Mokele mbembe
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The mokele mbembe is a large creature said to live in the lakes and swamps of the Congo River basin, whose existence has long been disputed between mainstream scientists on one side, local Pygmies, creationists and cryptozoologists on the other. The monster is thought to be a sea-dweller, though it can also move inland. Fishermen who inhabit the area often run from waters and land near the water's edge in fear of the creature, describing its ability to kill humans.
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Explanation
The creature has often been likened to the Loch Ness Monster. Some cryptozoologists suppose that the creature might be a type of dinosaur that could have survived the mass extinction of the dinosaurs about 65 million years ago. Mokele mbembe means "one who stops the flow of rivers." Mokele mbembe is generally described as a beast about as large as an elephant, with a long flexible neck and with a tail similar to an alligator's. Mokele mbembe's description is consistent with a sauropod.
The tales of the mokele mbembe are an apparently ancient component of the oral history of the Pygmy tribes. These peoples have an intimate relationship with the rainforest, which supplies all their needs. Mokele mbembes are apparently herbivores, although they have been reported to kill humans and hippopotamuses. It is interesting to note that there is a low population of hippos in the Likouala swamp, where mokele mbembe's are reported to live.
There is a story that involved a killing of a mokele mbembe. A group of people that lived in the Likouala swamp constructed a large wall to keep mokele mbembe from interfering in their fishing. A mokele mbembe managed to break through, and the natives killed the creature. They butchered and cooked the carcass, and ate it. However, everyone who ate it either became very ill or died soon afterward.
Possibility of Existence
So far, fringe scientists have failed to find evidence of a creature corresponding to the native legend, although casts of inexplicable footprints have reportedly been taken, which some say were made by the mokele mbembe, and a controversial videotape was made.
The Congo has wide expanses of marshland and swamps, including several large lakes, that have not extensively been explored by scientists. A recent megatransect into the wilderness of the Congo basin by the biologist and Africa explorer Michael Fay did not reveal any trace of the mokele mbembe. Fringe scientists believe the likelihood of its existence to be significantly higher than the Loch Ness monster because of the large amount of uncharted territory. Other large creatures, such as elephants, exist in large open clearings in the rainforests, each called a bai, as well as in thicker wooded areas, so the existence of the mokele mbembe is a possibility when taking into account its local environment. However, it is often thought to be even bigger than an elephant.
There is a theory that the mokele mbembe is a rhinoceros: see this link (http://www.cryptozoology.com/cryptids/mokele.php) (third paragraph after the second image). Another not-so-cryptic explanation is that this phenomenon is nothing but a sighting of a group of male crocodiles following a female crocodile during the mating season.
See also
Bibliography
- Ndanga, Alfred Jean-Paul (2000) 'Réflexion sur une légende de Bayanga: le mokèlé-mbèmbé', 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
- 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.
- A similar Congoese cryptid animal called the emela ntouka (http://www.genesispark.com/genpark/emela/emela.htm).