Everyone knows that dinosaurs perished a long time ago, roughly over 65 million years ago. They are enormous, strong, and fearsome and have long been a favorite subject for stories, movies, and dolls. But what if they were still around, though?
Over a century has passed since the public first became fascinated by the notion of still-living dinosaurs.
The Lost World, a 1912 book by Sherlock Holmes author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is set in a remote Venezuelan forest where dinosaurs are still alive. Conan Doyle’s vision served as the basis for several dinosaur resurrection books and movies, including “Jurassic Park” and its sequel, “The Lost World.”
That was a myth, but some individuals hold the opinion that some dinosaurs are still alive and well today, hiding out in the deep forests of central Africa, particularly in the Democratic Congo Republic.
Origin of this living dinosaur
It is reported that a fierce animal known to the locals as Mokele-Mbembe lives in the Congo river basin, in the center of deepest Africa. Although it is a herbivore, this large animal—as big as an elephant—will viciously attack any humans or animals approaching the Congo basin.
These hunting monsters live in the swampy jungles surrounding Lake Tele and are semi-aquatic.
Many descriptions of Mokele-Mbembe compare it to a big aquatic rhinoceros. Although rhinos are not typically seen in the Congo, it is unlikely that this beast belongs to a different species that science has yet to identify.
The Mokele-Mbembe, an amphibious dinosaur-like creature with brownish-gray smooth skin, flexible, long-necked animal, and sharp teeth, is supposed to have lived in this area and could grow up to 35 feet long. It is said to reside in caves. It excavates along riverbanks and eats other large animals like elephants, hippos, and crocodiles.
“The one which prevents the flow of rivers” is what mokèlé-mbèmbé means. The area’s French priest described it as a “monstrous animal.” In addition, additional creatures like Emela-ntouka, Nguma-monene, and Mbielu-mbielu-mbielu are referred to by the generic name “mokèlé-mbèmbé.”
What is a Sauropod dinosaur?
The sauropod family of dinosaurs had enormous bodies, lengthy tails, and long necks with diminutive skulls. They were quadrupedal herbivores that survived the extinction cataclysm tens of millions of years ago that killed off the dinosaurs.
The Diplodocus illustrates a sauropod, now known as Apatosaurus or Brontosaurus, relaxing in marshes.
The largest dinosaurs to ever exist were the sauropods. According to some estimations, some Titanosaur species were mind-bogglingly large, with their long neck reaching lengths of over 100 feet and weights of up to 100 tons. If that is true, they would be longer than a blue whale.
There are other, much smaller species of the sauropod family, some are only 10-20 feet long, but these are the ones that most typically draw our attention and undoubtedly fascinated us as children. That is comparable to an African elephant in size.
By the Cretaceous era, sauropods were widespread and even inhabited parts of what is now Africa. Does it make sense, then, that Mokele-Mbembe could be a specific kind of extinct sauropod? It is reported to reside in lakes and wetlands and meets the description. What else might it be, then?
Central Africa – Where the Mokele-Mbembe appears!
There have been tales of a creature’s existence, like the famous cryptids with a long flexible neck, a long tail, a small head, and rounded form trails with three claws in the jungles of central African countries such as Gabon, Congo, and Cameroon. A sauropod is the closest known species that possess these traits.
Early reports suggested when the local people of the Likouala region created a picture of Mokele-Mbembe in the sand or dirt, they sketched a sauropod relic. When shown a photograph of living sauropod evidence, they afterward referred to it as Mokele-Mbembe.
The tracks had three claws and were rounded, measuring between 30 and 90 centimeters (about three feet) in diameter. About 2.1-2.4 meters separate the tracks (7-8 feet). Although there have been conflicting accounts, the basic opinion is that it is silent.
In the Likouala wetland region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the African continent, Mokele-Mbembe resides in the ponds and marshes next to the rivers. It uses the adjacent lakes as a bridge to traverse from one river to another.
Is It Really A Dinosaur?
According to some reports, Mokele-Mbembe may be an existing sauropod species that somehow survived the Cretaceous–Tertiary Extinction which wiped out the other dinosaurs. Though intriguing, this theory is rife with flaws. The devastation caused by the dinosaur extinction was felt all around the world.
The prevailing view contends that a huge space object, such as an asteroid, hit our planet and caused immense destruction since it was sudden and violent. The initial effect would have started firestorms all over the Earth, followed by a protracted period of darkness and winter-like conditions during which plants would have quickly died.
When the vegetation started to wither, herbivores like sauropods dinosaurs that miraculously survived impact would have starved. Soon after, predators would leave. No greater than a few pound terrestrial animal would survive. It was a significant extinction event that wiped off the dinosaurs and more than half of the species on Earth.
Given this commonly accepted theory, how would it be realistic even for a sauropod dinosaur-like animal to survive to the present day? According to one explanation, Mokele-Mbembe managed to survive the extinction due to its being semi-aquatic, similar to how crocodilians did during the time of the dinosaurs. Why couldn’t a sauropod still survive today if huge crocodiles can?
Expedition to find the Strange animal
Explorers have been looking for this elusive creature, which is claimed to resemble a sauropod, for hundreds of years. Some explanations for Mokele-Mbembe include a live sauropod, a rare kind of rhino, a peculiar crocodile or lizard, and more.
Mokele-Mbembe is not likely to be a living dinosaur. It might, however, be an unidentified mammal of some sort. Or perhaps another extinct animal that is still alive today. If you write it off as a myth, you might miss the chance to learn about a new, uncommon, and probably extinct species.
Because of this, explorers will always be eager to discover the origin of the Mokele-Mbembe mythology. Others will go purely out of curiosity or hoping to discover something that shouldn’t be there, like a live dinosaur.
There is not even any google earth data about these unknown animals in natural history.
Conclusion
Too many tracks are yet to be found of these new species. According to local fishermen, it contains no physical evidence though it is about the size of some large mammals. No fossil record has been found, and no hard evidence has been given about the Mokele-Mbembe sightings.
Numerous expeditions have been conducted to find this Mokele-Mbembe legend of the Cretaceous period. Through the first expedition members and till the last expedition, there is only one possible explanation of the described type of Mokele-Mbembes: they could be giant lizards or Pangolin.
But we know so little about life on Earth, don’t we? Check out these other Famous Cryptids.
