The mokèlé-mbèmbé is the name given a large creature reported to live in the lakes and swamps of the Congo River basin, whose existence has long been disputed between mainstream scientists on one side, local Pygmies, creationists and cryptozoologists on the other. Fishermen who inhabit the area often run from waters and land near the water's edge in fear of the creature, describing its ability to kill humans. Mokèlé-mbèmbé means "one who stops the flow of rivers." Mokèlé-mbèmbé is generally described as a beast about as large as an elephant, with a long flexible neck and with a tail similar to an alligator's. The Congo is the largest river in Western Central Africa. ... For a List of scientists, see: List of anthropologists List of astronomers List of biologists List of chemists List of computer scientists List of economists List of engineers List of geologists List of inventors List of mathematicians List of meteorologists List of physicists Scientist pairs List of scientist pairs See... Generally speaking, pygmy (from Greek pygmaios, fist sized, a kind of dwarf in Greek mythology) can refer to any human or animal of unusually small size, for example, the pygmy hippopotamus. ... Creationism is generally the belief that the universe was created by a deity, or alternatively by one or more powerful and intelligent beings. ... Cryptozoology is the study of animals that are presumed (at least by the researcher) to exist, but for which conclusive proof is missing; the term also includes the study of animals generally considered extinct, but which are still occasionally reported. ...

Explication

The creature has often been likened to the Loch Ness Monster. Some cryptozoologists suppose that the creature might be a type of dinosaur that could have survived the mass extinction of the dinosaurs about 65 million years ago, which is believed to be possible due to the thickness of the Congo Rainforest. Mokèlé-mbèmbé's description is consistent with a sauropod. The famous Surgeons photo The Loch Ness Monster, sometimes called Nessie or Ness (Scottish Gaelic: Niseag) is a mysterious and unidentified animal or group of creatures said to live in Loch Ness, a large deep freshwater loch near the city of Inverness in northern Scotland. ... Orders & Suborders Saurischia Sauropodomorpha Theropoda Ornithischia Dinosaurs were vertebrate animals that dominated the terrestrial ecosystem for over 160 million years, first appearing approximately 230 million years ago. ... The Congo is the largest river in Western Central Africa. ... Families Brachiosauridae Camarasauridae Cetiosauridae Diplodocidae Euhelopodidae Nemegtosauridae Titanosauridae Vulcanodontidae Sauropoda, the sauropods, are a suborder or infraorder of the saurischian (lizard-hipped) dinosaurs. ...

The tales of the mokèlé-mbèmbé are an apparently ancient component of the oral history of the Pygmy tribes. These peoples have an intimate relationship with the rainforest, which supplies all their needs. Mokèlé-mbèmbé are apparently herbivores although they have been reported to kill humans and hippopotamuses. It is interesting to note that there is a low population of hippos in the Likouala swamp, where Mokèlé-mbèmbé's are reported to live. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Daintree Rainforest in Queensland, Australia. ... In zoology, an herbivore is an animal that is adapted to eat primarily plants (rather than meat). ... Likouala is a region of the Republic of the Congo in the northern part of the country. ...

There is a story that involved a killing of a mokèlé-mbèmbé. A group of people that lived near Lake Tele, in the Likouala swamp constructed a large wall to keep mokèlé-mbèmbé from interfering in their fishing. A mokèlé-mbèmbé managed to break through, and the natives killed the creature. They butchered and cooked the carcass, and ate it. However, everyone who ate it either became very ill or died soon afterward. Lake Tele is a freshwater lake located in the Congolese jungle. ...

Explanation

So far, all investigations have failed to find evidence of a creature corresponding to the native legend, although casts of inexplicable footprints have reportedly been taken (which some say were made by the mokèlé-mbèmbé), and a controversial videotape was recently presented.

The Congo Basin has wide expanses of marshland and swamps, including several large lakes, that have not been extensively explored by scientists. A recent megatransect into the wilderness of the Congo basin by the biologist and Africa explorer Michael Fay did not reveal any trace of the mokèlé-mbèmbé. One investigator, Roy Mackal, a professor of zoology at Chicago University, took teams to the Congo in 1980 and 1981 to search for the creature. Although they failed to encounter the beast, they collected important anecdotal evidence, including information on its primary food source, a type of vine. In 1985 and 1992 British explorer Bill Gibbons added further local reports to the dossier. Image of Kinshasa and Brazzaville, taken by NASA; the Congo River is visible in the center of the photograph Length 4,380 km Elevation of the source m Average discharge 41,800 m³/s Area watershed 3,680,000 km² Origin Mouth Atlantic Ocean Basin countries Dem. ... The MegaTransect was a project in 1999 by J. Michael Fay to spend 455 days hiking 2000 km across the Congo Basin in Africa to survey the ecological and environmental status of the region. ... J. Michael Fay is an ecologist and conservationist notable for, among other things, the Megatransect, in which he spent 455 days walking 2000 km across Africa. ... The University of Chicago is a private co-educational university located in Chicago, Illinois. ...

Cryptozoologists believe the likelihood of its existence to be significantly higher than the Loch Ness monster because of the large amount of uncharted territory to which can be ascribed the inability to find a specimen. Other large creatures, such as elephants, exist in large open clearings in the rainforests, each called a bai, as well as in thicker wooded areas, so the existence of the mokèlé-mbèmbé appears to be a possibility when taking into account its native environment. However, it is often thought to be even bigger than an elephant. The famous Surgeons photo The Loch Ness Monster, sometimes called Nessie or Ness (Scottish Gaelic: Niseag) is a mysterious and unidentified animal or group of creatures said to live in Loch Ness, a large deep freshwater loch near the city of Inverness in northern Scotland. ...

There is also a theory that the mokèlé-mbèmbé is a rhinoceros: see this link (third paragraph after the second image). Another not-so-cryptic explanation is that this phenomenon is nothing but a sighting of a group of male crocodiles following a female crocodile during the mating season. A fictional book was written about this creature called Cryptid Hunters by Roland Smith. Sightings of this creature are said to have occurred at Lake Tele. Genera Ceratotherium Dicerorhinus Diceros Rhinoceros Coelodonta (extinct)Elasmotherium (extinct) A rhinoceros (commonly called a rhino for short) is any of five surviving species of odd-toed ungulate in the family Rhinocerotidae. ... Cryptid Hunters is a novel by Roland Smith about twins living with their uncle who sneak away to search the Congo for a missing dinosaur egg, before his enemy Noah Blackwood finds the eggs. ... Lake Tele is a freshwater lake located in the Congolese jungle. ...

External links

• Mokele-mbembe: The Living Dinosaur

See also

• Lake Tianchi Monster
• Loch Ness Monster
• Ogopogo

The Lake Tianchi Monster is an alleged lake monster which dwells in Lake Tianchi, within the Changbai Mountains of Jilin Province, China, not far from the North Korean border. ... The famous Surgeons photo The Loch Ness Monster, sometimes called Nessie or Ness (Scottish Gaelic: Niseag) is a mysterious and unidentified animal or group of creatures said to live in Loch Ness, a large deep freshwater loch near the city of Inverness in northern Scotland. ... An artists rendition of pair of Basilosaurus, the species commonly attributed to the legendary lake monster Ogopogo Ogopogo is the name given to the reputed lake monster which dwells in Lake Okanagan, British Columbia, Canada. ...

Bibliography

• Mackal, Roy, A Living Dinosaur? In Search of Mokele-mbembe
• Ndanga, Alfred Jean-Paul (2000) 'Réflexion sur une légende de Bayanga: le mokèlé-mbèmbé', 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
• 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.
• Congo Dinosaur
• A similar Congoese cryptid animal called the emela ntouka.