gyascutis
a large imaginary four-legged beast with legs on one side longer than on the other for walking on hillsides


another wwftd reader chimes in with:
Imaginary? IMAGINARY?? I think not!
Any Scots school-boy can faithfully
recite the full phylogeny of the quite
extant Wild Haggis. Dost think it sprang
from nowhere. Eh?

Sadly, lost in the Darwinian Mists, is
the provenance of its New World cousins,
the Sidehill Gouger and the Sidehill Dodge
Hodag. (Habt: Wisconsin & envirns. )

As a matter of fact, during the mining
boom of the mid-eighteen hundreds, some
imported Wild Haggis (sing/pl) were released
in the State of Nevada, where they secretively
flourish, even today! Why, I have, in my wallet,
a 1960 State of Nevada Haggis Hunting License.

anyone else have experience of this word(s)?

here in Vermont we call 'em a whumpahoofus...

Everything I know about the Sidehill Gouger I learned from an article in a scholarly journal:

Dill, L. M. Behavioural genetics of the sidehill gouger. J. Irrep. Res. 21(4): 20-21 (1975).

This article was reprinted in "The Best of the Journal of Irreproducible Results", George H. Scherr, Ed., Richard Liebmann-Smith, Ass. Ed., New York: Workman, 1983. The compendium was reprinted five times, the last in 1989, which volume is still available through a bibliopole whose name is reminiscent of ancient female warriors.

The article was rather naughty in that it raised the serious question of how Sidehill Gougers could mate, given their unequal footing. This is how to keep adolescent boys interested in basic science.

I used to own one! A female. I called my Haggis Sophia.

Kipling used the word for monkey--no mention of leg length. Scroll halfway down and you'll find the sentence: “Unchain the Gyascutis!” said Sir Christopher commandingly. Giuseppe placed the monkey atop of the organ, where the beast, misunderstanding, stood on his head.
http://whitewolf.newcastle.edu.au/words/authors/K/KiplingRudyard/prose/ActionReactions/puzzler.html

I called my Haggis Sophia.

Oh dear! Sometimes the short ones are the worst. That was a real Turkey!