Gambia, stretching in a narrow strip off the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, is the smallest independent African state.
In recent years, this country has attracted the attention of cryptozoologists thanks to a mysterious creature called "ninki-nanka".
So in the local dialect is called a nine-meter reptile, allegedly living in mangroves in the inland remote areas of Gambia. It has the body of a crocodile, the neck of a giraffe and a head with three horns. The third horn is located in the middle of the head, closer to the forehead. The reptile spends most of its time plunged headlong into swamp mud, so it is extremely difficult to see it.
For the first time, white people heard about ninki-nank in 1935, when the French doctor André Salier visited the Gambia during the malaria epidemic. Aboriginal people believe that ninki nanka lives in the evergreen rainforest of the Abuko Reserve. According to the beliefs of the Fulbe people, a person who manages to kill Ninki Nanku will become incredibly strong and live for two hundred years.
On the other hand, a monster can kill a daredevil by piercing him with horns or tearing him apart with sharp, like a crocodile's teeth. If this happens, the warrior's family will also suffer - they will all face illness and painful death.
It should be noted that Andre Salier did not see the ninki-nanku, but, according to the Africans, he painted this animal. One of the famous English cryptozoologists, Chris Moiser, suggested that the ninki-nanka is perhaps a miraculously surviving marine reptile from the Mesozoic era, most likely a plesiosaur.
Moiser frequently publishes articles in various magazines on Bigfoot, English Giant Cats, Australian Jovie, Point Pleasant Moth Man. He is considered a recognized authority on cryptozoology.
The Fulbe people believe that the monster has mystical power, and they pray to him when floods occur during the rainy season. According to their beliefs, ninki-nanku can be appeased, and then the prolonged rains, more like a solid wall of water, will stop. Fulbe people, who live by cattle breeding, sacrifice to the monster suckling pigs.
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In May 2004, Chris Moiser organized an expedition to the Gambia with his own money, hoping to learn more about the monster, and, if possible, to see it. From the capital of the Gambia, Banjul, Chris and two hired porters rode a jeep on a bad road, and then walked 40 kilometers.
The destination was the remote village of Sallo, located on the outskirts of a vast mangrove swamp. It was in these places that a French doctor visited in 1935. It turned out that talented chasers live in the village. They make beautiful silver jewelry, mostly hryvnia. The leitmotif of the engraved images is the ninki nanka, a horned crocodile.
The villagers were happy to tell the guest about the ninki-nanke. All of them are sure of its existence: mothers and fathers, grandfathers and grandmothers of the current inhabitants of Sallo met with the monster.
A guy named Dulik told the tragic story of his father's death. He wanted to gain unprecedented strength and went on a hunt for ninki-nanka. According to tradition, there should be one warrior; collective hunting is not allowed. The daredevil left and did not return. A week later, his gnawed bones were found on the outskirts of a swamp. The tribesmen decided that Dulik's father was killed by the ninki-nanka, and the body was gnawed by hyenas.
Moiser wanted to speak to a man who had personally seen the owner of the mangrove swamps. And such was found.
He was an ancient old man who rarely got up from the mat in the hut. The Englishman was escorted to the old man in a thatched hut.
The old man chatted for a long time with his toothless mouth, but then he nevertheless said that once, twenty years ago, he saw a ninki-nanku in the swamp.
- He's huge, bigger than an elephant, and scary! Crocodile muzzle is the size of a hut, and teeth are white, sharp, in several rows. Every tooth is as big as my finger. The old man held out a thin hand, showing withered fingers. - Yes Yes! He would bite me in half, but he couldn't get out of the mud quickly, the swamp sucked him in. Ninki-nanka never leaves the swamp. I heard him making noise and snorting: "Fff-fff!" - The old man tried to convey the sounds made by the monster.
Chris was surprised by this story, with no less surprise he learned that his interlocutor was not even forty years old. The villagers had no doubt that the evil ninki-nanka had sent the illness to the unfortunate man.
None of the Fulbe agreed to accompany Moiser to the swamp, and he had to go alone. It ended badly. The swamp turned out to be practically impassable, despite the special devices that the researcher brought with him.
In addition, Chris was bitten by an anopheles mosquito. Two weeks later, Moiser developed a fever and fell ill. He did not have the strength to further search for Ninki-Nanki.
Chris returned home with nothing, although he even more believed in the existence of the monster. He hoped to return to Gambia and find the mysterious horned crocodile.
In 2006, a group of "dragon hunters" from the Center for Anomalous Zoology (CFZ) traveled to the Gambia in the summer to investigate reports of Ninki Nanka and obtain testimony from those who claimed to have seen this mythical creature. The team leader was cryptozoologist Richard Freeman.
The team interviewed the caretaker of Kiang West National Park, who talked about his meeting with the ninki nanka three years ago. According to him, it was a huge green animal, reaching 50 meters in length.
The hunters showed the caretaker several pictures with reptiles and mythical creatures depicted on them. From the offered illustrations, he chose a drawing of a Chinese dragon.
The expedition, known as the 2006 Downs Memorial Expedition to Gambia, has received relative media attention, including in a separate article on BBC Online. But no convincing evidence of the existence of this animal was found.
It should be added that not all scientists share the enthusiasm of Moiser and Freeman. Respected historian and specialist in African cultures, Dr. Kevin Johnson of the University of Cambridge, believes that no reptile has ever existed in the mangrove swamps of Gambia. It is supposedly just an image that makes up the content of the collective unconscious of the Fulbe people, which has been developed over the millennia.