RAHEEL MUGHAL: Inkyumba - Water Mythology from Howick Falls (South Africa)

The Inkyumba is a water monster from South African Zulu oral traditions. After many sightings (some of which sadly turned out to be hoaxes – such as an infamous photograph circulated around the Internet and in periodicals and textbooks). However, the Inkyumba seems to be more zooform than cryptid, primarily because of the rich oral history pertaining to the beast as dictated by the Howick Falls Zulu population, in particular, that the being is associated with water and that it is an ill omen to search for such a beast because if one happens to see one it will bring imminent death and destruction to the individual and the village to which he/she is affiliated (sounds very similar to another infamous African lake dragon – Mokele Mbembe and dragons in particular).

RAHEEL MUGHAL: Hombre Gato: The Cat People of Argentina

The Hombre Gato or Cat People are known by many different names across the continent called South America. However, several aspects link all of the reports together: the Hombre Gato are nocturnal, largely arboreal and have a taste for cattle and livestock. Recent spates of cattle mutilations in Argentina and Chile have been blamed on these leonine beings. Moreover, a number of people who ventured too far into the forests late at night are said to have been the unforeseen victims of this feline fiend.

The rural people of Argentina and Chile are largely superstitious God-fearing folk. Could tales of the Hombre Gato have been inspired by cultural aspects rather than true-life encounters with otherworldly cat-like beasts (such as the Chupacabra or Moca Vampire of Puerto Rican lore?). If so could these tales be based on a mixture of superstition, cultural influences and/or racial memories of cults that routinely mutilated cattle as an offering to their deities and the stories pertaining to kidnappings in the forests at night – the result of murderers or escaped convicts hiding in the forests and attacking unfortunate victims who may otherwise have informed the authorities of their illegal activities? We will probably never now as there are hardly any recent encounters with the creatures, and a lot of the stories about them are largely steeped in tradition or based on hearsay – the Hombre Gato are a convenient bogeyman used to blame all ills on.

RAHEEL MUGHAL: The Frost Giants of Ancient Norse Mythology

The Frost Giants are a pivotal part of ancient Norse mythology; so much so that over the years they have entered American popular culture as the age-old adversaries of the Thor the Thunderer (the popular Marvel Comics Superhero).

But what exactly were they? Well, the frost giants were a subspecies of giant that inhabited the frozen land of Usgard, along with the fire giants and jotun trolls. Moreover, their strength and sheer power rivalled that of the Norse deities (such as Thor, Freiya, Loki and Balder, to name but a few). The most famous frost giant was Ymir, and his body consists of the foundation of the Norse deities' home, Asgard.


All giants in Norse mythology are associated with the elements and the Vikings believed that their land and the elements which made the land up - which included the mountains, glaciers, caverns, volcanoes and vegetation - constituted the bodies of sleeping giants; when the giants awoke (which the Vikings believed was when they were angry) they caused cataclysms such as avalanches, snow storms and volcano eruptions, causing bad harvests and death from above. This probably gave rise to the folklore of immensely powerful immortal giants that enjoyed toying with mortals.

RAHEEL MUGHAL: The Trinity Alps Giant Salamander

The Trinity Alps wilderness is the second largest designated wilderness area in California, spanning three national forests and covering 517,000 acres. Moreover, the Trinity Alps are home to an abundance of wildlife including reports of a giant salamander, which have trickled in for more than seven decades.


The first modern documented sighting came during the 1920s when Frank L. Griffith, while hunting deer near the head of the New River, reported that he spotted about five giant salamanders at the bottom of the lake ranging from 2-3 metres (5 to 9 feet in length). Moreover, Griffith further reported that he was able to catch one of these giant salamanders on a hook, but was unable to pull it out of the water, forcing him to let the creature go.

In 1948, after hearing of the New River encounter, biologist Thomas L. Rodgers made four different yet equally unsuccessful trips to the Trinity Alps in search of the giant salamander. Rodgers speculated that these giant salamanders may be an abnormally large group of Dicamptodon, or Pacific giant salamander, that had been isolated from the more common version, which only reaches approximately 1 foot in length. He also hinted at the possibility that there could be a relict population of Megalobatrachus, (a form of giant salamander that inhabits the fast-moving mountain streams of Japan and China and can grow to lengths of 5 or 6 feet).

That being said, in 1951 Herpetologist George S. Myers wrote a piece in the Scientific Journal stating that he thought the link between the Trinity Alps giant salamander and the Asian Megalobatrachus made sense. Myers went on to recall his encounter with a giant salamander captured in the Sacramento River in 1939. Myers was contacted by a commercial fisherman who found the creature entangled in one of his catfish nets. Myers was able to carefully study the specimen for nearly 30 minutes and noted that it was a different colour than the Japanese and Chinese species. It was dark brown colouration, not a slate-grey colour (as found in the Asian giant salamander); it also had dull yellow spots, which is unusual because the Chinese and Japanese species have no spots.

Myers wrote:
'The animal was a fine Megalobatrachus, in perfect condition… It was between 25 and 30 inches in length…The source of the specimen is, of course, unknown. Its strange coloration even suggested the possibility of a native Californian Megalobatrachus, which would not be surprising, but no other captures have been reported.'

Several years after Myers's report was published animal handler Vern Harden of Pioneer, California, claimed to have seen a dozen giant salamanders in a remote lake in the Trinity Alps region. The lake known to locals as Hubbard Lake. The animal handler claims to have managed to hook one of the creatures by his fishing rod but was unable to pull it up, having to release it due to an oncoming snowstorm. Vern Harden estimated the creature to be about 8 feet long; this was before he turned it loose. Harden’s claims made it to the ears of explorer and naturalist Father Hubbard, a Jesuit scholar to which Hubbard Lake was named after. Father Hubbard noted, based on his examination of the growing body of eyewitness reports, that there may be something more to the reports of giant salamanders reported from the area.


So much so that during the period 1958 to 1959 it is believed that both Father Hubbard and his brother Captain John D. Hubbard were associated with expeditions in search of the giant salamanders. In 1960 Father Hubbard stated that he had established the existence of huge amphibians in the Trinity region; unfortunately for us and the rest of the cryptozoological world no record of the Hubbard expeditions can be located to this day and some speculate that they may have never even taken place.

Following Father Hubbard’s testimony, legendary monster hunter and Texas oil magnate Tom Slick accompanied the entourage of giant salamander trackers in 1960. Slick told the members of his Pacific Northwest Expedition (who were primarily focused on bigfoot research) to seek out a live specimen of giant salamander. These instructions did not bode well with some of Slick’s hired bigfoot hunters who felt searching for the giant salamander was a waste of time that took them away from their more important academic pursuits.

Nevertheless, after Slick’s exhaustive search for the creature, in the end Slick and his team returned empty-handed.

That same year, on the 1st September, three zoology professors, Robert C. Stebbins of the University of California Berkeley, Tom Rodgers of Chico State College and Nathan Cohen of Modesto Junior College formed their own giant salamander expedition. Tom Rogers returned this time even more optimistic that his team would find the beast even though he led several unsuccessful expeditions in 1948. The team often mistook sunken or half-submerged logs for giant salamanders.

Nevertheless, the team was successful in that it was able to collect almost a dozen Pacific giant salamanders or Dicamptodons, but the largest was only 11 ½ inches long, a far cry from the reported 8-foot length associated with the mysterious Trinity Alps giant salamander. Rogers, who was deeply sceptical about the giant salamander from the beginning, hoped that this evidence, or lack of evidence, would put to rest any rumours circulating around about giant salamanders in the Trinity Mountains of California.

Rogers’s official 1962 debunking of the giant salamander seemed to end most cryptozoological interest in the creature that was until 1997 when Kyle Mizokami’s Trinity Alps giant salamanders expedition was established. Mizokami, a Japanese-American writer, put aside his research on American Indian legends, which included bigfoot, to hunt for the Trinity Alps Giant Salamander. Sadly, as with many similar ventures including that of Tom Slick, Mizokami returned with no evidence to support the existence of giant salamanders living in the Trinity Mountains.

Mizokami’s expedition was the last mainstream project to research and seek out proof of the Trinity Alps giant salamander and to this day no physical evidence has been found to support the existence of such a creature. It has been noted by researchers that the Trinity Alps giant salamanders may be related to the Megalobatrachus of Japan and China, which belongs to the family Cryptobrachus. The largest known North American salamander belongs to this same family and is known as the Hellbender. The Hellbender can grow to 22 inches long; this is much smaller than the reported size of the Trinity Alps giant salamander, but it gives an appreciation of the size difference attributed to the Trinity Alps salamanders, which would likely dwarf other species of salamander found across the world.

RAHEEL MUGHAL MSc: Encantado: The Dolphin Men of the Amazon

Encantado is Brazillian Portuguese for 'enchanted one.' The term is used for dolphin-like zoomorphic creatures that come from a paradisiacal underwater realm called the Encante.

They are said to transform into pale-skinned handsome men who dress in old-fashioned clothing. However, this is almost always a partial transformation, for the top of their heads are said to be hairless (presumably where the melon and blowhole is supposed to be situated).

Moreover, they are said to like music, women and parties. They are said to take the women to Encante where they are said to have illicit affairs with them, often resulting in illegitimate offspring.

Furthermore, it is said that they have weird special powers, such as controlling streams and bending humans to their will. It is often said that people transversing rivers and tributaries above their realm are said to go insane, just by their playful cetacean behaviour (nudging the boat or frolicking nearby).

Shamans and holy men are often needed to intervene and rectify the situation. To break the spell, a medicine man or wise woman must cast a magical powder -- a mixture of manioc flour and dried crushed chile peppers works well -- over the water where the Encantado is known to appear. This powder will usually break the spell and drive the creature away, and any gifts it may have given the victim, such as jewellery or fine clothes, will revert to their true forms: rotting leaves and other river trash. It is of critical importance to keep the victim away from the river, using restraints if necessary; they will be drawn to the water, pulled irresistibly by the power of the Encantado.

There are many similar tales pertaining to Dolphin Men emanating from Peru, Venezuela and other neighbouring countries.

RAHEEL MUGHAL MSc: Congo: Lesser Known Mystery Beasts from the Heart of Darkness

I have always been fascinated by dinosaurs, palaeontology and zoology. I remember that I developed a deep interest in cryptozoology soon after hearing about the Mokele Mbembe on Arthur C. Clarke’s Mysterious World (incidentally, I saw the re-run on Discovery Channel in the early 90s – I must have been 8 years old then); the idea that dinosaurs or dinosaur-like creatures may still exist in largely unexplored places on earth didn’t seem so odd any more.

However, when you get older and you start to see things a bit more logically (the sad truth of life; I wish I still had that wishful thinking streak that we all had when we were children).

Nevertheless, that being said there a number of other lesser known mystery animals with allegedly dinosaurian identities from in and around the Congo basin region. In this blog I will attempt to describe these creatures in more detail along with my own opinion on what the creatures may be based on my research. Please note that the Kasai Rex has not been included in the following discussion because there isn’t enough evidence to support its alleged existence.

(1) The Dodu: Gorilla Killer
The Dodu or Gorilla Killer is said to be a bloodthirsty 8-10 ft tall ape man, for it is said to decapitate and disembowel Gorilla’s and Chimpanzees. Locals live in fear of this monstrosity which is known to eat the maggots which are found soon after death in the abdominal cavity of its unfortunate simian victims, only to scoop them up in handfuls to eat, the dead apes serving only as reservoirs for the grubs to accumulate. Reports of this horrifying beast were collected by Dr. William Gibbons during his Operation Congo expedition during the early twenty first century.

(2) Emela Ntouka: A New Species of Forest Rhino?
Also known as "the killer of the elephants" in the Lingala language, is believed by some researchers and cryptozoologists to represent a relic population of Ceratopsian dinosaur – most notably Centrosaurus.

This particular cryptid is described as being as large as an African Bush Elephant. Having a body of similar shape and appearance to a rhinoceros, including one long horn on its snout and a heavy tail. It is described as being brown or grey in colouration and it is said to possess four short, stump-like legs supposedly to keep its bulky body at ground level. It is described as having no frill or ridges along the neck. The animal is also described as being semi-aquatic and herbivorous (with its favourite food being the leafy plants of the Malombo). The Emela-ntouka has been claimed to vocalize regularly, this noisy beast has been described as making calls that resemble a snort, rumble or growl, respectively. They are claimed to be solitary, herbivorous animals. The beast is said to inhabit the vast shallow waters of the Congo River Basin. The inhabitants of the area are said to treat the creature with great fear. In the 1930s an alleged Emela Ntouka was killed near Dongou.

The New Zealand Documentary World Mysteries included an interview with a man who claimed to have encountered a dead Emela Ntouka. He claimed to still possess the animal's horn, which he removed from the body. Unfortunately, the episode was filmed but never aired.

Nevertheless, there is considerable controversy to what an Emela Ntouka horn (if the creature does exist), could be made of, if scientists ever retrieve a horn it would also help in revealing the creature’s true identity. If a horn is found and DNA tests reveal the horn to be made of ivory, then it would undoubtedly prove to be a tooth. In fact a species of rhinoceros, namely the Asiatic One Horned Rhinoceros does possess small tusks. If on the other hand, the horn turns out to be made of keratin then it is most certainly belongs to an as yet unknown semi-aquatic rhinoceros. However, if the horn turns out to be made of bone then it most certainly belongs to an as yet hitherto unknown species of semi aquatic reptile or possibly a relic from the Mesozoic though I doubt this hypothesis along with other alleged dinosaurian survivals.

Moreover, in terms of evidence pertaining to the beast’s alleged survival a number of curious stone currency in the form of both Mokele Mbembe and Emela Ntouka has been found by archaeologists in this remote region, some native tribes still use it today.

(3) Giant Spiders: More than a Hollywood Myth?
Many Mokele Mbembe expedition members over the years have come back with tales of giant spiders. The Ba’Ka Pygmies of the Congo Basin Region and the Cameroons refer to them as J’Ba FoFi. They are described as having a leg-span of five to six feet and capable of killing many men. Moreover, they are said to make intricate blankets of web found throughout the deeper parts of the jungle to ensnare unwary potential prey.

(4) Mahamba: Cryptic Crocodiles!
From the humid and impenetrable jungles of the Congo (formally Zaire), come reports of the ‘Mahamba’, a lesser-known water monster from native Bobangi accounts. This fearsome beast is said to resemble a gigantic crocodile which is reported to reach an astounding 50 ft (15.2 metres) in length. Reports collected by cryptozoologist Dr. Roy Mackal during his 1980 expedition to hunt for the Mokele Mbembe (an alleged living sauropod dinosaur) also turned up amazing accounts of other alleged ‘prehistoric survivors,’ one of which is the Mahamba. According to eyewitness testimony from the Bobangi, the animal in question resembles a Nile Crocodile but it is not a ‘Nkoli’ (the native term for a Nile Crocodile). The creature may in fact pertain to a new species of undiscovered giant crocodile. That having been said, some researchers such as Dr. Mackal believe that the Mahamba indicates a ghost-lineage of a large freshwater variety of Mosasaur from the Late Cretaceous.

(5) Mbeilu-Mbeilu-Mbeilu: When is a Stegosaur not a Stegosaur?
The Mbielu-Mbielu-Mbielu is another lesser-known cryptid reported from the Likouala Region of the Republic of the Congo.

The creature is described as semi-aquatic, herbivourous and most notably having planks covered in algae growing out of its back. Some cryptozoological investigators tentatively suggest that it could represent a relic population of Kentrosaurus (Stegosaur from the Late Jurassic of Africa). However, I would liken it to a large turtle (Ndenki are purported to be large turtles living in Likoula region lakes, as we shall see later). Unfortunately, only a few claimed sightings have been reported, at the villages of Bounila and Ebolo, so if it did exist in one point in time, it may possibly be extinct. All reports of Mbeilu Mbeilu Mbeilu along with other Likoula Mystery Beasts were collected by Dr. Roy P. Mackal during his expeditions to the region.

(6) Mulilo: The Mighty Mollusc!
The Mulilo is described as a giant slug purported to live in the dense forests of the Congo, Zaire and Zambia. Not much is known about this mighty mollusc except that it is herbivorous, greyish-white to brown in colouration and tends to climb trees albeit at a slow pace. Nevertheless, it could be possible that such a creature does indeed exist. For example, one species of land snail, the Giant African Snail, can grow to be 15 inches (38 cm). So it is not that much of a stretch of the imagine to suggest that other land-dwelling molluscs can grow to be much larger than the Giant African Snail.

(7) Ndenki: Titantic Turtles in Lake Tele
Little is known about this particular cryptid other then the fact that it is described as a giant turtle and is said to inhabit more or less the same area as Mokele Mbembe, Emela Ntouka, Mbeilu-Mbeilu-Mbeilu, and Mahamba, respectively.

(8) Ngoima: The Monkey Eating Eagle
The Ngoima was seen by visiting French political commissioner André Mouelle during the early twentieth century. He described it as eagle-like, dark brown to black (black above, with a lighter shade below), and it is described as having a hooked beak. It is also described as having a wingspan of 9-13 ft (4.2 metres) and it said to possess sharp talons. Furthermore, it is said to prey on monkeys and small goats and is thought to prefer forests (where it nests on the tallest trees) and in some cases open savannah. Unfotunately, this is the only report that the author is aware off. Based on the somewhat detailed description above, the Ngoima may represent a subspecies of Martial Eagle Polemaetus bellicosus (the Ngoima having a larger wingspan at 9-13 ft as opposed to the Martial Eagle’s 5 ft).

(9) Ngoubou: Emela Ntouka’s Long Lost Cousin?
During one of William Gibbons expeditions to the Cameroon in search of the Mokele Mbembe, he and his team came across local reports of an elephant-sized, six-horned, herbivorous animal (similar in aspects to Emela-Ntouka) that fought elephants for land and that lived in the savannah region of that country. Gibbons likened the beast to a surviving form of Styracosaurus (a Late Cretaceous Ceratopsian Dinosaur from North America). When the local pygmies were questioned all asserted that Ngoubou was not a regular rhinoceros to which they were all familiar.

A senior hunter further exclaimed that a hunting party had killed one of these beasts with a spear a number of years ago. Moreover, the elder added that Ngoubou populations have declined over recent years owing to over hunting and that they have since become very hard to find.

(10)Nguma-monene: An African Naga?
Also known as Ngakoula-ngou or Badigui, in all aspects this serpentine cryptid sounds very similar to the Nagas reported for centuries in Asia. The Nguma-monene is described as being 10 metres long (atleast the tail part which is often reported), it is described as greyish-brown in colouration with the underneath of the neck a lighter shade. The neck is also described as being as thick as a man's thigh. Two credible eyewitness accounts exist which both occurred near the Dongu-Mataba (a tributary of the Ubangi River located in the Congo region). The first was occurred in 1961.

Nevertheless, in 1971 Joseph Ellis a pastor had an incredible encounter with a beast he could not identify. He estimated the length of the (visible) tailpart as 10 meters long (equal to his dugout, no neck or head could be seen), this was at a diameter of 0.5 to 1 metre. The colouration of the creature appeared to be a greyish-brown. When Pastor Ellis returned to the village he started asking natives about the strange creature, to his amazement it appeared that the subject was taboo. Dr. Roy, P. Mackal collected many reports of this and other cryptids whilst on his first and second expedition in search of Mokele Mbembe. Dr. Mackal concluded that the animal has a low-slung body, and therefore is more like a lizard than a snake, perhaps an intermediatery between snakes and lizards, a possible “living fossil.” Dr. Mackal also noted that the animal's triangular or diamond-shaped ridges were similar (but smaller) to those from the Mbeilu-Mbeilu-Mbeilu but not the animals themselves. This issue has caused much confusion on the Internet and Dr. Mackal’s seminal work A Living Dinosaur? In Search of Mokele-Mbembe.

Africa is a fascinating continent indeed and I am absolutely positive that a number of startingly new zoological discoveries will emerge from its dark heart – the Congo in years to come.

RAHEEL MUGHAL: The Cave Demons of the Kirthar Range, Pakistan

The Kirthar Range stretches along the Sindh-Balochistan border like a spine interconnecting the two provinces. The Kirthars are a dry and arid expanse devoid of trees and natural greenery of which most of Pakistan is famous for. In the summer temperatures in this relatively bleak place can reach 50 degrees C (12 degrees F) and winter frost can plummet down to minus figures, freezing shallow ponds.


The Kirthar Range is inhabited by a number of tribes; most notable of these are the Brahais, who inhabit both sides of the Sindh-Balochistan divide, as well as the Chuttas of Balochistan, the Chandius and Guinchus of Sindh, respectively. Life for them is a constant struggle of migration between the pastures of the highlands in the summer and the lowlands in the winter.


These tribes have a rich oral history along with a culture that is formed on the basis of storytelling. Most of the stories describe a number of varied supernatural creatures said to inhabit the region in dark caves and crevices. One such species are the cave demons of the Kirthar Range.


Stretching all the way up to 5,000 ft (1,500 metres), the high peak of Machal is virtually unexplored. It is through this deep and narrow cleft that the Khenji a slopped incline branches into the Toshangi cave system with its submerged springs. On either side limestone walls rise almost 700 ft (200 metres) above the calm and supposedly bottomless lake.

Legend has it that the main cleft hides a dark secret: a large cauldron brimming with gold and jewels hangs at the head of the Khenji. This is said to be inaccessible from all sides and visible only from the water; it has always been a major obstacle for men, for not only is the cauldron difficult to get hold of but it is guarded by hideous, giant, bat-like demons with a taste for human blood.

RAHEEL MUGHAL: The DRACO Classification System: A Different Approach to Categorising Alleged Dragon Sightings

It is always a great pleasure to have a new author on the blog. Today I am pleased to introduce you to Raheel Mughal from the West Midlands, who - as well as his hopefully regular blog postings - is working on a book The Mystery Animals of Pakistan for CFZ Press....


Dragons are clearly not the stuff of legend. The dragon has been around in some form since antiquity, as Richard Freeman’s excellent book Dragons: More than a Myth shows. Nevertheless, the dragon phenomenon has manifested itself in a number of distinct forms, be they flesh and blood or supernatural in composition. The following study is essentially an extension of Richard Freeman’s brilliant research, and attempts to classify the dragon into several distinct but similar categories. I have also included a brief discussion of the particular categories along with some familiar, or in some cases less familiar, cryptids to illustrate the dragon type in question. The DRACO name is a play on the latin reference to dragons.

Dragonesque Dragons
These include dragon-like or dragonesque reptilian-looking creatures that superficially resemble dragons but might not be dragons on closer inspection. In Medieval times it could be possible that seemingly known creatures such as the sturgeon, Wells catfish, oarfish or large eels were given monstrous reputations by superstitious people.

Real Dragons
These dragons include the larger than life relatives (at 25-30ft) of the infamous Komodo dragon, and includes such characters such as the megalania or megalania-like giant reptiles reported from the Australasian region, including Papua New Guinea (Lake Murray) and Australia (giant lizards seen in and around the Grampian Mountains and Wattagan Mountains of New South Wales, respectively). In addition, the Kumi lizard of New Zealand was feared by the Maori and early settlers for its stealthy arboreal-based attacks on humans and livestock that strayed close to its domain.

Moreover, the Mokele Mbembe of the Lake Tele region of the Congo and surrounding tributaries of the Cameroons may be a large herbivorous dragon rather than a sauropod dinosaur. A point that can be used to lend credence to this idea is the Sirrush of the Ishtar Gates of Babylon. This creature is depicted alongside familiar animals that inhabited the Babylonian region alongside humans. Is it possible that a Mokele Mbembe could have been exported there as a gift to the queen? The Sirrush, if it really existed, does have a more than familiar appearance to a large monitor lizard rather than a sauropod dinosaur.


In Europe too there have been reports of large monitor-lizard-type creatures for centuries. The Lindworms (of which the Tazletwurm is a smaller variety) have been reported, though no recent sightings have emerged from this region; if it did exist it is probably extinct now. There was a spate of sightings in Italy during the early twentieth century of the Goro lizard. Similar in size to the afore-mentioned Australasian dragons, these reptilian oddities were even said to sport fur or hair, an implausible visage for a reptile.

Aerial Dragons
This category includes flying serpentine reptiles, which to a casual observer, may seem like dragons. These have also been seen over the centuries and describe more or less the same kind of animal. Sightings of flying dragons have been reported from Tanzania, Namibia, East Africa, Madagascar, the Arabian Sea and South America, among other locations.

Crocodilyoform Dragons
These dragons may possibly explain the lake monster and sea serpent phenomena. In Dragons: More than a Myth Richard Freeman suggested that certain lake monsters and/or sea serpents may constitute a relic population of elongated marine reptile from the late Cretaceous period – 65 million years ago. He suggested either Thallatusuchian crocodiles or mosasaurs (the apex predators of the Cretaceous). I also believe that at least one marine saurian may have survived the extinction 65 million years ago.


Here are a few lesser-known lake monster sightings that lend support to this view. Moreover, there are many reports on file that without doubt describe saurian sea creatures exhibiting features impossible for mammals or fish to emulate.


For instance, in 1934 at Campbell Lake, South Dakota, a farmer saw a giant four-legged dragon-like creature; there were many reports from around the area of animals and livestock disappearing round the lake. The farmer found huge tracks in the mud leading to the lake. Other similar sightings have been reported over the years by credible eyewitnesses.

At Menbu Lake in China during the 1980s there were many reports by terrified locals (as well as visitors to the region soon after) of a large, black dragon-like creature with an elongated neck and a dog's head. Animals had been vanishing near the lake, and many people claimed that they saw the creature snatch them and take them back to the lake. One man who was boating on the lake claimed that one day he was nearly pulled underwater by something large.


Occult Dragons
This category includes a diverse range of similar dragon-like beings reported from around the world and associated with many religions and cults. This category clearly contains many zoomorphic entities such as the Naga, which seem to bridge the gap with other seemingly paranormal topics. Examples of occult dragons include but are not limited to:

• The Piasa Bird of the Amerindians of the Missouri River, Alton, Illinois,


• Quetzalcoatl, the feathered-serpent deity of the Aztecs,


• The Ninki Nanka of the Gambia,


• The Chinese Elemental Dragons associated with the elements: Earth, Fire, Wind, Water, and Metal,


• The Persian Dragons of the Islamic Unseen World of Qaf,


• The Naga: snake-like humanoids that were said to have brought Science and Mathematics to humanity; they are said to be benevolent and kind-hearted towards humans,


• The Rainbow Serpent of Native Australian mythology.