in the Congo?
mok'ele-mbembe a relative of the Apatosaurus?
(Copyright Lee Krystek, 2008.)
Ever since scientists identified the first dinosaur
fossils, back in the 19th century, there have been stories suggesting
that at least one variety of these great reptiles survived extinction
and still lived in the swamps of central Africa.
A few of the earliest and most colorful tales
came from Alfred Aloysius Horn, a traveler, trader, and adventurer
of the last century. His stories told of a creature living in
the swamps and rivers. The animal was called, "Jago-Nini" which
meant "giant diver." Though Horn had never seen the creature
himself he was told that it, "Comes out of the water and devours
people." Horn did say he'd seen a footprint that was, "about
the size of a good frying pan in circumference and three claws
Through the years a number of explorers visited
Africa and heard about huge unknown reptiles. These animals
went under a variety of different names including "dingonek,"
"Ol-umaina," and "chipekwe." In every case, though, explorers
only heard stories from the natives about the animals, but never
saw direct evidence of the creatures existence for themselves.
An exception was when, in 1932, British cryptozoologist
Ivan Sanderson was traveling in Africa and came across large
hippo-like tracks in a region with no hippos. He was told by
the native that they were made by a creature named the "mgbulu-eM'bembe".
Later Sanderson saw something in the water that seemed too large
to be a hippo, but disappeared before he could get a good look
To further confuse the issue several hoaxes surrounded
stories of the African dinosaur. The most widespread came in
1901 when rumors that the Smithsonian Institution was looking
for someone to go to central Africa and bring back a Brontosaurus
(proper technical name of Apatosaurus) appeared in a
Perhaps the best known reports about this kind
of creature came out of the Congo after the turn of the century.
Captain Freiheer von Stein zu Lausnitz, a German explorer, heard
stories about an animal that was "brownish gray with a smooth
skin, its size approximately that of an elephant, at least that
of a hippopotamus." The creature had long flexible neck and
had a vegetarian diet. The natives called it mok'ele-mbembe.
more and more of Africa was charted and explored the dinosaur
tales faded away. However, in 1980, Dr. Roy Mackal, a biologist
at the University of Chicago and James Powell, a herpetologist,
decided to go and take another look at the source of the mok'ele-mbembe
tales. As with earlier explorers they failed to see the creature
themselves. However, they did interview several people who had,
and also heard about a creature with a long neck and tail that
was killed along Lake Tel in 1959. According to the story anyone
who ate of the creatures meat, died. Witnesses said mok'ele-mbembe
was about thirty feet long. Of that ten was head and neck, the
rest body and tail. Mackal and Powell suspected that the creature
was a small relative of the Apatosaurus, but gathered
no proof. A second expedition the next year added nothing but
some strange footprints.
Shortly after Mackal's second expedition a group
from California, led by Herman and Kia Regusters, reported seeing
and photographing a large creature in the Lake Tel area. While
the descriptions matched those heard since von Stein, the photos
turned out to be inconclusive.
Book: "In Search of Prehistoric Survivors"
Stop on Dinosaur Safari
Copyright Lee Krystek
1996. All Rights Reserved.