Fantastic Beasts of Africa (Part II)

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 Fantastic Beasts of Africa delves into cryptids ¹ Africans – 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”.

Part 2: Guardians of the Waters and the Skies

Dingonek

Image © 2021 Xesko (20250610) Fantastic Beasts of Africa (Part II) — Dingonek

The Dingonek is a creature native to West Africa, it is well known by the Kipsigi (Kenya) and the Maasai (Kenya and Tanzania) ². It was first sighted by a Westerner in 1907 near Lake Victoria by hunter John Alfred Jordan and others in his hunting party, as reported by his companion Edgar Beecher Bronson in his memoirs published in 1910, “In Closed Territory".

In this memoir, Bronson called him “jungle walrus” and described the Dingonek as being “fourteen or fifteen feet long (4 to 4,5 m), with a large head like that of a lioness, but shaped like a leopard, with two long white fangs coming straight out of its upper jaw, a back broad like a hippopotamus and scaled like an armadillo, but colored and marked like a leopard, ending in a broad, fin-like tail.” ³.

This report was followed by an article published in 1913 in “East Africa Natural History Society” by Charles William Hobley, in which he claims to have found several reports of the same creature ⁴.

In 1918, an article published by MacLean's declared the creature to be a newly discovered animal species. ⁵.

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, a former inspector of the Likouala swamp region in French Equatorial Africa, where he states that a specimen had been killed in the Likoula swamp around 1934. ⁶.

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, Mackal left open the possibility that Emela-ntouka was a Centrosaurus that had survived to the present day and was probably from the Ceratopsian family, since this family of dinosaurs has a single large horn in the center of its head ⁸.

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 didn't yet understand the dangers of creating something so powerful. So they tried to correct their mistake by exterminating all the Grootslangs, dividing their powers into two species: the elephant and the snake. But one Grootslang managed to escape and became the mother of all the species of sacred creatures that men came to worship. ⁹.

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 often associated with the “koo-be-eng” myth of the San people that says there is a monstrous horned serpent living in the river, lurking in the reeds around the water’s edge. ¹¹ ¹².

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, a huge snake is seen with a foot-wide trail in the sand. The natives say that when coiled, the snake's circumference 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.

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 could provide concrete evidence of the “monster,” which led to the emergence of many inexperienced “hunters,” which forced the provincial government to issue a decree banning hunting the animal. ¹⁴.

Congamato

Kongamato, which in Kaondé means “boat destroyer” ¹⁵, is a pterosaur cryptid ¹⁶ ¹⁷ whose sightings have occurred in the Mwinilunga district, the Mutanda River and the Jiundu swamps of northern Zambia, as well as in parts of Zimbabwe, parts of Angola and Namibia ¹⁸ ¹⁹.

It's described as a dangerous flying animal with a long, toothy beak and smooth, bat-like wings. All descriptions to date point to it possibly being a living pterosaur. ²⁰ ²¹.

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

Just a horrible thing, like a man-eating lion or a wild elephant, but infinitely worse [...] It has been reported that the Jiundu Swamp (northwestern Zambia) is one of the famous strongholds of the Kongamato.

And I must say that the place itself is exactly the sort of place where such a reptile might exist, if it is possible that one still exists anywhere unknown on earth. ²².

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 feature of this mysterious beast is its suggested identity as a bird-bat-like creature in form, but on a gigantic scale eerily resembling that of the pterodactyl. ²³ ²⁴ prehistoric. Where would the primitive African have gotten such a fantastical idea? ²⁵

It is believed, however, that there were references to Kongamato in more ancient times. ²⁶. The probable first reference to such an animal dates back to 1591, inscribed in the Relatione del Reame del Congo by Italian explorer Filippo Pigafetta, which was based 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 which was confused by later authors, such as Luys del Marmol Carvajal, with stories of winged snakes ²⁸.

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 reportedly attacked and injured by "a huge bird with a long, sharp beak, the likes of which I 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 that moment, he screamed in panic and fled the administrator's house. ²⁹.

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 Africa correspondent, claimed to have seen an animal in the Zambezi Valley that he later described as resembling a pterosaur. ³⁰.

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 locals led Brian to conclude that if Kongamato had indeed existed, it would now be extinct. ³¹.

Speculating a little on the subject, it is reasonable to think that the construction between 1955 and 1959 of the enormous Kariba dam ³² which caused the drainage of many wetlands in the region, eliminated the Kongamato's natural habitat, 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 there had been an Eastern Cape legislative meeting held in Bisho, South Africa, where the Minister of Agriculture, a certain Ezra Sigwela ³³, told a body of astonished rulers that a “half-fish, half-horse” monster 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, villagers living near the river claimed that they were not mere superstitious tribal villagers desperately clinging to legends to explain natural occurrences, but educated people who knew the difference between myth and reality and were being terrorized by this savage predator. ³⁴ ³⁵.

Analyzing the various descriptions of the Mamlambo, it may be that it is in reality the prehistoric fish, supposedly extinct, Mawsonia Gigas, a variety of Coelecanth which 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 Kikiyaon are sparse or almost non-existent. One of these few records is given to us by J.B. Danquah. ³⁶ who once came across the story of a hunter named Agya Wuo who in 1928, had reportedly killed one, describing it as a creature about 5 feet tall (1,5 m) with a 20 feet (6 m) wingspan and with black and white spots.

Supposedly, the body was taken to the home of District Commissioner L.W. Wood in February 1928, where it was photographed. However, when contacted, Wood was unsure whether he had taken such a photograph. ³⁷.

In 2008, in episode 13 of the second series of Destination Truth ³⁸ ³⁹, where they tried to find evidence of the supposed “Dragon” Ninki Nanka and the mysterious Kikiyaon, came to the conclusion that there is in fact a large owl in the depths of the Gambian forest.

However, they were unable to identify the species, so they concluded that the Kikiyaon is an owl not yet identified by science and that, like many other cases found in the rest of the world, this one has been exacerbated due to the traditional and irrational fear of humans for nocturnal beings. ⁴⁰.

Part III

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.

Notes and Bibliography

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.

(1) Dingonek

(2) Emela-ntouka

(3) Grootslang

(4) Kongamato

(5) Mamlambo

(6) Coelecanth

(7) Kikiyaon

Have you heard of, or are you familiar with, any of these Fantastic Beasts of Africa? We want to hear your opinion. Don't hesitate to comment, and if you enjoyed the article, share and like it.

Picture: © 2021 Francisco Lopes-Santos

Fantastic Beasts of Africa (Part II)

Fantastic Beasts of Africa (Part II)

Part 2: Guardians of the Waters and the Skies

Dingonek

Emela-ntouka

Grootslang

Congamato

Mamlambo

Kikiyaon

Part III

See also

Notes and Bibliography

Have you heard of, or are you familiar with, any of these Fantastic Beasts of Africa? We want to hear your opinion. Don't hesitate to comment, and if you enjoyed the article, share and like it.

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