FORMER AFRICA

(Translated from Italian)

We propose you here some testimonies on some mysterious exploratory marked animals in Africa from and travellers of the past century.

We begin to read to the diaries of one of shipments Africans of the past century…

In 1910 the exploratory hunter and naturalist Hans Schomburgk - the discoverer of the ippopotamo pigmeo in Liberia - reached on the rivers on the rivers of the lake Bangweolo, 250 km to east of Elisabethville (Rhodesia of the North), wonder because they do not find ippopotami in the lake and all the surrounding area to it.

The aboriginal guides explain to it that in the lake alive an animal, the chipekwe, which, although more little one than a ippopotamo, always them axle for divorarli. The same history tells to it, its guides of confidence, for the Dilolo lake, when it catches up it to the naturalist, 800 km more to the west.

The trader in animals Karl Hagenbeck, that she had already financed the searches of Hans Schomburgk, organized seated being a shipment to the Bangweolo lake, but the caravan, for all a series of incidents, “did not succeed not to find the lake”.

If we take the briga to leaf through the wide literature on the travels, the explorations and the adventures of the Europeans in the Black Continent - we will state that it is not at all difficult to approach to this other reports on mysterious inhabitants of rivers, lakes and swamps of tropical Africa.

1902. Sir Harry Johnston, governor of the Uganda and discoverer of okapi (the Okapia johnstoni), describes, in the vol. 1 of The Uganda Protectorate, the lukwata monster, to be from the unusual aspect because “with the tondeggiante or square head”, compared from many witnesses “to a fish, a testuggine, a kind of dolphin or pito some” that would live in the lake Victoria Nyanza.

1909. American sportsman and. B. Bronson, in its book In closed territory, tells the adventure of M. Jordan, one shooting jackets its known friend to the west of Sotik.

M.Jordanracconta to have sighted along the river orients them of the Gori river, affluent of the Victoria lake, “a terrifying animal”, called dingonek from the premises.

Era long nearly 4 meters and means, with the head great how much that of a lion, two long zanne sporgenti ones from the jaw, the covered of scales, armored like that one of the ippopotamo and maculato body like that one of the leopardo; the prints that left on the muddy land were large how much those of a ippopotamo, but they revealed the presence of claws similar to those of launch.

1909. Karl Hagenbeck, the trader of animals met at the beginning, in its memories Von Tíeren und Menschen, filler the news collections, from its many collaborators, on the chipekwe, “in the heart of the Rhodesia”. The waters of its greater swampy areas would be attended from a monster, half dragon and half elephant, a kind of dinosauro, perhaps a brontosauro.

And from Joseph Menges, German explorer and shooting jackets, it obtains the test that on the walls of some coves of Africa it centers them the native ones have designed an animal whose fattezze correspond to those “of said unusual creature”.

1910. 13 February the New York Herald tito it to characters cubita them: “Wandering Brontosauro in wild the extended ones of Africa”.

The 23 june Washington Post confirms: “An enormous beast, half dragon and half elephant, would live in Rhodesia”.

The Smithsonian Institution offers a prize of 5 million dollars to who will bring back a copy of the presumed one dinosauro.

1911. The Ottentotti, that they live along the rivers of the Oranje, supports that the river is inhabited from a “large amphibious animal” half crocodile and half ippopotamo.

This news bounced in Europe already in the second half of XIX the century more or less was disclosed till years Fifty of the 1900’s, in order then to fall nearly in the oblivion.

The author has had the possibility to interrogate in purpose two missionaries, lived “in native place” in the second decade of XX the century, which were more than convinced, being to the testimonies of the aborigines, the existence of the wild animal that but they thought, always second the premises, by now extinguished or nearly.

1912-1913. The lukwata one, or supposed such, is observed near Mt. Home, on the Victoria Nyanza, much from sir Clement Hill that gives the spouses and. and T. Cox.
Era “an animal, from the supported small head from along collo, that it swam quickly although the front part of the body was found outside from the water”.

One anthropologist C.W Hobley, returns on the case of the lukwata one and the dingonek.
On the base of ulterior testimonies collections between the aborigines Baganda, Ja-Lua, Kavirondo and Ouganda, Journ asserts (. of and. Africa and Uganda Nat. Hist. Associates, vol. 3, fasc. 5, 1912; vol. 4, fasc. 7, 1913) that draft of dangerous animals much, or for the men or for the small boats. At last, second the certificates trasmessigli from M. Crampton, commissioner of the district of Kisii, concludes that in the area of the river He loves it lives an animal, called Ol-umaina from the Masai, along approximately 5 m, with the head similar to that of a large dog, two appuntite orecchie corna, collo nearly like short, legs short and clawed. To its to say, could, based on the many descriptions, to be a matter of the same unusual animal sighted near the Napoléon gulf from M.W. Grant, already provincial commissioner to Jinga.


1913. The German government, in order to proceed to a systematic exploration of Cameroun finances a shipment, guided from captain Freiherr von Stein zu Lausnitz, that he had without warning to suspend itself in 1915 because of the explosion of the world war.

In the official relationship of the shipment, than he never did not come print, law as various and aboriginal guides experimented, than did not know themselves between they, repeated all that the low Ubangi, the Sanga, the Ssombo and the rivers of the Ikelemba (the Congo) were inhabited from a locally called animal mokélé mbémbé.

“One says that the animal” writes the German official “or of color grayish brown, it has the smooth skin and or the dimensions of an elephant or, like minimum, of a ippopotamo. A lot is said that it has a collo along and a much flexible and single tooth, but along; according to some it would be dealt instead of a horn. Little say also that or supplied of a tail muscolosa, similar to that of a crocodile. One says that the canoes that they reach to it near are destined to a terrible end: the animal attacks to them suddenly and of it kills the crew, but not of divora the bodies. One says that this creature alive in the caverns dug in the water in the muddy rivers of the river, whereby it forms of the handles many grips”.

1914. The Shilluk aborigines kill a lau to Joro-a-ta, swamps of Addar, not a lot far away from the Jebel-Zeral, and use its boneses like personal amulets.

One of the aborigines, Bilaltut name, supplies several reperti bony of the animal the Stephens petty officer first class (is confronted 1924). It makes these them to reach the delegated governor of the province, sir Jackson, quickly sends which them to British Museum “to the aim to make to identify them”.

The vertebre, but, they were not particularly large and therefore they could belong to a famous species of pito some. The issue, however, is controversial because it seems that the aborigine wanted yes to please the petty officer first class, but without to deprive itself of the coveted totemico talisman, and thus boneses carried it of pito some making to pass them for those of the lau.

More Reading: African Legendary Creatures