Mokele-Mbembe

SOME FOLKS SAY that there are exotic reptile-like creatures alive today in remote reaches of the modern nation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a large central African nation situated on the equator. The land is hot and humid; the forests are dense. The largest swamp in the world, the Likouala Swamp, is located there and even today is largely unexplored. Through the Democratic Republic of the Congo flows the Congo River, also sometimes called the Zaire River, to the Atlantic Ocean. To the east lies the tiny nation of Rwanda, best known in modern culture for its 1994 tribal genocide; to the north, the Sudan which has also seen widespread violence in recent years. From intense tropical heat to local warring parties, with ominous swamps and dense jungles, many factors have conspired to keep this area beyond the bounds of biologists and adventurers.

The first European to venture into this area was the French missionary A. L. Bonaventure in 1776. In his detailed, lengthy notes about the local plants, animals and human settlements, Bonaventure tells of seeing abnormally large animal footprints with marks of claws. He did not use the terms "dinosaur" or "prehistoric" as these words were not yet invented - this terminology was introduced many years later.

These over-sized footprints with claws were also documented in the Twentieth Century by many later explorers, including an expedition from the Smithsonian Institute. Although current presentations of these events generally prefer to attribute features more like a brontosaurus, which aren't traditionally portrayed with claws, the earliest descriptions include long necks and alligator-like tails, brown or reddish-brown skin without any trace of hair, three claws on each of four feet and a horn on its head. Most eyewitness accounts tell of a creature 15 to 30 feet long. There are similar tales of such creatures in the region using the names Groot Slang and Iriz Ima. Sometimes the names Jago-Nini and Amali are also used. Yet all the descriptions are remarkably alike.

What can it be? Popular images indicate that these native tales are about a benign brontosaurus munching blissfully on the jungle vegetation, just out of view of the explorers' cameras. Local legends suggest a very different creature, one that resents and attacks humans that intrude upon its habitat. Some indistinct photos have been taken by various expeditions, but to date there is no compelling evidence to support these reports and sightings of Mokele-Mbembe.

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