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{{Short description|Water-dwelling entity that supposedly lives in the Congo River Basin}}
{{for|the Cameroonian political theorist|Achille Mbembe}} {{for|the Cameroonian political theorist|Achille Mbembe}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2012}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
]]]
{{fringe|date=June 2018}}
{{rewrite|date=April 2018}}
In ] basin ], '''Mokele-mbembe''' (] 'one who stops the flow of rivers'<ref name="Regusters1982">{{cite journal |url=http://authors.library.caltech.edu/25708/1/MALN_64.pdf#page=6 |title=Mokele-Mbembe: An Investigation into Rumors Concerning a Strange Animal in the Republic of the Congo, 1981 |work=Munger Africana Library Notes |date=1982 |page=4 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170205145502/http://authors.library.caltech.edu/25708/1/MALN_64.pdf#page=6 |archive-date=5 February 2017 |dead-url=no |first=Herman A. |last=Regusters |editor-first=Ned |editor-last=Munger |publisher=California Institute of Technology |location=Pasadena |issue=64 |issn=0047-8350 |oclc=810484029 |ol=12484505W |quote=In&nbsp;... Lingala&nbsp;... the animal is called 'mokele-mbembe,' interpreted as 'one who stops the flow of rivers.' |df=dmy-all }}</ref>) is a water-dwelling entity, sometimes described as a living creature, sometimes as a spirit.


In several ], '''mokele-mbembe''' (also written as "'''mokèlé-mbèmbé'''") is a mythical water-dwelling entity that is believed to exist in the ]. It is variously described as a reptilian creature, a spirit, or a member of the extinct lineage of ].
During the early 20th century, descriptions of the entity increasingly reflected public fascination with ]s, including aspects of particular dinosaur species now known among scientists to be incorrect, and the entity became increasingly described alongside a number of purported ']' in Africa.{{sfnp|Loxton|Prothero|2013|page=266–267}}


Over time, the entity became a point of focus in particular among adherents of the ]s of ] and ], resulting in numerous expeditions led by cryptozoologists and funded by Young Earth creationist individuals and groups with the aim of finding evidence that invalidates mainstream scientific consensus regarding ]. Paleontologist ] remarks that "the quest for Mokele Mbembe ... is part of the effort by creationists to overthrow the theory of evolution and teaching of science by any means possible".{{sfnp|Loxton|Prothero|2013|page=262–295}} Additionally, Prothero observes that "the only people looking for Mokele-mbembe are creationist ministers, not wildlife biologists."<ref name="PROTHERO-234">{{cite book|last=Prothero|first=Donald R.|title=The Story of Life in 25 Fossils: Tales of Intrepid Fossil Hunters and the Wonders of Evolution|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QjkjBQAAQBAJ|date=25 August 2015|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-53942-5|pages=233–235}}</ref> In the early to mid 20th century, the entity would become a point of focus among adherents of ] and ], resulting in numerous expeditions led by cryptozoologists and/or funded by young Earth creationists and other groups with the objective to find evidence that invalidates or contradicts the scientific consensus regarding ]. Paleontologist ] remarks that "the quest for Mokele-Mbembe ... is part of the effort by creationists to overthrow the theory of evolution and teaching of science by any means possible".{{sfnp|Loxton|Prothero|2013|pages=262–295}} Additionally, Prothero noted that "the only people looking for mokele-mbembe are creationist ministers, not wildlife biologists."{{sfnp|Prothero|2015|pp=233–235}}

Most mainstream experts believe that mokele-mbembe, as reported by Congolese natives, was probably inspired by the ], which once thrived in the region. Historian Edward Guimont has argued that the mokele-mbembe myth grows out of earlier ] claims about ], and in turn influenced the later ].<ref name=":0">{{cite web |last1=Guimont|first1=Edward|title=Hunting Dinosaurs in Central Africa|url=https://contingentmag.org/2019/03/18/hunting-dinosaurs-africa/ |website=Contingent Magazine|access-date=9 August 2020 |language=en |date=18 March 2019}}</ref>


==History== ==History==
===20th century<ref>{{cite web |title=History of Mokele Mbembe And Expeditions To Africa |url=http://thedailyjournalist.com/the-historian/history-of-mokele-mbembe-and-expeditions-to-africa/ |website=The Daily Journalist|date=29 March 2017 }}</ref>===
Numerous expeditions have been undertaken to ] in search of Mokele-mbembe. During these, there were some sightings that have been argued by cryptozoologists to involve some unidentified dinosaur-like creature. Additionally, there have been several specific Mokele-mbembe-hunting expeditions.<ref name="clark1" /> Although several of the expeditions have reported close encounters, none have been able to provide incontrovertible proof that the creature exists.<ref name="clark1" /> The sole evidence that has been found is the presence of widespread folklore and anecdotal accounts covering a considerable period of time.<ref name="clark1" />
The first report of the mokele-mbembe comes from German Captain {{Interlanguage link|Ludwig Freiherr von Stein zu Lausnitz|de}}, as described by ] in the book ''The Lungfish and the Unicorn'' (1941). Von Stein was ordered to conduct a survey of ] in what is now ] in 1913. He heard stories of an enormous reptile called "Mokele-mbembe" alleged to live in the jungles, and included a description in his official report. According to Ley, "von Stein worded his report with utmost caution," knowing it might be seen as unbelievable.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ley |first=Willy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MwpHAAAAYAAJ |title=The Lungfish and the Unicorn |year=1941 |pages=138–139}}</ref> Nonetheless, von Stein thought the tales were credible: trusted native guides had related the tales to him, and the stories were related to him by independent sources, yet featured many of the same details. Though von Stein's report was never formally published, Ley quoted von Stein as writing:

===1909: Hagenbeck===
1909 saw the first mention of a brontosaurus-like creature in ''Beasts and Men'', the autobiography of famed big-game hunter ]. He claimed to have heard from two independent sources about a creature living in ] which was described to them by natives as "half elephant, half dragon."<ref name="Hagenbeck1912">{{cite book |last=Hagenbeck |first=Carl |author-link=Carl Hagenbeck |translator-last1=Elliot |translator-first1=High S. R. |translator-last2=Thacker |translator-first2=A. G. |year=1912 |orig-year=1909 |title=Beasts and Men |url=https://archive.org/stream/beastsmenbeingca00hage#page/96/ |publisher=Longmans, Green, and Co. |location=London, England |pages=95-97 |via=]}}</ref> Naturalist Joseph Menges had also told Hagenbeck about similar stories. Hagenbeck speculated that "it can only be some kind of dinosaur, seemingly akin to the ]."<ref name="Hagenbeck1912"/> Another of Hagenbeck's sources, ], asserted that while at ], he noted a lack of ]; his native guides informed him of a large hippo-killing creature that lived in Lake Bangweulu; however, as noted below, Schomburgk thought that native testimony was sometimes unreliable.{{cn|date=June 2018}}

Reports of dinosaur-like creatures in Africa caused a minor sensation in the ], and newspapers in Europe and North America carried many articles on the subject in 1910–1911; some took the reports at face value, others were more skeptical.

===1911: Gratz===
According to German adventurer Lt. Paul Gratz's account from 1911:<blockquote>The crocodile is found only in very isolated specimens in ], except in the mouths of the large rivers at the north. In the swamp lives the ''nsanga'', much feared by the natives, a degenerate ] which one might well confuse with the crocodile were it not that its skin has no scales and its toes are armed with claws. I did not succeed in shooting a ''nsanga'', but on the island of Mbawala I came by some strips of its skin.<ref>{{cite book |last=Green |first=Lawrence G. |title=Great Road North |year=1961 |url=https://archive.org/stream/GreatRoadNorth/greatRoadNorth#page/n201/ |chapter=12: Graetz of the Great North Road |pages=201-202 |via=]}}</ref></blockquote>

Another report comes from German Captain {{Interlanguage link multi|Ludwig Freiherr von Stein zu Lausnitz|de}}, as described by ] in '']'' (1959), who was ordered to conduct a survey of German colonies in what is now ] in 1913. He heard stories of an enormous reptile called "Mokéle-mbêmbe"<!--- spelling as per source ----> alleged to live in the jungles, and included a description of the beast in his official report. According to Willy Ley, "von Stein worded his report with utmost caution," knowing it might be seen as unbelievable.<ref>{{harv|Ley|1966|p=69}}</ref> Nonetheless, von Stein thought the tales were credible: trusted native guides had related the tales to him, and the stories were related to him by independent sources, yet featured many of the same details. Though von Stein's report was never formally published, Ley quoted von Stein as writing:

<blockquote>The animal is said to be of a brownish-gray color with a smooth skin, its size is approximately that of an ]; at least that of a ]. It is said to have a long and very flexible neck and only one tooth but a very long one; ''some say it is a horn''. A few spoke about a long, muscular tail like that of an ]. Canoes coming near it are said to be doomed; the animal is said to attack the vessels at once and to kill the crews but without eating the bodies. The creature is said to live in the caves that have been washed out by the river in the clay of its shores at sharp bends. It is said to climb the shores even at daytime in search of food; its diet is said to be entirely vegetable. This feature disagrees with a possible explanation as a myth. The preferred plant was shown to me, it is a kind of ] with large white blossoms, with a milky ] and ]like fruits. At the Ssombo River I was shown a path said to have been made by this animal in order to get at its food. The path was fresh and there were plants of the described type nearby. But since there were too many tracks of elephants, hippos, and other large mammals it was impossible to make out a particular spoor with any amount of certainty.<ref>{{harv|Ley|1966|p=70}}</ref></blockquote>

===1927: Smith===
], who had worked for a British trading company in what is now ] in the late 1800s, briefly mentions in his 1927 memoir the "jago-nini" and "amali":<blockquote>Aye, and behind the Cameroon there's things living we know nothing about. I could 'a' made books about many things. The ''Jago-Nini'' they say is still in the swamps and rivers. Giant diver it means. Comes out of the water and devours people. Old men'll tell you what their grandfathers saw but they still believe its there. Same as the Amali I've always taken it to be. I've seen the Amali's footprint. About the size of a good frying pan in circumference and three claws instead of five.</blockquote>He also speculates that "some great creature like the Amali" could be responsible for finding broken and splintered ivory in (now known to be mythical) ]s, as well as claiming to have given a chiseled out cave painting of the ''amali'' to ].<ref>{{cite book |last=Horn |first=Alfred Aloysius |editor-last=Lewis |editor-first=Ethelreda |year=1927 |title=Trader Horn |url=https://archive.org/details/traderhornbeingl00horn |publisher=Simon and Shuster |location=New York, NY |pages=257-258 |via=]}}</ref>

===1932: Sanderson===
] ] claimed that, while in ] in 1932, he witnessed an enormous creature in the ]. The creature, seemingly badly wounded, was only briefly visible as it lurched into the water. Darkly colored, the animal's head alone was nearly the size of a hippo, according to Sanderson. His native guides termed the creature "m'koo m'bemboo", in Sanderson's ] spelling.<ref name="clark1" />

===1938: von Boxberger===
In 1938, explorer Leo von Boxberger mounted an expedition in part to investigate Mokele-mbembe reports. He collected much information from natives, but his notes and sketches had to be abandoned during a conflagration with local tribesmen.<ref name="clark1" />

===1939: von Nolde===
In 1939, the ''German Colonial Gazette'' (of ]) published a letter by Frau Ilse von Nolde, who asserted that she had heard of the animal called "coye ya menia" ("water lion") from many claimed eyewitnesses, both natives and settlers. She described the long necked creature as living in the rivers, and being about the size of a hippo, if not somewhat larger. It was known especially for attacking hippos - even coming on to land to do so - though it never ate them.<ref>{{harv|Ley|1966|pp=71–72}}</ref>

===1966: Ridel===
In August or September 1966, Yvan Ridel took a picture of a large footprint with three toes, north-east of Loubomo, notable as hippopotamuses have four toes.<ref name="mackal1" />

===1976: Powell===
In 1960, an expedition to ] was planned by herpetologist James H. Powell Jr., scheduled for 1972, but was canceled by legal complications. By 1976, however, he had sorted out the international travel problems, and went to ] instead, inspired by the book ''Trader Horn''. He secured finances from the ]. Although Powell’s ostensible research aim was to study ]s, he also planned to study Mokele-mbembe.

On this journey, Powell located a claimed eyewitness to an animal called "n'yamala", or "jago-nini", which Powell thought was the same as the "amali" of Smith's 1920's books. Natives also stated – without Powell's asking - that "n'yamala" ate the flowering liana, just as von Stein had been told half a century earlier.<ref name="clark1" /> When Powell showed illustrations of various animals, both alive and extinct, to natives, they generally suggested that the '']'' was the closest match to "n'yamala".<ref name="clark1" />

===1979: Powell===
Powell returned to the same region in 1979, and claimed to receive further stories about "n'yamala" from additional natives. He also made an especially valuable contact in American missionary Eugene Thomas, who was able to introduce Powell to several claimed eyewitnesses.<ref name="clark1" /> He decided that the n'yamala was probably identical to the Mokele-mbembe. Though seemingly herbivores, witnesses reported that the creatures were fearsome, and were known to attack canoes that were steered too close.

===1979: Thomas===
Reverend Eugene Thomas from Ohio told James Powell and Roy P. Mackal in 1979 a story that involved the purported killing of a Mokele-mbembe near ] in 1959.<ref name="Gibbons1">{{cite web|url=http://www.anomalist.com/reports/mokele.html|title=Was a Mokele-mbembe killed at Lake Tele?|last=Gibbons|first=William J|publisher=Anomalist.com|accessdate=1 May 2007}}</ref> Thomas was a missionary who had served in the Congo since 1955, gathering much of the earliest evidence and reports, and claiming to have had two close-encounters himself.<ref name="Coleman1">{{cite web|url=http://www.cryptomundo.com/cryptozoo-news/thomas-obit/|title=Mokele-mbembe's Rev. Eugene Thomas, 78, dies|last=Coleman|first=Loren|authorlink=Loren Coleman|publisher=Cryptomundo.com|date=6 January 2006|accessdate=1 June 2013}}</ref> Natives of the Bangombe tribe who lived near Lake Tele were said to have constructed a large spiked fence in a tributary of Tele to keep Mokele-mbembe from interfering with their fishing. A Mokele-mbembe managed to break through, though it was wounded on the spikes, and the natives then killed the creature. As William Gibbons writes, "Pastor Thomas also mentioned that the two pygmies mimicked the cry of the animal as it was being attacked and speared... Later, a victory feast was held, during which parts of the animal were cooked and eaten. However, those who participated in the feast eventually died, either from food poisoning or from natural causes. I also believe that the mythification (magical powers, etc.) surrounding Mokele-mbembe {{sic}} began with this incident." Furthermore, Mackal heard from witnesses that the stakes were in the same location in the tributary as of the early 1980s.<ref name="mackal1" />

===1980: Mackal-Powell===
For his third expedition in February 1980, Powell was joined by ]. Based on the testimony of claimed eyewitnesses, Powell and Mackal decided to focus their efforts on visiting the northern Congo regions, near the ] and isolated ]. As of 1980, this region was little explored and largely unmapped, and the expedition was unable to reach Lake Tele. Powell and Mackal interviewed several people who claimed to have seen Mokele-mbembe, and Clark writes that the descriptions of the creature were "strikingly similar ... animals {{convert|15|to|30|ft|0}} long (most of that a snakelike head and neck, plus long thin tail). The body was reminiscent of a ]'s, only more bulbous ... again, informants invariably pointed to a picture of a sauropod when shown pictures of various animals to which mokele-mbembe might be compared."<ref name="clark1" /><ref name="mackal1" /> Mackal and Powell were interviewed before and after this expedition for the TV program '']''.

===1981: Mackal-Bryan===
Mackal and Jack Bryan mounted an expedition to the same area in late 1981. He was supposed to be joined by Herman Regusters, but they came in conflict in terms of finance, equipment and leadership and decided to split and make separate expeditions. Although, once again, Mackal was unable to reach Lake Tele, he gathered details on other cryptids and possible living dinosaurs, like the Emela-ntouka, Mbielu-Mbielu-Mbielu, Nguma-monene, ] (giant turtle), ] (a giant crocodile of 15 meters), and ] (a giant monkey-eating Eagle). Among his company were ], M. Justin Wilkinson, and Congolese zoologist Marcellin Agnagna.<ref name="clark1" /><ref name="mackal1" />

The 1981 expedition would feature the only "close encounters" of the Mackal expeditions. It occurred when, while on a river, they heard a loud splash and saw what Greenwell described as " large wake (about 5") ... originating from the east bank".<ref name="clark1" /><ref name="mackal1" /> Greenwell asserted that the wake must have been caused by an "animate object" that was unlike a crocodile or hippo. Additionally, Greenwell noted that the encounter occurred at a sharp river bend where, according to natives, Mokele-mbembe frequently lived due to deep waters at those points.<ref name="clark1" /><ref name="mackal1" />

1987 saw the publication of Mackal's book, ''A Living Dinosaur?'', in which Mackal detailed his expedition and his conclusions about the Mokele-mbembe.<ref name="clark1" /><ref name="mackal1" /> Mackal tried, unsuccessfully, to raise funds for additional trips to Africa.<ref name="mackal1">{{harv|Mackal|1987|p={{Page needed|date=January 2015}}}}</ref>

===1981: Regusters===
In 1981, American engineer Herman Regusters led his own Mokele-mbembe expedition, after having a conflict with the Mackal-Bryan expedition that he intended to join. Regusters and his wife Kai reached Lake Tele, staying there for about two weeks. Of the 30 expedition members (28 were men from the Boha village), only Herman Regusters and his wife claim to have observed a "long-necked member" traveling across Lake Tele. They also claim to have tried filming the being, but said their motion picture film was ruined by the heat and humidity. Only one picture was released showing a large, but unidentifiable, object in the lake. The Regusters expedition returned with droppings and footprint casts, which Regusters believed were from the mokele-mbembe.

It also returned with sound recordings of "low windy roar increased to a deep throated trumpeting growl", which Regusters believed to be the Mokele-mbembe's call.<ref name="clark1" /> This recording was submitted for technical evaluation with a noted physicist, Kenith W. Templin, whose specialty was sound waves and vibration analysis, <!-- I am his daughter, Patricia Templin, and saw this first-hand) -->but it was inconclusive, except to note that the sounds were not attributable to any known wildlife. Despite this result, Regusters' conclusions about this tape were later challenged by Mackal, who asserted that the Mokele-mbembe did not have a vocal call. Mackal asserts that vocalizations are more correctly associated with the Emela-ntouka, a similarly described creature found in the Central African legends.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/16647251|title=A living dinosaur? : in search of Mokele-mbembe|last=P.|first=Mackal, Roy|date=1987|publisher=E.J. Brill|year=|isbn=9004085432|location=Leiden|pages=231|oclc=16647251}}</ref>

===1983: Agnagna===
Congolese biologist Marcellin Agnagna led the 1983 expedition of Congolese to Lake Tele. According to his own account, Agnagna claimed to have seen a Mokele-mbembe at close distance for about 20 minutes. He tried to film it, but said that in his excitement, he forgot to remove the motion picture camera's lens cap. In a 1984 interview, Agnagna claimed, contradictorily, that the film was ruined not because of the lens cap, but because he had the ] camera on the wrong setting: ] instead of ].<ref name="clark1" /><ref name="Gibbons2">{{cite web|last=Gibbons|first=William J|title=In Search Of the Congo Dinosaur|url=http://www.icr.org/article/search-congo-dinosaur/|publisher=Institute for Creation Research}}{{Unreliable source?|date=January 2011}}</ref>

===1985: Nugent===
In December 1985 ] spotted an anomaly moving through the middle of Lake Tele, a "black periscope shape" approximately 1 kilometer from his position on the shore. In his account published as a book, Nugent claimed that it was shaped like a "splendid french curve" and moving through the water with little wake.<ref name="Nugent241"/> When he went to launch a boat to investigate he was ordered at gunpoint by the natives not to approach it.<ref>{{harv|Nugent|1993|Ch=VIII||p=}}</ref> Nugent quotes his guides as saying, "The god can approach man, but man never approaches the god. He would have killed us all."<ref name="Nugent241">{{harv|Nugent|1993|Ch=VIII||p=241}}</ref> He also provided some pictures, which are too blurry to be identifiable.<ref>{{cite news |last=Lebzeiter |first=Bill |date=5 September 1993 |title=In the belly of the beast |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/213200104/ |newspaper=The New Mexican |publisher=Brette Popper |location=Santa Fe, New Mexico |volume=144 |issue=248 |page=D-8 |via=]}}</ref>

===1985-1986: Operation Congo===
Operation Congo took place between December 1985 and early 1986 by "four enthusiastic but naïve young Englishmen," led by Young Earth Creationist<ref name="Gibbons2" /> William Gibbons,<ref name="clark1" /> They hired Agnagna to take them to Lake Tele, but did not report any Mokele-mbembe 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."<ref name="clark1" /> After criminal charges were filed against him, a Congolese court ordered Agnagna to return the items he had taken from the expedition.{{Citation needed|date=January 2011}}

Although the party found no evidence of the Mokele-mbembe, they discovered a new subspecies of monkey, which was later classified as the ] monkey (''Cerocebus galeritus''), as well as fish and insect specimens.<ref name="Gibbons2" />

===1986: Botterweg===
In 1986 another expedition was mounted, consisting of four Dutchmen, organized and led by Dutch biologist Ronald Botterweg, who already had experience with tropical rainforest research in the ], and who later visited, lived, and worked in several African countries. This expedition entered the ] down the ] from ] in the ], and managed, with considerable organizational challenges, to reach Lake Tele, with a group of guides from the village of Boha, some of which had also accompanied Regusters. Since they had only managed to obtain permission from the local authorities (not having passed by Brazzaville) for a very limited period in the area, they only spent about three days at the lake before returning to Boha. During their stay at the lake they spent as much time as possible observing the lake and its surroundings through from their provisional camp on the north-eastern shore, and navigating part of it by dug-out canoe. No signs of any large unknown animal were found. {{Citation needed|date=May 2008}}

On the way back, arriving at the town of Impfondo, they were detained by Congolese biologist Agnagna and his team, who had just arrived there for an expedition with the British team of Operation Congo, allegedly for not possessing the proper documents. They were detained for a short while, and the largest part of their film and color slides were confiscated, before being released and leaving the country (again by the Ubangui river and Bangui).{{Citation needed|date=May 2008}}

No signs, tracks or anything tangible or visible of the alleged animals was seen or shown whatsoever.{{Citation needed|date=May 2008}} Tracks, droppings, and other signs of forest elephants and gorillas were commonly seen, as well as crocodiles in the lake. Despite the fact that the African guides were extremely capable and experienced hunters, guides and experts of the African rainforest, they were not able to show any track or sign of the Mokele-mbembe and none of the several interviewed guides even claimed ever to have seen one personally, nor its tracks. Remarkable is the fact that the guides that were interviewed by the Dutch expedition and that also accompanied Regusters, stated that they never saw a Mokele-mbembe during that expedition, although Regusters himself claims to have seen one.{{Citation needed|date=May 2008}}

This expedition received some attention in the Dutch media (radio, TV, and newspapers) from 1985 to 1987, and again in a nostalgic radio show by Dutch radio station KRO on channel Radio 2, on 7 March 2011. Furthermore, this expedition features in a slightly romanticized form as a short story by Dutch novelist author Margriet de Moor ('Hij Bestaat', meaning It exists, in the novel 'Op de Rug Gezien', meaning Seen from behind).{{Citation needed|date=May 2008}}

===1988 Japanese expedition===
In 1988 a Japanese expedition explored the ] area in search of the Mokele-mbembe. It was led by {{illm|Hideyuki Takano (writer){{!}}Hideyuki Takano|ja|高野秀行 (ノンフィクション作家)}}, then undergraduate at ], and the group was accompanied by Agnagna<!--and the Congolese wildlife official José Bourges Djoni Djimbi-->.<ref name=tokyo-shimbun>{{cite news |title=Sōdai enseitai kongo e: hikyo Tere-ko de ikkagetsu chōsa |script-title=早大遠征隊コンゴへ：秘境テレ湖で一か月調査 |trans-title=Waseda U. expedition to Congo: 1 month investigation in remote Lake Tele |newspaper=Tokyo Shimbun |edition=evening |date=18 February 1988 |url=http://www.h3.dion.ne.jp/~no-no/newpage2.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010502161728/http://www.h3.dion.ne.jp/~no-no/newpage2.htm |archive-date=2 May 2001 |quote=幻の巨大生物は... 現地では「モケーレ・ムベンベ」といわれ (The mystery large organism.. locally known as 'Mokele-mbembe' |via=''Asu dekiru koto wa kyō yaranai''<!--"明日できるコトは今日やらない"-->}}<!-- website of Nonoyama, Tomio (野々山富雄), member of the expedition listed in newspaper article--></ref><ref name=takabayashi1988>{{cite journal|last=Takabayashi |first=Tokuharu |title=The First Japanese-Congolese Mokele-Mbembe Expeditions |journal=Cryptozoology: Interdisciplinary Journal of the International Society of Cryptozoology |volume=7 |year=1988 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vNjWAAAAMAAJ&q=Jose+Bourges |pages=66–69}}, paper cited in{{harvp|Loxton|Prothero|2013|page=279}}, note 62.</ref>

In 1992, the Japanese film crew seeking to film Mokele-mbembe captured a blurry 15 second aerial shot video of an object moving in Lake Tele and creating a wake. If not an animal, it has been suggested the footage may only been that of people paddling a canoe.{{sfnp|Loxton|Prothero|2013|pages=284–285}}

===1989 O'Hanlon===
British writer ] traveled to the region in 1989 and not only failed to discover any evidence of Mokele-mbembe but found out that many local people believe the creature to be a spirit rather than a physical being, and that claims for its authentic existence have been fabricated. His experience is chronicled in '']'' no. 39 (1992) and in his book '']'' (UK, 1996), published as ''No Mercy'' in the USA (1997).

===1992 Operation Congo 2===
William Gibbons launched a second expedition in 1992 which he dubbed "Operation Congo 2". Along with Rory Nugent, Gibbons searched almost two thirds of the Bai River along with two poorly charted lakes: Lake Fouloukuo and Lake Tibeke, both of which local folklore held to be sites of Mokele-mbembe activity. The expedition failed to provide any conclusive evidence of the Mokele-mbembe, though they did further document local legends and Nugent took two photographs of unidentified objects in the water, one of which he claimed was the creature's head. {{Failed verification|date=January 2011}}

=== 2000: Extreme Expeditions ===
In January 2000, the Congo Millennium Expedition (aka. DINO2000) took place, the second one by Extreme Expeditions, consisting of Andrew Sanderson, Adam Davies, Keith Townley, Swedish explorer Jan-Ove Sundberg, and five others.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/dinosaurs-survive-in-swampland-1097915.html |date=4 June 1999 |title=Dinosaurs 'survive in swampland' |last=Finn |first=Gary |website=] |publisher=Independent Print}}</ref> (Adam Davies has spoken of the Mokele-mbembe on a 2011 BBC video.<ref name="Hebblethwaite">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16306902|title=The hunt for Mokele-mbembe: Congo's Loch Ness Monster|last=Hebblethwaite|first=Cornelia|publisher=]|date=28 December 2011|accessdate=1 June 2013}}</ref>)

===2000: Gibbons===
In November 2000, William Gibbons did some preliminary research in Cameroon for a future expedition. He was accompanied by David Wetzel, and videographer Elena Dugan. While visiting with a group of pygmies, they were informed about an animal called Ngoubou, a horned creature. The pygmies asserted it was not a regular rhinoceros, as it had more than one horn (six horns on the frill in one eyewitness account), and that the father of one of the senior members of the community had killed one with a spear a number of years ago. The locals have noted a firm dwindle in the population of these animals lately, and that they are hard to find. Gibbons identified the animal with a '']'', but, in addition to being extinct, these are only known to have inhabited North America.<ref name="KirkJ">{{cite web|url=http://www.cryptomundo.com/cryptid-universe/ngoubou/|title=The Ngoubou|last=Kirk|first=John|publisher=Cryptomundo.com|date=9 April 2006|accessdate=1 June 2013}}{{Self-published inline|date=January 2011}}</ref>

===2001: CryptoSafari/BCSCC===
In February 2001, in a joint venture between CryptoSafari and the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club (BCSCC), a research team traveled to Cameroon consisting of William Gibbons, Scott T. Norman, John Kirk and writer Robert A. Mullin. Their local guide was Pierre Sima Noutchegeni. They were also accompanied by a ] film crew. No evidence of Mokèlé-mbèmbé was found.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bcscc.ca/mokele.htm |year=2001 |title=Mokele Mbembe |website=British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050315023713/http://www.bcscc.ca/mokele.htm |archive-date=15 March 2005 |dead-url=yes}}</ref>

===2001: BBC Congo===
In 2001, BBC broadcast in the TV series ] a collective interview with a group of ] pygmies, who identified the ''mokele mbembe'' as the ] while looking at an illustrated manual of local wildlife.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0074mrf|title=Spirits of the Forest - min 45:00|publisher=BBC}}</ref> Neither species of African rhinoceros is common in the Congo Basin, and the Mokèlé-mbèmbé may be a mixture of ] and ] from a time when rhinoceros were found in the area.

===2006: Marcy===
In January 2006, the Milt Marcy Expedition traveled to the Dja river in ], near the Congolese border. It consisted of Milt Marcy, Peter Beach, Rob Mullin and Pierre Sima. They spoke to witnesses that claimed to have observed a Mokèlé-mbèmbé only two days before,<ref name="Coleman2">{{cite web|url=http://www.cryptomundo.com/cryptozoo-news/mm-marcy-update/|title=Mokèlé-mbèmbé Expedition Update|last=Coleman|first=Loren|authorlink=Loren Coleman|publisher=Cryptomundo.com|date=3 February 2006|accessdate=1 June 2013}}{{Self-published inline|date=January 2011}}</ref> but they did not discover the animal themselves. However, they did return with what they believe to be a plaster cast of a Mokèlé-mbèmbé footprint.

===2006: National Geographic===
A May 2006 episode called "Super Snake" of the ] series '']'' included an expedition headed by ] to Lake Tele. No unknown animals were found.{{Citation needed|date=January 2011}}

===2006: Vice Guide to Travel===
In 2006, ] travelled to the ] in search of the creature for ] in the segment ''The Last Dinosaur of the Congo''. Choe and his companions failed to find the animal and the focus of the documentary turned to the rituals of their Pygmy guides.<ref name="Vice">{{cite web|url=http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/WNT/story?id=2699510&page=2#.T3M25tUXu01 |title = A "Vice" Vacation without leaving home|last1=Cordes|first1=Nancy|last2=Lee|first2=Rebecca|date=5 December 2006|accessdate=1 June 2013|publisher=]}}</ref>


<blockquote>The animal is said to be of a brownish-gray color with a smooth skin, its size is approximately that of an ]; at least that of a ]. It is said to have a long and very flexible neck and only one tooth but a very long one; ''some say it is a horn''. A few spoke about a long, muscular tail like that of an ]. Canoes coming near it are said to be doomed; the animal is said to attack the vessels at once and to kill the crews but without eating the bodies. The creature is said to live in the caves that have been washed out by the river in the clay of its shores at sharp bends. It is said to climb the shores even at daytime in search of food; its diet is said to be entirely vegetable. This feature disagrees with a possible explanation as a myth. The preferred plant was shown to me, it is a kind of ] with large white blossoms, with a milky ] and ]-like fruits. At the Ssombo River I was shown a path said to have been made by this animal in order to get at its food. The path was fresh and there were plants of the described type nearby. But since there were too many tracks of elephants, hippos, and other large mammals it was impossible to make out a particular spoor with any amount of certainty.</blockquote>
===2008: ''Destination Truth''===
In March 2008, an episode of the ] (formerly the SciFi Channel) series '']'' involved investigator ] and crew searching for the creature. They did not visit the ], which includes ], but they visited ] in ] instead, which had reports of a similar creature in the early 20th century, called the "'nsanga". The crew of ''Destination Truth'' kept calling the animal "Mokèlé-mbèmbé" to the locals, when that name is only used in the ]. The name used in that particular spot is "chipekwe". Their episode featured a videotaped encounter filmed from a great distance. On applying digital video enhancement techniques, the encounter proved to be nothing more than two submerged hippopotami.{{Citation needed|date=January 2011}}


However, according to ], in a 1929 German book by science author Wilhelm Bölsche called ''Dragons: Legend and Science'', Bölsche wrote that von Stein clearly believed that the creature described was not an actual animal, but instead was nothing more than local folklore.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dunning |first1=Brian |title=Hunting the Mokele-Mbembe |url=https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4727 |website=skeptoid.com |publisher=Skeptoid Media, Inc. |access-date=21 July 2023}}</ref>
=== 2009: ''MonsterQuest'' ===
According to German adventurer Lt. Paul Gratz's account from 1911:<blockquote>The crocodile is found only in very isolated specimens in ], except in the mouths of the large rivers at the north. In the swamp lives the ''nsanga'', much feared by the natives, a degenerate ] which one might well confuse with the crocodile were it not that its skin has no scales and its toes are armed with claws. I did not succeed in shooting a ''nsanga'', but on the island of Mbawala I came by some strips of its skin.<ref>{{cite book | last=Ley | first=Willy |title=Exotic Zoology| url=https://archive.org/details/exoticzoology00leyw?q=Exotic+Zoology|year=1959|page=70| publisher=New York, Viking Press }}</ref></blockquote>
In March 2009 an episode of the ] series '']'' involved William Gibbons, Rob Mullin, local guide Pierre Sima and a two-man film crew from White Wolf Productions. It took place in Cameroon, in the region of ], ], and ], near the border with the Republic of the Congo. The episode aired in the summer of 2009, and also featured an interview with Roy P. Mackal and Peter Beach of the Milt Marcy Expedition, 2006.<ref name="Coleman3">{{cite web|url=http://www.cryptomundo.com/cryptozoo-news/mm-mq2-09/|title=Mokele-Mbembe Expedition II Departs|last=Coleman|first=Loren|authorlink=Loren Coleman|publisher=Cryptomundo.com|date=2 March 2009|accessdate=1 June 2013}}{{Self-published inline|date=January 2011}}</ref> While no sightings were reported on the expedition, the team claimed that holes found in the riverbank were air vents leading to an underground chamber where the creature lived. The team also received sonar readings of very long, serpentine shapes underwater.


Tales of entities like mokele-mbembe, living saurians or large scientifically unidentified creatures walking around the African rain forest, are not rare; there have been multiple tales of large, smooth-skinned quadrupeds with long necks that fed on large prey still living in central Africa.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Guimont|first=Edward|date=2019-03-18|title=Hunting Dinosaurs in Central Africa|url=https://contingentmagazine.org/2019/03/18/hunting-dinosaurs-africa/|access-date=2021-07-07|website=CONTINGENT|language=en-US}}</ref> It was only after the description of the mokele-mbembe surfaced that the rest of the world started interpreting those legends as possessing a dinosaur-like body structure. A notable example would be the emela-ntouka, an elephant-sized creature that shares a lot of similarities with the mokele-mbembe. It is described as having smooth skin, a strong and muscular tail, and a "horn" or "tooth".<ref>{{Cite book|last=MacKal|first=Roy P.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rdQUAAAAIAAJ&dq=Roy+P.+Mackal+%281987%29.+A+Living+Dinosaur%3F+In+Search+of+Mokele-Mbembe.+New+York%3A+E.J.+Brill.&pg=PR3|title=A Living Dinosaur?: In Search of Mokele-Mbembe|date=1987|publisher=Brill Archive|isbn=978-90-04-08543-5|language=en}}</ref> Another similar creature, the ''jago-nini'', was described by ], who had worked for a British trading company in what is now ] in the late 19th century, who briefly mentions it in his 1927 memoir.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Horn|first1=Trader|url=https://archive.org/details/traderhornbeingl00horn|title=Trader Horn : being the life and works of Alfred Aloysius Horn|last2=Lewis|first2=Ethelreda|date=1927|publisher=New York : Simon and Schuster|others=Internet Archive}}</ref>
=== 2011: ''Beast Hunter'' ===
A March 2011 episode of '']'' on the ] featured a search for Mokele-mbembe in the ].<ref name="BH2011">{{cite web|url=http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/wild/beast-hunter/episodes/swamp-monster-of-the-congo/|title=Swamp Monster of the Congo|accessdate=1 June 2013|publisher=National Geographic}}</ref><ref name="Burke2011">{{cite news|first=Bill|last=Burke|title=Pat Spain tracks monsters on ‘Beast Hunter’|date=13 March 2011|url=http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/television/general/view/2011_0313myth_chaser_pat_spain_tracks_monsters_on_beast_hunter/|work=Boston Herald|accessdate=20 March 2011}}</ref>


]'' by ]; depictions like this may have influenced the myth]]
=== 2012: The Newmac Expedition ===
Reports of entities described to be dinosaur-like in Africa caused a minor sensation in the ], and newspapers in Europe and North America carried many articles on the subject in the early 1910s; some took the reports at face value, while others were more skeptical. It is notable that Western Europe and the Americas were going through a pop cultural interest in dinosaurs, of which the ] was one of the most popular. This cultural trend could have contributed to both the reports as well as the tendency for newspapers to claim the reported beast was a ].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Naish |first1=Darren |title=Misreading the Mokele-Mbembe (the Mokele-Mbembe, Part 1) |url=https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/tetrapod-zoology/misreading-the-mokele-mbembe-the-mokele-mbembe-part-1/ |website=Scientific American Blog Network |language=en}}</ref>


Several expeditions, of varying scientific credibility, were undertaken in the 20th Century to search for mokele-mbembe or interview claimed eyewitnesses. In 1980 and again in 1981, explorer Henry Powell and biologist ] visited the Congo region and interviewed native residents. They did not find any direct physical evidence, but nonetheless argued consistent statements from claimed eyewitnesses tended to support the creature's existence. Mackal published a book in 1987 detailing his expeditions.<ref>Mackal, Roy. A Living Dinosaur? In Search of Mokele-Mbembe. New York: E.J. Brill, 1987. ISBN 90-04-08543-2</ref> Mackal admitted his investigation was "tinged with some romanticism", but also insisted he had serious scientific intent.<ref>American Men & Women of Science - Volume 5. Thomson/Gale. 2009. p. 85. ISBN 978-0787665289.</ref> Prothero argues the Powell-Mackall expedition almost single-handedly popularized the modern concept of mokele-mbembe to Westerners, yet was seriously flawed. Mackal's training was in virology, which arguably did not qualify him to search for a large, exotic creature; and Mackal seemed to uncritically accept eyewitness statements without considering the possibility people might lie or exaggerate for financial gain, for attention, or to impress an American visitor. Furthermore, Mackal was dismissive of Africans who "denied knowledge of mokele-mbeme" or who asserted the creature did not exist.<ref>Loxton and Prothero (2013)</ref> Zoologist Marcellin Agnagna said he took a film of mokele-mbeme in 1983 but the footage did not develop properly. Prothero describes the story as "suspicious", noting critical details of Agnagna's account have changed and none of it was supported by other witnesses. Scottish explorer William "Billy" Gibbons led two expeditions in 1985 and 1992, though Prothero question his motives as a creationist and describes Gibbons as not following even basic scientific principles.<ref name="Prothero 2013 p. 284">Loxton and Prothero (2013), p. 284.</ref> Journalist ]'s book ''Drums Along The Congo: On The Trail Of Mokele-Mbembe, the Last Living Dinosaur'' was published in 1993 by Houghton Mifflin. Nugent's book included a photograph he claimed was possibly mokele-mbembe, but which Prothero argues was more likely a floating log.<ref name="Prothero 2013 p. 284"/>
In April 2012 Stephen McCullah & Sam Newton launched a ] campaign to fund an expedition to the Congo region to search for Mokele-mbembe.<ref name="Switek2012">{{cite web |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/a-dinosaur-expedition-doomed-from-the-start-103367120/ |date=23 May 2012 |title=A Dinosaur Expedition Doomed From the Start |last=Switek |first=Brian |website=Smithsonian |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://doubtfulnews.com/2012/04/cryptozoology-expedition-to-congo-is-on-kickstarter/|title=Cryptozoology expedition to Congo is on Kickstarter (Updated: no scientists)|website=Doubtful News |last=Hill |first=Sharon |author-link=Sharon A. Hill |date=15 April 2012|accessdate=15 January 2017}}</ref> Despite raising around $29,000 the expedition suffered financial difficulties and is believed to have been abandoned shortly after the party reached the Congo in July 2012.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://doubtfulnews.com/2012/10/whatever-happened-to-the-trip-to-the-congo-to-look-for-mokele-mbembe/|title=Whatever happened to the trip to the Congo to look for Mokele-mbembe?|website=Doubtful News||last=Hill |first= Sharon |author-link=Sharon A. Hill |date=13 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170304175137/http://doubtfulnews.com/2012/10/whatever-happened-to-the-trip-to-the-congo-to-look-for-mokele-mbembe/ |archive-date=4 March 2017 |dead-url=yes}}</ref><ref name="Marrero">{{cite web|url=http://www.joemarrero.com/so-what-happened-to-the-newmac-expedition/?lang=en|title=So what happened to the Newmac Expedition?|last=Marrero|first=Joe|publisher=Joemarrero.com|date=19 July 2012|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141027011429/http://www.joemarrero.com/so-what-happened-to-the-newmac-expedition/?lang=en|archivedate=27 October 2014|accessdate=15 January 2017}}</ref>


==Pseudoscience== ===21st century===
In 2001, BBC broadcast in the TV series ] a collective interview with a group of ] pygmies, who identified the mokele-mbembe as a ] while looking at an illustrated manual of wildlife.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0074mrf|title=Spirits of the Forest – min 45:00|publisher=BBC}}</ref> Neither species of African rhinoceros is common in the Congo Basin, and the mokele-mbembe may be a mixture of ] and ] from a time when rhinoceroses were found in the area.
According to ] and ], the conventional image of Mokele Mbembe held by cryptozoologists and Young Earth creationists such as Roy Mackal is based on an outdated image of sauropod dinosaurs from the early twentieth century. More recent discoveries indicate that most sauropods did not live in swampy areas and subsist on aquatic plants (as was long supposed), but instead lived in seasonally dry woodlands and ate tough ] and ]s. Loxton and Prothero argue that the sauropod image of Mokele Mbembe reflects a ] which seeks to force ambiguous eyewitness accounts to support wishful thinking. These authors also point out that a surviving population of sauropods would leave behind skeletal remains like other large animals do, and that Africa's rich fossil record would contain sauropod bones younger than 65 million years old if a group of such had survived to the present. The absence of this evidence, despite several centuries of Western contact with the region, numerous expeditions in search of the animal, and periodic aerial and satellite surveillance, all of which have detected elephants and other large animals - but no sauropods - all argue against the existence of Mokele Mbembe.{{sfnp|Loxton|Prothero|2013|page=290–}}


In 2016, a travel documentary crew from ] made a documentary about searching for mokele-mbembe, which they later sold to Discovery Africa.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cowen |first1=Nick |title=Backpacking into the Unknown |url=https://citizen.co.za/lifestyle/lifestyle-travel/1994625/backpacking-into-the-unknown/ |website=The Citizen |date=24 August 2018 |access-date=4 October 2019 |ref=10}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1= |first1= |date=7 August 2018 |title=New on TV Today: Tuesday 7 August |url=https://www.tvsa.co.za/user/blogs/viewblogpost.aspx?blogpostid=49777 |access-date=4 October 2019 |website=TVSA |language=en-ZA |ref=11}}</ref> The team spent roughly four weeks in the ] swamp region visiting various Aka (pygmy) villages, collecting stories of the creature's existence. They pointed out the difficulty of differentiating between a mokele-mbembe's metaphysical and physical existence. While they interviewed people who believed in its presence, others stated it died at least a decade ago.<ref>{{cite web |last1=hitched |first1=Congo |title=hitched.congo Webseries |url=https://www.hitchedseries.co.za |website=hitched series |publisher=Tomfoolery TV |access-date=4 October 2019 |ref=15}}</ref>
Some activists have considered cryptozoologists and creationists interpreting the Mokele Mbembe as a sauropod or other physical animals racist as it showcases a disrespect towards indigenous African cultures and religions.<ref>Francesco M. Angelici, Problematic Wildlife: A Cross-Disciplinary Approach, Springer, 18/12/2015</ref>


In 2018, ] of ], Adam Christoffer Knuth, along with a film crew from ] and a DNA scientist, traveled to ] in Congo, in search of the mokele-mbembe. They did not find the cryptid; however, they found a new species of ].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Almbjerg |first1=Sarah Iben |title=Uimodståelig Dino-jagt på DR2 |url=https://www.berlingske.dk/kultur/uimodstaaelig-dino-jagt-paa-dr2 |website=Berlingske |access-date=2 December 2018 |language=da |date=28 November 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Madsen |first1=Fie West |title=Lensgreve Christoffer Knuth har brugt kæmpe summer på vild dinosaur-jagt: 'Vi fandt noget, som ingen har set før' |url=https://www.bt.dk/film-tv-og-streaming/lensgreve-christoffer-knuth-har-brugt-kaempe-summer-paa-vild-dinosaur |website=BT.dk |publisher=Berlingske Media A/S |access-date=2 December 2018 |language=da |date=28 November 2018}}</ref>
==In popular culture==
Several popular cultures have used the Mokele-Mbembe:


==Possible explanation==
* The film '']'', starring ], was released in 1985 and featured a family of Mokele-mbembe (referred to as Brontosaurs) living in Africa.
The lack of physical evidence and the conflicting witnesses have made the existence of the entity doubted by the large majority of scientists and historians.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite news|date=2011-12-28|title=The hunt for Mokele-mbembe: Congo's Loch Ness Monster|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-16306902|access-date=2021-07-07}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Naish|first=Darren|title=Hunting Monsters: Cryptozoology and the Reality Behind the Myths|date=2017-09-01}}</ref> The most reasonable and agreed upon explanation is that the mokele-mbembe is a legend based on the ], a species once common to central Africa, where the stories of the mokele-mbembe originated. According to ] ], the origin of the creature can be traced back to a 1909 book by zoologist ] called ''Beasts and Men''. Based on recently discovered dinosaur bones, Hagenbeck speculated that sauropods may still live in Africa. Although he offered no evidence other than legends, the claims were circulated by the press, including '']''. ] and ] claimed it "launched what would become the modern cryptozoological legend of mokele-mbembe". They concluded that the reports of the monster were not result of hard evidence or genuine first-hand accounts of native encounters with the creature, but rather a "distillation of many creatively varied stories from widely separated regions.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Radford |first1=Benjamin |title=Mokele-Mbembe: The Search for a Living Dinosaur |url=https://www.livescience.com/38871-mokele-mbembe.html |website=livescience.com |date=13 August 2013 |publisher=Future US Inc |access-date=21 July 2023}}</ref> The absence of evidence supporting the creature's existence, despite several centuries of Western contact with the region, numerous expeditions in search of the animal, and periodic aerial and satellite surveillance, all of which have detected elephants and other large animals - but no sauropods - all argue against the existence of mokele-mbembe.
* Midwich Entertainment released a series of short, family-oriented dinosaur documentaries in the mid-to-late 1980s, wherein hosts ] and Eric Boardman alternate scientific lectures with ]-style comedy routines. One segment is a discussion of Mokele-Mbembe, featuring footage of an interview with Herman Regusters. Behind-the-scenes footage from ''Baby'' is also included.
* The Mokele-mbembe was featured in '']'' episode "Earnest." It is among the creatures that have been caught by Earnest Anyway.
* The film '']'', starring ], was released in 2012. The film featured the Mokele-mbembe as a Plesiosaurus.
* In May 2013 the Norwegian experimental music outfit ] released a song entitled "Mokèlé-mbèmbé".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.anewbandaday.com/2013/05/sturle-dagsland-alien-nightclubs.html|last=Sparrow|first=Joe|title=Sturle Dagsland: Alien Nightclubs|date=7 May 2013|publisher=AnNewBandADay. Com|accessdate=1 January 2015}}</ref>
* The ] novel '']'' revolves around a search for the Mokèlé-mbèmbé and successful recovery of two of its eggs (the only known adult specimens having died beforehand) from the jungles of the Congo.
*Mokele-mbembe is one of six creatures sought by comedian and journalist ] in his travel book ''Scary Monsters and Super Creeps''.


== In popular culture ==
* A rather disadvantageous line of the ] ] is named after the creature: the "mokele'''-'''mbembe variation".<ref>John Watson and Eric Schiller, ''The Big Book of Busts'', Hypermodern Press, 1995, pp. 120–21. {{ISBN|1-886040-13-3}}.</ref>
* The mokele-mbembe was featured in '']'' episode "Earnest." It is among the creatures that have been caught by Earnest Anyway.
* In the 1985 film '']'', rumors of a sighting of mokele-mbembe lead the main characters to a family of live sauropods.
* In 1989 ]/] ''African Saga'' (''On the Track of Unknown Animals''/''Endangered Species'', '']'' #6-#7) by ] and ], the two mentioned superheroes stop a band of poachers who tried to hunt mokele-mbembe.
* In the 1994 video game ], the mokele-mbembe can be discovered in the Congo River.
* In the 2010 video game ], Mokele-mbembe is one of the cryptids said to be dinosaurs that the character Chico tells Big Boss about.
* In May 2013 the Norwegian experimental music outfit ] released a song entitled "mokele-mbembe".
* The ] novel '']'' revolves around a search for the mokele-mbembe and successful recovery of two of its eggs (the only known adult specimens having died beforehand) from the jungles of the Congo.
* Mokele-mbembe is one of six cryptids sought by comedian and journalist ] in his travel book ''Scary Monsters and Super Creeps''.
* Korean American artist ] claimed on an episode of '']'' that as a young man he travelled to the Congo in search of Mokele-mbembe after reading about it in a magazine while he was living in Israel.
* In the ] universe by ], the Mokole are a breed of were-reptiles who serve as the "memory" of ].
* The 2019 film '']'' mentions a Titan dubbed Mokele-mbembe, though it is not seen in the film. But the creature's figure was seen in its misty and foggy containment in Outpost 75 ] while it arises and escapes after being awoken by ] alongside the other 17 titans. The creature is featured more prominently in the film's novelization.
* In the ], mokele-mbembe is what a village of Mbochi people call a specimen of SCP-1265, specifically a '']''. They also mention ] also being a part of SCP-1265, with it being a '']''.
* In the book Mortal Engines, Captain Khora's airship is named Mokele Mbembe.
* In the second season of the Goblin Slayer anime, the adventurers encounter a large creature referred to as "Mokele Mubenbe", a huge sauropod-like creature with purple crystals protruding from its hide.


==Notes== == See also ==
* ]
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* ]
* ]
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==References== ==References==
{{reflist}}
*{{cite book|ref=harv|last=Loxton |first=Daniel |authorlink=Daniel Loxton |last2=Prothero |first2=Donald R. |authorlink2=Donald R. Prothero |title=Abominable Science: Origins of the Yeti, Nessie, and other Famous Cryptids|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kTsgAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA290 |date=13 August 2013|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-52681-4}}


==Bibliography & further reading==
==External links==
* {{cite book|last1=Loxton |first1=Daniel |author-link=Daniel Loxton |last2=Prothero |first2=Donald R. |author-link2=Donald R. Prothero |title=Abominable Science: Origins of the Yeti, Nessie, and other Famous Cryptids|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kTsgAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA290 |year=2013 |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-231-52681-4}}
* Culture and mythology of pygmy peoples from the Congo River basin
* {{cite book|last=Prothero|first=Donald R.|title=The Story of Life in 25 Fossils: Tales of Intrepid Fossil Hunters and the Wonders of Evolution|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QjkjBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA234|year=2015|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-53942-5}}
* of the ''Monster Talk'' podcast which features an interview with ] about his involvement with the 2009 ] expedition to find Mokele-Mbembe.
* {{Skeptoid | id= 4727| number= 727| title= Hunting the Mokele-Mbembe| date=12 May 2020 }}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.skepticblog.org/2011/06/22/a-living-dinosaur-in-the-congo/|title=A Living Dinosaur in the Congo? (Part 1)|last=Prothero|first=Donald|authorlink=Donald Prothero|publisher=Skepticblog.org|date=22 June 2011|accessdate=1 June 2013}}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.skepticblog.org/2011/06/29/a-living-dinosaur-in-the-congo-part-2/|title=A Living Dinosaur in the Congo? (Part 2)|last=Prothero|first=Donald|authorlink=Donald Prothero|publisher=Skepticblog.org|date=29 June 2011|accessdate=1 June 2013}}


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Latest revision as of 08:09, 11 January 2025

Water-dwelling entity that supposedly lives in the Congo River Basin For the Cameroonian political theorist, see Achille Mbembe.

Drawing of Mokele-mbembe reflecting its supposed resemblance with the extinct sauropods

In several Bantu mythologies, mokele-mbembe (also written as "mokèlé-mbèmbé") is a mythical water-dwelling entity that is believed to exist in the Congo River Basin. It is variously described as a reptilian creature, a spirit, or a member of the extinct lineage of sauropods.

In the early to mid 20th century, the entity would become a point of focus among adherents of cryptozoology and young Earth creationism, resulting in numerous expeditions led by cryptozoologists and/or funded by young Earth creationists and other groups with the objective to find evidence that invalidates or contradicts the scientific consensus regarding evolution. Paleontologist Donald Prothero remarks that "the quest for Mokele-Mbembe ... is part of the effort by creationists to overthrow the theory of evolution and teaching of science by any means possible". Additionally, Prothero noted that "the only people looking for mokele-mbembe are creationist ministers, not wildlife biologists."

Most mainstream experts believe that mokele-mbembe, as reported by Congolese natives, was probably inspired by the black rhinoceros, which once thrived in the region. Historian Edward Guimont has argued that the mokele-mbembe myth grows out of earlier pseudohistorical claims about Great Zimbabwe, and in turn influenced the later reptilian conspiracy theory.

History

20th century

The first report of the mokele-mbembe comes from German Captain Ludwig Freiherr von Stein zu Lausnitz [de], as described by Willy Ley in the book The Lungfish and the Unicorn (1941). Von Stein was ordered to conduct a survey of German colonies in what is now Cameroon in 1913. He heard stories of an enormous reptile called "Mokele-mbembe" alleged to live in the jungles, and included a description in his official report. According to Ley, "von Stein worded his report with utmost caution," knowing it might be seen as unbelievable. Nonetheless, von Stein thought the tales were credible: trusted native guides had related the tales to him, and the stories were related to him by independent sources, yet featured many of the same details. Though von Stein's report was never formally published, Ley quoted von Stein as writing:

The animal is said to be of a brownish-gray color with a smooth skin, its size is approximately that of an elephant; at least that of a hippopotamus. It is said to have a long and very flexible neck and only one tooth but a very long one; some say it is a horn. A few spoke about a long, muscular tail like that of an alligator. Canoes coming near it are said to be doomed; the animal is said to attack the vessels at once and to kill the crews but without eating the bodies. The creature is said to live in the caves that have been washed out by the river in the clay of its shores at sharp bends. It is said to climb the shores even at daytime in search of food; its diet is said to be entirely vegetable. This feature disagrees with a possible explanation as a myth. The preferred plant was shown to me, it is a kind of liana with large white blossoms, with a milky sap and apple-like fruits. At the Ssombo River I was shown a path said to have been made by this animal in order to get at its food. The path was fresh and there were plants of the described type nearby. But since there were too many tracks of elephants, hippos, and other large mammals it was impossible to make out a particular spoor with any amount of certainty.

However, according to Brian Dunning, in a 1929 German book by science author Wilhelm Bölsche called Dragons: Legend and Science, Bölsche wrote that von Stein clearly believed that the creature described was not an actual animal, but instead was nothing more than local folklore.

According to German adventurer Lt. Paul Gratz's account from 1911:

The crocodile is found only in very isolated specimens in Lake Bangweulu, except in the mouths of the large rivers at the north. In the swamp lives the nsanga, much feared by the natives, a degenerate saurian which one might well confuse with the crocodile were it not that its skin has no scales and its toes are armed with claws. I did not succeed in shooting a nsanga, but on the island of Mbawala I came by some strips of its skin.

Tales of entities like mokele-mbembe, living saurians or large scientifically unidentified creatures walking around the African rain forest, are not rare; there have been multiple tales of large, smooth-skinned quadrupeds with long necks that fed on large prey still living in central Africa. It was only after the description of the mokele-mbembe surfaced that the rest of the world started interpreting those legends as possessing a dinosaur-like body structure. A notable example would be the emela-ntouka, an elephant-sized creature that shares a lot of similarities with the mokele-mbembe. It is described as having smooth skin, a strong and muscular tail, and a "horn" or "tooth". Another similar creature, the jago-nini, was described by Alfred Aloysius Smith, who had worked for a British trading company in what is now Gabon in the late 19th century, who briefly mentions it in his 1927 memoir.

Outdated 1897 restoration of a submerged Brontosaurus by Charles R. Knight; depictions like this may have influenced the myth

Reports of entities described to be dinosaur-like in Africa caused a minor sensation in the mass media, and newspapers in Europe and North America carried many articles on the subject in the early 1910s; some took the reports at face value, while others were more skeptical. It is notable that Western Europe and the Americas were going through a pop cultural interest in dinosaurs, of which the Brontosaurus was one of the most popular. This cultural trend could have contributed to both the reports as well as the tendency for newspapers to claim the reported beast was a sauropod.

Several expeditions, of varying scientific credibility, were undertaken in the 20th Century to search for mokele-mbembe or interview claimed eyewitnesses. In 1980 and again in 1981, explorer Henry Powell and biologist Roy Mackal visited the Congo region and interviewed native residents. They did not find any direct physical evidence, but nonetheless argued consistent statements from claimed eyewitnesses tended to support the creature's existence. Mackal published a book in 1987 detailing his expeditions. Mackal admitted his investigation was "tinged with some romanticism", but also insisted he had serious scientific intent. Prothero argues the Powell-Mackall expedition almost single-handedly popularized the modern concept of mokele-mbembe to Westerners, yet was seriously flawed. Mackal's training was in virology, which arguably did not qualify him to search for a large, exotic creature; and Mackal seemed to uncritically accept eyewitness statements without considering the possibility people might lie or exaggerate for financial gain, for attention, or to impress an American visitor. Furthermore, Mackal was dismissive of Africans who "denied knowledge of mokele-mbeme" or who asserted the creature did not exist. Zoologist Marcellin Agnagna said he took a film of mokele-mbeme in 1983 but the footage did not develop properly. Prothero describes the story as "suspicious", noting critical details of Agnagna's account have changed and none of it was supported by other witnesses. Scottish explorer William "Billy" Gibbons led two expeditions in 1985 and 1992, though Prothero question his motives as a creationist and describes Gibbons as not following even basic scientific principles. Journalist Rory Nugent's book Drums Along The Congo: On The Trail Of Mokele-Mbembe, the Last Living Dinosaur was published in 1993 by Houghton Mifflin. Nugent's book included a photograph he claimed was possibly mokele-mbembe, but which Prothero argues was more likely a floating log.

21st century

In 2001, BBC broadcast in the TV series Congo a collective interview with a group of Biaka pygmies, who identified the mokele-mbembe as a rhinoceros while looking at an illustrated manual of wildlife. Neither species of African rhinoceros is common in the Congo Basin, and the mokele-mbembe may be a mixture of mythology and folk memory from a time when rhinoceroses were found in the area.

In 2016, a travel documentary crew from South Africa made a documentary about searching for mokele-mbembe, which they later sold to Discovery Africa. The team spent roughly four weeks in the Likuoala swamp region visiting various Aka (pygmy) villages, collecting stories of the creature's existence. They pointed out the difficulty of differentiating between a mokele-mbembe's metaphysical and physical existence. While they interviewed people who believed in its presence, others stated it died at least a decade ago.

In 2018, Lensgreve of Knuthenborg, Adam Christoffer Knuth, along with a film crew from Danish Radio and a DNA scientist, traveled to Lake Tele in Congo, in search of the mokele-mbembe. They did not find the cryptid; however, they found a new species of green algae.

Possible explanation

The lack of physical evidence and the conflicting witnesses have made the existence of the entity doubted by the large majority of scientists and historians. The most reasonable and agreed upon explanation is that the mokele-mbembe is a legend based on the black rhinoceros, a species once common to central Africa, where the stories of the mokele-mbembe originated. According to skeptic Ben Radford, the origin of the creature can be traced back to a 1909 book by zoologist Carl Hagenbeck called Beasts and Men. Based on recently discovered dinosaur bones, Hagenbeck speculated that sauropods may still live in Africa. Although he offered no evidence other than legends, the claims were circulated by the press, including The Washington Post. Daniel Loxton and Donald Prothero claimed it "launched what would become the modern cryptozoological legend of mokele-mbembe". They concluded that the reports of the monster were not result of hard evidence or genuine first-hand accounts of native encounters with the creature, but rather a "distillation of many creatively varied stories from widely separated regions. The absence of evidence supporting the creature's existence, despite several centuries of Western contact with the region, numerous expeditions in search of the animal, and periodic aerial and satellite surveillance, all of which have detected elephants and other large animals - but no sauropods - all argue against the existence of mokele-mbembe.

In popular culture

  • A rather disadvantageous line of the chess opening Alekhine's Defence is named after the creature: the "mokele-mbembe variation".
  • The mokele-mbembe was featured in The Secret Files of the Spy Dogs episode "Earnest." It is among the creatures that have been caught by Earnest Anyway.
  • In the 1985 film Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend, rumors of a sighting of mokele-mbembe lead the main characters to a family of live sauropods.
  • In 1989 The Punisher/Wolverine African Saga (On the Track of Unknown Animals/Endangered Species, The Punisher War Journal #6-#7) by Carl Potts and Jim Lee, the two mentioned superheroes stop a band of poachers who tried to hunt mokele-mbembe.
  • In the 1994 video game Uncharted Waters: New Horizons, the mokele-mbembe can be discovered in the Congo River.
  • In the 2010 video game Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Mokele-mbembe is one of the cryptids said to be dinosaurs that the character Chico tells Big Boss about.
  • In May 2013 the Norwegian experimental music outfit Sturle Dagsland released a song entitled "mokele-mbembe".
  • The Roland Smith novel Cryptid Hunters revolves around a search for the mokele-mbembe and successful recovery of two of its eggs (the only known adult specimens having died beforehand) from the jungles of the Congo.
  • Mokele-mbembe is one of six cryptids sought by comedian and journalist Dom Joly in his travel book Scary Monsters and Super Creeps.
  • Korean American artist David Choe claimed on an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience that as a young man he travelled to the Congo in search of Mokele-mbembe after reading about it in a magazine while he was living in Israel.
  • In the World of Darkness universe by White Wolf Publishing, the Mokole are a breed of were-reptiles who serve as the "memory" of Gaia.
  • The 2019 film Godzilla: King of the Monsters mentions a Titan dubbed Mokele-mbembe, though it is not seen in the film. But the creature's figure was seen in its misty and foggy containment in Outpost 75 Jebel Barkal, Sudan while it arises and escapes after being awoken by King Ghidorah alongside the other 17 titans. The creature is featured more prominently in the film's novelization.
  • In the SCP Foundation, mokele-mbembe is what a village of Mbochi people call a specimen of SCP-1265, specifically a Camarasaurus. They also mention Mbielu-Mbielu-Mbielu also being a part of SCP-1265, with it being a Kentrosaurus.
  • In the book Mortal Engines, Captain Khora's airship is named Mokele Mbembe.
  • In the second season of the Goblin Slayer anime, the adventurers encounter a large creature referred to as "Mokele Mubenbe", a huge sauropod-like creature with purple crystals protruding from its hide.

See also

References

  1. Loxton & Prothero (2013), pp. 262–295.
  2. Prothero (2015), pp. 233–235.
  3. ^ Guimont, Edward (18 March 2019). "Hunting Dinosaurs in Central Africa". Contingent Magazine. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  4. "History of Mokele Mbembe And Expeditions To Africa". The Daily Journalist. 29 March 2017.
  5. Ley, Willy (1941). The Lungfish and the Unicorn. pp. 138–139.
  6. Dunning, Brian. "Hunting the Mokele-Mbembe". skeptoid.com. Skeptoid Media, Inc. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  7. Ley, Willy (1959). Exotic Zoology. New York, Viking Press. p. 70.
  8. Guimont, Edward (18 March 2019). "Hunting Dinosaurs in Central Africa". CONTINGENT. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  9. MacKal, Roy P. (1987). A Living Dinosaur?: In Search of Mokele-Mbembe. Brill Archive. ISBN 978-90-04-08543-5.
  10. Horn, Trader; Lewis, Ethelreda (1927). Trader Horn : being the life and works of Alfred Aloysius Horn. Internet Archive. New York : Simon and Schuster.
  11. Naish, Darren. "Misreading the Mokele-Mbembe (the Mokele-Mbembe, Part 1)". Scientific American Blog Network.
  12. Mackal, Roy. A Living Dinosaur? In Search of Mokele-Mbembe. New York: E.J. Brill, 1987. ISBN 90-04-08543-2
  13. American Men & Women of Science - Volume 5. Thomson/Gale. 2009. p. 85. ISBN 978-0787665289.
  14. Loxton and Prothero (2013)
  15. ^ Loxton and Prothero (2013), p. 284.
  16. "Spirits of the Forest – min 45:00". BBC.
  17. Cowen, Nick (24 August 2018). "Backpacking into the Unknown". The Citizen. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  18. "New on TV Today: Tuesday 7 August". TVSA. 7 August 2018. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  19. hitched, Congo. "hitched.congo Webseries". hitched series. Tomfoolery TV. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  20. Almbjerg, Sarah Iben (28 November 2018). "Uimodståelig Dino-jagt på DR2". Berlingske (in Danish). Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  21. Madsen, Fie West (28 November 2018). "Lensgreve Christoffer Knuth har brugt kæmpe summer på vild dinosaur-jagt: 'Vi fandt noget, som ingen har set før'". BT.dk (in Danish). Berlingske Media A/S. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  22. "The hunt for Mokele-mbembe: Congo's Loch Ness Monster". BBC News. 28 December 2011. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  23. Naish, Darren (1 September 2017). Hunting Monsters: Cryptozoology and the Reality Behind the Myths.
  24. Radford, Benjamin (13 August 2013). "Mokele-Mbembe: The Search for a Living Dinosaur". livescience.com. Future US Inc. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  25. John Watson and Eric Schiller, The Big Book of Busts, Hypermodern Press, 1995, pp. 120–21. ISBN 1-886040-13-3.

Bibliography & further reading

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