Dinosaurs Living Today It's interesting to wonder what the world would be like if there were dinosaurs still alive today. Unfortunately, when we were kids we all learned how they died off in some mass extinction, never to be seen again on this earth. It might have been depressing news for a ten-year-old, but by now most of us surely realize that it’s probably a good thing for humans that dinosaurs aren’t around anymore. In fact, if it wasn’t for the calamity that occurred some 65 million years ago which caused the death of the dinosaurs, we mammals might never have gotten our shot. The prevalent theory is that the impact of a large object zooming in from space caused a global disaster that killed off anything bigger than a rabbit. However, climate changes, geological upheavals, and even widespread disease outbreaks have all been pointed out as possible causes. Whatever happened to them, sadly the dinosaurs are gone forever. Then again, could it be possible that some dinosaurs survived extinction and are still alive today? Modern Dinosaur Sightings Some cryptozoologists believe there are dinosaurs living today in remote parts of the world. They’re not talking about birds, and they don’t mean crocodilians. They’re talking about real, live dinosaurs, and the proof is in the testimonies of local people who see them in the wild. It’s unclear how this could be possible, given the history of our planet, but the fact remains that local tribes in equatorial Africa know of large, frightening creatures living in the depths of the jungles. When researchers question witnesses, they desribe dinosaurs and claim that is what they saw. How could tribesmen who know nothing of other animal species located in distant parts of their own continent describe dinosaurs that existed 65 million years ago unless they had really seen them before? Does this prove it is possible that in very remote and largely unexplored sections of the African jungles a few dinosaur species managed to avoid extinction? Some researchers think there could be many prehistoric animals still around today, even though modern science tells us they are extinct. But if dinosaurs are still alive, that would be another class of amazing altogether! Many expeditions have ventured into the Congo region searching for tangible proof of these creatures, only to leave disappointed. But these creatures are well-known to locals, and there is plenty of eyewitness testimony to go by. In this article you will read about a few of the legendary dinosaurs alledged to still exist in remote parts of Africe. Mokele-Mbembe Mokele-Mbembe may be the most famous of the African dinosaurs, thanks to some recent attention from shows like Destination Truth. It lives in the Congo River basin, eats vegetation but is extremely dangerous because of its territorial tendencies. It will attack humans if they come too close, and is known to kill Hippos if they invade its territory. Despite numerous expeditions to locate the creature dating back over 200 years, it has yet to be officially documented by science. Witnesses describe Mokele-Mbembe as having a large, heavy body like an elephant, but with a very long neck and tail. To some researchers, this sounds an awful lot like a sauropod dinosaur. Sauropods grew to massive sizes, some possibly 100 feet in length. But even a small sauropod would be relatively huge compared to modern animals. Diplodocus is a type of sauropod many people are familiar with. Is this, or something like it, what locals are calling Mokele-Mbembe? Like Mokele Mbembe, sauropods had long necks and tails with big bodies.
Mbielu-mbielu-mbielu
This fearsome creature is found in the Republic of Congo in the Likouala Region. Witnesses say Mbielu-mbielu-mbielu is a herbivore with large, jagged planks on its back.
The jagged back makes it sound to some like an extremely huge crocodile or even a new species of crocodile.
But crocodiles certainly aren’t herbivores, which makes some researchers consider that Mbielu-mbielu-mbielu may be of a family of dinosaur called a stegosaur. Stegosaurs were large, plant-eating dinosaurs with small heads, bony plates on their backs and spiked tails.
Stegosaurus is the most well-known of these dinosaurs, but there were other species. Researchers think this one could have adapted to aquatic conditions and made its home in the rivers and lakes of the Congo.
Chialingosaurus, an example of a stegosaur which may have looked similar to eyewitness accounts of Mbielu-mbielu-mbielu.
Nguma-monene
Nguma-monene is another strange creature from the Congo region. It is described as a huge lizard with a ridge on its back, with a low stance and a body as long as thirty feet. It’s tough to match this description to any known animal.
Thirty-foot is huge for a snake, and it wouldn’t have a ridge on its back. A big crocodile would match part of the description but again would not have a ridge on its back. And, one would think that locals would know the difference between a snake, a croc and whatever this thing is.
Some say Nguma-monene could be a spinosaurid, a type of dinosaur that matches the native description of this beast. Spinosaurus, which some may remember as the villain of Jurassic Park III, lived in North Africa and could reach lengths of nearly fifty feet. Is this, or one of its relatives, what locals are seeing?
Emela-ntouka
Another legendary living dinosaur is Emela-ntouka, known to the Pygmy tribes in Central Africa. With a name that means “killer of elephants”, this is a formidable beast that the Pygmies give a wide berth. Like Mokele-Mbembe and most of the others, it is said to be an aquatic creature, comparable in size and stature to a rhinoceros. However, there are no known species of rhino in that part of Africa matching the one-horned description.
Some believe Emela-ntouka may be a type of ceratopsian dinosaur, related to the well-known Triceratops. The horn on the animal’s face, its squat body and long tail seem more indicative of such a dinosaur rather than a mammal, or even a new species of rhino.
Ngoubou
One of the few non-aquatic living dinosaurs, Ngoubou is said to live in the savannah region of Cameroon. It’s described as a smaller version of a rhinoceros with multiple horns and a frill around its neck. It also has a violent temper and will charge anything that comes near, including African Elephants which are much larger animals.
To many cryptozoologists, it sounds like another ceratopsian dinosaur, this one of a different species than Emela-ntouka. The neck frill with the horns on it makes this creature especially hard to identify as any known, living animal.
No fossil evidence for ceratopsians has been found in Africa, but they have been discovered in Asia and Australia, so it’s not a far stretch to imagine they may have lived in Africa as well.
Styracosaurus, a ceratopsian dinosaur that matches the description of Ngoubou.
Could Dinosaurs Really be Living in Africa Today?
It seems extremely unlikely. But people are seeing something strange, and their descriptions do not match any other living creature. We like to think of our planet as a small place. Indeed, thanks to the internet and other high-tech communication systems it does seem that there are few mysteries left in the world. But it’s important to remember that some places are still largely unexplored.
Equatorial Africa is one of those places. The jungles are dense and foreboding and few outsiders have the courage or resources to venture very far into their depths. To compound matters, the region has been rife with civil wars and political upheaval for decades, making it tough for modern researchers to safely explore many areas.
The problem is, it’s hard to imagine exactly howsome dinosaurs would have survived whatever apocalypse destroyed their brethren some 65 millions years ago. According to modern science, no terrestrial animal larger than a few pounds lived past the cataclysm that punctuated the end of the Cretaceous period.
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