The Kongamato: A Modern Day Pterosaur

Here’s an odd story we managed to dig up. Pterosaurs in modern Africa? Who would believe it? We didn’t, but one of the accounts given did make us wonder …

For those not in the know, pterosaurs were giant reptilian birds that lived in the Late Jurassic/ Early Cretaceous period of Earth, some 65 million years ago. By all rights they should be extinct, but as we have learned from the Coelocanth, out of sight doesn’t necessarily mean out of existence.

One would think such a large beast flying in the air (some had wingspans up to 27 ft) couldn’t possibly go unnoticed, but we are here to report the story and allow you to judge it for yourself. Understand that we don’t make it a habit of presenting something so bizarre unless a lot of people show belief in it, or the story sounds like it might hold a credible thread. Regardless, our constant mission is to explain what we can and present possibilities for that we can’t.

With all that said, let’s enter the world of the mythical beast known as the Kongamato.

Overwhelmer of Boats

Kongamato is the name given to this beast by the natives of Zambia, and it means “overwhelmer of boats”. If nothing else, it has overwhelmed the natives enough to tell horrid tales of the beast attacking them. With smooth skin, no feathers, a wingspan of 4-7 feet, and a beak full of teeth, it’s obviously not a bird, and almost certainly not an overgrown bat. So what is it?

For the natives of Africa, it’s an unruly beast that overturns canoes and attacks those who enter the swamps. The fear these natives have over this beast is quite real, as are the injuries, so obviously they are being attacked by something. But is it really a Pterosaur?

When shown a drawing of a Pterosaur, natives tend to point to it and confirmit to be the beast they saw. So, how could they fake such an identification? Remember, they identified the characteristics of the beast before seeing the drawings, so it wasn’t a case of suggestion that allowed them to make the link. However, it’s plausible they might have seen something else.

The most likely candidate is a large bat that remains yet to be discovered, though one would then think the sightings would be more prominent during the night when bats are the most active. And as it turns out, many of the sightings are during dusk, which does lend some credibility to this theory. So, is a very large bat lurking in the Congo, waiting to be found? We believe it’s more strongly plausible than the alternative. Regardless, the Kongamato remains very real to the people of Africa, and there is always a minute chance it could be out there, still waiting to be rediscovered by modern man.