Mahamba

In the Democratic Republic of Congo lies a legend almost too terrifying for words. Stories of a beast living in Lake Likouala date back centuries. The Bobangi aboriginals tell stories of a reptilian creature mirroring a modern day mosasaur, stretching to up to 50 feet in length, with a tendency to attack rafts or canoes. It is said that this creature (or creatures) dig long tunnels spanning 50-1000 meters long to the caverns where they nest.

The first recorded sightings were in the late 1880's by a man named John Riendhardt Werner, who claims to have several encounters with this legendary creature. One such encounter, the steam boat had run onto a sand bank, causing the engines to stall. While stuck in the stand, John and his crew noticed that the boat slowly rose and fell, and in an instant, the giant creature, which he described as being "an enormous crocodile", had rushed towards the bank before retreating to deeper water. He had surmised that while his steamer approached, the animal attempted to flee, but was pushed into a sand bank my the boat, causing him to be stuck momentarily before getting free and escaping.

So, is there a giant crocodilian creature terrorizing the Democratic Republic of Congo, or is this just a legend kept alive through a man's exaggerated stories??

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