Cureloms



"And they also had horses, and asses, and there were elephants and cureloms and cumoms; all of which were useful unto man, and more especially the elephants and cureloms and cumoms."

- Ether 9: 19, describing cureloms

"(Jim: Curelom? Did you say curelom?)

Yes. Curelom. A creature as big as a temple with great curved teeth the size of cypress trunks, eyes that glow red in the darkness, and a stench so foul it wilts all the mountain flowers.

(Gidgiddonihah: There is no such beast.)

Ah, but I have seen one with my own eyes. And I would give all my worldly wealth to tear that black day from my memory. There we were, on a bleak and barren plateau, preparing to march the last of the Gadianton prisoners who'd been holding out in the mountains back to the land of Zarahemla. I thank my God in Heaven that we were awakened that morning by the sound of its blood-chilling roar. I shudder even now to think of it. The earth shook. The other Nephite soldiers and I managed to get out of its path, but every last one of the Reds was crushed and gored where he stood."

- Naaman recounting his encounter with a curelom

Cureloms are an unidentified species of animals mentioned in the Book of Mormon, and serve as the subject of many debates among Latter-Day Saint scientists and theologists. Although they are implied to be beasts of burden in the Book of Mormon, very little is known about them. Cureloms also serve as minor antagonists in Chris Heimerdinger's novel The Feathered Serpent, Part Two.

In The Book of Mormon
Cureloms are mentioned very briefly in the book of Ether, listed alongside elephants and horses as being useful to humans. The book gives no description of cureloms, though the context suggests that it could be a beast of burden.

The Feathered Serpent, Part Two
In the Tennis Shoes Adventure Series, Chris Heimerdinger goes along with the popular Latter-Day Saint belief that the term "curelom" refers to a mammoth. A curelom is first described near the beginning of the fourth book, where Naaman tells the story of a curelom attacking him when he was helping to round up Gadianton prisoners. Naaman, suspecting that their journey will take them through the mountains of Desolation where the cureloms live, warns his companions that they will surely encounter cureloms.

Although Naaman is killed well before the group reaches Desolation, his friends Jim Hawkins, Harry Hawkins, Lamachi, Gidgiddonihah, and Zedekiah do make it to the mountain range. While hunting for game to feed an injured Lamachi, Jim and Harry stumble upon a curelom grazing. When the curelom sees them, it chases Jim and Harry back toward the cave where they are making camp. During the chase, Jim and Harry are hidden under a mound of soil, and Gidgiddonihah, having heard the roars of the curelom, goes out to help them. As Gidgiddonihah distracts the curelom, Jim and Harry make a run for the cave. Shortly thereafter, Gidgiddonihah manages to outrun the curelom and reach the safety of the cave. The curelom, along with the rest of the herd, decides to stay at the mouth of the cave and wait for the cave's occupants to die.

The next morning, the cureloms are scared off by a hunting horn from the Nephite Jonas. While escaping, Jim, Harry, Gidgiddonihah, and Zedekiah run into Jonas riding a domesticated curelom named Rachel. Jonas reveals that the cureloms' territory is where the people of Haberekiah lived prior to their deaths. The hunters of Haberekiah had slaughtered almost all of the cureloms, leaving only seven living in the area. The hunters had used conch-shell horns to signal each other while hunting the cureloms, which the cureloms learned to fear. The people placed great value on curelom tusks and built many of their huts and fences out of curelom hides and bones.

As the group is leaving, Rachel the curelom lets out a roar to say goodbye to the cureloms grazing on the plateau. In response, the cureloms roar back as a means of communication.