The Tarbh Uisge ( "water-bull" in Gaelic) is a spectral water-bull in Scottish mythology.
Description
The Tarbh Uisge is described as a black animal, with a velvety, soft appearance, and no ears at all. Only coming out at night, it is said to make a sound which has been compared to the crowing of a rooster. When local farmers hear that sound they know that this means the Tarbh-Uisge has come to graze in the fields.
Place
The Tarbh Uisge is found only in tiny, isolated pools, which are wedged deep in the mountainous Highland regions of Scotland.
Behavior
- Unlike the Each uisge or even the notorious Kelpie, the Tarbh uisge is not prone to assail those unlucky enough to encounter it. In fact, it generally refuses to interfere, even when trespassers come into its habitat.
- In Scotland, a calf born with what the Gaelic referred to as "carechluasach," or knife-ears (which is to say "short" ears) is considered to be the offspring of a Tarbh-Uisge.