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The mourou-ngou (Banda: "water leopard"[1]) is a water lion reported from the Central African Republic and Chad.[2][3][1]
Description[]
The mourou-ngou is a leopard-shaped animal 8' to 12' in length, with brownish fur which is either striped or dappled with blue and white spots. Its head is small and shaped like that of a civet, its eyes glow, and it has large fangs. Its tail is like that of a leopard, but hairier, and it leaves tracks which are larger than those of a lion, with claw marks and a circle in the centre.[1]
It is an amphibious, nocturnal animal which lives in caves along the riverbank. It hunts in pairs and kills hippopotamuses and elephants, leaving deep wounds in them, and is said to capsize canoes and seize people.[4] To catch prey, one individual chases an animal into the water, where the other mourou-ngou is waiting.[5] It has a roaring cry which sounds like a strong wind.[1]
The mourou-ngou has been reported from:[1]
- Central African Republic: Bamingui, Bangoran, Gribingui, Iomba, Kotto, Koukourou, Mbari, and Ouaka Rivers.
- Chad: Chari River.
Sightings[]
1911[]
Lucien Blancou was told by an old man named Moussa that in the rainy season of 1911, probably in August, a boat containing French tirailleurs was overturned in the Bamingui River by a mourou-ngou, which seized one of the men in its mouth and dragged him underwater:[2]
| “ | In 1911 (this date has been cross-checked) when he was porter with a detatchment of riflemen going from Fort Crampel to Ndélé, Moussa saw one of these soldiers siezed by a mourou-ngou at the junction of the Bamingui and the Koukourou. The animal was shaped like a panther, a little larger than a lion but with stripes, and about 12 feet long. The background of its coat was likewise the colour of a panther's, but its footprint was oddly described as containing a circle in the middle(?).
The soldier was in a canoe when the animal came out of the Koukourou 'like a hippo', just where the rivers met, seized the man in the canoe and dragged him into the water capsizing the boat, surfaced once more with the soldier in its mouth and then disappeared. The man paddling the canoe swam safely away, but the soldier's rifle and kit remained on the bottom of the river... |
” |
The man Moussa said that he had seen the animal's tracks himself, on the riverbank, and that they were larger than those of a lion. Blancou investigated the records office at Ndélé, and discovered evidence that a rifleman had been lost at around this time.[2] The confluence of the Bamingui and Koukourou Rivers can be found near 7°32'13.6"N 19°43'37.6"E on the map.
1930[]
Illustration of the mourou-ngou by Monique Watteau.
On 26 May 1930, French civil servant Lucien Blancou shot a hippopotamus on the River Mbari. During the night, a roaring animal that was not a Nile crocodile bit into the carcass:[2]
| “ | The animal still had not floated at nightfall, so we camped near by until the following day waiting for the carcass to come to the surface. During the night there was a high wind and small rain. At dawn the porters and trackers told me that they had heard a mourou-ngou calling near the dead hippo. When the beast had been dragged ashore I saw that there were signs that the carcass had been bitten apparently by crocodiles. But all my men knew crocodiles well. Unfortunately theyh had not though it necessary to wake me so that I could hear the 'water panther's' cry.
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” |
1936[]
In 1936, Lucien Blancou was told that a mourou-ngou had carried off some men from the village of Dogolomandji on the Gribingui River in the Central African Republic. The villagers, who moved away following the incident, had not seen the animal and so could not describe it, but they knew it was not a crocodile because it left no trace of its victim.[2]
circa 1950's[]
In the 1950s, a water lion was allegedly caught in a fishing net on the Bangoran River. The villagers killed it and retained its skull, which may still be kept by the village headman.[1] When Christian Le Noël interviewed the headman, he was told that the story was not true, and was not allowed to see the skull despite offering a large sum of money.[6]
circa 1962 or 1963[]
A diamond prospector named Denis claimed to have encountered a mourou-ngou in 1962 or 1963. He only saw the animals head and shoulders emerge from the water; its head was moving from side to side, as if it were searching for something.[5]
1985[]
In February 1985, a guide named Marcel, fishing on the Bamingui River, claimed to have been almost knocked into the water when a mourou-ngou approached him from behind and jumped into the river. He had not noticed its presence until it made a sound.[5]
Theories[]
- Main article: Water lion#Theories
Bernard Heuvelmans originally suggested that the mourou-ngou could be a species of large crocodile of the genus Osteolaemus, with a shorter and rounder head than the Nile crocodile. However, by 1978 he suggested it could be living sabre-toothed cat adapted for an aquatic lifestyle.[7][1] Other suggestions include a northern range of the African golden cat, and an African species of giant otter.[5]
Mistaken identity[]
The African golden cat (Caracal aurata) has sometimes been identified with the mourou-ngou, but its size and lack of large canines rules it out as a suspect for most sightings.
The giant otter shrew (Potamogale velox) is also called mourou-ngou by the Banda people,[1] but its habits, size, and appearance are all completely inconsistent with the "true", water lion, mourou-ngou.[5]
During Operation Mourou N'gou, Eric Joye heard of a strange cat skin in the possession of a native hunter from Mbrès, which turned out to be a small skin belonging to the African golden cat (Caracal aurata). As this species is not usually found in the Central African Republic, Joye speculated that the mourou-ngou could in fact be an African golden cat. Although much smaller than big cats, they are known to sometimes have aquatic habits, and some individuals may have heavily spotted flanks. Joye also writes that, because of its rarity, even local people have little knowledge of these cats. However, he also notes that, though it could explain some sightings, it is simply too small to be the animal encounterd by most eyewitnesses.[5] Incidentally, Bernard Heuvelmans theorised that the mngwa could be a giant species of African golden cat.
Similar cryptids[]
- The coje ya menia
- The dilali
- The mamaimé
- The nzefu-loi
- The ngoroli
- The ntambo wa luy
- Other water lions
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Eberhart, George M. (2002) Mysterious Creatures: A Guide to Cryptozoology, ABC-CLIO, Inc., ISBN 1576072835
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Heuvelmans, Bernard (1955) On the Track of Unknown Animals, Routledge, ISBN 978-1138977525 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "Heuvelmans" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Heuvelmans, Bernard & Rivera, Jean-Luc & Barloy, Jean-Jacques (2007) Les Félins Encore Inconnus d’Afrique, Les Editions de l'Oeil du Sphinx, ISBN 978-2914405430
- ↑ Newton, Michael (2009) Hidden Animals: A Field Guide to Batsquatch, Chupacabra, and Other Elusive Creatures
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Opération Mourou ngou Cryptozoologia.eu
- ↑ Institut Virtuel de Cryptozoologie LE TIGRE DES MONTAGNES : DES FELINS A DENTS EN SABRE AU COEUR DE L'AFRIQUE?
- ↑ Heuvelmans, Bernard (1978) Les Derniers Dragons d'Afrique