Mokele-mbembe
Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2016 3:15 pm
Ever heard of the Mokele –mbembe? It’s another one of planet Earth’s great unsolved mysteries. This strange sounding name means “ one who blocks the flow of rivers” and belongs to what is claimed resembles a living sauropod dinosaur!
This creature lives in the Congo river basin and is well know to the local tribes that inhabit the region. It is described as having a long neck with a small head, a large elephant like body and a large tail. Evidence dates back to the 17th century when French missionaries found footprints with claw marks that measured three feet in circumference! This reportedly bad tempered beast is also known for killing any hippos that stray into its territory.
There have been a number of expeditions mounted to find this lake and river dwelling monster, but so far none have any success. The main sightings continue to come from the natives that inhabit the area. In one encounter, from 1959, the pygmy people speared a Mokele-mbembe to death and then cooked and ate it. It seems all who took part in the feast later died.
There are many interesting stories about this animal, so a bit of research is well worth while. As with so many other creatures from the realm of cryptozoology, we stand by for some conclusive proof of their existence. In the meantime, just like Yowies and Bigfoot, it is the tantalizing eyewitness accounts that continue to whet our appetite for the truth.
The sketch drawing comes from the Wikipedia article on Mokele-mbembe. It gives a good overview on some of the available evidence and is well worth a read.
This creature lives in the Congo river basin and is well know to the local tribes that inhabit the region. It is described as having a long neck with a small head, a large elephant like body and a large tail. Evidence dates back to the 17th century when French missionaries found footprints with claw marks that measured three feet in circumference! This reportedly bad tempered beast is also known for killing any hippos that stray into its territory.
There have been a number of expeditions mounted to find this lake and river dwelling monster, but so far none have any success. The main sightings continue to come from the natives that inhabit the area. In one encounter, from 1959, the pygmy people speared a Mokele-mbembe to death and then cooked and ate it. It seems all who took part in the feast later died.
There are many interesting stories about this animal, so a bit of research is well worth while. As with so many other creatures from the realm of cryptozoology, we stand by for some conclusive proof of their existence. In the meantime, just like Yowies and Bigfoot, it is the tantalizing eyewitness accounts that continue to whet our appetite for the truth.
The sketch drawing comes from the Wikipedia article on Mokele-mbembe. It gives a good overview on some of the available evidence and is well worth a read.