$500 Bounty Finally Answers the Question of Whether Deviljho Really Eat Its Own Tail

On October 21st, a player made a post on a Chinese Monster Hunter forum saying they would provide 100 CNY (~13 USD) as a bounty to anyone that can provide in-game footage showing the Deviljho eating its tail.

This has been the hottest topic within the Monster Hunter community recently. As thousands of players joined the big hunt, the bounty grew to 3,000 CNY (~450 USD).

For those who don't know much about the Monster Hunter series, it might be a bit difficult to understand why so many players are obsessed with witnessing an imaginary dragon eating its own tail. But for those who know, this is a long-disputed myth that deserves a final answer.

The Deviljho is a beloved Brute Wyvern (T-Rex-like) in the Monster Hunter game series. It first appeared in Monster Hunter Tri (2009). This ferocious and aggressive beast would crash into fights mercilessly. When starved, a Deviljho would eat almost anything they could see, from a dead animal to poisoned raw meat or even another Deviljho. 

Because of this gluttonous behavior, a popular belief is that a starving Deviljho will eat its own tail if cut off by a hunter. Many players have claimed to have witnessed this feat, and even Wiki websites like fandom, Fextralife, or the "モンスターハンター大辞典 Wiki" (Monster Hunter Dictionary) have all listed that "Deviljho sometimes eats its own tail" as a confirmed piece of trivia for the monster. It was a strongly believed fact for Monster Hunter enthusiasts for over a decade.

However, many hardcore Monster Hunter players don't believe that the Deviljo eats its tail based on two important reasons.

For one, there is no video evidence of a Deviljo eating its severed tail. Videos featuring scenes where a Deviljo eats its tail have all proven to be fake, using tricks like hiding a slab of meat under the severed tail rather than a vanilla mechanic.

Secondly, despite many people claiming they've seen a Deviljo eating its severed tail online, many hardcore players have never encountered this mechanic throughout their thousand hours of game time, not even once.

When this discussion was brought up again in the middle of October, some veteran Chinese players were finally fed up and decided to end this dispute once and for all. They set up the bounty, and as the debate heated up, the Monster Hunter community around the world joined together to find out if Deviljos really eat their tails.

A gif from a meme video made by the NCHProducts[iii] shows the Deviljho eats its own tail.

There were several rules for the challenge: the whole hunting footage must be uploaded, and the uploader should prove that the Deviljho is not eating other items (i.e., a piece of raw meat) near/beneath the tail.

A screenshot of the Tieba with the additional rules provided by the OP

At first, many players were confident since it could be quick money: challenge accepted,  jump into the game, record the footage, and the job is done. But days after, nobody had succeeded. The bounty was raised to over 1000 CNY, with more curious players joining in. The challenge had spread widely online into Japanese and English user game communities as well. Many more players were shocked by the possibility that the "fact" they strongly believed in for years could be false.

A photo with lines of "Deviljho eats its tail" shared by a player was taken from page 124 of "Monster Hunter Visual & Memorial Archives"

It was then that players listed every possible situation that could trigger the "Deviljho eats tail" scenario. Some claimed it might only be triggered in certain titles, including the online quest of Monster Hunter Tri on Wii. Others tried their best to find the games they had at hand to test. Even going so far as to try and establish a private server for Monster Hunter Tri, which had been terminated, so players could test the game for “science”.

People uploaded their footage online to see if it could help other challengers.

Though there were some exciting moments where one or two pieces of game footage showed the Deviljho eating near the tail, it was soon proven to be eating something else beneath the tail.

On October 27th, the "モンスターハンター大辞典 Wiki" (Monster Hunter Dictionary), one of the most detailed and populated Monster Hunter wikis in Japan, changed the "Deviljho" entry. In the new version, it says:

"For many years", Deviljho eats his own severed tail" was spread among players all over the world. Since it has not been confirmed that Deviljho actually preys on his own tail,

It has now been concluded that the information is false."

A screenshot of the Deviljho entry on モンスターハンター大辞典.

At this moment, Capcom has not made any related response or announcement about it except for posting an advertisement for a Deviljho badge on October 26th.

The Brute Wyvern that devours anything in its path, Deviljho, has suddenly appeared in the Monster Hunter World pin collection from our friends at @EightySixed! Quantities are limited, so grab one before they're all gobbled up!

🛒 https://t.co/OxEfq05Y0S pic.twitter.com/cS12byPsw5

— Monster Hunter (@monsterhunter) October 25, 2022

Source: Baidu