Tracking The Mokele-Mbembe Legend

This is a detailedupdate on the Mokele – Mbembe story on which I have posted before, fromCryptomundo.    In fact, where in thepast we got smatterings of information, we are now seeing plenty of separateobservers and sources and the locals are unsurprisingly fairly uncooperative.

Itis rather clear that this creature will end up been quite easy to locate and toestablish its habits, since it is out in the daytime and is pretty predictable.   The only reason it has not happened yet isthe present difficulty of access which is surely ending.

Particularlynow, since everyone is getting access to cell phones.  The locals will surely become involved in theprocess particularly when they figure out they can sell pictures.

Inthe event, this update includes plenty of high quality observers who had nodifficulty seeing exactly what they saw.

Tracking The Mokele-Mbembe Legend

Posted: 07 Apr 2011 12:18 PM PDT

http://naturalplane.blogspot.com/2011/04/tracking-mokele-mbembe-legend.html

Reports of dinosaur-like creatures in Central Africa go back for more than 200 years, according to William"Bill" Gibbons. In 1776, French missionaries passing through the forestsreported finding huge footprints in the ground. The clawed prints were threefeet in circumference and were spaced about seven feet apart. This would havemade the animal as big as an elephant, but it was common knowledge to thelocals that the tracks were not from an elephant, since elephants do not possesclaws. One of the priests, amazingly, even gave claim to have seen severalspecimens chewing on vegetation while wading in the rivers. Regardless, it wascertain that these were an entirely new group of animals. At that time,however, they were neither "dinosaurs" nor "prehistoric,"the words waiting to be invented nearly one hundred years later.

In 1913, a German explorer reported stories of, what the natives called,"Mokele-mbembe," which he had heard while in the Congo. Hearingthe reports, a few scientists noticed that the descriptions of the creaturesmade them sound much like sauropod dinosaurs. Sauropods were the giants of thedinosaurs world, averaging about 70 feet (21 meters) long and standing 12-15feet (3.7 to 4.8 m) tall at the hips.

In 1932, a British scientist, exploring near the Likouala region where thecreatures are said to live, came across some abnormally huge footprints. Later,when he went down one of the rivers in a canoe, he heard strange sounds, butdid not see anything.

Coincidentally, that same year the world famous zoologist and biologist, IvanT. Sanderson, along with animal-trader Gerald Russel, were paddling up theMainyu River in the heart of western Africa when, according to Sanderson'sreport:

"The most terrifying sound I have ever heard, which sounded like anon-coming earthquake or an exploding, nearby robot, suddenly greeted us from alarge underwater cave."

While the water of the river was boiling and foaming directly in front of theircanoe, a darkish, shining lizard-like head suddenly rose from the dark water.They described the head as nearly the size of the head of a fully grown hippo,which sat on a thick, swan-like neck. The enormous neck was turned towards thetwo men, and for just a few seconds, although it seemed like an eternity, themonster simply stared at Sanderson and Russel. Mr. Sanderson summed up histhoughts with these emphatic words:

"I don't know what we saw, but the animal, the monster, burned itself intomy retinas. It looked like something that ought to have been dead millions ofyears ago. As a scientist, I should have been happy, of course, but thisencounter was so frightening, so nasty that I never want to see it again."

A Dinosaur In Africa?

It was 1986, Rory Nugent and his expedition party were out in the world'slargest unexplored swamp on earth, the LikoualaSwamp of Africa.While near Lake Tele he saw a long, thin neck come up out of the water, likethat of a dinosaur. Rory immediately took two photographs and quickly got inhis canoe, but his native guides stopped him at gunpoint and said, "He(the creature) would have killed us all..."

Over the last 100 years, evidence has accumulated that sauropod dinosaurs maystill be roaming the vast, unexplored regions of the African swamp and jungle.Places like Nigeria, Congo, Angola,Gabon, and Cameroon havesimilar reports of huge, long-necked monsters, some with a length of 75 feet!Native sightings have been confirmed by reports from missionaries, explorers,and even army personnel. The natives in the Congo region call this creature“Mokele-mbembe” (the one who stops the flow of rivers). This creature is saidto possess a long neck and tail, small head, large body, and four legs. Theysay the animal is very aggressive when disturbed and will bite and lash itstail at you when it is tipping over canoes, killing elephants or hippos. It isherbivorous (plant-eater) and enjoys eating very large amounts of the Malombofruit that grows on vines at the edge of the rivers. Tracks from this creaturerange from 1 to 3 feet wide and are spaced 7 to 8 feet apart. It has no hairand it’s skin is very smooth. Dr. Bill Gibbons and Dr. Roy Mackal have donemuch research on Mokele-mbembe and without their work, little would be knownabout it.

At Lake Tele in 1983, Marcellin Agnaga was on anexpedition when he said he saw Mokele-mbembe swimming in the lake. The creaturewas half-way out of the water and he could see it’s head, neck, and part of itsbody. His sketch resembles a sauropod dinosaur. He got his camera and beganfilming, but left the lens cap on and lost all proof of his encounter. 

In a nearby part of Africa called Cameroon, there is another creaturecalled Le’Kela-mbembe. It is said to grow around 70 feet in length and will eatthe leaves from the Esem Tree. Dr. Bill Gibbons has done over twenty years ofresearch on Mokele-mbembes and has discovered that Le’Kela-mbembes are actuallymature Mokele-mbembes that migrate into Cameroon to mate (in September) andlater return to the Congo to give birth to live young. Bill Gibbons discoveredalso that it will dig tunnels or caves on the shores of rivers. It mostly eatsbetween 3:00 to 5:00 P.M. and is active at night. An expedition in 2003, confirmedthat the Le’Kela-mbembe has a height of up to 18 feet by finding trees with alltheir branches eaten off up to a height of 18 feet. They also found tracks anda cave that had been sealed partly from the inside with mud. One biologistnamed Peter Beach could hear scratching sounds inside the cave. As the noisesbecame louder it was evident that what ever was inside the cave was diggingit’s way out towards them. One member of the expedition named Pierre feared for their lives and theyquickly left, since an adult Mokele-mbembe can be very dangerous if disturbedat close range.

S. Arrey was housing some British soldiers in 1948 near LakeBarombi in Northern Cameroon. While he and some others were swimming in the lake,something broke through the surface of the water. In a very short time everyonewas out of the water. They observed two giant reptiles coming out of the water.The larger one had a longer neck (about 15 feet long) and a spike or horn onit’s head that the smaller one did not have. Their skin was not smooth, butrather scaly.

Please note that the natives who see these creatures are not afraid to tellothers what they have seen because they haven’t been taught about evolution,and do not know that dinosaurs were suppose to have been extinct millions ofyears ago. I feel the theory of evolution actually hinders the discovery ofanimals thought to be extinct. When the school text-books teach about thehistory of dinosaurs, why don’t they mention there is a strong possibility theymight still be living? Because of this unproven theory, people are hesitant totell anyone when they see dinosaurs like the Loch NessMonster or Mokele-mbembe for fear of what people might think.

Here is some recently contributed information by David Woetzel (who has been onexpeditions in search of Mokele-mbembe):

1.) The older 20-45 ft long creatures live and mate in the Dja and maybe theSangha rivers. These mature MM's (Mokele-mbembe) have very tough scales, likethe back of a crocodile. Also like a croc, their underbelly is much softer.Their coloration is a dulled brownish gray.

2.) The younger creatures live in the Likouala swamp region. Their scales aresofter and their colors are a more vivid reddish-brown. They're probably moreskittish then their older counterparts.

3.) This sharp contrast in areas by age suggests a migration that only happensonce in their lives (although the mother likely goes with its offspring to takethem to the swamp).

4.) Their birth instincts are peculiar and vague. The native people say the MMgives birth to live young every 20 years. This is not a trait likely inreptiles, maybe the people their have it wrong because they are not able tofind a nest site (some nests have been found) for how territorial these animalsare they likely guard their nests very aggressively. They would likely killanyone that gets close enough to see the eggs.

5.) No matter what, the mother's birth migration probably happens 1 of 2 ways.They either migrate to the swamp and lay eggs (or give birth) there, or theylay their eggs along the river and the mother and offspring go to the swamptogether. I'm in favor of that idea because the nests are found along therivers and the only time more than one MM is seen is when it is with its mother(according to the natives).

6.) The mother remains with her offspring for about a year (it may use thistime to take the baby to the swamp and prepare it for life on its own)

7.) The adult male has a shorter neck but it also has a spiky back, and thefemale has a longer neck without the spikes.

8.) The young all have dermal ridges. - www.livingdinos.com

EXPEDITIONS

Expeditions primarily began in the 1880s, shortly after the region was takenover by Belgium.For many years, therefore, it was called the BelgiumCongo.Beginning from 1909, here is a brief list of over a dozen of them.

AMERICAN EXPEDITION 1909

Naturalist Carl Hagenbeck recounted in his autobiography how two separateindividuals - a German named Hans Schomburgh and an English hunter - told himabout a "huge monster, half elephant, half dragon," which lived inthe Congo swamps. Later, another naturalist, Joseph Menges, related toHagenbeck that "some kind of dinosaur, seemingly akin to the brontosaurs,"inhabited the swamps. Hagenbeck soon sent an expedition to the Congo to searchfor the monster, but the effort was quickly aborted due to disease and hostilenatives.

GERMAN EXPEDITION 1913

In 1913, Capt. Freiherr von Stein zu Lausnitz was sent by the German governmentto explore the Cameroon.Von Stein wrote of a unique animal called, in the local tongue, Mokele-mbembe,said to inhabit the areas near the Ubangi, Sangha, and Ikelemba Rivers.Von Stein described the creature thus:

"The animal is said to be of a brownish-gray color with a smooth skin, itssize approximately that of an elephant; at least that of a hippopotamus. It issaid to have a long and very flexible neck and only one tooth, but a very longone; some say it is a horn. A few spoke about a long muscular tail like that ofan alligator. It is said to climb the shore even at daytime in search of food;its diet is said to be entirely vegetable. At the Ssombo RiverI was shown a path said to have been made by this animal in order to get at itsfood. The path was fresh and there were plants of the described type [a liana]nearby"

AMERICAN EXPEDITION 1920

A 32-men-strong expedition was sent out from the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C.After six days, African guides found large, unexplained tracks along the bankof a river and later the team heard mysterious "roars, which had noresemblance with any known animal," coming from an unexplored swamp.However, the Smithsonian's hunt for Moklele-Mbembe was to end in tragedy. Duringa train-ride through a flooded area where an entire tribe was said to have seenthe dinosaur, the locomotive suddenly derailed and turned over. Four teammembers were crushed to death under the cars and another half dozen seriouslyinjured.

AMERICAN EXPEDITION 1932

In 1932, American cryptozoologist Ivan Sanderson was traveling in Africa and came across large hippo-like tracks in aregion with no hippos. He was told by the natives that they were made by acreature named the "mgbulu-eM'bembe." Later, Sanderson saw somethingin the water that seemed too large to be a hippo, but it disappeared before hecould investigate further.

AMERICAN EXPEDITION 1972

In 1960, herpetologist James H. Powell, Jr. took interest in the Africandragons and organized an expedition to the Congo in 1972. Powell's expedition,unfortunately, was fraught with problems (the United States and the Congo had poor relations at thetime). Many months of hardships such as snake-bites, near-drownings andtropical diseases only led to more witness testimonies about Mokele-Membe andanother lizard-like creature which locally was called "n'yamala."

AMERICAN EXPEDITION 1976

In 1976, James Powell decided to go to Gabon instead, inspired by a bookcalled "Trader Horn." (In 1927, the book, a memoir of the author'stime in Gabon, specificallyalong the Ogooue River, was written by Englishman AlfredAloysius Smith. He recorded hearing of a creature called the"jago-nini" and identified it with the "amali," a creaturewhose tracks he had seen). He was quick to realize they were probably identicalto the Mokele-mbembe. Furthermore, Powell heard local legends of the n'yamala,and locals identified pictures of a sauropod dinosaur as bearing the mostresemblance to the animal.

GERMAN EXPEDITION 1980

An expedition mounted by engineer Herman Regusters and his wife Kia managed tomake its way to Lake Tele, where they heardthe growls and roars of an unknown creature. They also claimed to havephotographed Mokele-Mbembe in the lake, as well as watching it walk on landthrough the brush. According to Regusters, the creature they saw was 30-35 feetlong.

AMERICAN EXPEDITION 1980

Powell launched another expedition in 1980, but this time cryptozoologist RoyP. Mackal came along. Powell and Mackal found that a large number of reportscame from the banks of the Likouala-aux-herbesRiver near Lake Tele.They said that most witnesses maintained that the animal was between 15-30 feetlong (a long neck accounted for much of the length). The creature was also saidto be a rust color, and that some had been seen to possess a frill or crest.

AMERICAN EXPEDITION 1981

Yet another expedition was organized in 1981 - this time composed of Mackal, J.Richard Greenwell, M. Justin Wilkinson, and Congolese zoologist MarcellinAgnagna. The expedition encountered what they believed was a Congo "dinosaur" along the Likouala River, when they heard a large animalleaping into the water near Epena. They also discovered a path of brokenbranches supposedly made by the animal, as well as a number of footprints.

AFRICAN EXPEDITION 1983

In April, 1983, a Congolese expedition led by Marcellin Agnagna, a zoologistfrom the Brazzaville Zoo, arrived to Lake Tele.Agnagna claimed to have seen the beast some 275 meters out in the lake. Theanimal held its thin, reddish head - which had crocodile-looking, oval eyes anda thin nose - on a height of 90 cm and looked from side to side, almost as ifit was watching him. According to Agnagna, the animal was a reptile, though nota crocodile, nor a python or a freshwater turtle.

BRITISH EXPEDITION 1985-86

Englishman William J. Gibbons (presently living in Canada) talked to severaleye-witnesses who gave him valuable information about the Mokele-Mbembe. He iscurrently convinced that the dinosaur exists, but at the time was unable toprove it. However, upon his return to the UK he brought with him the remainsof a monkey which he could not identify. This was later classified as a newsub-species of crestless mangabey monkey (cerocebus galeritus). Fish and insectspecimens also found in the Congosremain unclassified to date

.

JAPANESE EXPEDITION 1987

A piece of blurry video footage filmed by a Japanese film crew supposedlyshowing the creature in Lake Tele remains disputable evidence of the animal'sexistence. The film is indistinct and grainy, possibly just showing two men ina boat with one of them standing upright in the front of the vessel, as iscommon in Africa. This has been interpreted asa head and neck, but this interpretation of the videotape is purely speculativeat best.

BRITISH EXPEDITION 1990

Author and explorer Redmond O'Hanlon returned from his failed expeditionconvinced that witnesses must have mistaken wild elephants, crossing riverswith their trunk in the air, for a prehistoric Mokele-Mbembe.

BRITISH EXPEDITION 1992

William Gibbons tried again six years later, this time together with Americanexplorer Rory Nugent. Together they searched almost two thirds of theunexplored Bai Riverwhile also examining two small lakes North West of Lake Tele.These are Lake Fouloukuoand Lake Tibeke, which are surprisingly absentfrom most maps. Both are said to be haunts of Mokele-Mbembe. Rory Nugent alsotook two interesting photographs of something most unusual in Lake Tele.One may actually show the head of a Mokele Mbembe.

WINTER 2006 - 1/12/2006 - Cryptomundo.com:

The Milt Marcy Expedition is the fourth such trek to Africa,with the three before this one being lead by William Gibbons. Marcy is aninsurance broker (Milt Marcy Insurance) in Portland, Oregon,who has funded the last three expeditions, and will be participating in thisone himself as Gibbons cannot go.

The four expeditions have been greatly assisted by the cryptozoology-friendlygovernment of Cameroon(they received all their official documents quickly). Furthermore, Pierre Simahas collected several new reports of Mokele-mbembe activity in the river systemwhich borders the Congo Republic. Ed Holdroyd, anatmospheric scientist, has also helped the expedition by providing some superbhigh resolution satellite photographs of an undisclosed area of the riversystem where Gibbons, Marcy, and all believe the animals are currently active.

Through a combination of field expeditions, recons by Pierre Sima, nativereports and the satellite images, the Milt Marcy Expedition feel that they cannow track the migration patterns of mokele-mbembe much more effectively.

Update - 2/3/2006:

Milt Marcy is in good shape given all the travel time and tough conditions (theinsect problem was awful and his feet are swollen up from all the bites). Buthe sounded encouraged and in good spirits.

He took a boat with him (11ft with 24 hp outboard) that performed flawlesslyand took them far up the Dja for 110 miles. They interviewed three fishermenand acquired three independent eyewitness accounts of Mokele-mbembe observedmerely days before they got there.

Missionary Paul Ohlin saw a Mokele-mbembe on the Sangha Riveron January 10, 2006!

This incident reportedly occurred on the Congo side, as Ohlin works thereamong the Aka pygmies. This is the area also bordered by the Ngoko River,which in west-central Africa forms part of the Cameroon-Congo (Brazzaville) boundary. The Dja Faunal Reserve(Cameroon)lies along its upper course.

Peter Beach did a great job with the satellite maps and has marked a number ofplaces (including caves) in the general target area. According to Pierre Sima,new information on the animals confirms that they were in the Forbidden Zonefrom 1984 to 2003/4, so the Mokele-mbembe sometimes stay in one area long-termif the conditions are right. This explains why the villagers in Langoue sawthem with such frequency in that area throughout the 1980s and 1990s.

One fantastic tale, not bearing much difference from a legend, tells how thelocals, or pygmies, built a barrier of stakes to keep the Mokele-mbembe fromentering Lake Tele. That way, the pygmies could fishin a safe haven. This particular story is actually quite recent, somewherearound the 1930s to be precise. As the story goes, two of the creatures,obviously displeased with the course of action taken by the natives, attackedthe wall of stakes. The pygmies attacked and speared one of the creatures todeath. To memorialize this achievement, the pygmies cooked the animal andfeasted over its flesh. It is said that all who tasted the meat died. This, ofcourse, might just be an exaggeration, an effect evident on all stories thattravel through time. The pygmies believe that the magical and mysticalproperties of the Mokele-mbembe were released after this event.... 

Was a Mokele-mbembe Killed at Lake Tele? - by BillGibbons Anomalist.com

I can confirm that at least two of the pygmies who were directly involved inthe killing of a Mokele-mbembe at Lake Tele about three decades ago wereacquainted on a personal level with missionary pastor Eugene P. Thomas. I havediscussed this incident with Pastor Thomas, and he was able to confirm most ofthe details of the story which follows.

Around 1960, the forest dwelling pygmies of the Lake Teleregion (the Bangombe tribe), fished daily in the lake near the Molibos, orwater channels situated at the north end of the lake. These channels merge withthe swamps, and were used by Mokele-mbembes to enter the lake where they wouldbrowse on the vegetation. This daily excursion into the lake by the animalsdisrupted the pygmies fishing activities. Eventually, the pygmies decided toerect a stake barrier across the molibo in order to prevent the animals fromentering the lake.

When two of the animals were observed attempting to break through the barrier,the pygmies speared one of the animals to death and later cut it into pieces.This task apparently took several days due to the size of the animal, which wasdescribed as being bigger than a forest elephant with a long neck, a smallsnake-like or lizard-like head, which was decorated with a comb-like frill. Thepygmy spearmen also described a long, flexible tail, a smooth, reddish-brownskin and four stubby, but powerful legs with clawed toes. Pastor Thomas alsomentioned that the two pygmies mimicked the cry of the animal as it was beingattacked and speared.

Later, a victory feast was held, during which parts of the animal were cookedand eaten. However, those who participated in the feast eventually died, eitherfrom food poisoning or from natural causes. It should be noted that pygmiesrarely live beyond 35, and pygmy women give birth from aged 12. I also believethat the mythification (magical powers, etc) surrounding Mokele-mbembes beganwith this incident

.

During my first expedition in 1985, we met with several eyewitnesses who haveobserved Mokele-mbembes in the Sangha and Likouala aux Herbes Rivers. Our pygmyinformants also mentioned that there was at least two Mokele-mbembes stillliving in the Lake Tele vicinity, but they were simply too afraid to take us toa precise location where we could actually film and observe a specimen ofMokele-mbembe, due to their superstitious beliefs surrounding the animals andfear of reprisals from the Boha villagers who are regarded as the owners of thelake. The Boha villagers are also familiar with areas in the river and swampswhere we can observe these animals for ourselves. However, the general beliefthat speaking of Mokele-membes to white outsiders will result in greatmisfortune or death is fairly prevalent throughout the Likouala region. Thispresents huge problems in obtaining accurate and up-to-date information onMokele-mbembes and other cryptids.

I should add that I am not convinced that Marcellin Agnagna, RoryNugent, or Herman Regusters have observed Mokele-mbembes. During our two visitsto the Congo,my colleagues and I were unable to locate a single one of the"dozens" of witnesses that allegedly observed Mokele-mbembes with theaforementioned explorers. Marcellin Agagna changed his story several times, andis now thought (by Roy Mackal) to have observed the giant African freshwaterturtle, Trionyx triunguis. Herman Regusters and his wife Kia are the onlyindividuals on his expedition to have observed a "long-necked member"travelling across Lake Tele, in spite of the fact that 28 other people werewith them from the village of Boha. Rory Nugent'salleged Mokele-mbembe photos could be anything, although he may have seen"something" in the distance.

But Jose Bourges, the Congolese wildlife official who accompanied the 1988Japanese expedition to the lake, reported that the entire expedition observed alarge humped back of an animal, slowly moving along, as if foraging on thebottom of the lake, which is three meters deep at most. So the animals are stillthere, and I still want to find one! - Bill Gibbons has conducted twomajor expeditions to the Congo,in 1985-6, and 1992, in search of the Mokele-mbembe

Destination Truth

In March 2008 an episode of the SyFy (formerly the SciFi Channel) series DestinationTruth involved investigator Joshua Gates and crew searching for the elusivedinosaur. They did not visit the Likouala Region, which includes Lake Tele, butthey visited Lake Bangweulu in Zambia instead, which had reports of a similarcreature in the early 20th century, called the "'nsanga". The crew ofDestination Truth kept calling the animal "Mokèlé-mbèmbé" to thelocals, when that name is only used in the Republic of the Congo. The nameused in that particular spot is "chipekwe". Their episode featured avideotaped close encounter, but filmed from a great distance. On applyingdigital video enhancement techniques, the encounter proved to be nothing morethan two submerged hippopotami.

MonsterQuest

In March 2009 an episode of the History Channel series MonsterQuest involvedBill Gibbons, Rob Mullin, local guide Pierre Sima and a two-man film crew fromWhite Wolf Productions. It took place in Cameroon,in the region of Dja, Boumba, and NkogoRivers, near the border with theRepublic of the Congo.The episode aired in the summer of 2009, and also featured an interview withRoy P. Mackal and Peter Beach of the Milt Marcy Expedition,2006.[24][self-published source?] While no sightings were reported on theexpedition, the team found evidence of a large underground cave with air vents.The team also received sonar readings of very long, serpentine shapesunderwater.

Beast Hunter

A March 2011 episode of Beast Hunter on the National Geographic Channel isplanned to feature a search for Mokele-mbembe in Congo Basin.

NOTE: You can read other information at Mokele-Mbembe:Mystery Beast of the Congo Basin

Sources:
www.livingdinos.com
www.science-frontiers.com
www.trueauthority.com
www.cryptomundo.com
nationalgeographic.com
www.cryptozoology.com
www.anomalist.com
www.genesispark.com
www.icr.org