Author: Julien Benoit, Associate professor in Vertebrate Palaeontology, University of the Witwatersrand

A mysterious animal painted on a cave wall in South Africa’s Free State Province has long baffled scientists. Is it a walrus? It looks like one, but there are no such animals in Africa. Some cryptozoologists – people who look for legendary animals like the Loch Ness Monster – have suggested the painting might depict a sabre-toothed cat. What is known is that the painting was made by the San, the indigenous hunter-gatherers of South Africa’s Karoo region. The San had a profound knowledge of their environment, which they masterfully depicted in their rock art. What’s often overlooked, though, is…