Zouwu

Zouwu
Species information
Eye colour	Yellow
Hair colour	Orange
Related to	Cat
Native to	China
Height of average adult	Size of an elephant
Distinction	Striped body Four fangs Long tail Incredibly powerful and fast
Ministry of Magic Classification	Beast
Status	Extant

The Zouwu (sometimes written as ZouWu) was a powerful magical beast native to China.

Description

The Zouwu was "five-coloured" and resembled a "gigantic elephant-sized cat". It was a monstrously large feline-like beast with a striped body, scraggly mane, four fangs that curled out of its mouth, long sharp claws, and a disproportionately long, ruffled multicoloured tail. Zouwus were incredibly powerful and fast, capable of travelling 1,000 miles in a day.

The Zouwu appeared to be able to Apparate, as demonstrated during Newt Scamander's escape from the French Ministry of Magic. This ability was powerful enough to bypass the Ministry's measures against Disapparition.

Much like a regular cat, the Zouwu appeared to be attracted to the sound of a jingling bell, which seemed to be able to able to calm it down.

History

The Zouwu inside Newt Scamander's suitcase

Skender, the cruel owner and ringmaster of the Circus Arcanus, captured a female Zouwu which would come to bear the scars of his abuse. In early September 1927, Newt Scamander encountered the escaped Zouwu and demonstrated his knowledge about the creature, though, curiously, he had not mentioned it in his book, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. To Newt, the creature was just "like a big kitten", despite her being terrifying to most humans. Newt used a cat bird toy to tame the Zouwu and lured her into his suitcase. Newt also created a habitat for the Zouwu inside his suitcase, in which he treated the creature's scars with Dittany before releasing her shackles.

The Zouwu escaping from the French Ministry of Magic

When Newt, Tina Goldstein, and Leta Lestrange were cornered by a pack of Matagots in the French Ministry of Magic, Newt unleashed the Zouwu from his suitcase to fight off the smaller felines before she Apparated the three of them to the Cimetière du Père-Lachaise. The Zouwu nuzzled Newt affectionately before she returned into the suitcase.

Andre Egwu saw a Zouwu when he visited his cousin Jules Egwu in China.

During the 2020s, the Zouwu from 1927 appeared as a Foundable during the Calamity. Volunteer members of the Statute of Secrecy Task Force were able to free her, allowing her to return to her original time.

In 2021, a new baby Zouwu named Josephine was born in the London Zoo's Magizoology wing and later escaped into Marylebone. After a chase and one of the largest mass Memory Charms in history, she was safely brought back to the zoo.

Behind the scenes

A Zouwu as a POP! Vinyl

• In July 2018, J. K. Rowling, the screenwriter of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, confirmed that the Zouwu is based on the creature of the same name in Chinese mythology.
  • The Zouwu first appeared in the Shanhaijing, a Chinese book about mythical creatures. In the Shanhaijing, the Zouwu is a very rare beast in Linshiguo and described to be as big as a tiger, with colourful patterns and very long tail. The Zouwu is said to be extremely fast and strong, and to only eat dead animals.
  • In the film, it appears that Rowling respects the original Chinese folklore in which the Zouwu is a gentle creature that does not truly harm living beings. For example, in the scene where the Zouwu is confronted by the Matagots, she simply picks up the creatures and tosses them away without causing them serious harm.
• When Eddie Redmayne and J. K. Rowling first revealed the Zouwu in interviews, some fans misconstrued the pronunciation of its name and incorrectly credited the creature's name to be "Taowu", a different Chinese mythological beast. This was later corrected by Chinese-speaking fans via social media.

Appearances

• Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald - The Original Screenplay (First appearance)
• Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
• Harry Potter (website)
• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter: Wizards Unite
• Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells
• Harry Potter: Magic Awakened
• The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Ministry of Magic (Place Cachée)

External links

• Zouyu on Wikipedia
• 騶虞 on Chinese Wikipedia