Mokele-mbembe

Mokele-mbembe

Grouping	Cryptid
Sub grouping	Lake monster
Other name(s)	nsanga, n’yamala, jago-nini
Country	Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Cameroon, Zambia
Region	Congo River area
Habitat	Lakes, swamps, riverbends

For information on the African political theorist, see: Achille Mbembe

Mokèlé-mbèmbé is the name given to a large creature reported to live in the lakes and swamps of the Congo River basin. The term "Mokèlé-mbèmbé" comes from the Lingala language, and can be roughly translated as “one who stops the flow of rivers.” (Clark, 261)

The creature's very existence and identification have long been debated between mainstream scientists, local Pygmies, creationists and cryptozoologists. It has been suggested by Dr. Roy Mackal that the creature could possibly be a relict sauropod which survived extinction. Although this speculation has received minimal attention or support from scientists, the living dinosaur contention is highly popular among enthusiasts. Although most scientists believe that Mokele-Mbembe can be best described as a fraud supported by myth and misidentification of known animals, Mokele-Mbembe is one of the most famous cryptozoological subjects, along with Bigfoot, the Yeti, and the Loch Ness Monster.

Overview

The Mokele-mbembe is said to be a "herbivore" that is quite territorial. Its size is most often said to be close to that of an elephant and it has been described as having the shape of a sauropod dinosaur.

Claimed sightings and expeditions

Numerous expeditions were undertaken to discover uncharted Africa. During these, there were some sightings that might involve an unidentified dinosaur-like creature. Also there have been several specific Mokele-mbembe-hunting expeditions. These expeditions have been undertaken with varying degrees of scientific rigor. No expeditions have uncovered incontrovertible proof that the creature exists. However, several of the expeditions have claimed close-encounters with Mokele-mbembe, and have offered forms of indirect evidence.

1776

Perhaps the earliest reference that might be relevant to later mokele-mbembe stories (though the term is not used in the source) comes from the 1776 book of Abbe 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.” (Clark, 261)

1909

Lt. Paul Gratz claimed to have heard tales of a mokele-mbembe-like creature while in the Lake Bangweulu region (now in Zambia) in 1909. The nsanga, said Gratz, was feared by the natives, and he described its supposed shape as resembling "a degenerate saurian"(Clark, 262). This was perhaps the first explicit identification of the creature with a dinosaur. Gratz further claimed to have been shown a purported nsanga hide on Mbawala island.

1909 saw another mention of a mokele-mbembe-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.” (Clark, 262) 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.” (Clark, 262) 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 natives testimony was sometimes unreliable.

These and other unsubstantiated 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, and others still treated the subject as a joke.

1913

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. (Ley, 69) Nonetheless, von Stein thought the tales were credible: trusted native guides had related the tales to him; furthermore, 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 [1] 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. (quoted in Ley, 70)

1919-1920

A 32-men-strong expedition was sent out to Africa from the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. 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 Loren Coleman & 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". 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.

1927

1927 saw the publication of ‘’Trader Horn’’, the memoir of Alfred Aloysious 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 is said to be very large, according to Smith, and to leave large, round, three-clawed footprints. (Clark, 261)

1932

Zoologist Ivan T. Sanderson claimed that, while in Cameroon 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 waters. 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) (Clark, 101). However, Sanderson's claims have been strongly criticized as unreliable, because they were contradicted by James H. Powell, who traveled to the same exact spot where Sanderson had his sighting, and found that a modern railway passed a few feet away. Sanderson was later questioned by Dr. Roy Mackal, and admitted to various fabrications in his books, including all references to dinosaur-like creatures. According to Mackal, Sanderson explained the fraud by saying that he "loved to eat lobster", and adding exaggerated claims and fabrications to his books resulted in more sales.

1938-1939

In 1938, explorer Leo von Boxberger mounted an expedition in part to investigate mokele-mbembe reports. He collected much information from natives, but his collected notes and sketches were abandoned during a skirmish with aggressive natives. (Clark, 263)

In 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 native 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. (Ley, 71-72)

1959 Mokele-mbembe killing

Reverend Eugene Thomas from Ohio, USA, told James Powell and Dr. Roy P. Mackal in 1979 a story that involved the purported killing of a Mokele-mbembe near Lake Tele in 1959. 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 . 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 Mokele-mbembe from interfering in 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 Mokele-mbembes [sic] began with this incident." Furthermore, Roy P. Mackal heard from witnesses that the stakes were in the same location in the tributary as of the early 1980s.

1976

In 1960, an expedition to Zaire was planned by herpetologist James H. Powell, Jr., scheduled for 1972, but was cancelled by legal complications. By 1976, however, he had sorted out the international travel problems, and went to Gabon instead, inspired by the Trader Horn book. He secured finances from the Explorer’s Club. Although Powell’s ostensible research aim was to study crocodiles, he also planned to study mokele-mbembe.

On his first 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 learned half a century earlier. (Clark, 264) 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. (Clark, 264)

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. (Clark, 264) He decided that the n’yamala was probably identical to the Mokele-mbembe. Though seemingly herbivores, witnesses reported that the creatures were fearsome, and were known to attack canoes that were steered too close.

1980 Mackal/Powell

For his third expedition in February 1980, Powell was joined by University of Chicago biologist 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.

However, Powell and Mackal interviewed several people who claimed to have seen Mokele-mbembe, and Clark writes that the descriptions of the creature were "strikingly similar … animals 15 to 30 feet 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 invariable pointed to a picture of a sauropod when shown pictures of various animals to which mokele-mbembe might be compared." (Clark, 264)

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 (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, who would feature in a later mokele-mbembe controversy.

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” (Clark, 265). 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, mokele-mbembe frequently lived due to deep waters at those points.

1987 saw the publication of Mackal’s book, A Living Dinosaur?, wherein he summarized the expeditions adventures, and related his own conclusions about the mokele-mbembe. Mackal tried, unsuccessfully, to raise funds for additional trips to Africa.

1981 Regusters

In 1981, American engineer Herman Regusters led his own mokele-mbembe expedition, after there was a conflict with the Mackal-Bryan expedition that he intended to join. After much difficulty, Regusters and his wife Kia 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" travelling 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 'some animal' in the lake.[2] Reportedly, Regusters returned with droppings, footprint casts [3], sound recordings of what they thought to be the creature’s vocalization, describing it as a “low windy roar [that] increased to a deep throated trumpeting growl.” (Clark, 265) However the predominant belief is that Mokele-mbembe does not create any sounds, only the Emela-ntouka. Herman Alphanso Regusters passed away on December 19th 2005, aged 72.

1983 Agnagna

Agnagna led the 1983 expedition to Lake Tele; it was, unlike any earlier efforts, comprised entirely of Congolese. While at Lake Tele on May 1, Agnagna claimed to have seen a mokele-mbembe 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 camera on the wrong setting (Clark, 266). In another version, he told he dropped the camera in the mud. Due to this contradiction, and later legal troubles, Agnagna's claims were generally rejected as unreliable.

1985 Rory 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. Nugent claimed that they view the creature as a god "that you can not approach, but if he chooses, this god can approach you". 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, and was led by Englishman William Gibbons (presently living in Canada), comprised of (as Clark writes) "four enthusiastic but naïve young Englishmen." (Clark, 266) They hired Agnagna to take them to Lake Tele, but did not report any mokele-mbembe sightings. The British men did, however, describe Agnagna as doing "little more than lie, cheat and steal (our film and supplies) and turn the porters against us." (Clark, 266) After criminal charges were filed against him, a Congolese court ordered Agnagna to return the items he'd taken from the expedition.

However, upon their return to the UK they brought with them the remains of a monkey which he could not identify. This was later classified as a new sub-species of Crested mangabey monkey (cerocebus galeritus). Fish and insect specimens also found remain unclassified to date.

1986 Dutch Expedition

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 binoculars (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.

On the way back, arriving at the town of Impfondo, they were ‘arrested’ by Congolese biologist Agnagna and his team, who had just arrived there for an expedition with the British team of Operation Congo (see before), allegedly for not possessing the proper documents. They were harassed, 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).

No signs, tracks or anything tangible or visible of the alleged animals was seen or shown whatsoever. Tracks, droppings, and other signs of forest elephants and gorillas were commonly seen, as well as crocodiles in the lake (African slender snouted crocodile, Crocodylus cataphractus). 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 Mokele-mbembe 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 Mokele-mbembe during that expedition, although Regusters himself claims to have seen one. Congolese biologist Agnagna was perceived as being very unreliable and probably having a personal interest (financial?, fame?) in perpetuation of the legend.

This expedition received some attention in the Dutch media (radio, TV, newspapers) from 1985 to 1987.

It must be emphasized that, after the expedition, the members of this group and in particular the organizer, biologist Botterweg, no longer believed in the Mokele-mbembe’s existence as an unknown large animal and strongly doubted the testimonies of others, an emphatic scepticism that persists to this day.

1988 Japanese expedition

Occurred in 1988 , and was lead by the Congolese wildlife official Jose Bourges. Members of a Japanese film crew allegedly captured the first evidence of Mokele-mbembe.[4] 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 with skeptics identifying it as two men in a canoe or elephants.

1989 O'Hanlon

British writer Redmond O'Hanlon traveled to the region in 1989 and not only failed to discover any evidence of Mokele-mbembe 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 his book No Mercy (1997).

1992 Operation Congo 2

• William Gibbons made his second expedition in 1992, together with Rory Nugent, called Operation Congo 2.

Together they searched almost two thirds of the unexplored Bai River while also examining two small lakes North West of Lake Tele. These are Lake Fouloukuo and Lake Tibeke, which are surprisingly absent from most maps. Both are said to be haunts of Mokele-Mbembe. Rory Nugent also took two photographs of something in Lake Tele, one supposedly shows the head of a Mokele Mbembe.[5]

1998

The Extreme Expeditions team was set to travel to the Likouala Region, however the 1997-1999 civil war made this impossible.

1999

During the 1999 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. However, it must be noted that the trek did not pass through the Likouala and lake Tele regions.

2000

• In January 2000, the Congo Millennium Expedition (aka. DINO2000) took place, the second one by Extreme Expeditions. Consisting of Andrew Sandersin, Adam Davies, Keith Townley, Swedish explorer Jan-Ove Sundberg, and five others.

• In November 2000, William Gibbons did some preliminary research in Cameroon for a future expedition. He was accompanied by David Wetzel. While visiting with a group of pygmies, were informed about an animal called Ngoubou. It might be related to the Emela-ntouka, but this animal is single-horned. The pygmies asserted it was not a regular rhinoceros, as it had more than one horn (six horns on the frill in one eywitness 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 indentified the animal with a Styracosaurus, but these are currently only known to have inhabited North America.

2001

• 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 acompanied by a BBC filmcrew. However, no evidence of Mokele-mbembe was found.

2006

• In January 2006, the Milt Marcy Expedition travelled 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 Mokele-mbembe only two days before, however they did not discover the animal themselves.

• A May 2006 episode called "Super Snake" of the National Geographic-series "Dangerous Encounters" included an expedition headed by Dr. Brady Barr to Lake Tele. No unknown animals were found.

2008

• In March 2008 An episode of the SciFi Channel original series "Destination Truth" involves investigator Josh Gates and crew searching for the elusive dinosaur. However it must be noted that 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" as earlier described in this article. It must be noted that the crew of Destination Truth kept calling the animal "Mokele-Mbembe" to the locals, when that name is only used in the Republic of the Congo. Their episode featured a videtaped close encounter, but filmed from a great distance. Although the video is authentic, some skeptics believe that it is merely a submerged hippopotamus. see a sample image

What is Mokele-mbembe?

There are several problems one encounters in investigating Mokele-mbembe: included among these are evaluating the reliability of supposed sightings, and the problems inherent in outsiders studying pygmy traditions from a different cultural and linguistic perspective.

While it is true that pygmies identified the okapi long before outside scientists, modern pygmies differ drastically in what they describe as Mokele-mbembe: some identify it as a sauropod-like creature and others identify pictures of rhinoceroses as Mokele-mbembe, although it is interesting to note that the term Mokele-Mbembe itself is used to describe many other African cryptids, such as Emela-Ntouka, a possible rhinoceros-like creature. Compounding the difficulty in sorting through different traditions is that the Boha villagers seem to believe that Mokele-mbembe is a spirit rather than an actual animal. A further complication is that long-running hostilities and tensions between pygmies and neighboring Bantu people have given both groups ample reason to tell stories about frightening creatures in the jungles as a way of scaring off outsiders. Finally, some locals have claimed that stories about Mokele-mbembe have been fabricated for financial gain.

Even some who have questioned the popular dinosaur explanation think that some unknown animal must account for Mokele-mbembe reports. Willy Ley thought the evidence was inconclusive, but he did think the anecdotal testimony was reliable enough to reasonably suggest "that there is a large and dangerous animal hiding in the shallow waters and rivers of Central Africa." (Ley, 72; emphasis his) Though he thought it highly unlikely that the creature was a dinosaur, Ley admitted it was faintly plausible: the creature was described as reptilian, and, as of 1959, the climate of Central Africa was believed to have remained stable for tens of millions of years. (Ley, 74)

A dinosaur?

Though the "living dinosaur" theory for Mokele-mbembe has received minimal support from most scientists, it is the best-known explanation.

Arguments for

• Even one of the foremost Mokele-mbembe hunters, Roy P. Mackal, did not suggest that the creature was certainly a dinosaur. Mackal devotes a chapter in his book to examining what kind of animal the mokele-mbembe might be. He feels that mammals and amphibians can be safely ruled out, leaving reptiles as the only plausible candidate.

• Of all the living reptiles, Mackal argues that the iguana and especially the monitor lizards bear the closest resemblance to the mokele-mbembe. (Mackal, 227) He also admits, however, that at 15 to 30 feet, mokele-mbembe is claimed to be much larger than any known monitor, and that all known monitors are carnivorous, unlike the allegedly herbivorous mokele-mbembe.

• Though the evidence for mokele-mbembe was not conclusive, Mackal judged available evidence as consistent, writing, "I believe the description of the Mokele-mbembe is accounted for in all respects by an identification with a small sauropod dinosaur." (Mackal, 295)

• Even the horn on the head of Mokele-mbembe can possibly be explained. Some scientists have suggested that some sauropods, like diplodocus, could have had a small elephant-like trunk growing out

of the top of their heads, from the nasal passages. This trunk could have been used to pull plants to the creatures mouth while it feeds.

• Mackal and others have suggested that Mokele-mbembe's existence is plausible because of the large amount of allegedly uncharted territory in which a breeding population could survive. Other large creatures, such as elephants, exist in the region, living in large open clearings (each called a bai), as well as in thicker wooded areas. Given these arguments about the terrain and environment, proponents contend that the existence of the Mokele-mbembe may appear to be a possibility.

• Some creationists believe the creature is a surviving dinosaur, a supposition that has been vigorously disputed by mainstream scientists.

• The Babylonian Ishtar Gate includes drawings of dinosaur-like creatures, called Sirrush. Since the dragon is featured together with real animals like lions and aurochs, some cryptozoologists have speculated that the monster might be based on an actual animal, perhaps dinosaurs that survived in Africa into historical time or to this day.

• The Congo has been declared to be larger than the state of Florida and 80% unexplored. Cryptozoologists often use this as evidence regarding the lack of everyday sightings.

Arguments against

Sceptics argue that the "living dinosaur" theory is problematic for many reasons.

• Some of the descriptions of Mokele-mbembe are consistent with a sauropod, though many other descriptions are not. The idea that local Pygmies always identify Mokele-mbembe as a sauropod-like creature is untrue, as many Pygmies have identified rhinoceroses as Mokele-mbembe , while many others say that Mokele-mbembe is an ephemeral spirit rather than a physical animal. However, some Cryptozoologists consider the spirit description to be superstition, and it has been suggested that the name Mokele mbembe may also be used in reference to Emela-Ntouka, thus accounting for the rhino-like descriptions.
• Most testimonies of the Mokele-mbembe seem to be of very anecdotal and even legendary character, i.e. hear-say and second-hand stories, that perpetuate and reinforce themselves, in accordance with the strongly anecdotal and verbal African cultures. Remarkable is the fact that the several of the interviewed guides’ belief in the Mokele-mbembe’s existence was largely based on the various expeditions looking for it. Despite the fact that the African expedition guides were extremely capable and experienced hunters and experts of the African rainforest, they were not able to show any clear track or sign of the Mokele-mbembe and almost none of the many interviewed guides even claimed ever to have seen one personally, nor its tracks. Also remarkable is the fact that no (non-Congolese) biologists of any expedition has ever seen a Mokele-mbembe or its tracks.
• A few skeptics believe that the ‘splash phenomenon’ in the water observed by the Powell-Mackal-Greenwell expedition could tentatively be explained as a wake wave behind the motorized dug-out canoe breaking on a sand bar just beneath the water surface, or against the river shore.
• Theory favoring Mokele-mbembe as a sauropod supposes that sauropod dinosaurs would inhabit swampy regions or even spend the bulk of their lives in water. These traits are both now regarded as mistakenly attributed to sauropods by early paleontologists.
• Any creature the size of a sauropod would arguably have severe trouble walking through the swampy regions where it is supposed to live, as its bulky size would leave it tangled in vines and trees, and as its weight would cause it to sink into the mud. The feet of elephants display metacarpal spread, in which the digits radiate outward from the wrist or ankle bone, allowing the animal to distribute its weight more broadly and therefore avoid sinking in wet earth. The feet of all known sauropods, however, had vertically arranged digits, which distribute weight through the leg column, not unlike the body of a horse, therefore making it difficult to walk in sinking terrain.
• A further problem is the issue of "passage evidence". Unlike forest elephants (which use their tusks to clear relatively narrow paths through forest growth), sauropods would be forced to either topple groups of trees -- which would leave obvious indications of their presence -- or simply go around them. As the latter would be difficult in dense rainforest, there would have to be large pathways cleared by the animal. Aside from a few ambiguous trails noted by von Stein and Mackal, there is little in the way of Mokele-mbembe "trails".
• Though the thickness of a rainforest has bearing on that rainforest's ability to withstand climate changes, rainforests are very delicate ecosystems that alter dramatically in response to even slight changes, as is apparent in the case of contemporary rainforests. A rainforest, in fact, is arguably the least likely environment to withstand extreme ecological changes -- a desert or ocean would arguably be much better locations for animals to exist continuously for 65 million years.
• Similarly, all of the land animals known to inhabit rainforests are geologically young animals, having evolved much later than the end of the Cretaceous.
• Some skeptics argue that the possibility of such a small number of animals -- even Mokele-mbembe enthusiasts do not claim the existence of a large population -- surviving for such a long time is unlikely because of stochastic events and inbreeding depression.
• As many scholars have pointed out , the idea that the Congo rainforest is completely unmapped is actually part of the myth of Mokele-mbembe. Pygmy and Bantu humans have been living in the rainforest for thousands of years; Europeans explored much of the rainforest extensively in search of valuable exportable resources during the late 1800s and early 1900s ; and modern scientists have been closely studying the rainforest for decades. While it is not as comprehensively mapped as some areas, the Congo Basin is no less well-mapped than any other dense forest.

References in popular culture

• James Blish's 1962 science fiction novel, The Night Shapes, centered upon Mokèlè-mbèmbé.
• In 1985 a movie was released based on the rumours about Mokèlè-mbèmbé, called Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend. It featured American scientists who discovered a surviving family of sauropods in Central Africa.
• A fictional book was written about this creature called Cryptid Hunters by Roland Smith.
• In White Wolf's RPG World of Darkness, the Mokole are one of the "Changing Breeds". They shapeshift into reptilian forms such as crocodiles, alligators and gila monsters, but can also take attributes from dinosaurs and even dragons.
• A game module for the roleplaying game Conspiracy X, is titled Bodyguard of Lies 2: Mokolé.
• In the online videogame Steppenwolf, the first chapter focuses on finding the Mokèlè Mbèmbè.
• In the book Mortal Engines, by Phillip Reeve, the character Captain Khora is an African with an airship called the Mokele Mbembe.
• The Pokémon, Tropius, bears a distinct resemblance to the Mokélé-Mbémbé, and also shares some features.
• In Uncharted Waters: New Horizons, the Mokele Mbembe is a discovery.
• In the novel Reptilia, written by Thomas Thiemeyer, the Mokèlè-mbèmbé is a mutated prehistoric reptile.
• The 92nd novel in the Destroyer series, Last Dragon, features Mokele m'bembe as a surviving strain of apatosuars which Chiun values for the longevity supposedly conveyed by eating their bones.
• In the video game Guild Wars Nightfall, there is a species of creatures named Mokeles and a skill named after them called Mokele Smash.

See also

• Emela-ntouka
• Ngoubou
• Mbielu-Mbielu-Mbielu
• Nguma-monene
• Sirrush
• Kasai rex
• Cryptids
• Living dinosaurs

Bibliography

• Clark, Jerome, ‘’Unexplained! 347 Strange Sightings, Incredible Occurrences, and Puzzling Physical Phenomena’’; Detroit, Visible Ink Press; 1993, ISBN 0-8103-9436-7
• Gibbons, 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. 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 Template:Sv icon

External links

• Up to date information on Africa's Dinosaur
• Mokele-mbembe: The Living Dinosaur
• Mokele-Mbeme
• Congo Dinosaur
• A similar Congolese cryptid animal called the emela ntouka.