Kongamato
Encyclopedia
The Kongamato is a reported pterosaur
-like creature said to have been seen by natives and explorers in the Mwinilunga
district's Jiundu swamps of Western Zambia
, Angola
and Congo
. Suggested identities include a modern-day Rhamphorhynchus
(pterosaurs lived in the area of Africa where Kongamato has been sighted), a misidentified bird (such as the very large and peculiar Saddle-billed Stork
), or a giant bat
. No photos or footage have been taken, leaving most of the stories to rely on large wounds and eyewitness accounts.
In 1956 an engineer, J.P.F. Brown, allegedly saw the creature at Fort Rosebery
near Lake Bangweulu
in Northern Rhodesia
(now Zambia). It was about 6:00 p.m. when he saw two creatures flying slowly and silently directly overhead. He observed that they looked prehistoric. He estimated a wingspan of about 3 to 3½ feet (1 meter) and a beak-to-tail length of about 4½ feet (1.5 meters). It reportedly had a long thin tail, and a narrow head which he likened to an elongated snout of a dog.
The following year, at a hospital at Fort Rosebery, a patient came in with a severe wound in his chest
, claiming that a large bird-like creature had attacked him in the Bangweulu swamps. When asked to draw the creature, he allegedly drew a creature resembling a pterosaur. This drawing does not appear to have survived to the present.
It is curious to note that the area concerned is advertised as a prime birdwatching
site, but this large, flying animal seems not to have been reported by any visiting birdwatchers.
There are reports of similar creatures (no details given) from Angola, Zimbabwe
, Democratic Republic of Congo, Namibia
, Tanzania
and Kenya
. The kongamato may be related to what is called a "flying snake" http://www.livepterosaur.com/LP_Blog/archives/90 in Namibia.
scientists and explorers have shown natives drawings of pterosaurs, and the natives were said to have a terrified reaction. Skeptics of the creature claim the Kongamato is a hoax or a misidentification of a huge bat
or a large stork
. However, believers think that the beast has never been caught on film because as it supposedly lives in the thick vegetation of African swamps, there is not a good way to get a clear photo or film. Also, very few people know of this creature's supposed existence, and in the region it supposedly lives in, most people don't have cameras. If the Kongamato is real, there is likely more than one.
Since the Kongamato was supposed to come up from underwater and upset canoes, the suggestion has also been made that the name originally referred to a freshwater stingray.
Pterosaur
Pterosaurs were flying reptiles of the clade or order Pterosauria. They existed from the late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous Period . Pterosaurs are the earliest vertebrates known to have evolved powered flight...
-like creature said to have been seen by natives and explorers in the Mwinilunga
Mwinilunga
Mwinilunga is a town in the North-Western Province of Zambia and headquarters of a district of that name. It lies on the West Lunga River, not far from the borders with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola.- Overview :...
district's Jiundu swamps of Western Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
, Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
and Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
. Suggested identities include a modern-day Rhamphorhynchus
Rhamphorhynchus (animal)
Rhamphorhynchus , "beak snout", is a genus of long-tailed pterosaurs in the Jurassic period. Less specialized than contemporary, short-tailed pterodactyloid pterosaurs such as Pterodactylus, it had a long tail, stiffened with ligaments, which ended in a characteristic diamond-shaped vane...
(pterosaurs lived in the area of Africa where Kongamato has been sighted), a misidentified bird (such as the very large and peculiar Saddle-billed Stork
Saddle-billed Stork
The Saddle-billed Stork is a large wading bird in the stork family, Ciconiidae. It is a widespread species which is a resident breeder in sub-Saharan Africa from Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya south to South Africa, and in The Gambia, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire and Chad in west Africa.This is a close...
), or a giant bat
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
. No photos or footage have been taken, leaving most of the stories to rely on large wounds and eyewitness accounts.
History
Frank Melland, in his 1923 book In Witchbound Africa, describes it as living along certain rivers, and very dangerous, often attacking small boats, and anybody who disturbed the creature. They are typically described as either red or black in color, with a wingspan of 4 to 7 feet. Members of the local Kaonde tribe identified it as similar to a pterodactyl after being shown a picture from Melland's book collection.In 1956 an engineer, J.P.F. Brown, allegedly saw the creature at Fort Rosebery
Mansa, Zambia
Mansa is the capital of the Luapula Province of Zambia, and headquarters of Mansa District. It takes its name from the local Chief Mansa and the small Mansa River which flows west to the Luapula River...
near Lake Bangweulu
Lake Bangweulu
Bangweulu — 'where the water sky meets the sky' — is one of the world's great wetland systems, comprising Lake Bangweulu, the Bangweulu Swamps and the Bangweulu Flats or floodplain...
in Northern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia was a territory in south central Africa, formed in 1911. It became independent in 1964 as Zambia.It was initially administered under charter by the British South Africa Company and formed by it in 1911 by amalgamating North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesia...
(now Zambia). It was about 6:00 p.m. when he saw two creatures flying slowly and silently directly overhead. He observed that they looked prehistoric. He estimated a wingspan of about 3 to 3½ feet (1 meter) and a beak-to-tail length of about 4½ feet (1.5 meters). It reportedly had a long thin tail, and a narrow head which he likened to an elongated snout of a dog.
The following year, at a hospital at Fort Rosebery, a patient came in with a severe wound in his chest
Chest
The chest is a part of the anatomy of humans and various other animals. It is sometimes referred to as the thorax or the bosom.-Chest anatomy - Humans and other hominids:...
, claiming that a large bird-like creature had attacked him in the Bangweulu swamps. When asked to draw the creature, he allegedly drew a creature resembling a pterosaur. This drawing does not appear to have survived to the present.
It is curious to note that the area concerned is advertised as a prime birdwatching
Birdwatching
Birdwatching or birding is the observation of birds as a recreational activity. It can be done with the naked eye, through a visual enhancement device like binoculars and telescopes, or by listening for bird sounds. Birding often involves a significant auditory component, as many bird species are...
site, but this large, flying animal seems not to have been reported by any visiting birdwatchers.
There are reports of similar creatures (no details given) from Angola, Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
, Democratic Republic of Congo, Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
, Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
and Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
. The kongamato may be related to what is called a "flying snake" http://www.livepterosaur.com/LP_Blog/archives/90 in Namibia.
Description
The Kongamato has been seen by African natives and European explorers for some time, and almost all of the accounts say it is a reddish blackish creature resembling a pterosaur. Some other people have come back with large, deep wounds that they claim to be from the Kongamato. Eyewitness accounts say the creature has teeth, leathery wings, a beak, and claws. Some BritishUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
scientists and explorers have shown natives drawings of pterosaurs, and the natives were said to have a terrified reaction. Skeptics of the creature claim the Kongamato is a hoax or a misidentification of a huge bat
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
or a large stork
Stork
Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family Ciconiidae. They are the only family in the biological order Ciconiiformes, which was once much larger and held a number of families....
. However, believers think that the beast has never been caught on film because as it supposedly lives in the thick vegetation of African swamps, there is not a good way to get a clear photo or film. Also, very few people know of this creature's supposed existence, and in the region it supposedly lives in, most people don't have cameras. If the Kongamato is real, there is likely more than one.
Since the Kongamato was supposed to come up from underwater and upset canoes, the suggestion has also been made that the name originally referred to a freshwater stingray.
See also
- AhoolAhoolThe ahool is a flying cryptid, supposedly a giant bat, or by other accounts, a living pterosaur or flying primate. Such a creature is unknown to science and there is no objective evidence that it exists as claimed.- Details :...
- CryptozoologyCryptozoologyCryptozoology refers to the search for animals whose existence has not been proven...
- Kasai RexKasai RexKasai rex is an animal claimed to be a carnivorous living dinosaur in Africa. There are conflicting descriptions of it, and the only original reports are suspected by most cryptozoologists to be dubious.-Kasai valley report:...
- Living dinosaurs
- Mokele-MbembeMokèlé-mbèmbéMokèlé-mbèmbé, meaning "one who stops the flow of rivers" in the Lingala language, is the name given to a large water-dwelling cryptid found in legends and folklore of the Congo River basin. It is sometimes described as a living creature and sometimes as a spirit. It could be considered loosely...
- OlitiauOlitiauAn Olitiau is a gigantic humanoid cryptid bat hypothesized to exist in Central Africa. The word, Olitiau likely comes from a fusion of the Ipulo words “Ole” and “Ntya”, a name for ceremonial dance masks used to represent demons.-Description:Olitiau are said to have wingspans...
- RopenRopenThe Ropen is a flying cryptid alleged to live in the vicinity of Papua New Guinea. According to the book Searching for Ropens, it is "any featherless creature that flies in the Southwest Pacific, and has a tail-length more than 25% of its wingspan." On Umboi Island the word "ropen" refers to a...
Further reading
- Clark, J. "Unexplained!" (Visible Ink, 1993)
- Shuker, K.P.N. "In Search of Prehistoric Survivors" (Blandford, 1995) ISBN 0-7137-2469-2