The hunt for Mokele-mbembe: Congo's Loch Ness

[Mr.United_Nations]

I think I know what the creature is an early type of Land Whale, an amblocetus I think thats what is called, one of the first walking whales before it went into the water forever. A Whale is a beast or it could be a very large crocodile.

[xYlvax]

I only have one piece to add to the puzzle which might or might not be of use to this thread take it as I give it.

The people of the Congo, are my ancestors, and from one generation to another certain religious knowledge has been handed down from one to another.

From within this knowledge a Rhino is defined as one, and an elephant as itself aswell. This means that the people of the Congo have no reason to confuse these animals with what they believe to be a separate animal.

In our native language of bantu: mbembe means water, mkele means beast thus the name being "beast of the waters"

Very interesting. I never knew what the actually name meant. Thanks.

[bulldogzrep]

I've been hearing that it means "the one who stops the flow of rivers" ? mokele-mbembe that is, roughly?

[Mr.United_Nations]

Look above ^^

[TheGreatBeliever]

I still think its an elephant with its trunk raised up...

[ThePhantomFlanFlinger]

Mokele-mbembe...i thought he played football for Newcastle....

[Tata Rompe Pecho]

It's quite possible. bantu names are commonly recycled.

I know 3 different people named "Oba Aina".

I wouldn't even be surprised if I were to bump into someone with the same bantu name as mine.

[Cyaneyed]

I think elephants are a plausible explanation. The Romans hunted many almost to extinction for the games and it's possible that they left a small remnant group in a habitat like this.

By way of comparison, they hunted hippos out of areas. A hippo is certainly an animal that could come out of the water and attack with frequency, which brings to mind another african cryptid (though supposedly horned) whose name escapes me.

[psyche101]

It's a big camp fire story started of by some local superstitions. I am sure of it.

The only thing I felt that made the deal possibly genuine was that some missionaries also made the claim, and they should know better, yet do they? Are they more interested in saving souls than making a decent identification? That seems plausible to me.

If one considers the more recent efforts that the Marcy/Milt expeditions put into this, the evidence is more damming than encouraging. The expeditions were supposedly on the right track, ands promised us real proof by 2007. The initial huge expedition was cut very short, and nothing was gathered. The next expedition was also cut very short with no reasoning. The magnificent claims were quickly quelled as if they had never existed, and some lousy descriptions were quietly claimed to be a success for the mission, after which all funding, future missions, and it seems enthusiasm completely died off.

I feel it is indeed highly likely that the last Marcy/Milt expedition found Mokele Mbembe, and it was a Rhino or an Elephant. It explains the sudden lack of interest, the missions being cut short, and the continued silence from the group.

Then we have Operation Congo, led by Young Earth Creationist William Gibbons. Reports were more than disappointing. They hired Agnagna (Congolese biologist Marcellin Agnagna ) to take them to Lake Tele, but did not report any Mokèlé-mbèmbé sightings. The British men did, however, assert that Agnagna did "little more than lie, cheat and steal (our film and supplies) and turn the porters against us." After criminal charges were filed against him, a Congolese court ordered Agnagna to return the items he had taken from the expedition. He returned in future expeditions, and future efforts went just as swimmingly.

Now Mokele Mbembe has taken the road many cryptids do. Good investigation, lack of evidence, the emergence of legends mixing old an new, poor excuses for expeditions by cryptozoologists now the scientific community is satisfied and gone, then the final nail in the coffin. Said cryptid becomes the focus of shows like destination truth and monster quest.

As has been mentioned, a Sauropod is just not an option. It would not survive as it was not made to survive in this sort of environment. I do not even see how something evolved to outcompete the existing creatures to displace them, and create this secret hideaway, and especially considering the environment was not favorable to this type of creature. As such it seems to me highly likely that if it is a hybrid or evolved form, that it would be the creatures that have always had this niche, a Rhino or an Elephant. But I do not think an unknown form of animal is even likely as the the ones that do exist in the area are under threat from poaching. Meat is meat. Even if it could not be eaten it is hard to fathom that none are killed for competition or safety, and that no tribe who heralds the beast as some sort of elevated figure has so much as a skin or a bone. I am pretty sure that Mokele Mbembe is a spiritual entity. It never had a physical form.

I have to say my epiphany has been a sad one. Of all the cryptids out there, a modern Dino is very intriguing, and due to it's past verified existence, it seem plausible, unfortunately, facts indicate that it is not. All we have is a superstition and some anecdotes when push comes to shove.

Edited January 17, 2012 by psyche101