GLEN VAUDREY: Introducing the Coje Ya Menia

As a result of once again traveling the globe by dart I landed in Angola. To be honest I’m not all that familiar with any of the cryptids that are to be found lurking there. The Coje Ya Menia is certainly one of them, this ‘water lion’ is said to live in the upper Cuango and Cuanza rivers as well as their smaller tributaries.

But what is known about the Coje Ya Menia? As seems usual not as much as you would like and just enough to gain your interest. This mystery animal has been stated as being both nocturnal and amphibious. As for size it has been described as being smaller than a hippopotamus, how much smaller who knows, your guess is as good as mine on that one. Possessing either tusks or large canine teeth this mystery creature is probably one that you wouldn’t want to meet on a dark night, which is of course when you would be more likely to see one. You don’t believe me on that? Well how about the following.

It was back in 1930 that a Portuguese truck driver (Angola was a Portuguese colony until 1975) heard that a Coje Ya Menia had been responsible for killing a hippopotamus on the banks of the Cuango the night before. No doubt waiting until it was light (and very wise that would be considering the nature of the beast) the driver went to look for the carcass. So it was that accompanied by a handful of trackers he went searching. After several hours of following the trails of a hippopotamus and that of a smaller animal they came across the remains of the hippo, and it wasn’t a find for anyone suffering a hangover for they found that the great beast had been ripped to shreds.
So what could the Coje Ya Menia actually be? Well the suspects range from an unknown lizard to an aquatic saber-toothed cat. Whether it is either of those or something completely different remains to be discovered.