posted on Dec, 30 2003 @ 11:46 PM
Emela-Ntouka
Reported from the Likouala swamp region of the Republic of the Congo is a beast known as the Emela-Ntouka in Lingala for "Killer of Elephants." It
is reported to be brown to gray in color, the size of an elephant with a crocodile-like tail, and to possess a single ivory horn on its nose.
Footprints of the creature are elephant sized, showing three toes or claw marks. According to the natives of the region it is an amphibious creature
with the reported habit of disemboweling any elephants that happen upon its territory, yet it is said to eat malombo, leafy plant, and leaves. Lucien
Blancou, a senior game inspector in the Likouala area, reported in an article in Mammalia that such a creature was killed around 1934, but no
scientific analysis was done.
Theories on what the Emela-Ntouka may be range from a surviving ceratopsian dinosaur to an undiscovered semi-aquatic rhino. However, features such as
a crocodile like tail and the ivory horn are not found in rhinos (rhino horns are compressed hair), but are found in ceratopsians. Only the capture of
such an animal will end the debate of what it may be. Given the inhospitable nature of the Likouala region, it could be a great while before such a
feat is accomplished.