| abstract | - Deep in the jungles of Central Africa, there are stories told about a fierce flying beast that might be a creature left over from the age of the dinosaurs. Natives of the region fear Kongamato and flee in terror at any report of a sighting. Even some European explorers years ago claimed they had seen the beast, but it has so far eluded modern scientists- or been clear enough to get rid of those who dared come close enough to study it. Natives aren't the only people who say that Kongamato truly exists. Many European explorers from the early 20th century came home with wild stories of the flying beast. In 1932, while on an expedition for the British Museum, zoologist Ivan Sanderson reported that he was attacked by a large black flying creature the size of an eagle, but with huge teeth. They had made camp and were in the process of hunting and Sanderson had managed to take down a large fruit eating bat and it fell into the water. Sanderson was making his way through the fast current, when he lost his balance and fell into the water. He then went on to face the creature that lunge for him the first time and disappeared. As he had made his way onto the River bank, the creature came back again and this time swooped towards Sandrson’s companion. It managed to miss them both and then permanently disappeared into the night. When he asked natives about the creature he had seen, the natives ran and abandoned their homes, leaving most of there possessions behind. In 1956 an engineer, J.P.F. Brown, allegedly saw the creature at Fort Rosebery near Lake Bangweulu in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). It was about 6:00 p.m. when he saw two creatures flying slowly and silently directly overhead. He observed that they looked prehistoric. He estimated a wingspan of about 3 to 3 1/2 feet (0.91 to 1.1 meters) and a beak-to-tail length of about 4 1/2 feet (1.4 meters). It reportedly had a long thin tail, and a narrow head which he likened to an elongated snout of a dog. The following year, at a hospital at Fort Rosebery, a patient came in with a severe wound in his chest, claiming that a large bird-like creature had attacked him in the Bangweulu swamps. When asked to draw the creature, he allegedly drew a creature resembling a pterosaur. This drawing does not appear to have survived to the present. The boy was walking from one mud-brick hut to another, one night in 1988, carrying a tray of food for family members. As he walked between the huts, he noticed something on the roof of his uncle’s hut. A creature was perched on the edge of the roof, lit up by the nearby porth light. The winged creature appeared to be four-to-five feet tall, olive brown, and leathery with no feathers. A “long bone looking thing” stuck out the back of its head; its long tail somehow reminded the boy of the tail of a lion; perhaps the tail was furry. The boy froze as the creature stretched its wings and hopped right over his head, causing him to drop the metal tray of dishes. The creature then flew away. This eyewitness in Sudan was sure about the head crest and the long tail. When he was grown to be a man, he gained access to email service and communicated with the American cryptozoloogist Jonathan Whitcomb. "It was a beautiful, clear summer day . . . most of the platoon was in the new barracks "hanging out". I was looking in the direction of the ocean when I saw an incredible sight. It mesmerized me! "I saw two pterosaurs . . . flying together . . . perhaps 100 feet [high], very close in range from where I was standing, so that I had a perfectly clear view of them. "The structure and the texture of the wings appeared to be very similar to that of bats: particularly in that the struts of the wings emanated from a "hand" as fingers would, except that a couple of the fingers were short (as for grasping) and the other ran out to the tip of the wing, others back to the trailing edge of the wing to stretch the wing membrane as a kite would." --Words of Eskin C. Kuhn Mr. Kuhn had assumed that the two long-tailed pterosaurs he observed were exceptional cases and that short tails were what would be expected of modern living pterosaurs. That was before his 2010 interview with cryptozoologist Jonathan Whitcomb. Most sightings do involve long tails.
- KONGAMATO Deep in the jungles of Central Africa, there are stories told about a fierce flying beast that might be a creature left over from the age of the dinosaurs. Natives of the region fear Kongamato and flee in terror at any report of a sighting. Even some European explorers years ago claimed they had seen the beast, but it has so far eluded modern scientists- or been clear enough to get rid of those who dared come close enough to study it. Natives aren't the only people who say that Kongamato truly exists. Many European explorers from the early 20th century came home with wild stories of the flying beast. In 1932, while on an expedition for the British Museum, zoologist Ivan Sanderson reported that he was attacked by a large black flying creature the size of an eagle, but with huge teeth. They had made camp and were in the process of hunting and Sanderson had managed to take down a large fruit eating bat and it fell into the water. Sanderson was making his way through the fast current, when he lost his balance and fell into the water. He then went on to face the creature that lunge for him the first time and disappeared. As he had made his way onto the River bank, the creature came back again and this time swooped towards Sandrson’s companion. It managed to miss them both and then permanently disappeared into the night. When he asked natives about the creature he had seen, the natives ran and abandoned their homes, leaving most of there possessions behind. In 1956 an engineer, J.P.F. Brown, allegedly saw the creature at Fort Rosebery near Lake Bangweulu in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). It was about 6:00 p.m. when he saw two creatures flying slowly and silently directly overhead. He observed that they looked prehistoric. He estimated a wingspan of about 3 to 31⁄2 feet (0.91 to 1.1 meters) and a beak-to-tail length of about 41⁄2 feet (1.4 meters). It reportedly had a long thin tail, and a narrow head which he likened to an elongated snout of a dog. The following year, at a hospital at Fort Rosebery, a patient came in with a severe wound in his chest, claiming that a large bird-like creature had attacked him in the Bangweulu swamps. When asked to draw the creature, he allegedly drew a creature resembling a pterosaur. This drawing does not appear to have survived to the present. The boy was walking from one mud-brick hut to another, one night in 1988, carrying a tray of food for family members. As he walked between the huts, he noticed something on the roof of his uncle’s hut. A creature was perched on the edge of the roof, lit up by the nearby porth light. The winged creature appeared to be four-to-five feet tall, olive brown, and leathery with no feathers. A “long bone looking thing” stuck out the back of its head; its long tail somehow reminded the boy of the tail of a lion; perhaps the tail was furry. The boy froze as the creature stretched its wings and hopped right over his head, causing him to drop the metal tray of dishes. The creature then flew away. This eyewitness in Sudan was sure about the head crest and the long tail. When he was grown to be a man, he gained access to email service and communicated with the American cryptozoloogist Jonathan Whitcomb. "It was a beautiful, clear summer day . . . most of the platoon was in the new barracks "hanging out". I was looking in the direction of the ocean when I saw an incredible sight. It mesmerized me! "I saw two pterosaurs . . . flying together . . . perhaps 100 feet [high], very close in range from where I was standing, so that I had a perfectly clear view of them. "The structure and the texture of the wings appeared to be very similar to that of bats: particularly in that the struts of the wings emanated from a "hand" as fingers would, except that a couple of the fingers were short (as for grasping) and the other ran out to the tip of the wing, others back to the trailing edge of the wing to stretch the wing membrane as a kite would." --Words of Eskin C. Kuhn Mr. Kuhn had assumed that the two long-tailed pterosaurs he observed were exceptional cases and that short tails were what would be expected of modern living pterosaurs. That was before his 2010 interview with cryptozoologist Jonathan Whitcomb. Most sightings do involve long tails. Creature Features: Name: means "boat breaker" in native language of Zambia. Body Parts: Leathery skin, bat-like wings, beak filled with sharp teeth. It is reddish in color, with a wingspan of about: 4 to 6 feet and it's body as long as 4 ½ feet from beak to tail. It is reported to have a long thin tail and an elongated snout that is similar to that of a dog. Where: Swamps of Central Africa Legendary origin: African Folklore Chomp! The few people who believe they have seen Kongamato (and lived) say the creature has a beak that's filled with long, jagged teeth. Wounds from those supposedly injured by the beast support this claim. Temper, Temper Natives of Central Africa believe that Kongamato has a very short temper. Tribes people say that the flying "demon" will swoop down and attack any living creature that dares to look it in the eyes. Dive Bomber Legends say that Kongamato likes to attack people in the water. The beast has been reported to dive into lakes and rivers to overturn boats and drown people. This is how the creature got its name. That Time Forgot Those that believe in Kongamato's existence claim the creature is a pterosaur, a flying reptile from the age of dinosaurs, that survived in the swamps of Africa and has remained hidden.
- Frank Melland, in his 1923 book In Witchbound Africa, describes it as living along certain rivers, and very dangerous, often attacking small boats, and anybody who disturbed the creature. They are typically described as either red or black in color, with a wingspan of 4 to 7 feet. Members of the local Kaonde tribe identified it as similar to a pterodactyl after being shown a picture from Melland's book collection. In 1956 an engineer, J.P.F. Brown, allegedly saw the creature at Fort Rosebery near Lake Bangweulu in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). It was about 6:00 p.m. when he saw two creatures flying slowly and silently directly overhead. He observed that they looked prehistoric. He estimated a wingspan of about 3 to 3½ feet (1 meter) and a beak-to-tail length of about 4½ feet (1.5 meters). It reportedly had a long thin tail, and a narrow head which he likened to an elongated snout of a dog. The following year, at a hospital at Fort Rosebery, a patient came in with a severe wound in his chest, claiming that a large bird-like creature had attacked him in the Bangweulu swamps. When asked to draw the creature, he allegedly drew a creature resembling a pterosaur. This drawing does not appear to have survived to the present. It is curious to note that the area concerned is advertised as a prime birdwatching site, but this large, flying animal seems not to have been reported by any visiting birdwatchers. There are reports of similar creatures (no details given) from Angola, Zimbabwe, Democratic Republic of Congo, Namibia, Tanzania and Kenya. The kongamato may be related to what is called a "flying snake" in Namibia. The Kongamato has been seen by African natives and European explorers for some time, and almost all of the accounts say it is a reddish blackish creature resembling a pterosaur. Some other people have come back with large, deep wounds that they claim to be from the Kongamato. Eyewitness accounts say the creature has teeth, leathery wings, a beak, and claws. Some British scientists and explorers have shown natives drawings of pterosaurs, and the natives were said to have a terrified reaction. Skeptics of the creature claim the Kongamato is a hoax or a misidentification of a huge bat or a large stork. However, believers think that the beast has never been caught on film because as it supposedly lives in the thick vegetation of African swamps, there is not a good way to get a clear photo or film. Also, very few people know of this creature's supposed existence, and in the region it supposedly lives in, most people don't have cameras. If the Kongamato is real, there is likely more than one. Since the Kongamato was supposed to come up from underwater and upset canoes, the suggestion has also been made that the name originally referred to a freshwater stingray
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