The Kongamato
In the swamps of north-western Zambia, people described a flying creature with leathery wings and teeth, which they called the overwhelmer of boats.
What was reported
In 1923, the British colonial official Frank Melland published a book describing a creature that people around the Jiundu swamp called the kongamato, 'the overwhelmer of boats'. It was said to be red or black, with a wingspan of up to two metres, leathery wings and a beak full of teeth.
Melland wrote that when he showed people pictures of pterodactyls, they identified them as the kongamato. The story led to claims that a flying reptile might have survived in Africa.
Explanations offered
Scientists consider a surviving pterosaur impossible. Suggestions include the shoebill, a large grey stork with a huge bill, large fruit bats, or a memory shaped by outsiders' questions and pictures. No specimen or photograph exists.
- When
- Reported in 1923
- Where
- Jiundu swamp, North-Western Province, Zambia
- Witnesses
- Local people, as reported by Frank Melland
- Status
- Unconfirmed
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.