Nunda - Chupacabra Africa - Alternative View

Table of contents:

Nunda - Chupacabra Africa - Alternative View
Nunda - Chupacabra Africa - Alternative View

Video: Nunda - Chupacabra Africa - Alternative View

Video: Nunda - Chupacabra Africa - Alternative View
Video: 5 Mysterious Chupacabra Sightings Caught On Tape 2024, March
Anonim

A few years ago, the people of Europe and America shuddered to each other telling each other stories about the Chupacabra, a monster like a cat or a lynx that tears pets to shreds at night. What kind of animal it is, zoologists still cannot say. But African aborigines knew about this monster at the beginning of the 20th century and did not at all consider it a product of dark forces.

Mysterious Footprints

If in the African jungle on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, a local resident was told about the tricks of the Chupacabra, he would not be very surprised, since a creature with similar habits on the Black Continent has been known since time immemorial. The tribes of Central Africa call it Nunda. Periodically, this monster comes out of the jungle and, like the chupacabra, kills livestock, and sometimes people.

A document has survived to this day, which describes an incident that occurred in 1920. One night in a suburb of the largest city of Tanzania - Dar es Salaam - a mysterious animal jumped out of the darkness, which in the blink of an eye tore to pieces the police officer on duty. Upon examination of the body, a clump of gray wool was found in the victim's hand, and witnesses of the tragedy described the attacker as a tabby cat the size of a calf. The next night, the animal dealt with another law enforcement officer. In just a week, more than ten people and several pets were on the list of victims of the night creature. Nevertheless, it was not possible to catch the monster.

In his book, describing the unusual animals of the African continent, Frank Lane, among others, highlights one story recorded from the words of the famous traveler Patrick Bowen. One day a traveler was camped on the banks of the Tanganyika, when alarmed residents of one of the villages came running to him. From their confused story, Bowen realized that a certain nunda had just attacked the village and kidnapped a little boy. After examining the tracks left by the animals, the traveler was extremely surprised. At the first moment it seemed to him that he saw a lion's footprint, but, looking more closely, the man realized that in front of him was a leopard's footprint, only multiplied.

A strange guess was confirmed by the locals, showing a tuft of wool left by a night guest.

Promotional video:

Striped Monster

In 1937, British captain William Hichens published an article in a travel magazine describing a strange incident that happened to him in the village of Mchingu, located on the banks of the Tanganyika. Once, when Hitchens was in a local village, the aborigines brought to him for treatment a hunter, torn apart in the forest by an unknown animal. When William asked who attacked the man, he hardly answered - mngwa (one of the local names for nunda).

Knowing well the legends about a bloodthirsty cat the size of a calf, Hichens asked if the hunter was mistaken, maybe a lion or a leopard attacked him. The hunter was adamant, he said over and over again - mngwa. Talking about this incident, Hichens quite sincerely argued that it would be easier for him to declare "mngwa" a lion or a large leopard, but the number of victims of a mysterious animal he saw and their stories about meeting the monster left no chance for doubt. According to Hitchens, the nunda, or mngwa, does exist. Most often, European explorers and travelers describe the nundu - according to the words of the natives who saw it - as a huge fluffy tabby cat the size of a donkey.

Narrow stripes cover her body. The unusual properties of the animal are confirmed by its name - "mngwa", which in one of the old dialects of Swahili means "strange beast". The beast is really strange, besides it is quite ancient. His first confirmed sightings date back to 1150 and are even described in one of the local war hymns. According to the plot of the song, a captive warrior is left to be devoured by a terrible beast. At the same time, it would be naive to assume that none of the European hunters ever made an attempt to catch the nunda or at least shoot it. In 1924, the London Zoology Museum sent an expedition to the African jungle led by Professor Heinrich Stone. Once the travelers came to the Tanganyika coast, where they heard many stories about meeting with the Nunda. Of course, the professor wanted to catch this mythical animal. Three local hunters volunteered to help in the risky venture: Mngavi, Zuaza and Bangwa. Wandering through the jungle, they really soon saw a fresh footprint, similar to the footprint of a leopard, but several times larger.

It was getting dark, so they decided to postpone the search for the legendary animal until morning. In vain. The village was attacked at night. An unknown creature tore a flock of sheep to pieces and mortally wounded a local resident. When the professor asked who did it, the locals with horror in one voice repeated like an incantation: "mngwa". It turned out that Mngwa had attacked the village more than once before, but then disappeared. The locals recklessly assumed that the gods heard their prayers and delivered them from the monster. The hunters immediately rushed into the jungle in search of mngwa. An hour later, the monster appeared before them in all its splendor. Nunda, or mngwa, really turned out to be a huge cat, at least one and a half meters at the withers, with strong paws and small ears. Her hide was covered with gray-black streaks and longitudinal stripes. As soon as she saw the people, the nunda jumped on one of the guides. Fortunately,Some of the members of the expedition managed to fire a gun, wounding the animal in the shoulder. Having announced the surroundings with a terrible roar, the nunda disappeared into the thicket of the forest.

Cunning cat

As a rule, the appearance of mythical animals occurs unexpectedly. Local residents most often cannot remember or give an example when this or that monster was seen for the first time. Oddly enough, nunda is an exception in this list. There is an ancient legend in Africa that describes the history of the appearance of the nunda in the jungle of the continent. According to a widespread legend, once the huge cat of the Sultan escaped from the enclosure and secretly made his way into the hen house. Of course, after a few minutes, not a single live chicken remained in the aviary. Outraged guards of the Sultan asked permission to kill the animal, but were refused. The sultan explained his decision quite simply: “My chickens, my cat, let him do what he wants”. After the chickens, the victims of the mysterious cat were sheep, cows and even the sultan's camels. Outraged by the events taking place in front of them, the guards heard the same words every time: "My animals, let the cat do what he wants." The last straw was the death of three children of the Sultan from the claws of the cat. Upon learning the sad news, the ruler cried out in despair: "This is no longer a cat, this is a nunda!" Seeing the grief of his parents, the youngest son of the Sultan vowed to track down the escaped cat and kill him. However, unable to find the nunda who had escaped from the enclosure, he killed a wild dog and brought it to his mother. The woman did not believe her son and again sent him into the jungle in search of Nunda. The following times, the young man successively killed a giraffe, a rhinoceros and an elephant, each time thinking that in front of him was a malicious cat. However, his mother sent him into the woods over and over again, describing what a real nunda should actually look like. Finally, almost desperate,the boy actually met the nundu and killed her with a hunting rifle. In gratitude, his father gave him the throne.