Its tales are heard in mountain refuges, or seen depicted in graffiti and paintings: like many other mysterious creatures, it inhabits inaccessible places, where its existence is certified only by the testimonies of those who have been lucky enough to encounter it (or believe they have).

The dahu (pronounced dah-oo) is an animal told about by the mountain people of Aosta Valley, whose legend is probably inspired by encounters with unusual or anomalous animals. Its appearance varies from area to area: some depict it as a deer akin to ibexes and chamois, others as a cross between a badger and a goat, and others as a hybrid between a fox and a chamois.

A product of mountain folk tradition, this mysterious animal’s main prerogative is that it has asymmetrical legs: the downhill legs are indeed longer than the uphill ones, which allows it exceptional stability even on the steepest slopes but at the same time forces it to always proceed in the same direction. Based on morphological characteristics, dahus are divided into two categories: those with shorter right legs (dahu destrogiro, which circles the mountain always clockwise) and those with shorter left legs (dahu levogiro, which always circles it counterclockwise). However, there are also depictions where it is the front legs that are shorter than the hind legs, to facilitate climbing slopes, or vice versa, to ease descent.

According to legend, by sneaking up behind it and calling its name, the animal, being by nature rather curious, would turn around and lose its balance, plummeting into the void. It would thus be the spread of hiking in the mountains that led this animal almost to disappearance: the frequency of human encounters and the consequent countless calls would in fact have exterminated most of the animals.

Moreover, the offspring of the right-legged dahu will certainly be left-legged, and vice versa. Therefore, once they are big enough, the young are forced to go in the opposite direction from their mother, and in case of second thoughts about venturing out into the world, the choice to turn back would again be fatal.

Another characteristic of the dahu (and actually of almost all mythological animals…) is its great shyness: in fact, it is almost impossible to see one, let alone photograph or film it.