From 1764 to 1767, the French countryside of Le Gevaudan was under siege by an unknown beast. The mangled bodies of its victims littered the hillsides. Witnesses reported seeing a beast as large as a cow. Hunters pumped rifle balls into the beast, but within days afterwards, the killing spree continued. King Louis XV ordered soldiers to Gevaudan, where they searched the forests and hills, shooting every wolf they could find. But still the beast remained at large.