Dinosaur sightings on the rise in this war-torn nation

For hundreds of years, whispers of dinosaurs still roaming the Earth have intrigued scientists, with some suggesting these ancient beasts could be hiding in the vast expanses of Africa. It may sound like a plot from a Hollywood film, but with new species of plants and animals being discovered regularly, it's not as outlandish as you might think.

Popular Mechanics has reported on the potential existence of a dinosaur-like creature in The Democratic Republic of Congo, an area that has been ravaged by conflict and humanitarian crises in recent years. This beast is known as the Mokele-mbembe.

According to Popular Mechanics, this dinosaur-like creature is said to resemble a rotund sauropod with a long neck, akin to a Brachiosaurus or Brontosaurus, and is believed to inhabit the swamps and rivers of the Congo Basin in Central Africa. Early 20th-century European explorers were reportedly told about the creature by the local Bantu people, who described it as being "the size of something between that of a hippopotamus or a rhinoceros and an elephant."

While the description is somewhat vague, National Geographic has given the claim some credibility, reporting sightings are increasing. This follows a century of dwindling reports, which had led some to dismiss it as a case of mistaken identity or simply a myth.

The concept of prehistoric monsters surviving in Africa became popular around the turn of the 20th century, thanks to works like Henry Francis' 1908 novel The Last Haunt of the Dinosaur and zoologist Carl Hackenbeck's Beast and Men, published a year later.

Victorian and Edwardian-era people were fascinated by the natural world as explorers returned with stories of distant landscapes and mysterious creatures. By the time these books hit the shelves, the Western world was captivated by the enigma of what could be lurking deep within African rainforests.

US President Teddy Roosevelt famously embarked on an expedition through tropical Africa between 1909 and 1910, hunting for natural specimens for what is now the National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC. The journey was bankrolled by steel tycoon Andrew Carnegie and backed by the Smithsonian Institute.

Roosevelt and his team successfully gathered samples from the African continent, much to the delight of a curious public back home. Meanwhile, skeletons of giant sauropod dinosaurs - thought to be similar to the Mokele-mbembe - such as the Diplodocus and Brontosaurus were being showcased in renowned museums.

The notion that dinosaurs might still roam the earth has been fuelled by popular culture, with iconic films such as the 1993 hit Jurassic Park tantalising audiences with the idea of humans coexisting with these ancient giants - albeit often resulting in chaos.

Central Africa has long captivated storytellers and TV series creators, particularly those from America and Europe, perpetuating myths about the region harbouring yet-to-be-discovered, extraordinary beasts. The quest to unearth a living prehistoric entity continues to inspire many adventurers and enthusiasts.

In 2019, Edward Guimont, a historian at Bristol Community College, penned an article for history magazine Contingent , in which he wrote: "[Europeans] viewed this part of Africa as a 'primitive' region inhabited by people who civilization, if not evolution itself, had left behind. The European civilizing mission, therefore, was to 'discover' and identify their legendary creatures for them."

The prospect of discovering extant dinosaurs in Africa is an exhilarating prospect for zoologists and cryptozoologists - those who venture into the unknown in pursuit of mythical species called cryptids. Loren Coleman, the director of the International Cryptozoology Museum, shared his perspective, noting that oft-repeated tales could be based on real encounters. He commented: "My sense of those tales is that there could've been some sightings of what I think could've been aquatic rhinos, an animal that is much more contemporary."

Experts suggest that cryptid sightings, such as the Mokele-mbembe, might be fuelled by wishful thinking or the misidentification of unknown animals - at least to Europeans - similar to early reports of the pygmy hippo, which were mistaken for a giant pig.

The Congo Basin's inaccessibility and its vast uncharted rainforests lead some, like Coleman, to romanticise the idea of ancient or prehistoric creatures like dinosaurs still existing. She argues that this fascination can cloud judgement, causing explorers to overlook the possibility of encountering new species.

"People put blinders on and forget they may run across new species," Coleman remarked. She suggests that supposed encounters with the Mokele-mbembe could just be unfamiliar reptiles, large rhinos, or other aquatic beings to those, particularly Westerners, exploring the region who are not well-versed in its unique wildlife.

If the Mokele-mbembe does exist, recent sightings could be due to deforestation in the Congo Basin. This environmental crisis is forcing creatures out of their natural habitats and revealing the landscape at a worrying pace.

Global Forest Watch has revealed that between 2002 and 2023, the Democratic Republic of the Congo lost almost 10 per cent of its tree cover and 6.6 per cent of its humid primary forest.