Africa

Kianda Told story

Water monster · Ilha de Luanda (Luanda Island) · first reported Traditional · also called Dandalunda, Ianda

Kianda is the water spirit of Angolan tradition, often pictured as a mermaid and honored as a protector of fishermen. In Kimbundu she is called ianda. Popular stories tell of a mermaid who shows a poor man hidden treasure, then makes it vanish if he uses it selfishly, leaving him in misery; whole greedy villages are said to lie enchanted at the bottom of lakes and rivers, where people claim to hear dogs and roosters below. On Luanda Island an annual feast honors the deity, with offerings of food and cloth cast into the sea. Writer Pepetela built novels around her, including The Return of the Water Spirit. A fossil mosasaur from Angola, Prognathodon kianda, was named after her. Kianda belongs to a living belief tradition.

• AnnualTold story Fishing communities on Luanda Island hold a yearly feast in Kianda's honor, casting offerings of food and clothing into the ocean. The spirit is regarded as a guardian of fishermen, and the feast is one of the clearest public expressions of the belief. Source: en.wikipedia.org

Visiting: The Ilha de Luanda feast honoring Kianda is held annually.

Gustave On the record

Beast · Ruzizi River delta and Lake Tanganyika shore · first reported 1990s · also called Gustave the crocodile

Gustave is a real but legendary Nile crocodile from Burundi, said to haunt the Ruzizi River and the northern shore of Lake Tanganyika. National Geographic reported in 2002 that he was easily over 20 feet long and more than 2,000 pounds. Local stories credit him with 200 to 300 human deaths, though one later estimate put the true number at around 60 or fewer. Herpetologist Patrice Faye led a two-year effort to trap him with a huge cage, filmed for the 2004 documentary Capturing the Killer Croc, but Gustave was never caught. He was reported scarred by bullet wounds. He was seen in the Ruzizi in 2009, and later claims that he was killed have not been backed by photos.

• 2002-2004On the record Patrice Faye's team set a giant trap baited with live animals. On one night a storm knocked out their camera, and by morning the cage was partly underwater and the bait goat gone. Gustave was never captured. Source: en.wikipedia.org
• 2009On the record National Geographic reported a new sighting of Gustave in Burundi, years after the failed capture attempt. It is the last widely reported sighting, since later claims of his death have come without photographs. Source: nationalgeographic.com

Ngoubou Told story

Beast · Savanna country of Cameroon · first reported 2000 (to outsiders)

The Ngoubou is described as an ox-sized animal with hooves and several horns, sometimes six, said to live on the savanna of Cameroon and even to fight elephants for land despite being smaller than they are. Cryptozoologists William Gibbons and David Wetzel heard about it in 2000 from Pygmy communities in Cameroon. Elders insisted it was not an ordinary rhinoceros because of its many horns, and one elder said the father of a senior member of the community had killed one with a spear some years before. They also said the animal had become much rarer. The usual explanation is a misidentified or exaggerated rhinoceros, though some cryptozoologists have suggested a surviving horned dinosaur.

• 2000Told story During fieldwork in Cameroon, William Gibbons and David Wetzel were told of a beast about the size of an ox with more than one horn. Elders said the father of a senior community member had killed one with a spear, and that the animals had become harder to find. Source: cryptidz.fandom.com

Olitiau On the record

Winged · Mountain stream, southern Cameroon · first reported 1932

The Olitiau is a giant bat-like flyer reported from Cameroon. In 1932 naturalist Ivan T. Sanderson and his companion Gerald Russell were hunting hammer-headed fruit bats along a mountain stream in southern Cameroon when, by Sanderson's account, a large black animal swooped down on them. He described a wingspan of roughly 6 to 12 feet, dark brown or red wings and a lower jaw lined with teeth about two inches long, and he called it the granddaddy of all bats. Suggested explanations include a hammer-headed fruit bat seen briefly at close range, an unusually large individual of a known bat, an unknown large bat species, or, in some cryptozoology circles, a surviving pterosaur. Sanderson himself insisted that what he saw was a bat.

• 1932On the record Ivan Sanderson said a large black flyer swooped down at him and Gerald Russell while they were hunting bats along a mountain stream. He reported long, serrated teeth in its lower jaw and called it the granddaddy of all bats. Source: en.wikipedia.org

Badigui Told story

Water monster · Ubangi River region (old Ubangi-Shari) · first reported 1890 (remembered); reports 1928-1945 · also called Ngakoula-ngou, Diba, Songo

Badigui is one of several local names for a large water animal in what is now the Central African Republic, once the French colony of Ubangi-Shari. Game inspector Lucien Blancou collected reports under names such as Ngakoula-ngou and Badigui in 1928, Diba, Songo and Mourou-ngou in 1932-1934, and followed tracks near Ndélé in 1945. One elderly witness described seeing the animal around 1890, eating from a tree, with a neck as thick as a man's thigh. Researchers often group these accounts with the Nguma-monene and Mokele-mbembe stories from the Congo. Proposed explanations range from a living dinosaur to an elongated monitor lizard, while skeptics suggest misidentified or exaggerated sightings of crocodiles or monitors. The accounts are second-hand, known through cryptozoology summaries rather than Blancou's own writing.

• 1928-1945Told story Lucien Blancou, a game inspector, recorded several local accounts of a large river animal in the Ubangi-Shari region between 1928 and 1934 and followed tracks near Ndélé in 1945. One elderly witness recalled seeing it around 1890, feeding from a tree. Source: cryptidz.fandom.com

Ennedi Tiger Told story

Beast · Ennedi Plateau, eastern Chad · first reported 20th century · also called Hadjel, Gassingram, Vossoko, Mourou N'gou, Dilali

The Ennedi tiger is a big cat said to haunt the caves and gorges of the Ennedi Plateau in north-eastern Chad. Local names include Hadjel and Gassingram. People described it as larger than a lion and tail-less, with jutting teeth, hairy feet, and reddish fur marked with pale stripes. It was said to be nocturnal, to shelter in caves and to be strong enough to bring down large antelopes. A separate water version, known as Mourou N'gou or Dilali, is reported further south including in the Central African Republic. Some writers compared the mountain form to a sabre-toothed cat. Writers point out that the last lion in the region was reportedly seen in 1940, and for the water form some have suggested an otter.

• UndatedTold story Accounts collected from people of the Ennedi region describe a striped, reddish, tail-less cat living in caves and hunting antelope at night. No dates or named Western witnesses are given in the sources opened. Source: en.wikipedia.org

Emela-ntouka Told story

Water monster · Likouala swamps, Republic of the Congo; also Lake Bangweulu, Zambia · first reported 1930s · also called Elephant killer, Aseka-moke, Chipekwe

Emela-ntouka means 'killer of elephants' in Lingala. It is said to live in the swamps and rivers of the Congo Basin, with related stories from Lake Bangweulu in Zambia. Descriptions give it the bulk of an elephant, brownish-grey skin, a long heavy tail, a rhino-like body and a single horn on its snout. It is said to be fiercely territorial. A 1933 book by J.E. Hughes recorded an account from Bangweulu, and Lucien Blancou named it in a 1954 journal article. Researcher Roy Mackal gathered testimony on his Congo trips in 1980 and 1981. No bones, photos or bodies have been produced.

• about 1930Told story Local people near Dongou are said to have killed one of the animals. Source: en.wikipedia.org
• 1933On the record J.E. Hughes recorded an account in his book Eighteen Years on Lake Bangweulu. Source: en.wikipedia.org
• 1954On the record Lucien Blancou described the creature in the journal Mammalia as larger than a buffalo and aggressive. Source: en.wikipedia.org
• 1980-1981Investigated report Roy Mackal's Congo expeditions gathered descriptions from local witnesses, published in his book A Living Dinosaur (1987). Source: en.wikipedia.org

Mbielu-mbielu-mbielu Told story

Water monster · Likouala River near Epena · first reported 1980 (to outsiders) · also called Animal with planks growing out of its back

Mbielu-mbielu-mbielu means roughly the animal with planks growing out of its back. It is said to live in the Likouala River swamps of the northern Republic of the Congo, the same region as the Mokele-mbembe legend. Reports say it stays mostly underwater with only a ridge of green, plank-like plates showing along its back, often coated in algae, and that it is most active in the afternoon. The first documented account came from Ikeikesse near Epena. Biologist Roy Mackal, who led expeditions to the area, thought it might be a giant monitor lizard. Others have suggested a large crocodile with a ridged back. In 1980 one informant picked a Stegosaurus picture to show what it looked like but later admitted never seeing it.

• 1980Told story During cryptozoology expeditions to the Likouala region, informants described a plated water animal. One person, Odette Gesonget, pointed to a Stegosaurus image but later said she had not personally seen the animal. Source: en.wikipedia.org

Mokele-mbembe Told story

Water monster · Likouala swamps and Lake Tele, Republic of the Congo

The long-necked 'river stopper' of the Congo Basin swamps, the target of many expeditions. Full story in the main Mokele-mbembe dossier.

Full story: Mokele-mbembe →

Nguma-monene Told story

Water monster · Dongu-Mataba, a tributary of the Ubangi River, northern Republic of the Congo · first reported 1961

The Nguma-monene is a huge reptile said to live in rivers feeding the Ubangi in the northern Republic of the Congo. Witnesses describe a low-slung, lizard-like body with a saw-toothed ridge along its back and a grey-brown color, which sets it apart from a snake. The first report dates from 1961. In 1971 Pastor Joseph Ellis said he saw part of one, estimating the visible length at about 10 meters and its thickness at up to a meter. Researchers link it to earlier reports collected by game inspector Lucien Blancou in the old Ubangi-Shari region under other names. Suggested explanations include large crocodiles or Nile monitors, while some cryptozoologists propose a surviving prehistoric reptile.

• 1971On the record Pastor Joseph Ellis reported seeing part of a long grey-brown reptile with a serrated back. He put the visible portion at about 10 meters long and half a meter to a meter thick, and his estimate is the main basis for modern descriptions. Source: cryptidz.fandom.com

Sowara Told story

Beast · Côte d'Ivoire savanna and forest edge · first reported 1898-1900 · also called Booaa, Siriku

The Sowara is a giant hyena reported across West Africa, from Mali, Liberia, Côte d'Ivoire and possibly Guinea. It goes by other names such as booaa, siruku and soouara. Accounts call it bigger, stronger and bolder than an ordinary hyena, sometimes spotted and sometimes striped, and compare it to a great dog. French explorer Charles-Alexandre d'Ollone heard about it on his 1898 to 1900 expedition, including a claim that one killed a French sergeant in a hut. Harry Johnston noted Mandingo descriptions of a very fierce siriku. In 1986 track photographs from Côte d'Ivoire reached Bernard Heuvelmans, who judged that they were made by something three times the size of a spotted hyena. Johnston suggested an undiscovered giant hyena, while Heuvelmans later linked the siruku to a supposed surviving sabre-toothed cat.

• 1986Told story Photographs of large tracks found in Côte d'Ivoire reached Bernard Heuvelmans, who judged them to come from an animal about three times the size of a spotted hyena. He later classed the siruku with the 'mountain tiger', which he argued could be a surviving sabre-toothed cat. Source: cryptidarchives.fandom.com
• 1898-1900Told story Charles-Alexandre d'Ollone heard local accounts of the sowara during his West African journey, including a report that one had killed a French sergeant. People described it as far larger and bolder than the hyenas they knew, and likened it to a great dog. Source: cryptidarchives.fandom.com

Kasai Rex Proven hoax

Beast · Kasai Valley · first reported February 16, 1932 · also called Kassai rex

The Kasai Rex is a hoax built around a story from the Kasai Valley in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A Swedish plantation owner named J. C. Johanson claimed that on February 16, 1932, he saw a huge lizard-like animal, about 16 yards long, feeding on a dead rhinoceros in a swamp. A photograph circulated with the story, but it was plainly a cut-out of a monitor lizard placed over a picture of a dead animal. Johanson himself only spoke of a giant lizard; a newspaper writer later added the idea that it was a dinosaur. The faked photo was later mistaken for pictures of other Congo cryptids, and it still turns up online today as supposed evidence.

• Feb 16, 1932Proven hoax Johanson said he and a servant came upon an enormous lizard-headed animal eating a rhinoceros carcass in a swamp in the Kasai Valley. The accompanying photograph has been shown to be a crude composite. Source: cryptidarchives.fandom.com

Katanga Giant Snake On the record

Beast · Near Kamina air base, Katanga · first reported 1959 · also called Giant Congo Snake, Van Lierde snake

In 1959 Belgian pilot Colonel Remy Van Lierde, a decorated World War II flyer, said he spotted an enormous snake while flying a helicopter back to Kamina air base in Katanga. He described it as green and brown with a white underbelly and estimated its length at 50 to 60 feet, far beyond any known snake. He said that when he circled back it raised its front part about ten feet as if to strike. A crew member took a photograph that is still widely shared, and Van Lierde showed it on television in 1980. Later analysts used nearby termite mounds to estimate the snake's size, and one CIA photo analyst was said to put it at just under 200 feet. Commentators accept that the photo shows a very large snake but dispute the dimensions, and its authenticity has been questioned. The Katanga snake is listed among Congo's cryptids.

• 1959On the record Van Lierde said he circled back for a closer look at a giant snake on the ground near Kamina and that it lifted its head toward the aircraft. A photo was taken from the helicopter, and size estimates later ran from about 50 feet to far larger. Source: reaction.life

Egyptian Bear Told story

Beast · Egypt (historic reports, no fixed locality) · first reported Classical era

The Egyptian bear is a historical puzzle rather than a modern sighting. The Greek historian Herodotus wrote that bears lived in Egypt but were rare. Much later, Venetian physician Prospero Alpini described an Egyptian bear no bigger than a sheep, whitish in color and easier to tame than European bears; his account was published after his death. Naturalist Georges Cuvier and Egyptologist John Gardner Wilkinson both doubted that bears ever lived in Egypt. Cryptozoologist Bernard Heuvelmans suggested the Syrian brown bear, which is small and pale and lives just across the Sinai, could explain the reports. There is no accepted evidence of wild bears in historical Egypt, and the question remains open only in old texts.

• Published 1736Told story Prospero Alpini's account described a small, whitish, easily tamed bear in Egypt. Critics argued the size and color did not fit a bear, while Heuvelmans thought a Syrian brown bear was possible. Source: cryptidarchives.fandom.com

Auli Told story

Water monster · Lake Tana · first reported 1868 (in print) · also called Water calf, Ourha-bieh

The Auli is a supposed manatee-like animal of Lake Tana in Ethiopia, the source of the Blue Nile, also linked to the Mareb River. Its Amharic name, ia-bahr-tedcha, is said to mean water calf or sea calf. German explorer Theodor von Heuglin traveled through Ethiopia in 1861 and 1862 while searching for the missing explorer Eduard Vogel, and in 1868 he wrote that a manatee lived in Lake Tana. He also wondered whether it was the same as the ourha-bieh, a large water animal of the Mareb's tributaries. Zoologist Leopold Fitzinger dismissed the reports as based on a fable. Bernard Heuvelmans later proposed that it might be a unique sea cow descended from Eocene species known from Egyptian fossils, such as Eotheroides or Eosiren. No specimen has been described.

• 1868Told story Theodor von Heuglin, writing after his travels, stated that a manatee inhabited Lake Tana. His claim was rejected by other zoologists of the time as being based on stories. Source: cryptidarchives.fandom.com

Gambo On the record

Water monster · Bungalow Beach, Kotu, near the Gambia River mouth · first reported June 12, 1983 · also called Gambian sea serpent

Gambo is the name given to a strange carcass reported on Bungalow Beach in The Gambia on June 12, 1983. Owen Burnham, then a 15-year-old wildlife enthusiast, said he and his family found local men dragging a dead animal up the sand. He described it as about 15 feet long, brown above and white below, with a long beak-like snout holding about 80 even, cone-shaped teeth, two pairs of flippers and a long tail, and he made sketches and measurements. The men cut off the head to sell to a tourist and buried the body, and the remains were never found again. Burnham rejected the locals' view that it was a dolphin. Suggested identities include beaked whales, crocodiles and, in some cryptozoology circles, a surviving marine reptile.

• Jun 12, 1983On the record Owen Burnham reported measuring a fresh carcass with a long toothed snout and flippers on Bungalow Beach. The head was cut off and sold, the body buried, and later searches failed to recover anything. Source: cryptidz.fandom.com

Ninki Nanka Told story

Water monster · Lower Gambia River swamps, The Gambia · first reported Mandinka oral tradition

The Ninki Nanka is the dragon of the lower Gambia River, the most feared spirit of its swamps and mangroves. Mandinka speakers also use the name for dragons in general. Accounts vary. Some give it a crocodile's head on a donkey's body. Others describe a long giraffe-like neck, a horse's head with three horns and mirror-bright scales, or wings and fire. To see it is said to mean death, and its gaze kills like Medusa's, so people carried mirrors. A gem in its head is the source of its power. The legend kept people away from rich swamp land. In 2006 the Centre for Fortean Zoology sent an expedition to collect witness stories, and the BBC covered the hunt.

• 2006Investigated report The J. T. Downes Memorial Gambia Expedition, run by the Centre for Fortean Zoology, gathered testimony. Researcher Richard Freeman recorded descriptions of something like a crocodile, or a winged snake that spat fire. Source: en.wikipedia.org

Sasabonsam Told story

Humanoid · Asante forests around Kumasi · first reported Traditional · also called Asanbosam, Asasabonsam

The Sasabonsam is a forest being from Akan tradition, especially among the Asante of Ghana, with versions also told in Côte d'Ivoire and Togo. It is pictured perched high in trees, hairy, with iron teeth and bat-like wings that can be nearly 20 feet wide. Its legs dangle down to snare hunters passing below, and its feet are said to point both ways. In some tellings it enforces customary rules about the forest. Akan people carried the legend to Jamaica in the 18th century. The British Museum holds a carved wooden figure of a Sasabonsam thought to date from around 1935. It remains a well-known figure of Ghanaian folklore rather than a reported sighting.

• c. 1935Told story A carved wooden Sasabonsam figure from Ghana, now in the British Museum, is estimated to date from about 1935. It is one of the best-known physical depictions of the legend. Source: en.wikipedia.org

Visiting: The British Museum in London displays a carved Sasabonsam figure.

Dingonek On the record

Water monster · Migori (Maggori) River, near Lake Victoria · first reported 1907 · also called Luquata

The Dingonek is a scaled river beast reported from the Migori River area of western Kenya, which drains to Lake Victoria. Big-game hunter John Alfred Jordan said he met it in 1907, and his story was printed in Edgar Beecher Bronson's 1910 book In Closed Territory. Jordan described a creature some 14 to 15 feet long with a leopard-like spotted head, two long white fangs pointing down from the upper jaw, a broad back armored like an armadillo, and a wide finned tail. He said he fired his rifle at it, and it sprang out of the water as he fled. Colonial writer C. W. Hobley later published a second account, in 1913, of a similar animal about 16 feet long, spotted like a leopard, scaly and with an otter-like head. Jordan himself wondered whether it was a descendant of a huge prehistoric reptile or an unknown species. No specimen was ever obtained.

• 1907On the record John Alfred Jordan described seeing the animal in a river near Lake Victoria. He compared its head to a lioness marked like a leopard, noted two white fangs, and said its tracks were as wide as a hippo's but clawed like a reptile's. Source: en.wikipedia.org
• 1913On the record C. W. Hobley published another witness's report of a creature about sixteen feet long, spotted like a leopard and covered in scales, with a head like an otter's. It is the main corroborating account for Jordan's story, though no physical evidence ever followed. Source: en.wikipedia.org

Nandi Bear On the record

Beast · Nandi Hills, western Kenya · first reported Late 1800s-early 1900s · also called Chemosit, Kerit, Koddoelo, Ngoloko

The Nandi Bear is a fierce, shaggy beast reported in western Kenya, home of the Nandi people. Africa has no living bears, which is part of the puzzle. Reports came in through the 1800s and early 1900s, yet the animal was never caught or identified. One colonial writer drew a footprint diagram in 1914. Ideas over the years have ranged from a surviving prehistoric clawed animal called a chalicothere to an extinct ape. Experts at the Natural History Museum in London concluded in 1932 that spotted hyenas explained much of it. Honey badgers and baboons have also been suggested.

• 1905On the record Officer Richard Meinertzhagen speculated the Nandi Bear might be an ape now extinct. Source: en.wikipedia.org
• 1914On the record Charles William Hobley published a footprint diagram he attributed to the creature. Source: en.wikipedia.org
• 1932On the record The British Natural History Museum backed the spotted hyena as the likely explanation, following zoologist Reginald Pocock. Source: en.wikipedia.org

Kholumolumo Told story

Beast · Maphutseng, Mohale's Hoek district · first reported Traditional · also called Xodumodumo

In Sotho tradition the Kholumolumo, or Xodumodumo, is a gigantic reptile, sometimes pictured as a dragon, lizard or crocodile. The Basotho use the same word for dinosaurs. That link became official when paleontologists named a large plant-eating dinosaur from Lesotho Kholumolumo. Its bones were dug up at Maphutseng on expeditions between 1955 and 1970, at a spot local people called the trash heap of Beata's mother, and represent at least five, and probably about ten, animals that may have reached 9 meters or more. By the end of the second field season, 683 bone pieces had been collected from an area of only about thirty-five square meters. The site ties a living folk legend directly to a real fossil bed.

• 1955-1970On the record Excavations at Maphutseng recovered 683 bone pieces from a large early dinosaur, from an area of about thirty-five square meters. The remains, from at least five individuals, were later named after the Sotho monster of legend. Source: en.wikipedia.org

Kalanoro Told story

Humanoid · Andoboara Cave and forests of Madagascar · first reported Traditional

The Kalanoro is a small, hairy, wild person of Malagasy folklore. Descriptions give it long, unkempt hair and nails, fangs, glowing red eyes, a whining voice that frightens dogs, and feet that point backwards. Some stories make it a dangerous thief and child-snatcher; a Sakalava tale tells of one taking children who were treated badly and returning them once its demands were met. In other traditions the Kalanoro is a helpful spirit that heals, foretells and passes on taboos through dreams. Wikipedia links it with Andoboara Cave. Some believe the physical Kalanoro has vanished and now exists only as spirits. The team of the TV show Destination Truth went looking for it in an episode aired in October 2010.

• Oct 14, 2010Told story The Destination Truth crew traveled to Madagascar to investigate the Kalanoro legend in an episode paired with Kenya's Menengai Crater. The program described it as a dangerous humanoid about two feet tall. Source: thetvdb.com

Kidoky Told story

Ape-like · Near Belo sur Mer, western Madagascar · first reported 1995 (interviews)

Kidoky is the name used by villagers near Belo sur Mer on Madagascar's west coast for a large lemur-like animal they described in structured interviews carried out in 1995 by researchers David Burney and Ramilisonina. Interviewees spoke of an animal that moved on the ground and made distinctive calls. The researchers allowed that misidentification was possible, but noted the witnesses' knowledge of local wildlife and treated the accounts as support for the idea that some of Madagascar's giant lemurs died out more recently than once thought. The interviews are often discussed alongside Flacourt's 17th-century Tratratratra and Ferrand's 19th-century stories of a large, flat-faced animal. No physical evidence of living giant lemurs has been found.

• 1995Told story David Burney and Ramilisonina interviewed people in the Belo sur Mer area about a creature called kidoky, described as a large ground-dwelling lemur-like animal. They cited the accounts as possible evidence that giant lemurs lingered into recent times. Source: en.wikipedia.org

Tratratratra On the record

Ape-like · Lake Lipomami, south-eastern Madagascar · first reported 1658 · also called Tretretretre

The Tratratratra is a large animal described in 1658 by Étienne de Flacourt, French governor of the colony in Madagascar. He wrote of a solitary beast near Lake Lipomami about the size of a two-year-old calf, with a round head and a human-like face, ape-like hands and feet, curly hair, a short tail and human-like ears, which local people greatly feared. Researchers long matched it to the extinct giant lemur Megaladapis, but many now favor Palaeopropithecus, a sloth lemur with a rounder head and short tail. Nineteenth-century folklorist Gabriel Ferrand recorded stories of a big flat-faced animal that could not climb smooth rock. The question is whether giant lemurs survived later than fossils show.

• 1658On the record Flacourt's published account described a feared, calf-sized animal with a manlike face living around Lake Lipomami. It is one of the oldest written cryptid descriptions from Madagascar. Source: en.wikipedia.org

Lake Nyasa Monster On the record

Water monster · Lake Malawi (Lake Nyasa) · first reported 1905 · also called Lake Malawi serpent

Lake Malawi, also called Lake Nyasa, has its own serpent legend. In 1905 the Manitoba Weekly Free Press reported missionaries' claims that a boat belonging to the British administration had been attacked by a sea serpent on the lake. That same year colonial official Hector Livingston Duff saw an object floating in deep water near Toto Bay, twice the size of the largest hippo, with shiny, leathery skin and two humps of unequal size. A steamer captain said it was a dead hippo swollen by decay. Duff rejected that at first but accepted it after the object sank when shot. Bernard Heuvelmans doubted that rot could double a hippo's size. Duff later suggested an exceptionally large python. In 1963 Animals magazine carried reports from three fishermen and other locals of a giant water serpent with a long dark body and a raised head, said to live in caves under the lake.

• 1905On the record Hector Livingston Duff described an object afloat in deep water near Toto Bay, twice the size of the largest hippo, with shiny leathery skin and two unequal humps. A steamer captain told him it was a swollen, decomposing hippo, an answer Duff accepted after it sank when fired upon. Source: cryptidarchives.fandom.com
• 1963Told story Animals magazine carried reports from three fishermen and other local people of a giant water serpent with a long dark body that raised its head straight above the water. It was believed to hide in underwater caves. Source: cryptidarchives.fandom.com

Malawi Terror Beast On the record

Beast · Dowa district, central Malawi · first reported 2002

In early 2003 a wave of night attacks in Dowa district, about 100 km from Lilongwe, terrified villages in central Malawi. A beast killed at least three people and badly injured 16, leaving terrible facial and limb wounds. Thousands of villagers left their homes; one official said about 2,000 camped at the district assembly hall. Some residents believed the animal could only be killed through witchcraft. A similar run of attacks the year before had killed five and hurt at least 20. Wildlife officers and police eventually tracked and shot the animal, which they identified as a spotted hyena, probably rabid. The case is now told as the Malawi Terror Beast, a real animal that briefly became a legend.

• March 2003On the record A district official reported that about 2,000 people sheltered at the assembly hall while parks staff set meat and gun traps around Dowa Forest. Officials suspected a rabid hyena was responsible for three deaths. Source: news24.com
• 2003On the record Game rangers and paramilitary police tracked and shot the animal, and wildlife officials confirmed it as a spotted hyena, possibly rabid. Around 4,000 residents had fled to the district headquarters during the attacks, which spread across at least four villages. Source: en.wikipedia.org

Adjule Told story

Beast · Saharan Mauritania · first reported 1928 · also called Kelb el khela, Tarhsît

The Adjule is a wild dog or wolf-like animal reported by desert nomads in the Sahara of Mauritania. Males are sometimes called kelb el khela, or bush dog, and females tarhsît. It was reported mainly by Tuareg nomads and by French naturalist Théodore Monod in 1928. In 1992 hunters in the coastal Western Sahara, north of Mauritania, described an animal like a wild dog that hunted in packs, though it was never confirmed as an African wild dog. Sightings are usually put down to known wild canines such as the African wild dog, now gone from parts of the Sahara. That would make it a remembered or relict population of a real animal rather than a new species. No photographs or specimens confirm a modern population.

• 1992Told story Hunters in the coastal areas of Western Sahara, north of Mauritania, described a pack-hunting animal resembling a wild dog. It was never confirmed as an African wild dog, a species now extinct in parts of the Sahara, so it remains an open report. Source: bafybeiemxf5abjwjbikoz4mc3a3dla6ual3jsgpdr4cjr3oz3evfyavhwq.ipfs.4everland.io

Aisha Qandisha Told story

Humanoid · Rivers and waterways of northern Morocco (Sebou River, Fez, Tetouan) · first reported Traditional · also called Aicha Kandicha

Aisha Qandisha is the most famous female spirit of Moroccan folklore. She is described as a beautiful young woman with the legs of a hoofed animal, such as a goat or camel, who lures young men and then drives them mad or kills them. She is tied to water, and local tradition places her at many sites: the sea at Tangier, the Martil River at Tétouan, a canal at Fez and the Sebou River. Some Sufi brotherhoods, such as the Hamadsha, hold rituals connected with her. Ideas about her origin vary. An older theory tied her to an ancient Near Eastern goddess, a link modern scholars regard as obsolete. A local story makes her a noblewoman from El Jadida who helped resist the Portuguese by seducing their soldiers. She remains a living part of Moroccan belief.

• TraditionalTold story Moroccan tradition ties Aisha Qandisha to rivers, lakes and the sea, with specific waters named in different towns. She is said to seduce men with her beauty and then drive them mad or kill them, and brotherhoods such as the Hamadsha hold rites seeking possession by her. Source: en.wikipedia.org

Atlas Bear Survivals On the record

Beast · Rif and Tetouan mountains, northern Morocco · first reported Last kill 1870 · also called Atlas bear

The Atlas bear was a real bear that once ranged across North Africa from Morocco to Libya, mainly in and near the Atlas Mountains. The last one is usually said to have been killed in 1870 in the mountains near Tetouan in northern Morocco. That date has made it a question mark for cryptid fans: did a few bears survive in remote mountains? Researchers such as Ángel Cabrera and Michel Thévenot have questioned the 1870 date, noting there is no physical evidence from that time. By 1899 writers said nothing had been heard of the animal for years. The most recent confirmed remains date to the 8th century, which casts further doubt on the 1870 date. Today it is treated as extinct.

• 1870On the record The commonly cited last Atlas bear was killed in the Tetouan mountains. Later scholars note that no named person is on record as seeing a live bear in the 19th century, so the true end date is uncertain. Source: en.wikipedia.org

Dog-headed Pig Monster On the record

Beast · Northern Namibia · first reported 2009 / 2012

In early 2012 residents of northern Namibia reported a strange white animal with a dog's head and the broad, almost hairless back and shoulders of a huge pig. It was said to chase and attack dogs and goats, and people began walking in groups and carrying weapons. Regional councillor Andreas Mundjindi told reporters it was an alien animal never seen before and blamed black magic. Some residents suspected an elderly man rumored to be a witch of keeping it as a familiar. The area had seen an earlier scare in July 2009, when livestock died and large dog-like footprints were found. Writer Benjamin Radford noted the parallels with other panic-driven creature scares and warned that witchcraft fears can lead to violence.

• Feb-Mar 2012On the record Villagers described a white dog-pig beast attacking dogs and goats. A regional councillor publicly called it an animal no one had seen before and linked it to black magic, while residents moved about in groups and carried weapons for protection. Source: namibian.com.na
• July 2009On the record An earlier wave of livestock deaths in the same area was blamed on a creature that left dog-like but oversized footprints. Reports at the time described a blood-sucking attacker, and the 2012 scare revived those memories. Source: livescience.com

Ibadan Mermaid On the record

Water monster · Ibadan, Oyo State · first reported July 2013 · also called Mami Wata of Ibadan

In July 2013 a crowd gathered at a house in Ibadan, Nigeria, after word spread that a fish seller had found a mermaid. The woman, named in reports as Ramota, came across an unfamiliar creature while thawing frozen fish bought that morning. She threw it away, then retrieved it to show her sister, an experienced fish seller. As the story spread, witnesses claimed it had been tiny at first and grown larger, and that it was human above the waist and fish below, with a face and long hair. Two people said their phones failed when they tried to photograph it, and traditionalist leaders warned of a serious flood unless the creature was handed to them. The next morning police identified it as a baby octopus. A blog on skepticism linked the episode to the Mami Wata water-spirit tradition.

• July 2013On the record Police in Ibadan took charge of the creature after a crowd formed at the fish seller's home. They said it was a baby octopus, contrary to claims that it was a mermaid that had changed size. Source: skepticalhumanities.com

Lau Told story

Water monster · Lake No and the Sudd swamps · first reported Late 1800s

The Lau is a swamp monster said to live in Lake No and the vast Sudd wetlands of the White Nile, in what is now South Sudan. Descriptions vary widely: a long-necked, yellowish-brown animal with flippers, a muscular hippo-like beast, or a huge serpent with legs. Many accounts give it tentacle-like feelers on the snout used to grab prey. Reports cited by cryptozoologists include a sighting near Wau in the late 1800s, a claim that Shilluk people killed one in 1914 for charms, strange gurgling noises in 1918, and a supposed vertebra presented to British officials in 1924 that proved fraudulent. No physical evidence has been verified. Researchers often link it with the Lukwata of Lake Victoria.

• 1924Told story A supposed Lau vertebra was presented to British officials in 1924. It was later revealed as fraudulent rather than a bone from an unknown animal. Source: cryptidz.fandom.com
• 1918Told story Gurgling sounds heard along the Bahr el Zeraf were attributed to the Lau, according to cryptozoology summaries. The Lukwata of Lake Victoria is said to make similar sounds. Source: cryptidz.fandom.com

Grootslang Told story

Beast · Richtersveld, Northern Cape, South Africa · first reported Local legend · also called Great snake

The Grootslang, Afrikaans for 'great snake', is a giant serpent of the Richtersveld near the Orange River. Legend makes it 40 to 50 feet long, with a track three feet wide and, in some versions, diamonds for eyes. It is said to lurk in the 'Wonder Hole', a deep pit near the river. Stories claim the pit leads to the sea or the river and is lined with diamonds. Explorers found only bat droppings. A popular tale says an English treasure hunter vanished in the area in 1917 and the Grootslang took him. That story has never been confirmed. Writer Lawrence G. Green thought the legend grew from big pythons, with the diamonds added later.

• TraditionalTold story The Wonder Hole, about three miles from the Orange River, is said to be the serpent's lair. Explorers reported a sixty-foot drop and side passages but found only bat guano. Source: en.wikipedia.org
• 1917Told story An English businessman, named in retellings as Peter Grayson, is said to have disappeared while hunting treasure in the Richtersveld. Rumor blamed the Grootslang. Source: en.wikipedia.org

Visiting: The Richtersveld is a protected desert park on the Namibian border.

Inkanyamba On the record

Water monster · Howick Falls, Umgeni River, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa · first reported Zulu tradition; modern reports 1962 · also called Howie

The Inkanyamba is a great serpent from Zulu tradition, linked above all with the deep pool below Howick Falls. Locals there nickname it Howie. In tradition it is a huge snake whose coils stretch from sky to earth, and its anger brings the summer storms. Treated with respect, it brings rain. Descriptions vary from a horse-headed serpent to a many-headed one, sometimes with fins or wings. Modern sightings began with a game ranger's report in 1962 and continued into the 1990s. Some observers suggest crocodiles or large eels. Others suspect a few reports were invented to draw tourists. The falls are an easy stop with a public viewing platform.

• 1962On the record Game ranger Buthelezi reported a horse-headed, serpent-bodied animal on a sandbank of the Umgeni River. Source: en.wikipedia.org
• 1974-1995On the record Further local reports followed in 1974, 1981 and 1995. Some have been put down to Nile crocodiles, eels or tourism hoaxes. Source: en.wikipedia.org

Visiting: Howick Falls in Howick has a public viewpoint over the gorge and pool.

Lake Fundudzi Python Spirit Told story

Water monster · Lake Fundudzi, Tshiavha, Soutpansberg, Limpopo · first reported Traditional · also called Fundudzi

Lake Fundudzi in the Soutpansberg mountains of Limpopo is sacred to the Vhatavhatsindi, the People of the Pool, a Venda community. It is described as the only natural inland lake in southern Africa. Tradition holds that a python spirit living in the mountain protects the lake, and the lake's crocodiles and the nearby Thathe Vondo forest are also sacred. One legend says the lake formed when villagers refused food and shelter to a passing traveller with leprosy, and a curse drowned their homestead. The level and color of the water are read as signs of the ancestors' mood and of coming rain. Adolescent girls traditionally perform a yearly puberty dance connected with these beliefs. This is a living tradition, and visitors are expected to show respect.

• TraditionalTold story Venda tradition describes a python spirit guarding the lake and links the girls' initiation dance to it. The lake's fullness is said to reflect the temper of the ancestors. Source: en.wikipedia.org

Visiting: Lake Fundudzi is on sacred Venda land; access is controlled locally and permission from the community is expected.

Mamlambo On the record

Water monster · Mzintlava River near Mount Ayliff, Eastern Cape · first reported Traditional; news 1997 · also called The Brain Sucker

The Mamlambo is a river being from southern African tradition, often linked to wealth, temptation and ruin. It made headlines in 1997 when about nine deaths along the Mzintlava River near Mount Ayliff in the Eastern Cape were blamed on it between January and April. Villagers described a creature around 20 meters long with a horse-like head, a fish's lower body, short legs and a snake's neck, glowing green at night. Because of the state of the bodies, it was nicknamed the Brain Sucker. Police said the deaths had natural causes and that crabs had damaged the bodies after long periods in the water. Scholar Felicity Wood reads the Mamlambo as a symbol of the lure of Western-style wealth.

• Jan-Apr 1997On the record Residents along the Mzintlava River blamed a run of drownings on the Mamlambo. Police disputed this, saying the injuries were caused by crabs feeding on bodies that had been underwater for a long time. Source: en.wikipedia.org
• 1997Told story A popular article describes the Mamlambo as about six meters long with a long tail, four arm-like fins and bright green, hypnotic eyes, and connects it with thunderstorms. It says a government minister reported the creature had devoured at least seven victims in the Mzintlava River area, and that journalists counted seven to nine deaths. Source: maisafrika.com

Agogwe On the record

Ape-like · Ussure and Simibit forests, Wembere plains, Tanzania · first reported Before 1937 (told 1937)

The Agogwe is a small, upright, hairy figure reported from the forests of East Africa. It is known almost entirely from two letters printed in the British magazine Discovery in 1937 and 1938. Captain William Hichens, a colonial officer, wrote that years earlier he had seen two small, brown-haired creatures about four feet tall walking upright across a forest glade during a lion hunt. Cuthbert Burgoyne then wrote that in 1927 he had seen two similar small brown figures from a ship off the coast of what was then Portuguese East Africa. Both men allowed that they might have seen monkeys. No later sightings are well documented, and no physical evidence exists.

• Before 1937On the record Captain William Hichens, on an official lion hunt in the Ussure and Simibit forests, saw two creatures about four feet tall walking upright, with brown or russet hair. He described it in Discovery, December 1937. Source: en.wikipedia.org
• 1927On the record Cuthbert Burgoyne saw two small brown creatures, four to five feet tall and upright, from a ship off the Portuguese East Africa coast. His letter appeared in Discovery in February 1938. Source: en.wikipedia.org

Mngwa On the record

Beast · Lindi and Mchinga, southern Tanzania coast · first reported 1870 · also called Nunda, The Strange One

The Mngwa is a giant grey cat said to stalk the coastal forests of southern Tanzania. A cryptozoology encyclopedia dates the first report to 1870, but the case is best known from 1922, when a string of night killings around Lindi was investigated by Captain William Hichens, then a native magistrate. Witnesses described a lion-sized cat, grey with brindled stripes, with tracks shaped like a leopard's but as large as a lion's. Two constables were found dead clutching grey, matted fur, which examiners said was probably from a cat. The hunter Patrick Bowen is said to have tracked one into the forest after it took a child. Proposed explanations include an unusual leopard, an unknown giant relative of the African golden cat, or killings staged by 'lion men' posing as the animal. Hichens himself later suggested a lion with gigantism.

• 1922On the record In Lindi district a run of night deaths was blamed on a huge grey cat. Captain William Hichens looked into the killings. Two dead constables were reported to be holding grey matted hair, and examination concluded only that it was probably from a cat. Source: cryptidarchives.fandom.com
• 1930sOn the record An experienced local hunter was brought to Hichens near Mchinga, badly mauled, and blamed the Mngwa. Wikipedia's werecat article dates Hichens' account of a monstrous cat attacking people at night to 1938, and says he put the huge prints down to a lion with gigantism rather than a shapeshifter. Source: cryptidarchives.fandom.com

Popobawa On the record

Winged · Pemba Island, Zanzibar archipelago · first reported 1965 · also called Popo bawa

The Popobawa is a night terror of the Zanzibar islands off Tanzania. The first reports date from 1965 on Pemba Island, shortly after the island's revolution. It is described as a shapeshifter that can take human or animal form; one popular travel article says it looks human by day and becomes a one-eyed bat at night. It usually visits homes at night, and those who report it describe physical assaults and poltergeist-like disturbances. Better-known sightings followed in 1970, and it resurfaced through the 1980s. A major panic in 1995 spread from Pemba to Unguja and across to Dar es Salaam and other towns. Short revivals were reported in 2000 and 2007. During scares, people often spent the night awake outside, huddled around a fire with family. Joe Nickell compared the reports to sleep paralysis, and Benjamin Radford found no doctors who had treated a victim.

• 1995On the record The best-known outbreak began on Pemba and spread to Unguja and to Dar es Salaam and other urban centers on the mainland. Reports described night visits by a shape-changing attacker. The fear was strong enough that families stayed awake outside their houses, gathered around open fires, rather than sleep indoors. Source: en.wikipedia.org
• 2000sOn the record Smaller flare-ups were reported in 2000 and 2007. Investigator Joe Nickell compared the reports to a waking dream, also called sleep paralysis, while Benjamin Radford wrote that none of the doctors he asked had ever treated a Popobawa victim. Source: en.wikipedia.org

Lukwata Told story

Water monster · Lake Victoria (Ugandan waters) · first reported 1913 (in print) · also called Lukwata of Lake Victoria

Lukwata is the great water serpent of Lake Victoria in Baganda tradition, said to live mainly in the Ugandan part of the lake. Descriptions give it a length of 20 to 30 feet, smooth dark skin and a rounded head, and say it overturns canoes and attacks fishermen. Some accounts tie it to whirlpools, and fishing communities once offered livestock to calm it. In 1913 colonial administrator C. W. Hobley wrote that people on both shores told Lukwata stories, including Luo fishermen who described it attacking their boats. Hobley wondered whether big pythons or an unknown animal lay behind the tales. Modern scholars treat Lukwata mainly as cultural lore, and no scientific evidence for such an animal has been found.

• 1913Told story C. W. Hobley recorded that Lukwata stories were told on both sides of Lake Victoria, with Luo fishermen describing raids on their canoes. He left open whether the accounts reflected pythons or an unknown animal. Source: en.wikipedia.org
• TraditionalTold story Folklore collections describe a lake demon linked with whirlpools and calmed with offerings of livestock. One witness description gives it a snake-like head and flippers like a turtle's, which has led some writers to suggest a large turtle. Source: abookofcreatures.com

Chipekwe Told story

Water monster · Lake Bangweulu swamps and the Lukulu River · first reported 19th century · also called Nsanga

The Chipekwe is a water beast of Lake Bangweulu and its swamps in northern Zambia, known from Bemba accounts. Descriptions vary. One version is a smooth, dark animal with a single ivory-like horn that kills hippos and seldom leaves the water. Others describe a shaggy giant bigger than a hippo with two down-turned fangs, or a long-necked animal with a small head. Writer J. E. Hughes gathered stories, including a third-hand tale of one being speared long ago. A 1906 report described a hippo found with its throat torn out in the Lukulu River, and a long-necked animal was reported in 1954. A related name, Nsanga, is used for a smooth-skinned, crocodile-like animal of the same swamp. Ideas include a surviving dinosaur, a water lion, or aggressive old hippos.

• 1906Told story A report made to R. M. Green in 1906 told of a hippo found with its throat torn out in the Lukulu (Lukula) River, a killing local people blamed on the Chipekwe. Source: cryptidz.fandom.com
• May 1954Told story Alan Brignall is said to have seen a long-necked animal in the Bangweulu area. The account adds to a long list of varied descriptions from the swamps. Source: cryptidz.fandom.com

Kongamato On the record

Winged · Jiundu Swamp, Mwinilunga District, Zambia · first reported 1923

The Kongamato is a flying creature reported from the swamps of northwest Zambia and neighboring Angola and Congo. Frank Melland first described it in his 1923 book In Witchbound Africa, drawing on local informants. A reporter traveling with the future Edward VIII wrote about it in the 1920s, and naturalists Ivan Sanderson and Gerald Russell claimed a sighting in Cameroon in 1932. In 1956 an engineer reported large flyers, and in 1957 a wounded man drew a winged attacker for hospital staff. Cryptozoologists have suggested a surviving pterosaur. Others point to large storks or big fruit bats seen briefly in poor light.

• 1923On the record Frank Melland's book In Witchbound Africa gave the first published description of the Kongamato from local informants in the Jiundu Swamp area. Source: en.wikipedia.org
• about 1925On the record Reporter J. Ward Price, traveling with the future King Edward VIII, wrote about an injured local man who blamed a Kongamato attack. Source: en.wikipedia.org
• 1932On the record Naturalist Ivan T. Sanderson and Gerald Russell claimed a sighting of a similar flying creature in Cameroon. Source: en.wikipedia.org
• 1956On the record Engineer J.P.F. Brown reported sightings of large flying creatures in what was then Zaire. Source: en.wikipedia.org
• 1957On the record A patient with chest wounds at a hospital near Fort Rosebery said he was attacked in the Bangweulu Swamps and drew a creature that resembled a pterosaur. Source: en.wikipedia.org

Nyami Nyami Told story

Water monster · Lake Kariba and the Zambezi Valley, Kariba · first reported Traditional; famous from 1957 · also called Nyaminyami, Zambezi River God

Nyami Nyami is the river spirit of the Tonga people of the Zambezi Valley, pictured with a snake's body and a fish's head. The Tonga hold that it protects them and provides food in hard times, and it remains a living part of their tradition. The legend became widely known when the Kariba Dam was built from 1956 and Tonga communities were moved off their land. Floods in 1957 wrecked part of the works and killed workers, and the next rainy season brought further floods that destroyed the coffer dam and access bridge. Local belief connected these disasters to the spirit's anger at being separated from its mate. Today Nyami Nyami carvings, pendants and walking sticks are sold to visitors throughout the Kariba area.

• 1957 and the next seasonTold story Two flood seasons badly damaged the half-built Kariba Dam. Wikipedia retells the local account that a black calf was slaughtered and floated on the river, and that the next morning the calf was gone and the bodies of missing workers lay in its place. Source: en.wikipedia.org

Visiting: Kariba town and Lake Kariba; Nyami Nyami carvings and pendants are sold widely to visitors.