Posted on 07/15/2006 2:05:22 AM PDT by Stoat
Hunt for Gambia's mythical dragon
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Believed to live in swamps, the ninki-nanka appears in the folklore of many parts of West Africa. It is described as having a horse-like face, a long body with mirror-like scales and a crest of skin on its head. Team leader Richard Freeman told the BBC, evidence so far was sketchy as most people died soon after seeing it. Mr Freeman, a cryptozoologist from the UK-based Centre for Fortean Zoology, admitted that the ninki-nanka's existence was "very far-fetched indeed".
Second-hand accounts varied wildly from it looking like a crocodile or a snake to having wings and spitting fire, he said. But he disputed a suggestion that the hunt was a waste of time and money. "We didn't know any of this before we came. We have to look into everything to see if there is a possibility that there's a real creature there," he told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme. Cryptozoology is the search for animals whose existence is disputed or unsubstantiated, such as the Loch Ness monster. Herbal potion The team have interviewed one eyewitness so far - a park ranger from the Kiang West National Park who lived to tell the tale of his encounter three years ago.
He described an immense animal 50 metres long by one metre wide that he watched for more than an hour before being taken ill. He put down his survival down to a herbal potion given to him by an Islamic holy man, Mr Freeman said. Later, according to the expedition's blog, after being shown pictures of various reptiles and mythical animals, the ranger said the creature's face most resembled that of a Chinese dragon. "We've heard very similar stories all over The Gambia but mostly not first hand eyewitnesses... there seems to be this thing when you see the ninki-nanka you will die usually within a few weeks," Mr Freeman said. The team are taking back a sample of what is claimed to be a ninki-nanka's scale to be tested in the UK. But initially investigations suggestion this is a red herring, perhaps a bit of rotten celluloid film and "not biological". "We haven't discounted the possibility that there is a flesh and blood ninki-nanka in the swamps of West Africa, it's just at the moment the evidence is pointing to something more folkloric," he said. |
I believe it is entirely possible that this creature still exists - if so, it's probably a some sort of dinosaur.
On the other hand, "ninki-nanka" sounds like a Monty Python creature name...
Oh, great, thanks. NOW I'm gonna die within weeks...
Sort of like the Knights Who Say Ni?
Hopefully the Ninki-Nanka can be appeased by an inexpensive shrubbery as the Knights had promised....
Yuck!
Don't do that! We need your help to fight the Islamofascists and the Left !
And you have no worries....I'm rather doubtful that there's a whole lot of internet access in Gambia (the Expedition seems to be having their share of troubles with that) and so I am suspecting that you are probably not there. Therefore, you haven't seen a Ninki-Nanka and therefore you are not in danger of dying as a result of seeing one....unless a Ninki Nanka has hitchhiked to your city, in which case all bets are off.
When I posted the article and the Ninki-Nanka Identification Guide, I fully expected to be inundated with multiple pictures of HT, as it has become tradition now to feature her alongside any stories of weird or ugly people or animals. I had thought that Babs "Ninki-Nanka" Streisand would be a bit off the beaten track.
I'm guessing that many viewers and posters here may have had quite enough of HT, but since you specifically requested her, here you go :-)
Ninki-Nanka!
I did not [and would not] request a photo of that beast from 20,000 fathoms. I was, however, expressing my amazement that no one had slipped a photo of her into one of the repleies.
Well, actually I was referring to your posting the picture of Babs, but thanks for your concern. After seeing that picture, I merely had a headache and upset stomache for a day or so, but I'm all better now... :-)
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