Elephant Predator of Myth

Whati’s crossword puzzle clue for “Elephant predator of myth”. This clue 3 letters down in LA time puzzle today, 21 April 2017.

The correct answer is ROC. First letter R also match for first across clue “Africa currency” RAND.

The roc had its origins, according to Rudolph Wittkower, in the fight between the Indian solar bird Garuda and the chthonic serpent Nāga. The mytheme of Garuda carrying off an elephant that was battling a crocodile appears in two Sanskrit epics, the Mahabharata (I.1353) and the Ramayana (III.39).

The roc appears in Arabic geographies and natural history, popularized in Arabian fairy tales and sailors’ folklore. Ibn Battuta (iv. 305ff) tells of a mountain hovering in the air over the China Seas, which was the roc.