Americans begin expedition to find legendary creature

A group of Americans have begun an expedition in the hope of finding the “Mokele-mbembe,” a legendary water-dwelling creature of Congo River basin folklore, a news report said Saturday.

A TV network gave an introduction to the Mokele-mbembe, under the title “A monster of a remote area,” early last year. The creature is also called “The monster of the Tele Lake,” as it was reported to have been seen in the lake in an upstream basin of the Congo River, reported the Metro, published in Britain.

Natives of the African region say the Mokele-mbembe is presumed to be a grass-eating dinosaur which has survived since ancient times, or a monitor lizard.

The creature is said to measure nine meters in length, and may be larger than a Komodo dragon.

Reports of the Mokele-mbembe have been circulating for the past 200 years, yet no one has produced any physical evidence of its existence. Eighty percent of territory of the Republic of Congo is virgin soil.

The Mokele-mbembe is sometimes described as living creature, sometimes as a spirit, and loosely analogous to the Loch Ness Monster in Western culture.

The creature and its associated folklore also appear in several works of fiction and popular culture such as "Jurassic Park III."