisted and contorted into this monster

[aerys]

As an Ojibwekwe (Anishinaabe), you've done well. I was always taught that talking about Wendigo & other entities of that sort can cause the spirit of one to find you - for so long I was afraid until I talked to my aunty while learning about the boarding school era. She said that the Wendigo was never described as a deer/wolf/human hybrid but more so as a human who was forced to do the unthinkable and consume another human. Colonizers spread disease and forced Indigenous peoples out of their land, forced to lands that were not rich in resources - starvation & sickness were rampant, some people had to "lose their humanity" to survive. It was easier to think of them & the situation as a monster instead of someone who had faced that kind of turmoil & torture. That is how I interpret it.

[MechEngDommo]

As an Ojibwe member, one thing to keep in mind is that Wendigo are not mindless. They are absolutely all-consumed by hunger, but they still have vestiges of their memories and can understand human speech. They also don't inherently have a preference to human flesh, what they have is a need for flesh/protien in general, and they look for opportunities at all times to feed. A part of the reason they tend to be found in the wilderness is that many Wendigo may intentionally be trying to keep themselves away from civilization. The true horror of this transformation is that the person is largely self-aware during and after the process, but has little ability to control their impulses and survival instinct (they are unable to kill themselves). If one should encounter a Wendigo while hunting or fishing, the easiest way to escape is to give up your kill immediately. A Wendigo will hunt and pursue you, however it will usually take the immediate food source. If you give up a deer, you have little risk of being pursued because it may take a day or two for the wendigo to consume it. Throwing a fish however might only buy you a few minutes.

Another thing. Wendigo are year-round predators, however during the summer months they generally have an abundance of prey items to feed upon and/or scavenge. Often times livestock killings are mistaken for bears or mountain lions, when it is Wendigo, or they may range along rural highways eating road kill. The reason why Wendigo are thought of as winter predators truly comes down to the fact that they are most likely to actively hunt people in the winter when the lack of prey makes people the prime target.

Finally wendigo are difficult to kill and they do have a sense of self-preservation. They regenerate quickly and can heal anything short of an amputation inside of a few days if they have ample food nearby. They also can't really feel pain and sometimes are missing digits and lack tongues and lips/cheeks because they bite them off on accident or because they lacked prey and started to self cannibalize. If you do try to kill one, aim for the head or the heart, and make sure to put an extra few rounds into the skull to make sure, then burn the body. Anything less and it's possible that may not have quite gotten the job done. Also realize that if you are hunting a Wendigo, that it is intelligent, and that it has the sense of smell of a bloodhound and can see in the dark like a cat. It will know you're there long before you know it's around. If you see it, it's because it wants you to see it, or because it's eating and may be distracted.

Wendigo that have lived a long time (they can live for a hundred years or more, we found one that was killed by a logging truck while scavenging roadkill that had a Tattoo of his wife and child on his chest from the 1920s from his time in the navy!) are fully feral. The humanity in them is gone and they are nothing but straight up predators. The newer ones still remember what it was like to be a person, and may try to avoid people, but the old ones are 8-10' of pure malice and low cunning. Few live that long, in fact I'd say most don't last more than a few years before they starve or get hunted down. But the old ones truly are malevolent, because that's the only way to last that long.

[oliviaocasain]

Okay I'm a neuroscientist and I've gotta say that your whole explanation is hella impressive.

[ajclements]

I hope this “biology explained” series continues for a long time, I love these!

[dengiirfastwind]

I appreciate what you did with this video, specifically what you said in how the original stories have been warped. I'm a Cree person from Canada and I have my own cultural teachings on what this is, what we call the witiko. It's an evil spirit that infects the heart of a greedy person, a self interested, self serving and wicked person. Much like their greed in life when they are infected by the spirit their hunger and greed continues until it consumes them entirely. I was taught their appearance is that of a very tall, thin ice giant with a heart entirely made of ice and as they consume flesh their heart gets colder and colder and the only way to kill them is to entirely melt their heart (good luck). The subject around them is highly taboo and isn't widely discussed but it's important to get the correct information out there. I'll share the cultural oral story that was handed down to me as it's pertinent. A hunter leaves his tribe during a vicious ice storm to search for food as they are all starving, he get's lost for 3 days in the torrent that is the blizzard, he eventually comes across the carcass of a bison and nourish himself on it's meat. He finds the meat so tasty that he decides to stay longer to get his fill, and not knowing how long he's been there eventually he eats the entire carcass and in his greed has nothing to bring back to his tribe. By now the snowstorm has passed and he makes his way back to his tribe. In their desparation the tribe moved to try and find food as they thought the hunter died and as a result they perished, the hunter seeing the ruin of his family as a result of his severe greed falls into a deep sadness, that sadness festered and changed him into something else and consumed the flesh of his dead family, converting him into the witiko. The legend is a warning about greed, selfishness and to avoid it at all costs, to not just take care of yourself, but to take care of those close to you and your fellow man lest you lose your humanity all together. Thank you for hearing my words, kinanâskomitin and ekosi.

[isabelaatenska]

As a person living in the north, I can very much confirm that your description of northern winters is 100% accurate.

[jennyfeare]

Some strains of the vampiric and lycanthropic virus resulting in different types you should take note of as something to do in the future, Rougarou, Luison, Strigoi, Aswang, Mananaggal, Alp, and Nelapsi. Also some non-human species like Dragons, Nessie, Chupacabra, biblically and scientifically accurate Angels and Fallen Angels/Demons, and Mothman would be sick to see!

[normalhuman-]

I think this one could make a lot of sense as a prion disease similar to mad cow disease or CWD, since it’s caused by consuming flesh infected with it and causes similar symptoms like an emaciated appearance

[QuillWorks]

I’m a biology major who’s admittedly more right-brained than left-brained, but adore the subject and want to study it the rest of my life. One of the things that first got me into biology was speculative biology/evolution, as seen in the “Dragonology” series and Dougal Dixon’s iconic books. To this day I adore the topic, as it appeals to my fascination with biology while also scratching at that creative itch that I get so little opportunity to properly explore in my major. I’ve just found your channel and it’s a gold mine for this! I also love that you go really in depth into more sophisticated topics such as neurons, DNA and cell structure! Such a fun way to re-examine all the stuff I’m studying. I look forward to bingeing the whole series.

[lanabanana]

I have been waiting for someone to portray and talk about the Wendigo like this since UNTIL DAWN came out. Glad it got to be you man, keep up the good work

[jennyfeare]

I've got some findings that may be of interest for you, in the vampiric strain responsible for Aswangs, they appear to be distant cousins to the Romanian Strigoi, as both vampire types possess elongated tongues with blood-sucking stingers at the tips (tho the Strigoi's aren't as drastically long as Aswangs). And it would appear the Mananaggal doesn't really split itself in two, but dawns on a loincloth made from the entrails of prey, likely some form of ritualistic hunting practice.

[zogkuma]

What would be sick and twisted is if a secret facility has Wendigo victims stored away and fed often in order to see how far the transformation can really go under a controlled environment...

[thewrathfulbadger]

It’d be really interesting to explain Succubi and similar demonic creatures in a format like this. Especially with the emphasis of how some forms of reference of them having goat-like hooves as a way to tie to the devil in some manner. Would be really interesting!

[carolynallisee]

There is another factor that may affect the Wendigo's dentition, which you haven't mentioned, and that is linked to the loss of insulin production. I am a type II diabetes patient, as was my mother, and both of us have suffered dental degradation as a result of the condition. High blood sugar levels can and do affect healing processes, cause issues in the eyes including oedema and damage to the capillaries of the retina, and it also affects the enamel and dentine of the teeth, weakening them and making them very susceptible to breakage. Mum's dentist even described it as ' crumbling teeth', which, from my experience, is a very good description. In the past couple of years, I have lost three teeth, whose crowns literally broke off in pieces until almost nothing was left. A couple of months ago, I had the remnants removed, and whilst the crowns were all but dead and gone, the roots were very much alive and resisted extraction to the point of having to be drilled out.
Whilst jawbone damage might account for some dental malformation, I suspect that broken teeth may well also contribute to the jagged dentition, especially if, after breaking, the body simply covers any cavities with new enamel without attempting to reform the original tooth structure.
Finally, yes, I am fully aware that this is an entirely fictional work, but the dental issues caused by diabetes are real enough. And the issues I have described could well play a part in the natural history of the Wendigo, were it a real life creature.

[jayebailey]

As someone of Algonquin native American heritage I thank you for actually going off our collective stories of the Wendigo instead of pop culture depictions.

[ladyweasellou]

This is the first video I've seen of yours. I work in the emergency medical field and have degree in Biology and immunology, both my mother and father are retired Corpsmen work Mom having worked in Medical research and my father in combat with Marines. I grew up in and around and now work in these fields and I must say that, I absolutely loved the way you've made these videos, I'm impressed, these are is SsOoOoOoOo Thank you so much

[ianswinford]

The Wendigo is one of my favorite monsters! I’m so happy you did a video on this terrifying entity.

[Kaare-The-Heathen]

I actually had a theory that the Wendigo did exist, but as starving, cannibalistic humans that had lost their minds.