Sidehill gouger

In American folklore, a Sidehill gouger is a fearsome critter adapted to living on hillsides by having legs on one side of their body shorter than the legs on the opposite side, having evolved to resemble any form of mammals such as pangolins, goats, humans, and bears. This peculiarity allows them to walk on steep hillsides, although only in one direction, and when lured or chased into the plain, they are trapped in an endless circular path. Some claim these creatures play a large role in, and in some cases are responsible for, the creation of hoodoos, and the creature is variously known as the Sidehill Dodger, Sidehill Hoofer, or Side-hill Gazink.

Sidehill gougers are mammals who dwell in hillside burrows and are occasionally depicted as laying eggs. There are usually 6 to 8 pups to a litter, and since the gouger is footed for hillsides, it cannot stand up on level ground. If by accident a gouger falls from a hill, it can easily be captured or starve to death, and when a clockwise gouger meets a counter-clockwise gouger, they have to fight to the death since they can only go in one direction. The formation of terracettes has been attributed to gouger activity.

Gougers are said to have migrated to the west from New England, a feat accomplished by a pair of gougers who clung to each other in a fashion comparable to "a pair of drunks going home from town with their longer legs on the outer sides". A Vermont variation is known as the Wampahoofus, and it was reported that farmers crossbreed them with their cows so they could graze easily on mountain sides. Others claim that a pair of Wampahoofus circle the summit of Mount Mansfield, mating as their paths cross.