Mokele+-+Cameroon,+Africa

http://www.trueauthority.com/cryptozoology/mokele.htm =**Mokele-mbembe **=

Today in Africa, in the People's Republic of the Congo, there lies a vast, hot and humid area covered with thick forests and dotted with streams and swamps. Of these swamps, there exists one that is undisputedly the largest in the entire world. . . the Likouala Swamp. Approximately 55,000 square miles, larger than the entire state of Florida, the government has officially declared it 80% unexplored. To the scientific community, this area is as foreign as an entirely new planet.


 * Early Years **

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 forests reported finding huge footprints in the ground. The clawed prints were three feet in circumference and were spaced about seven feet apart. This would have made the animal as big as an elephant, but it was common knowledge to the locals that the tracks were not from an elephant, since elephants do not posses claws. One of the priests, amazingly, even gave claim to have seen several specimens chewing on vegetation while wading in the rivers. Regardless, it was certain 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. Hearing the reports, a few scientists noticed that the descriptions of the creatures made them sound much like sauropod dinosaurs. Sauropods were the giants of the dinosaurs world, averaging about 70 feet (21 meters) long and standing 12-15 feet (3.7 to 4.8 m) tall at the hips.

In 1932, a British scientist, exploring near the Likouala region where the creatures 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, but did not see anything.

Coincidentally, that same year the world famous zoologist and biologist, Ivan T. Sanderson, along with animal-trader Gerald Russel, were paddling up the Mainyu River in the heart of western Africa when, according to Sanderson's report:

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


 * A Brief Analysis **

//NAME: //

Mokele-mbembe is Lingala, and can mean a variety of things. The word is commonly defined as "One that stops the flow of rivers," but can also mean "one who eats the tops of palm trees," "monstrous animal," or even "half-God, half-beast." Mokele-mbembe is also used as a generic term to refer to other animals like Emela-ntouka, Mbielu-mbielu-mbielu, and Nguma-monene.

//GENERAL DESCRIPTION: //

Mokele-mbembe has been described as an animal with a long neck, a long tail, and rounded shape tracks with three claws. The closest known animal that has these characteristics is a sauropod dinosaur.

//HABITAT: //

Mokele-mbembe lives in the pools and swamps adjacent to the rivers of the Likouala swamp region of The People's Republic of Congo on the continent of Africa. It is said to use the lakes as a crossing path to go from one river to another.

//SIZE: //

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The body size of each specimen is said to be somewhere between the size of a hippopotamus and an elephant. Its length is reportedly between 16 to 32 feet (5 to 10 meters). The length of the neck, according to various descriptions, is between 5 to 10 feet (1.6 to 3.3 meters). The length of the tail is somewhere between 5 to 10 feet as well, varying slightly.

//<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">APPENDAGES: //

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Interestingly, there have been a few reports of a frill on the back of the head. The frill is said to be like the comb found on a male chicken (cock). There have also been reports of a small horn on its head.

//<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">COLOR: //

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The color of the skin is predominately reddish-brown with a color range from gray to brown. There are no reports of hair on the animal. If there were, it would obviously contradict the reptilian dinosaur theory.

//<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">**FOOD:** //
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The pygmies, natives of the Likouala Swamp region, report that the essential diet of Mokele-Mbembe consists primarily of the Malombo plant. Since it only eats plants, it is classified as an herbivore. The Malombo plant actually describes two plants: Landolphia mannii and Landolphia owariensis. **


 * //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">BEHAVIOR: //**
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Mokele-Mbembe lives underwater most of the time except when it eats or travels to other parts of the swamp. It has as been reported that it does not like hippopotamuses and will kill them on sight, though it does not eat them. According to the pygmies, Hippopotamuses cannot be found where Mokele-Mbembe lives. **

//<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">TRACKS: //

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Tracks possess a significantly rounded shape between 1 to 3 feet (30 to 90 centimeters) in diameter with three claws. The distance between tracks is about 7 to 8 feet (2.1 to 2.4 meters).

//<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">SOUND: //

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The predominant belief is that Mokele-mbembe does not create any sounds, though there have been some conflicting reports. This is probably due to the fact that Mokele-mbembe is used generically for other animals and the sound is being confused with Emela-ntouka, a creature which makes a sound like a snort, howl, roar, rumble, or growl.