Which does not resolve the basic tangle over what
the Mokele-Mbembe is or what the Congo Dragon is in general. Actually, both
terms are vague enough that they can be used commonly to refer to such creatures
as "Water-Elephants" and "Water-Rhinos" as well as to snakelike or lizardliks
creatures. And most sources do not also indicate that similar or the same sorts
of creatures as The Mokele-Mbembe and Nguma-Monene are reported (in Folklore or
as actual "Reports") in Nigeria and including the Niger River also. I have a
record of names similar to "Badigui" being used in central Nigeria also. Other
variations on the name "Mokele-Mbembe" include the spellings of Le'kela-Mbembe,
Mbokalemuembe, Mbulu-em'Bembe or M'koo-m'bemboo, Moke'-Nbe and Nwe. In this
regard it is perhaps useful to mention that the word for "Demon" used in the
Kongamato blog entry (and as opposed to the Kongamato in that case) was
And
even given that we are limiting ourselves to the long-necked reptillian sorts of
reports there are important variations which are often glossed over. The legs
are said to be elephant-like and connected to the round-but-three-toed tracks,
or else they are flippers shaped like diamond-shaped canoe paddles used in that
region. And the creatures can be described as herbivores but sometimes said to
eat fish instead. Other than that, their fearsome reputation comes from the
allegation that the commonly kill elephants, hippos, crocodiles, manatees and
attack canoes, killing the people inside them, presumably because the creature
mistakes them for rivals. I would question the idea that it kills other
creatures on the premise that it mistakes them for rivals
simply because rivalries within a single species are designed NOT to be
generally fatal to either of the participants. So I would make a distinction
that the Water-Rhinos are known to kill elephants and hippos when times are bad
and feeding grounds are at stake, but the longer-necked creatures do not kill
them, they have gained guilt by confusion of the categories. And while the
flipper-footed fish-eater has no interest in dead hippos or other creatures, the
long and low-slung lizard is an opportunsit feeder and a scavenger OR a
fruit-eater as the opportunity presents itself, and therefore it is the one to
be seen snagging snacks off of lianas and the one hanging around large animal
corpses. It is doubtful if it has the capacity to kill them in a direct
conflict, but the lizard could easily wipe out crocodiles in small areas by
Furthermore, it seems the larger lizard is
a type of monitor lizard like a Komodo dragon, and it
kill the
commoner but smaller Nile monitor in areas where their ranges coincide.
much is possibly a valuable indicator as to its identity.
This "Little Gold Dinosaur" was featured in one
of a trio of "Living Dinosaur" articles in PURSUIT of January 1970, Vol. 3, No.
1, which is the first PURSUIT I still have from my original membership with the
SITU; I had joined about then. Speculation was that this little figurine found
by Manny Staub in a set of Ashanti balance-scale weights represented a
two-legged dinosaur such as an Iguanodon or possibly a Tyrannosaur, but I think
it is more likely a sort of a Komodo dragon caricature. Whatever it is, it is
standing firmly on all four legs.
The Ashanti gold figurine continues to
be reproduced over the internet, but the third article in this set seems to have
gone largely forgotten (The first article concerns a rock art "Brontosaurus"
from near Salisbury, South Africa) The third article is entitled "He Have Head
for Trunk" and it is on pages 16 and 17 of that issue. The report concerns an
expedition in the land that was then called Dahomey (in 1959) along a tributary
of the Oueme River called locally the N'gode or N'gobe. The carriers suddenly
refused to go on into a swamp and threatened to abandon the expedition, so that
the expedition all agreed to return with the bearers to their home village,
where they were greeted as if they had all returned from the dead. The Chief
explained in Pidgin-English repeated and deciphered in the article:
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mokèlé-mbèmbé, meaning "one
who stops the flow of rivers" in the Lingala language,[1] is the name given to a
large water-dwelling cryptid found in legends and folklore of the Congo River
basin.[1][2] It is sometimes described as a living creature and sometimes as a
spirit. It could be considered loosely analogous to the Loch Ness Monster in
Western culture.
Several expeditions have been mounted in the hope of
finding evidence of the Mokèlé-mbèmbé, though without success.[1] Efforts have
been covered in a number of books and by a number of television documentaries.
The Mokèlé-mbèmbé and its associated folklore also appear in several works of
fiction and popular culture.
OverviewAccording to the traditions of the
Congo River basin the Mokèlé-mbèmbé is a large territorial herbivore. It is said
to dwell in Lake Télé and the surrounding area,[1] with a preference for deep
water, and with local folklore holding that its haunts of choice are river
bends.[1]
Descriptions of the Mokèlé-mbèmbé vary. Some legends describe
it as having an elephant-like body with a long neck and tail and a small head, a
description which has been suggested to be similar in appearance to that of the
extinct Sauropoda,[1] while others describe it as more closely resembling
elephants, rhinoceros, and other known animals. It is usually described as being
gray-brown in color. Some traditions, such as those of Boha Village, describe it
as a spirit rather than a flesh and blood creature.
According to the
writings of biologist Roy Mackal, who mounted two unsuccessful expeditions to
find it, it is likely that the Mokèlé-mbèmbé is a reptile.[2] Of all the living
reptiles, Mackal argues that the iguana and the monitor lizards bear the closest
resemblance to the Mokèlé-mbèmbé,[2] though, at 15 to 35 feet (5 to 9 m) long,
the Mokèlé-mbèmbé would exceed the size of any known living examples of such
reptiles, writing, "I believe the description of the Mokèlé-mbèmbé is accounted
for in all respects by an identification with a small sauropod dinosaur".[2]
The BBC/Discovery Channel documentary Congo (2001) interviewed a number
of tribe members who identified a photograph of a rhinoceros as being a
Mokèlé-mbèmbé.[3] Neither species of African rhinoceros is common in the Congo
Basin, and the Mokèlé-mbèmbé may be a mixture of mythology and folk memory from
a time when rhinoceros were found in the area.
History
Numerous
expeditions were undertaken to discover uncharted Africa. During these, there
were some sightings that have been argued by cryptozoologists to involve some
unidentified dinosaur-like creature. Additionally, there have been several
specific Mokèlé-mbèmbé-hunting expeditions.[1] Although several of the
expeditions have reported close encounters, none have been able to provide
incontrovertible proof that the creature exists.[1] The sole evidence that has
been found is the presence of widespread folklore and anecdotal accounts
covering a considerable period of time.[1]
1776: Bonaventure
Amongst
the earliest reference that might be relevant to Mokèlé-mbèmbé stories (though
the term is not used in the source) comes from the 1776 book of Abbé Lievain
Bonaventure, a French missionary to the Congo River region. Among many other
observations about flora, fauna, and native inhabitants related in his lengthy
book, Bonaventure claimed to have seen enormous footprints in the region. The
creature that left the prints was not witnessed, but Bonaventure wrote that it
"must have been monstrous: the marks of the claws were noted on the ground, and
these formed a print about three feet in circumference."[1]
1909: Gratz
According to Lt. Paul Gratz' account from 1909, indigenous legends of the
Congo River Basin in modern day Zambia spoke of a creature known by native
people as the "Nsanga", which was said to inhabit the Lake Bangweulu region.
Gratz described the creature as resembling a sauropod.[1] This is one of the
earliest references linking an area legend with dinosaurs, and has been argued
to describe a Mokèlé-mbèmbé-like creature. In addition to hearing stories of the
"Nsanga" Gratz was shown a hide which he was told belonged to the creature,
while visiting Mbawala Island.
1909: Hagenbeck
1909 saw another
mention of a Mokèlé-mbèmbé-like creature, in Beasts and Men, the autobiography
of famed big-game hunter Carl Hagenbeck. He claimed to have heard from multiple
independent sources about a creature living in the Congo region which was
described as "half elephant, half dragon."[1] Naturalist Joseph Menges had also
told Hagenbeck about an animal alleged to live in Africa, described as "some
kind of dinosaur, seemingly akin to the brontosaurs."[1] Another of Hagenbeck's
sources, Hans Schomburgk, asserted that while at Lake Bangweulu, he noted a lack
of hippopotami; his native guides informed him of a large hippo-killing creature
that lived in Lake Bangweulu; however, as noted below, Schomburgk thought that
native testimony was sometimes unreliable.
Reports of dinosaur-like
creatures in Africa caused a minor sensation in the mass media, and newspapers
in Europe and North America carried many articles on the subject in 1910-1911;
some took the reports at face value, others were more skeptical.
1913:
von Stein
Another report comes from the writings of German Captain Freiherr
von Stein zu Lausnitz, who was ordered to conduct a survey of German colonies in
what is now Cameroon in 1913. He heard stories of an enormous reptile alleged to
live in the jungles, and included a description of the beast in his official
report. According to Willy Ley, "von Stein worded his report with utmost
caution," knowing it might be seen as unbelievable.[4] Nonetheless, von Stein
thought the tales were credible: trusted native guides had related the tales to
him, and the stories were related to him by independent sources, yet featured
many of the same details. Though von Stein's report was never formally
published, portions were included in later works, including a 1959 book by Ley.
Von Stein wrote:
The animal is said to be of a brownish-gray color with
a smooth skin, its size is approximately that of an elephant; at least that of a
hippopotamus. It is said to have a long and very flexible neck and only one
tooth but a very long one; some say it is a horn. A few spoke about a long,
muscular tail like that of an alligator. Canoes coming near it are said to be
doomed; the animal is said to attack the vessels at once and to kill the crews
but without eating the bodies. The creature is said to live in the caves that
have been washed out by the river in the clay of its shores at sharp bends. It
is said to climb the shores even at daytime in search of food; its diet is said
to be entirely vegetable. This feature disagrees with a possible explanation as
a myth. The preferred plant was shown to me, it is a kind of liana with large
white blossoms, with a milky sap and applelike fruits. At the Ssombo River I was
shown a path said to have been made by this animal in order to get at its food.
The path was fresh and there were plants of the described type nearby. But since
there were too many tracks of elephants, hippos, and other large mammals it was
impossible to make out a particular spoor with any amount of certainty.[5]
1919-1920: Smithsonian Institution
A 32-man-strong expedition was
sent out to Africa from the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. between
1919 and 1920. The objective of this expedition was to secure additional
specimens of plants and animals. Moving picture photographers from the Universal
Film Manufacturing Company accompanied the expedition, in order to document the
life of interior Africa. According to cryptozoologists Loren Coleman and Patrick
Huyghe, authors of the Field Guide to Lake Monsters, "African guides found
large, unexplained tracks along the bank of a river and later in a swamp the
team heard mysterious roars, which had no resemblance with any known animal".[6]
However, the expedition was to end in tragedy. During a train-ride through a
flooded area where an entire tribe was said to have seen the dinosaur, the
locomotive suddenly derailed and turned over. Four team members were crushed to
death under the cars and another half dozen seriously injured. The expedition
was documented in the H.L. Shantz papers.[7]
1927: Smith
1927 saw
the publication of Trader Horn, the memoir of Alfred Aloysius Smith, who had
worked for a British trading company in what is now Gabon in the late 1800s. In
the book, Smith related tales told him by natives and explorers about a creature
given two different names: "jago-nini" and "amali". The creature was said to be
very large, according to Smith, and to leave large, round, three-clawed
footprints.[1]
1932: Sanderson
Cryptozoologist Ivan T. Sanderson
claimed that, while in Cameroon [on the border to Nigeria-DD]in 1932, he
witnessed an enormous creature in the Mainyu River. The creature, seemingly
badly wounded [?], was only briefly visible as it lurched into the water. Darkly
colored, the animal's head alone was nearly the size of a hippo, according to
Sanderson. His native guides termed the creature "m'koo m'bemboo", in
Sanderson's phonetic spelling.[1]
1938: von BoxbergerIn 1938, explorer
Leo von Boxberger mounted an expedition in part to investigate Mokèlé-mbèmbé
reports. He collected much information from natives, but his notes and sketches
had to be abandoned during a conflagration with local tribesmen.[1]
1939: von NoldeIn 1939, the German Colonial Gazette (of Angola)
published a letter by Frau Ilse von Nolde, who asserted that she had heard of
the animal called "coye ya menia" ("water lion") from many claimed eyewitnesses,
both natives and settlers. She described the long necked creature as living in
the rivers, and being about the size of a hippo, if not somewhat larger. It was
known especially for attacking hippos - even coming on to land to do so - though
it never ate them.[8]
1966: RidelIn August or September 1966, Yvan Ridel
took a picture of a large footprint with three toes, north-east of Loubomo,
notable as hippopotami have four toes.[2][9]
1976: Powell
In 1960,
an expedition to Zaire was planned by herpetologist James H. Powell, Jr.,
scheduled for 1972, but was canceled by legal complications. By 1976, however,
he had sorted out the international travel problems, and went to Gabon instead,
inspired by the book Trader Horn. He secured finances from the Explorer's Club.
Although Powell’s ostensible research aim was to study crocodiles, he also
planned to study Mokèlé-mbèmbé.
On this journey, Powell located a
claimed eyewitness to an animal called "n'yamala", or "jago-nini", which Powell
thought was the same as the "amali" of Smith's 1920's books. Natives also stated
– without Powell's asking - that "n'yamala" ate the flowering liana, just as von
Stein had been told half a century earlier.[1] When Powell showed illustrations
of various animals, both alive and extinct, to natives, they generally suggested
that the Diplodocus was the closest match to "n'yamala".[1]
[NB-the
natives also selected a picture of a Plesiosaur as often according to Mackal's
book Searching for Hidden Animals-DD] 1979: Powell
Powell
returned to the same region in 1979, and claimed to receive further stories
about "n'yamala" from additional natives. He also made an especially valuable
contact in American missionary Eugene Thomas, who was able to introduce Powell
to several claimed eyewitnesses.[1] He decided that the n'yamala was probably
identical to the Mokèlé-mbèmbé. Though seemingly herbivores, witnesses reported
that the creatures were fearsome, and were known to attack canoes that were
steered too close.
1979: ThomasReverend Eugene Thomas from Ohio, USA,
told James Powell and Roy P. Mackal in 1979 a story that involved the purported
killing of a Mokèlé-mbèmbé near Lake Tele in 1959.[10] Thomas was a missionary
who had served in the Congo since 1955, gathering much of the earliest evidence
and reports, and claiming to have had two close-encounters himself.[11] Natives
of the Bangombe tribe who lived near Lake Tele were said to have constructed a
large spiked fence in a tributary of Tele to keep Mokèlé-mbèmbé from interfering
with their fishing. A Mokele-mbembe managed to break through, though it was
wounded on the spikes, and the natives then killed the creature. As William
Gibbons writes, "Pastor Thomas also mentioned that the two pygmies mimicked the
cry of the animal as it was being attacked and speared... Later, a victory feast
was held, during which parts of the animal were cooked and eaten. However, those
who participated in the feast eventually died, either from food poisoning or
from natural causes. I also believe that the mythification (magical powers, etc)
surrounding Mokèlé-mbèmbés [sic] began with this incident." Furthermore, Mackal
heard from witnesses that the stakes were in the same location in the tributary
as of the early 1980s.[2]
1980: Mackal-Powell
For his third
expedition in February 1980, Powell was joined by Roy P. Mackal. Based on the
testimony of claimed eyewitnesses, Powell and Mackal decided to focus their
efforts on visiting the northern Congo regions, near the Likouala aux Herbes
River and isolated Lake Tele. As of 1980, this region was little explored and
largely unmapped, and the expedition was unable to reach Lake Tele. Powell and
Mackal interviewed several people who claimed to have seen Mokèlé-mbèmbé, and
Clark writes that the descriptions of the creature were "strikingly similar ...
animals 15 to 30 feet (5 to 9 m) long (most of that a snakelike head and neck,
plus long thin tail). The body was reminiscent of a hippo's, only more bulbous
... again, informants invariably pointed to a picture of a sauropod when shown
pictures of various animals to which mokele-mbembe might be compared."[1][2]
Mackal and Powell were interviewed before and after this expedition for the TV
program Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World.
1981: Mackal-Bryan
Mackal and Jack Bryan mounted an expedition to the same area in late 1981.
He was supposed to be joined by Herman Regusters, but they came in conflict in
terms of finance, equipment and leadership and decided to split and make
separate expeditions. Although, once again, Mackal was unable to reach Lake
Tele, he gathered details on other cryptids and possible living dinosaurs, like
the Emela-ntouka, Mbielu-Mbielu-Mbielu, Nguma-monene, Ndendeki (giant turtle),
Mahamba (a giant crocodile of 15 meters), and Ngoima (a giant monkey-eating
Eagle). Among his company were J. Richard Greenwell, M. Justin Wilkinson, and
Congolese zoologist Marcellin Agnagna.[1][2]
The 1981 expedition would
feature the only "close encounters" of the Mackal expeditions. It occurred when,
while on a river, they heard a loud splash and saw what Greenwell described as
"[a] large wake (about 5") ... originating from the east bank".[1][2] Greenwell
asserted that the wake must have been caused by an "animate object" that was
unlike a crocodile or hippo. Additionally, Greenwell noted that the encounter
occurred at a sharp river bend where, according to natives, Mokèlé-mbèmbé
frequently lived due to deep waters at those points.[1][2]
1987 saw the
publication of Mackal's book, A Living Dinosaur?, in which Mackal detailed his
expedition and his conclusions about the Mokèlé-mbèmbé.[1][2] Mackal tried,
unsuccessfully, to raise funds for additional trips to Africa.
1981:
Regusters
In 1981, American engineer Herman Regusters led his own
Mokèlé-mbèmbé expedition, after having a conflict with the Mackal-Bryan
expedition that he intended to join. Regusters and his wife Kai reached Lake
Tele, staying there for about two weeks. Of the 30 expedition members (28 were
men from the Boha village), only Herman Regusters and his wife claim to have
observed a "long-necked member" traveling across Lake Tele. They also claim to
have tried filming the being, but said their motion picture film was ruined by
the heat and humidity. Only one picture was released showing a large, but
unidentifiable, object in the lake.[12] The Regusters expedition returned with
droppings and footprint casts, which Regusters believed were from the
mokele-mbembe.[13]
It also returned with sound recordings of "low windy
roar [that] increased to a deep throated trumpeting growl", which Regusters
believed to be the Mokèlé-mbèmbé's call.[1] This recording was submitted for
technical evaluation with a noted zoological source, but were inconclusive,
except to note that the sounds were not attributable to any known
wildlife.[citation needed] Despite this result, Regusters conclusions about this
tape were later challanged by Mackal, who asserted that the Mokèlé-mbèmbé did
not have a vocal call. Mackal asserts that vocalizations are more correctly
associated with the Emela-ntouka, a similarly described creature found in the
Central African legends.[citation needed]
Herman Alphanso Regusters died
on December 19, 2005, aged 72.
1983: Agnagna
Congolese biologist
Marcellin Agnagna led the 1983 expedition of Congolese to Lake Tele. According
to his own account, Agnagna claimed to have seen a Mokèlé-mbèmbé at close
distance for about 20 minutes. He tried to film it, but said that in his
excitement, he forgot to remove the motion picture camera's lens cap. In a 1984
interview, Agnagna claimed, contradictorily, that the film was ruined not
because of the lens cap, but because he had the Super 8 camera on the wrong
setting: macro instead of telephoto.[1][14][unreliable source?].
1985:
Nugent
In December 1985 Rory Nugent claimed to have spotted the animal but
to have been ordered at gunpoint by the natives not to approach it.[citation
needed] Nugent claimed that they view the creature as a god "that you can not
approach, but if he chooses, this god can approach you."[citation needed] He
also provided some pictures, which are too blurry to be identifiable.
1985-1986: Operation Congo
Operation Congo took place between
December 1985 and early 1986 by "four enthusiastic but naïve young Englishmen,"
led by Young Earth Creationist[15][unreliable source?][16] William Gibbons,[1]
They hired Agnagna to take them to Lake Tele, but did not report any
Mokèlé-mbèmbé sightings. The British men did, however, assert that Agnagna did
"little more than lie, cheat and steal (our film and supplies) and turn the
porters against us."[1] After criminal charges were filed against him, a
Congolese court ordered Agnagna to return the items he had taken from the
expedition.[citation needed]
Although the party found no evidence of the
Mokèlé-mbèmbé, they discovered a new subspecies of monkey, which was later
classified as the Crested mangabey monkey (Cerocebus galeritus), as well as fish
and insect specimens.[citation needed]
1986: Botterweg
In 1986
another expedition was mounted, consisting of four Dutchmen, organized and led
by Dutch biologist Ronald Botterweg, who already had experience with tropical
rainforest research in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and who later
visited, lived, and worked in several African countries. This expedition entered
the Congo down the Ubangi River from Bangui in the Central African Republic, and
managed, with considerable organizational challenges, to reach Lake Tele, with a
group of guides from the village of Boha, some of which had also accompanied
Regusters. Since they had only managed to obtain permission from the local
authorities (not having passed by Brazzaville) for a very limited period in the
area, they only spent about three days at the lake before returning to Boha.
During their stay at the lake they spent as much time as possible observing the
lake and its surroundings through from their provisional camp on the
north-eastern shore, and navigating part of it by dug-out canoe. No signs of any
large unknown animal were found.[citation needed]
On the way back,
arriving at the town of Impfondo, they were detained by Congolese biologist
Agnagna and his team, who had just arrived there for an expedition with the
British team of Operation Congo, allegedly for not possessing the proper
documents. They were detained for a short while, and the largest part of their
film and color slides were confiscated, before being released and leaving the
country (again by the Ubangui river and Bangui).[citation needed]
No
signs, tracks or anything tangible or visible of the alleged animals was seen or
shown whatsoever.[citation needed] Tracks, droppings, and other signs of forest
elephants and gorillas were commonly seen, as well as crocodiles in the lake.
Despite the fact that the African guides were extremely capable and experienced
hunters, guides and experts of the African rainforest, they were not able to
show any track or sign of the Mokèlé-mbèmbé and none of the several interviewed
guides even claimed ever to have seen one personally, nor its tracks. Remarkable
is the fact that the guides that were interviewed by the Dutch expedition and
that also accompanied Regusters, stated that they never saw a Mokèlé-mbèmbé
during that expedition, although Regusters himself claims to have seen
one.[citation needed]
This expedition received some attention in the
Dutch media (radio, TV, and newspapers) from 1985 to 1987, and again in a
nostalgic radio show by Dutch radio station KRO on channel Radio 2, on 7 March
2011. Furthermore, this expedition features in a slightly romanticized form as a
short story by Dutch novelist author Margriet de Moor ('Hij Bestaat', meaning It
exists, in the novel 'Op de Rug Gezien', meaning Seen from behind).[citation
needed]
1988 Japanese expedition
In 1988 a Japanese expedition went
to the area,[17] led by the Congolese wildlife official Jose Bourges. Members of
a Japanese film crew allegedly captured the first evidence of
Mokele-mbembe.[18][not in citation given] As they were filming aerial footage
from a small plane over the area of Lake Tele, intending to obtain some shots
for a documentary, the cameraman noticed a disturbance in the water. He
struggled to maintain focus on the object, which was creating a noticeable wake.
About 15 seconds of footage was captured, which skeptics have identified as
either two men in a canoe or swimming elephants.
1989 O'Hanlon
British writer Redmond O'Hanlon traveled to the region in 1989 and not only
failed to discover any evidence of Mokèlé-mbèmbé but found out that many local
people believe the creature to be a spirit rather than a physical being, and
that claims for its authentic existence have been fabricated. His experience is
chronicled in Granta no. 39 (1992) and in his book Congo Journey (UK, 1996),
published as No Mercy in the USA (1997).
1992 Operation Congo 2
William Gibbons launched a second expedition in 1992 which he dubbed
"Operation Congo 2". Along with Rory Nugent, Gibbons searched almost two thirds
of the Bai River along with two poorly charted lakes: Lake Fouloukuo and Lake
Tibeke, both of which local folklore held to be sites of Mokèlé-mbèmbé activity.
The expedition failed to provide any conclusive evidence of the Mokèlé-mbèmbé,
though they did further document local legends and Nugent took two photographs
of unidentified objects in the water, one of which he claimed was the creature's
head. [3][not in citation given]
1998: Extreme Expeditions
The
Extreme Expeditions team was set to travel to the Likouala Region, however the
1997-1999 civil war made this impossible.[19]
1999: Fay
The 1999
megatransect into the wilderness of the Congo basin by the biologist and Africa
explorer J. Michael Fay did not reveal any trace of the Mokèlé-mbèmbé. However,
it must be noted that the trek did not pass through the Likouala and Lake Tele
regions.
2000: Extreme Expeditions
In January 2000, the Congo
Millennium Expedition (aka. DINO2000) took place, the second one by Extreme
Expeditions, consisting of Andrew Sanderson, Adam Davies, Keith Townley, Swedish
explorer Jan-Ove Sundberg, and five others.[20]
2000: Gibbons
In
November 2000, William Gibbons did some preliminary research in Cameroon for a
future expedition. He was accompanied by David Wetzel, and videographer Elena
Dugan. While visiting with a group of pygmies, they were informed about an
animal called Ngoubou, a horned creature. The pygmies asserted it was not a
regular rhinoceros, as it had more than one horn (six horns on the frill in one
eyewitness account), and that the father of one of the senior members of the
community had killed one with a spear a number of years ago. The locals have
noted a firm dwindle in the population of these animals lately, and are hard to
find. Gibbons identified the animal with a Styracosaurus, but, in addition to
being extinct, these are only known to have inhabited North
America.[21][self-published source?]
2001: CryptoSafari/BCSCC
In
February 2001, in a joint venture between CryptoSafari and the British Columbia
Scientific Cryptozoology Club (BCSCC), a research team traveled to Cameroon
consisting of William Gibbons, Scott T. Norman, John Kirk and writer Robert A.
Mullin. Their local guide was Pierre Sima Noutchegeni. They were also
accompanied by a BBC film crew. No evidence of Mokèlé-mbèmbé was found.[22]
2006: Marcy
In January 2006, the Milt Marcy Expedition traveled to
the Dja river in Cameroon, near the Congolese border. It consisted of Milt
Marcy, Peter Beach, Rob Mullin and Pierre Sima. They spoke to witnesses that
claimed to have observed a Mokèlé-mbèmbé only two days
before,[23][self-published source?] but they did not discover the animal
themselves. However, they did return with what they believe to be a plaster cast
of a Mokèlé-mbèmbé footprint.
2006: National Geographic
A May 2006
episode called "Super Snake" of the National Geographic series Dangerous
Encounters included an expedition headed by Brady Barr to Lake Tele. No unknown
animals were found.[citation needed]
2008: Destination Truth
In
March 2008 an episode of the SyFy (formerly the SciFi Channel) series
Destination Truth involved investigator Joshua Gates and crew searching for the
elusive dinosaur. They did not visit the Likouala Region, which includes Lake
Tele, but they visited Lake Bangweulu in Zambia instead, which had reports of a
similar creature in the early 20th century, called the "'nsanga". The crew of
Destination Truth kept calling the animal "Mokèlé-mbèmbé" to the locals, when
that name is only used in the Republic of the Congo. The name used in that
particular spot is "chipekwe". Their episode featured a videotaped close
encounter, but filmed from a great distance. On applying digital video
enhancement techniques, the encounter proved to be nothing more than two
submerged hippopotami.[citation needed]
2009: MonsterQuest
In March
2009 an episode of the History Channel series MonsterQuest involved Bill
Gibbons, Rob Mullin, local guide Pierre Sima and a two-man film crew from White
Wolf Productions. It took place in Cameroon, in the region of Dja, Boumba, and
Nkogo Rivers, near the border with the Republic of the Congo. The episode aired
in the summer of 2009, and also featured an interview with Roy P. Mackal and
Peter Beach of the Milt Marcy Expedition, 2006.[24][self-published source?]
While no sightings were reported on the expedition, the team found evidence of a
large underground cave with air vents. The team also received sonar readings of
very long, serpentine shapes underwater.
2011: Beast Hunter
A March
2011 episode of Beast Hunter on the National Geographic Channel is planned to
feature a search for Mokele-mbembe in Congo Basin.[25][26]
In
cryptozoology
According to science writer and cryptozoologist Willy Ley,
while there are sufficient anecdotal accounts to suggest "that there is a large
and dangerous animal hiding in the shallow waters and rivers of Central Africa",
the body of evidence remains insufficient for any realistic conclusions to be
drawn on what the Mokèlé-mbèmbé may be.[27]
According to the writings of
biologist and cryptid researcher Roy Mackal, who mounted two unsuccessful
expeditions to find it, it is unlikely that the Mokèlé-mbèmbé is a mammal or an
amphibian, leaving a reptile as the only plausible candidate.[2] Of all the
living reptiles, Mackal argues that the iguana and the monitor lizards bear the
closest resemblance to the Mokèlé-mbèmbé,[2] though, at 15 to 30 feet (9.1 m)
long, the Mokèlé-mbèmbé would exceed the size of any known living examples of
such reptiles.[2]
Mackal judged available evidence as consistent,
writing, "I believe the description of the Mokèlé-mbèmbé is accounted for in all
respects by an identification with a small sauropod dinosaur".[2] Mackal also
judged the existence of an undiscovered relict sauropod to be plausible on the
grounds that there were large amounts of uninhabited and unexplored territory in
the region where a creature might live,[2] and on the grounds that other large
creatures such as elephants exist in the region, living in large open clearings
(called "bai") as well as in thicker wooded areas.[1][2]
[edit] See
alsoEmela-ntouka
Ngoubou
Mbielu-Mbielu-Mbielu
Nguma-monene
Sirrush
Kasai rex
Cryptids
Living dinosaurs
[edit]
References1.^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac
Clark, Jerome (1993) "Unexplained! 347 Strange Sightings, Incredible
Occurrences, and Puzzling Physical Phenomena", Visible Ink Press, ISBN
0-8103-9436-7
2.^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Mackal, R. P. (1987) A
Living Dinosaur? In Search of Mokele-Mbembe, E.J. Brill, ISBN 90-04-08543-2
3.^ Congo, episode 2 of 4 ("Spirits of the Forest")
4.^ Ley, 69
5.^
quoted in Ley, 70
6.^ Coleman, Loren (2003). The Field Guide to Lake
Monsters, Sea Serpents, and Other Mystery Denizens of the Deep. New York: Jeremy
P. Tarcher. p. 216. ISBN 1585422525.
7.^
http://aao.lib.asu.edu/ViewRecordFrame.jsp?record=0000000969
8.^ Ley, 71-72
9.^ [1]
10.^ Was a Mokèlé-mbèmbé killed at Lake Tele? by William
Gibbons, retrieved 25 May 2007
11.^ Cryptomundo.com Mokèlé-mbèmbé's Rev.
Eugene Thomas, 78, dies
12.^
http://www.cryptozoology.com/forum/images/mm1_3070.jpg
13.^
http://criptido.iespana.es/cripto/mokelepie.jpg
14.^
http://www.icr.org/article/306%20/ In Search Of the Congo Dinosaur by Bill
Gibbons
15.^ Gibbons`, William J. "In Search Of the Congo Dinosaur".
Institute for Creation Research.
http://www.icr.org/article/search-congo-dinosaur/.
16.^ Guessman, Garth.
"CryptoCorner: Cutting Edge Cryptozoology From Around the World". The South Bay
Creation Science Association.
http://www.creationinthecrossfire.com/Articles/CryptoCorner.html. Retrieved 3
January 2011.
17.^ 明日できるコトは今日やらない
18.^ [2]
19.^ prex98Congo5
20.^ prexpage
21.^ Cryptomundo.com - The Ngoubou
22.^
http://www.bcscc.ca/mokele.htm The British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology
Club
23.^ Cryptomundo.com - Mokèlé-mbèmbé Expedition Update
24.^
http://www.cryptomundo.com/cryptozoo-news/mm-mq2-09/ cryptomundo.com 2009
25.^ "Swamp Monster of the Congo". National Geographic.
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/beast-hunter/5103/Overview303#tab-facts.
Retrieved 2011-03-20.
26.^ Burke, Bill (2011-03-13). "Pat Spain tracks
monsters on ‘Beast Hunter’". Boston Herald.
http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/television/general/view/2011_0313myth_chaser.
Retrieved 2011-03-20.
27.^ Ley, 74
[edit] BibliographyGibbons, William
J., Missionaries And Monsters; Coachwhip Publications, 2006
Leal, M. E.,
2004. The African rainforest during the Last Glacial Maximum, an archipelago of
forests in a sea of grass; Wageningen: Wageningen University: ISBN 90-8504-037-X
Ley, Willie, Exotic Zoology; New York: Capricorn Books, 1966 (trade
paperback edition)
Mackal, Roy P. A Living Dinosaur? In Search of
Mokele-Mbembe; Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1987: ISBN 90-04-08543-2
Ndanga, Alfred
Jean-Paul (2000) 'Réflexion sur une légende de Bayanga: le Mokele-mbembe', in
Zo, 3, 39-45.
Nugent, Rory (1993) Drums along the Congo: on the trail of
Mokele-Mbembe, the last living dinosaur. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN
0-395-58707-7 or ISBN 0-395-67071-3
Redmond O'Hanlon, No Mercy: A Journey
Into the Heart of the Congo, 1997
Regusters, H.A.(1982) Mokele - Mbembe: an
investigation into rumors concerning a strange animal in the Republic of the
Congo, 1981 (Munger Africana library notes, vol. 64). Pasadena: California
Institute of Technology (CIT).
http://www.cryptoarchives.com/1900/1980/1981-regusters.pdf
Shuker, Karl
P.N., In Search of Prehistoric Survivors. London: Blandford, 1995: ISBN
0-7137-2469-2
Sjögren, Bengt, Berömda vidunder, Settern, 1980, ISBN
91-7586-023-6 (Swedish)
+buru.jpg)
January 27, 2013 at 7:29 pm
January 31, 2013 at 1:43 pm
But what makes you think this was a dino? Could it have been a modern lizard engaging in bipedal movement? There are some that do this.
March 1, 2013 at 4:57 am
March 4, 2013 at 3:21 pm
June 28, 2013 at 9:24 pm
June 28, 2013 at 9:30 pm
June 29, 2013 at 3:47 pm