The Zulu African people have their own centuries-old beliefs that clarify a little the strange behavior of predators, sometimes occurring in African lands. The most striking example of anomalous cunning and aggression are two inseparable man-eating lions, who were nicknamed "Ghost" and "Darkness".
This happened in 1898, in Kenya, when, under the leadership of John Henry Patterson, the global construction of a bridge over the Tsavo River began to further build the Ugandan Railway. No one knows where the lions came from, but they terrorized the area for 9 long months before they were killed. During this time, about 150 people became victims of predators.
The lions acted in pairs, were strong and smart beyond their years, easily bypassed complex traps and even ambushes of experienced hunters. Man-eating beasts appeared unexpectedly, at any time of the day and almost always took someone's life. This caused wild horror among the railway workers.
At the moment when the construction of the bridge was abruptly stopped and people were about to leave this ill-fated region, John Henry Patterson managed to shoot the first lion. The second was killed 20 days later. Documentary photo:
Both lions differed from the others in that they did not have a mane, although they were males. The length of both lions from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail was about 3 meters. In 1907 Patterson's book "The Cannibals of Tsavo" was published, and in 1996 - the film "Ghost and Darkness", based on real events.
Now it is worth remembering the local legends about Tikolosha: a long-armed, hairy freak, as tall as a baboon monkey, with the same ugly face and the same gait to jump. The sketch below shows an approximate version of the description.
Promotional video:
According to beliefs, this is a creature from another world, which African sorcerers once called for their help, capable of sending pestilence, horror and death to enemy tribes at the command of the spellcaster.
Shamans and sorcerers used their "services", despite the fact that with each challenge to this world Tikoloshe acquired the makings of intelligence and less and less resembled obedient puppets. They say that when these creatures became poorly controlled and even dared to attack their "masters", African sorcerers stopped calling them. It was too dangerous.
But somehow Tikoloshe found another way: to appear in our world in the guise of animals. It can be assumed that this is somehow connected with their bestial origin. The animals, in the guise of which these otherworldly entities appear, differ slightly from the usual standards both in appearance and in their increased level of intelligence.
"Ghost" and "Darkness" is the most famous, but far from the only case that falls under the above definitions. Perhaps the legends about Tikolosh were passed down from generation to generation by the Zulu tribes for a reason, and maybe Africa keeps more secrets than we imagine to this day …