Africa, a continent where myth and reality intertwine in the shadows of forests and the depths of rivers, hides creatures that defy science. While on other continents, "fantastic animals" are exploited as attractions, here they remain secrets closely guarded by local communities.

This 4-part series on the Fantastic Beasts of Africa delves into cryptids. ¹ Cryptids are animals believed to exist somewhere in nature, but whose existence is doubtful or controversial, not being substantiated by science. African cryptids – beings whose existence is witnessed, but so far not proven by traditional science.

From the Congo Basin to the savannas of Kenya, we'll uncover ancient legends and modern research that question the limits of what's known. In Part II, we'll learn about the "monsters" of the jungles and swamps.

Get ready for a journey through surprise and the inexplicable that could only happen in this “Unknown Africa”.

The Dingonek is a creature native to West Africa, well known to the Kipsigi (Kenya) and the Maasai (Kenya and Tanzania) ² Jordan, John Alfred and Prebble, John. Mongaso . A Man Who Is Always Moving. The Story of An African Hunter. sl: Nicholas Kaye, 1956. . It was first sighted by a Westerner in 1907, near Lake Victoria, by hunter John Alfred Jordan and others who were part of his hunting party, as reported by his colleague Edgar Beecher Bronson in his memoirs published in 1910, “ In Closed Territory ”.

In these memoirs, Bronson called it the “ walrus of the jungle ” and described the Dingonek as having “fourteen or fifteen feet in length (4 to 4,5 m), a head as large as a lioness’s, but shaped like a leopard’s, with two long white tusks protruding directly from its upper jaw, a back as broad as a hippopotamus’s and scaly as an armadillo’s, but colored and marked like a leopard’s, ending in a broad, fin-shaped tail” ³ Bronson edgar Beecher . In Closed Territory. Chicago: AC McClurg & Co, 1910.

This account was followed by an article published in 1913 in the “ East Africa Natural History Society” by Charles William Hobley, in which he claims to have found several accounts of the same creature . ⁴ On Some Unidentified Beasts . Hobley, C. W. sl: Longmans, Green, & Co., July 1913, The Journal of East Africa Uganda Natural History Society.

In 1918, an article published by MacLean's declared that the creature was a newly discovered animal species. ⁵ Costain, T. B. Something About the Dingonek: A New Monster Discovered in Darkest Africa, in Maclean's Magazine. Toronto: The Maclean Publishing Company, 1918. pp. 67, 70. Vol. 31 no. 3.

Emela-ntouka

The Emela-ntouka is a creature native to Central Africa, more specifically the Likouala swamp region of the Republic of the Congo, and is part of the folklore of Pygmy tribes. Its name in Lingala means "elephant killer."

It also exists in the folklore of other Central African tribes, where it goes by other names such as Aseka-moke, Njago-gunda, Ngamba-namae, Chipekwe, or Irizima. It is feared by the natives of the region, and elders claimed that an encounter with the creature results in certain death due to its ferocity.

It is described as being the size of an elephant or larger, hairless, and brown to gray in color. Its legs are heavy, with only three toes, or claws. It has a horn on top of its head, more like an elephant's ivory tusk than a rhinoceros' horn.

Although it eats plants, it is known to become violent. Natives claim that when disturbed, it charges ferociously with its horn, sometimes killing elephants, buffaloes, hippos, and other animals.

In the West, it was first described in 1954 in an article in the British journal Mammalia. The article was written by Lucien Blancou, former inspector of the Likoula swamp region in French Equatorial Africa, where he states that a specimen had been killed in the Likoula swamp around 1934. ⁶ Notes sur les Mammiferes de l'Equateur Africain Francais – Un Rhinoceros de Foret? Blancou, Lucien . 4, 1954, Mammalia, Vol. 18, pp. 358-363.

In 1981, Dr. Roy Mackal traveled to the Congo to try to find another animal, still unknown to the West, the Mokele-mbembe. But he came across several reports of another mysterious animal called the Emela-ntouka.

After hearing several descriptions and seeing drawings of the animal, he speculated that it was a ceratopsian dinosaur. ⁷ Ceratopsian dinosaurs or ceratopsia (from the Latin cerat – horns and op – faces) are quadrupedal herbivorous dinosaurs that possess one or more horns on their faces, characteristic of the Cretaceous period. These dinosaurs varied greatly in size, measuring from 75 centimeters to 10 meters in length. Mackal left open the possibility that Emela-ntouka was a Centrosaurus that had survived to the present day, probably belonging to the Ceratopsian family, since this family of dinosaurs has a single large horn in the center of its head. ⁸ Mackal, Roy P. A Living Dinosaur? In Search of Mokele-Mbembe. [ed.] EJ Brill. New York: WS Heinman, Inc., 1987. p. 340.

Grootslang

According to a South African legend, the great and terrible Grootslang was one of the first creatures the gods created. They created it enormous and powerful, larger than an elephant and more intelligent than any human, just to prove their power.

But it was a mistake. The gods were new to the art of creating life and did not yet understand the dangers of making something so powerful. Therefore, they tried to correct their mistake by exterminating all the Grootslang, dividing their powers into two species: the elephant and the snake. But one Grootslang managed to escape and became the mother of all the sacred creatures that men came to worship. ⁹ Reader’s Digest . Strange Stories, Amazing Facts. Montreal: Reader's Digest, 1975.

The Grootslang or Grote Slang (Afrikaans for “big snake”) is a creature that has been sighted over the years in the Orange River in South Africa.¹⁰ It ^is frequently associated with the “koo-be-eng” myth of the Sa people, which tells of a monstrous horned serpent living in the river, lurking in the reeds around the water's edge.^¹¹ Stow, George William .<sup>The Native Races of South Africa: A History of the Intrusion of the Hottentots and Bantu into the Hunting Grounds of the Bushmen, the Aborigines of the Country.^¹² Heuvelmans, Bernard .^{Les Derniers Dragons d'Afrique} sl: Plon, 1978..

The first sighting by a Westerner was in 1936 by Sir Edward James Alexander (1803 – 1885) during his exploration of the region that is now South Africa, Botswana and Namibia from 1836 to 1837. In the two-volume book describing the expedition, he mentions the Grootslang:

[…] occasionally an immense snake is seen whose trail in the sand is a foot wide. The natives say that, when coiled, the circumference of this snake is equal to the wheel of a cart and that when it visits the mouth of the Orange River it is a sign of a good rainy season. ¹³ Alexander, James Edward . An expedition of discovery into the interior of Africa: through the hitherto undescribed countries of the Great Namaquas, Boschmans, and Hill Damaras. London: Henry Colburn, 1938.

Of the sightings that have occurred, the most notable date back to 1963, when a "wave" of sightings appeared, reported in several local newspapers. The monster was described as a snake-like animal with a flat, 20-cm-wide head armed with fangs.

Some newspapers offered rewards to anyone who presented concrete proof of the “monster,” which led to the appearance of many inexperienced “hunters,” forcing the provincial government to issue a decree prohibiting the hunting of the animal. ¹⁴ Heuvelmans, Bernard . Les Derniers Dragons d'Afrique. sl: Plon, 1978.

Congamato

Kongamato, which in Kaondé means “destroyer of boats” ¹⁵ Eberhart, George M. Mysterious Creatures: A Guide to Cryptozoology. sl: ABC-CLIO, Inc., 2002. , is a pterosaur cryptid ¹⁶ Pterosaurs constitute an extinct order of the class Sauropsida that corresponds to the flying reptiles of the Mesozoic period. Although they were contemporaries, these animals were not dinosaurs. ¹⁷ Palmer, Douglas and Barrett, Peter . Evolution, The Story of Life. sl: Larousse, 2009. whose sightings have occurred in the Mwinilunga district, on the Mutanda River and in the Jiundu swamps of northern Zambia, as well as in parts of Zimbabwe, parts of Angola and Namibia ¹⁸ Clark, Loren Coleman & Jerome . Cryptozoology A to Z: The Encyclopedia of Loch Monsters, Sasquatch, Chupacabras, and Other Authentic Mysteries of Nature. sl: Simon & Schuster, 1999. ¹⁹ Coudray, Philippe . Guide des Animaux Cachés. sl: Editions du Mont, 2009..

It is described as a dangerous flying animal with a long, toothy beak and smooth, bat-like wings. All descriptions made to date suggest it may be a living pterosaur.^²⁰ Eberhart, George M. Mysterious Creatures: A Guide to Cryptozoology. sl: ABC-CLIO, Inc., 2002. ^²¹ Shuker, Karl P. N. In Search of Prehistoric Survivors: Do Giant 'Extinct' Creatures Still Exist? sl: Blandford, 1995.

The first description made by a Westerner was by Frank Melland, an English anthropologist and explorer who spent time among the Kaondé people in Zambia. He collected several reports from natives about the existence of ferocious flying reptiles.

The natives called this creature Kongamato. According to various reports, the creature lived in the Jiundu swamps in the Mwinilunga district of western Zambia, near the Congolese border with Angola.

It was described as a large creature with smooth black or reddish skin, leathery, featherless wings, a wingspan of 1,2 m to 2,1 m, and a toothy beak. He later made reference to the animal in his book, "In Witch-Bound Africa," published in 1932.

The Kongamato is greatly feared and considered highly aggressive: it is believed to have the power to capsize canoes by raising the water level or immobilize them by swimming underwater and grabbing their keels. It has even been known to attack, kill, and eat people at times.

Eyewitnesses shown a pterodactyl illustration unanimously agreed that the illustration was from Kongamato. The evidence for the pterodactyl is that the natives can accurately describe it spontaneously, and that everyone agrees on this.

There is also negative support in the fact that they said they were unable to identify any other prehistoric monster that I showed them […] and although the Kaondé, when crossing the Jiundu swamps, carry amulets to protect themselves from the Kongamato, they do not consider it a supernatural being, like a mulombe [demon].

Just something horrible, like a man-eating lion or a wild elephant, but infinitely worse […] it was mentioned that the Jiundu swamp (northwest Zambia) is one of the famous strongholds of the Kongamato.

And I must say that the place itself is exactly the kind of location where such a reptile could exist, if it is possible that any still exist anywhere unknown on earth. ²² Melland, Frank Hulme . In Witch-Bound Africa: An Account of the Primitive Kaonde Tribe and Their Beliefs. sl: Seeley, Service & Company, limited, 1932, pp. 238, 240.

Game warden Charles Pitman refers to the Kongamato, corroborating Melland's testimony, in his 1942 book, A Game-Warden Takes Stock, where he states:

While in Northern Rhodesia, I heard about a mythical beast that intrigued me considerably. It was said to have once haunted, and perhaps still haunts, a dense region of swampy forest near the Angola-Congo border. Encountering it is tantamount to death.

But the most surprising characteristic of this mysterious beast is its suggested identity as a bat-bird-like creature in form, but on a gigantic scale strangely similar to that of the pterodactyl. ²³ Pterodactyl (from the Greek πτεροδάκτυλος, pterodaktulos meaning “winged finger”) is an extinct genus of pterosaur, whose limbs are known as pterodactyls. Like all pterosaurs, it possessed wings formed of skin and a muscular membrane that extended from the fourth finger to the hind limbs, supported internally by collagen fibers and externally by keratinous ridges. ²⁴ The Earliest Winged Fish-Catchers. Gudger eW 2, 1944, The Scientific Monthly, Vol. 59, pp. 120–129. prehistoric. Where would the primitive African have gotten such a fanciful idea from? ²⁵ Pitman, Charles Robert Senhouse . A game warden takes stock. sl: J. Nisbet, 1942.

It is believed, however, that there were references to the Kongamato in earlier times ²⁶ Heuvelmans, Bernard and Lindbergh, Alika . Les derniers dragons d'Afrique. Paris: Plon, 1978. . The probable first reference to such an animal dates from 1591, inscribed in the Relatione del Reame del Congo by the Italian explorer Filippo Pigafetta, who based himself on the notes and letters of Duarte Lopez.

In this work, Pigafetta described a rare flying animal: “There are certain creatures larger than a sheep, with wings and tails like dragons and a long snout, with several rows of teeth, and which eat raw meat. Their skin has the appearance of scales and they stand on two feet.” ²⁷ Pigafetta, Filippo . Relatione del reame di Congo et delle circonvicine contrade / tratta dalli scritti & ragionamenti di Odoardo Lopez portoghese. 1591. which was confused by later authors, such as Luys del Marmol Carvajal, with stories of winged snakes ²⁸ Heuvelmans, Bernard . Les Derniers Dragons d'Afrique. sl: Plon, 1978..

Of course, these are not the only reports; in fact, there are several reports among travelers, hunters, and explorers that reinforce the existence of the Kongamato, with attacks even being mentioned, such as the one that occurred in 1920, in what was then Southern Rhodesia, on a local worker who decided to explore a vast swamp supposedly home to demons.

This worker was attacked and injured by “a huge bird, with a long, sharp beak, of a type he had never seen before,” leaving him with a large wound in his chest. When the colonial administrator showed him a book of animals, he slowly leafed through it until he found an illustration of a pterosaur, at which point he screamed in panic and fled the administrator's house. ²⁹ Shuker, Karl P. N. Still In Search Of Prehistoric Survivors: The Creatures That Time Forgot? sl: Coachwhip Publications, 2016.79.1. Shuker, Karl PN Still In Search Of Prehistoric Survivors: The Creatures That Time Forgot? sl: Coachwhip Publications, 2016..

In 1957, a similar attack occurred in the marshes around Lake Bangweulu. In this case, the injured man was taken to a hospital in Fort Rosebery, where he was given paper and crayons to draw the animal that attacked him, eventually drawing "a silhouette that precisely corresponded to that of a pterodactyl."

Around this time, Ian Colvin, the Daily Telegraph's correspondent for Africa, claimed to have seen an animal in the Zambezi Valley that he later described as resembling a pterosaur. ³⁰ Shuker, Karl P. N. Still In Search Of Prehistoric Survivors: The Creatures That Time Forgot? sl: Coachwhip Publications, 2016.79.1. Shuker, Karl PN Still In Search Of Prehistoric Survivors: The Creatures That Time Forgot? sl: Coachwhip Publications, 2016..

Interestingly, these were the last recorded sightings of Kongamato when explorer Brian Irwin visited the Jiundu swamp region in 1994, looking for living dinosaurs.

After interviewing a large number of locals about the Kongamato, he discovered that the only person who remembered the animal (a very old man) had only heard of it as a child and had never seen one nor could remember anyone else seeing one.

This lack of modern knowledge among the local inhabitants led Brian to conclude that if the Kongamato had, in fact, existed, it would currently be extinct. ³¹ Shuker, Karl P. N. Still In Search Of Prehistoric Survivors: The Creatures That Time Forgot? sl: Coachwhip Publications, 2016.79.1. Shuker, Karl PN Still In Search Of Prehistoric Survivors: The Creatures That Time Forgot? sl: Coachwhip Publications, 2016..

Speculating a bit on the subject, it is reasonable to think that the construction, between 1955 and 1959, of the enormous Kariba Dam ( a ^double -curvature arch dam in the Kariba Gorge, located in the Zambezi River basin between Zambia and Zimbabwe, 128 meters high and 579 meters long, which gave rise to Lake Kariba extending for 280 km), and which caused the drainage of many swamps in the region, eliminated the natural habitat of the Kongamato, ultimately leading to its extinction.

Mamlambo

The Mamlambo is an aquatic animal that is part of South African and Zulu folklore. She is the goddess of rivers at Christmas, where she is known as Mother River and who demands a human sacrifice, close to the family of whoever asks her for a favor, dragging the relative to the depths of the river where she sucks their brains.

However, the natives of the villages around the Mzintlava River in South Africa claim that the Malambo is real and that it terrorizes the region, being known as the "brain sucker", as this monstrosity is known for dragging its victims into the dark depths of the river, where it tears their faces apart in order to consume their brains.

There have been reports of Malambo's victims since time immemorial, and eyewitnesses claim that the "monster" is about 6 meters long, has a long tail and 4 fins that look like arms, with two bright green eyes that, according to legend, have the power to hypnotize the unfortunates who make eye contact with it.

Several witnesses and locals claim that the Mamlambo's presence is often punctuated by thunderstorms, suggesting the creature may be attracted to bad weather.

In 1997, the world was in an uproar when several South African newspapers began reporting sightings of a monstrous “giant reptile” in the Mzintlava River (also known as the Umzimhlava River) near Mount Ayliff in South Africa.

Various newspapers mentioned that 7 to 9 people and even several animals were killed by this monster that dragged its victims into the water, drowning them.

Kokstad freelance journalist Andile Nomabhunga also claimed to have received several reports about Mamlambo, and according to him, nine people were killed, with the last attack reported in April 1997 and occurring near Lubaleko, a village situated on the Mzintlava River near Mount Ayliff, located about 177 km southeast of the coastal metropolis of Durban.

On April 29, 1997, the Reuters news agency reported that a legislative meeting of the Eastern Cape had been held in Bisho, South Africa, where the Minister of Agriculture, a certain Ezra Sigwela ³³ Ezra Mvuyisi Sigwela , a Protestant pastor, who was the regional government minister for the Eastern Cape, responsible for the agriculture portfolio, from 1994 to 1999 , told a surprised body of government officials that a monster “half fish, half horse” had devoured at least seven victims in the Mzintlava River region.

Sigwela promised that he would seek help from the national ministry of agriculture, hoping that they would organize a mission of armed conservation officers to hunt down and kill the beast, thus ending its reign of terror.

As in most previous cases, the local police, despite all the bodies being found with the skull punctured, claimed that the alleged victims of the monster were, in fact, just victims of drowning, resulting from the swelling of the Mzintlava River during the heavy rains that occurred during the rainy season.

Captain G. Mzuko of the Mount Ayliff Police, a staunch Mamlambo skeptic, claimed that crabs were responsible for the “disfiguring” injuries discovered on the bodies of most of the victims:

"I saw some of the bodies of the so-called monster victims. They had all been in the water for some time, and as is often the case, river crabs had eaten away the soft parts of their faces and throats."

“In one case, the crabs were still attached to the body when it was brought in. As far as we know, there have been, quite simply, only cases of drowning.”

Despite the police's refusal to accept the natives' accounts, the villagers living near the river claimed that they were not merely superstitious tribal villagers desperately clinging to legends to explain natural occurrences, but rather educated people who knew the difference between myth and reality and were being terrorized by this wild predator. ³⁴ Eberhart, George M. Mysterious Creatures: A Guide to Cryptozoology. sl: ABC-CLIO, Inc., 2002. ³⁵ Steiger, Brad . Real Monsters, Gruesome Critters, and Beasts from the Darkside. sl: Visible Ink Press, 2010.

Analyzing the various descriptions of the Mamlambo, it may actually be the prehistoric, supposedly extinct fish, Mawsonia Gigas , a variety of Coelacanth that could reach 6 meters in length and was common on the African coast during the Cretaceous period.

It should not be forgotten that there are two known living species of Coelecanths, Latimeria chalumnae and Latimeria menadoensis, which were considered extinct until 1938 when a living specimen of Latimeria chalumnae was discovered on the coast of South Africa. Later, in 2001, they were proven to be endemic to the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa.

Kikiyaon

Also known as the soul-eater or soul-eater, the Kikiyaon is simultaneously one of the most terrifying and least seen of all the animals in the Gambian forests.

It is described as being the size of a man with a huge, owl-like head, with enormous claws on its feet and a spur on its feathered wings. It has a foul odor, and its cry resembles the grunt of a man being strangled.

According to local myths, when a man is caught in its claws, he transforms into a kind of zombie that wanders the forest until he dies. Since this creature also appears in dreams and hallucinations and can be summoned by sorcerers, it's difficult to know if there's any truth to the stories.

After all, local myths say that those who see it and live to tell the tale end up dying a prolonged death or a strange illness. Whatever the reality, it seems quite real to the local population.

Records of the Kikiyaon are sparse or almost nonexistent. One of these few records is given to us by JB Danquah ³⁶ Joseph Kwame Kyeretwie Boakye Danquah (December 18, 1895 – February 4, 1965) was a Ghanaian statesman, academic, lawyer, historian, and one of the founders of Ghana. who once came across the story of a hunter named Agya Wuo who, in 1928, allegedly killed one, describing it as a creature about 5 feet tall (1,5 m) and 20 feet (6 m) in wingspan with black and white markings.

Allegedly, the body was taken to the home of District Commissioner LW Wood in February 1928, where it was supposedly photographed. However, when contacted, Wood was unsure if he had taken such a photograph. ³⁷ Eberhart, George M. Mysterious Creatures: A Guide to Cryptozoology. sl: ABC-CLIO, Inc., 2002.

In 2008, in episode 13 of the second series of Destination Truth ⁽ Destination Truth is an American paranormal reality show. The program follows paranormal researcher Josh Gates around the world to investigate claims of the supernatural, mainly in the field of cryptozoology. Cryptozoology ^is the branch of science that seeks to demonstrate the survival of extinct animal species (e.g., dinosaurs, pterosaurs, large Pleistocene mammals) or the real existence of others that are known only through myths or "evidence" of dubious veracity (e.g., Loch Ness Monster, Yeti, Bigfoot)) , where they tried to find evidence of the supposed "Dragon" Ninki Nanka and the mysterious Kikiyaon, they concluded that there is indeed a large owl in the depths of the Gambia forest.

However, they were unable to identify the species, so they concluded that Kikiyaon is an owl not yet identified by science and that, as in many other cases found around the world, this one was exacerbated due to the traditional and irrational fear humans have of nocturnal creatures. ⁴⁰ Gates, Josh , [artist]. Destination Truth S02E13 Ninki Nanka & Kikiyaon. [prod.] MandtBros. Syfy channel, 2008.

These beings dominate the elements, but they are not the only ones. In Part III, we will meet the "African Lock Ness," a feline that terrorizes villages, and other creatures that persist in the imagination and impenetrable forests.

1. 1. Os Cryptids are animals that are believed to exist somewhere in nature, but whose existence is doubtful or controversial, not being supported by science.
   2. Jordan, John Alfred and Prebble, John. Mongaso. A Man Who Is Always Moving. The Story of An African Hunter. sl: Nicholas Kaye, 1956.
   3. Bronson Edgar Beecher. In Closed Territory. Chicago: A.C. McClurg & Co, 1910.
   4. On Some Unidentified Beasts. Hobley, C. W. sl: Longmans, Green, & Co., July 1913, The Journal of East Africa Uganda Natural History Society.
   5. Costain, T. B. Something About the Dingonek: A New Monster Discovered in Darkest Africa, in Maclean's Magazine. Toronto: The Maclean Publishing Company, 1918. pp. 67, 70. Vol. 31 no. 3.
   6. Notes sur les Mammiferes de l'Equateur Africain Francais – Un Rhinoceros de Foret? Blancou, Lucien. 4, 1954, Mammalia, Vol. 18, pp. 358-363.
   7. Os ceratopsian dinosaurs Ceratops (from the Latin cerat (horns) and op (faces)) are herbivorous quadrupedal dinosaurs with one or more horns on their faces, characteristic of the Cretaceous Period. These dinosaurs varied greatly in size, measuring from 75 centimeters to 10 meters in length.
   8. Mackal, Roy P. A Living Dinosaur? In Search of Mokele-Mbembe. [ed.] EJ Brill. New York: WS Heinman, Inc., 1987. p. 340.
   9. Reader's Digest. Strange Stories, Amazing Facts. Montreal: Reader's Digest, 1975.
   10. Green, Lawrence George. Secret Africa. sl: Howard Timmins, 1980. p. 287.
   11. Stow, George William. The Native Races of South Africa: A History of the Intrusion of the Hottentots and Bantu into the Hunting Grounds of the Bushmen, the Aborigines of the Country. sl: S. Sonnenschein & Company, limited, 1905. p. 618.
   12. Heuvelmans, Bernard. Les Derniers Dragons d'Afrique. sl: Plon, 1978.
   13. Alexander, James Edward. An expedition of discovery into the interior of Africa: through the hitherto undescribed countries of the Great Namaquas, Boschmans, and Hill Damaras. London: Henry Colburn, 1938.
   14. Heuvelmans, Bernard. Les Derniers Dragons d'Afrique. sl: Plon, 1978.
   15. Eberhart, George M. Mysterious Creatures: A Guide to Cryptozoology. sl: ABC-CLIO, Inc., 2002.
   16. Os pterosaurs constitute an extinct order of the Sauropsida class that corresponds to the flying reptiles of the Mesozoic period. Although they are their contemporaries, these animals were not dinosaurs.
   17. Palmer, Douglas and Barrett, Peter. Evolution, The History of Life. sl : Larousse, 2009.
   18. Clark, Loren Coleman & Jerome. Cryptozoology A to Z: The Encyclopedia of Loch Monsters, Sasquatch, Chupacabras, and Other Authentic Mysteries of Nature. sl: Simon & Schuster, 1999.
   19. Eberhart, George M. Mysterious Creatures: A Guide to Cryptozoology. sl: ABC-CLIO, Inc., 2002.
   20. Coudray, Philippe. Guide des Animaux Cachés. sl: Editions du Mont, 2009.
   21. Shuker, Karl P. N. In Search of Prehistoric Survivors: Do Giant 'Extinct' Creatures Still Exist? sl: Blandford, 1995.
   22. Melland, Frank Hulme. In Witch-Bound Africa: An Account of the Primitive Kaonde Tribe and Their Beliefs. sl: Seeley, Service & Company, limited, 1932, pp. 238, 240.
   23. Pterodactyl (from the Greek πτεροδάκτυλος, pterodaktulos meaning "winged finger") is an extinct genus of pterosaur, whose members are known as pterodactyls. Like all pterosaurs, it had wings formed by skin and a muscular membrane that extended from the fourth finger to the hind limbs, supported internally by collagen fibers and externally by keratinous ridges.
   24. The Earliest Winged Fish-Catchers. Gudger eW 2, 1944, The Scientific Monthly, Vol. 59, pp. 120–129.
   25. Pitman, Charles Robert Senhouse. A game warden takes stock. sl: J. Nisbet, 1942.
   26. Heuvelmans, Bernard and Lindbergh, Alika. Les derniers dragons d'Afrique. Paris: Plon, 1978.
   27. Pigafetta, Filippo. Relatione del reame di Congo et delle circonvicine contrade / tratta dalli scritti & ragionamenti di Odoardo Lopez portoghese. 1591.
   28. Heuvelmans, Bernard. Les Derniers Dragons d'Afrique. sl: Plon, 1978.
   29. Shuker, Karl P. N. Still In Search Of Prehistoric Survivors: The Creatures That Time Forgot? sl: Coachwhip Publications, 2016.79.1. Shuker, Karl PN Still In Search Of Prehistoric Survivors: The Creatures That Time Forgot? sl: Coachwhip Publications, 2016.
   30. Shuker, Karl P. N. Still In Search Of Prehistoric Survivors: The Creatures That Time Forgot? sl: Coachwhip Publications, 2016.79.1. Shuker, Karl PN Still In Search Of Prehistoric Survivors: The Creatures That Time Forgot? sl: Coachwhip Publications, 2016.
   31. Shuker, Karl P. N. Still In Search Of Prehistoric Survivors: The Creatures That Time Forgot? sl: Coachwhip Publications, 2016.79.1. Shuker, Karl PN Still In Search Of Prehistoric Survivors: The Creatures That Time Forgot? sl: Coachwhip Publications, 2016.
   32. A Kariba Dam, is a double-curvature arch dam in the Kariba Gorge, located in the Zambezi River basin between Zambia and Zimbabwe, 128 meters high and 579 meters long, which gave rise to Lake Kariba, which stretches for 280 km.
   33. Ezra Mvuyisi Sigwela, a Protestant pastor, was a minister in the Eastern Cape regional government, responsible for agriculture, from 1994 to 1999.
   34. Eberhart, George M. Mysterious Creatures: A Guide to Cryptozoology. sl: ABC-CLIO, Inc., 2002.
   35. Steiger, Brad. Real Monsters, Gruesome Critters, and Beasts from the Darkside. sl: Visible Ink Press, 2010.
   36. Joseph Kwame Kyeretwie Boakye Danquah (18 December 1895 – 4 February 1965) was a Ghanaian statesman, academic, lawyer, historian and one of the founding fathers of Ghana.
   37. Eberhart, George M. Mysterious Creatures: A Guide to Cryptozoology. sl: ABC-CLIO, Inc., 2002.
   38. Destination Truth is an American paranormal reality television series. The show follows paranormal researcher Josh Gates around the world to investigate claims of the supernatural, primarily in the field of cryptozoology.
   39. Cryptozoology is the branch of science that seeks to demonstrate the survival of extinct animal species (e.g., Dinosaurs, Pterosaurs, large Pleistocene mammals) or the real existence of others that are known only through myths or “evidence” of dubious veracity (e.g., Loch Ness Monster, Yeti, Bigfoot).
   40. Gates, Josh, [artist]. Destination Truth S02E13 Ninki Nanka & Kikiyaon. [prod.] MandtBros. Syfy channel, 2008.

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