Kongamato

Kongamato and Olitiau: Africa’s Winged Mysteries

The legend of the Kongamato, a giant, flying creature native to parts of Africa, has continued to perplex and fascinate cryptozoologists for decades. While early 20th-century sightings were mostly confined to Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, more modern encounters have emerged from Namibia, sparking renewed interest in the creature among researchers and adventurers alike.

In the summer of 1988, University of Chicago biologist and prominent cryptozoologist Dr. Roy Mackal ventured to Namibia after receiving multiple reports of a winged beast said to glide silently between the hilltops of the rugged countryside. Although Mackal’s expedition yielded numerous eyewitness accounts and consistent descriptions of the creature, he himself was not fortunate enough to witness one. Nevertheless, his investigation took a promising turn when one of his team members, James Kosi, who remained behind after Mackal’s departure, claimed a sighting of a giant, black, gliding animal with distinct white markings. Kosi described its silhouette as birdlike but unusual, lacking the familiar motion of avian flight and appearing more like a living hang-glider, eerily silent in its motion.

Locals in the region corroborated such descriptions, frequently referring to the creature as a Kongamato, a name that roughly translates to “breaker of boats” in the Kaonde language—a reference to the creature’s supposed aggression and sightings near rivers and marshlands. These accounts, while often written off by mainstream scientists, remain consistent across time and geography, making them particularly intriguing to cryptid researchers.

The Olitiau: A Singular, Sinister Sighting

Closely associated with the Kongamato is a more obscure but equally unsettling cryptid known as the Olitiau, which has only one well-documented sighting—but that sighting carries significant weight due to its witness. In 1932, famed zoologist and explorer Ivan T. Sanderson led a scientific expedition into the Assumbo Mountains of Cameroon, accompanied by fellow naturalist Gerald Russell. While crossing a river in this dense and isolated region, the two men were startled by a huge, bat-like creature that swooped down toward them from the treetops, passing just overhead. Though the animal did not make contact, the encounter left both men shaken. They described the being as roughly the size of an eagle, but its shape and movement were far removed from any known bird. It had leathery wings, a toothy maw, and a menacing presence that hinted at something ancient and primal.

Later that evening, Sanderson, Russell, and the rest of their party reported seeing the creature again, this time silhouetted against the twilight sky. The locals, upon hearing the travelers’ descriptions, immediately identified the beast as the Olitiau, a feared entity in regional folklore said to haunt remote forests and river valleys.

Intrigued and disturbed by the experience, Sanderson theorized that the Olitiau could be an oversized specimen of the hammerhead bat (Hypsignathus monstrosus), a bizarre-looking fruit bat known for its grotesquely shaped head and haunting calls. While this species is indeed native to parts of Africa and possesses a wingspan of up to three feet, the sheer size and behaviour of the creature Sanderson encountered seemed to exceed the known limits of the hammerhead bat.

Bats, Birds, or Living Fossils?

Sanderson’s cautious theory was later echoed by other prominent cryptozoologists. Bernard Heuvelmans, the father of modern cryptozoology, supported the idea that both the Kongamato and the Olitiau could represent undiscovered or unusually large species of bats, perhaps even a relict population of giant prehistoric fruit bats. The hammerhead bat, after all, is often considered unsettling enough without being magnified into monster proportions.

Still, not all researchers have taken the conservative route. While Dr. Mackal and others like Karl Shuker have entertained the bat theory, they’ve also speculated—perhaps half-seriously—that the Kongamato might be something even more extraordinary: a surviving pterosaur, a living fossil from the Mesozoic era. Descriptions of leathery wings, toothy beaks, and aggressive riverine behaviour align remarkably well with what is known of some Rhamphorhynchoid or Pteranodon-type pterosaurs, leading some to believe that such a creature could have evaded extinction in the dense and relatively unexplored regions of equatorial Africa.

Despite the excitement and decades of investigation, no physical evidence—bones, remains, or photographic proof—has ever surfaced to confirm the existence of Kongamato or Olitiau. But the consistency of reports, spanning countries, cultures, and eras, continues to tantalize researchers and inspire new expeditions into the forests, swamps, and hills of Africa.

Whether misunderstood bats, remnants of prehistoric lineages, or creatures of myth and imagination, Kongamato and Olitiau stand as enduring symbols of how much of our world—and its skies—may still remain unknown.

SOURCE:

The Encyclopedia of Loch Monsters,Sasquatch, Chupacabras, and Other Authentic Mysteries of Nature
Written by Loren Coleman and Jerome Clark – Copyright 1999 Loren Coleman and Jerome Clark

NOTE:

Edited and revised for the Web by Occult Media, the 31st of March of the Year 2024. We use British English spelling.