-
- The idea of dinosaurs surviving millions of years into
the present in remote jungle regions has had universal appeal since Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle fooled the Society of American Magicians in 1922 with
some test animation sequences for the very first movie of The Lost World
(1925). Since then, movies like The Valley of the Gwangi (1968), Baby (1985)
and Jurassic Park (1993) have made box-office capital of the idea.
-
- But three Manchester lads Adam Davies, Andy Sanderson
and John McDonald have taken that idea seriously enough to arrange an
expedition to go to the Congo next October. Adam a project manager for
Cable & Wireless in Cheshire who says he "needs the buzz of adventure"
has not long returned from Sumatra where he failed to track down the orang
pendek, a mysterious ape-like creature. His quarry this time is the Mokele-mbembe,
a shy, vegetarian, brontosaur-like sauropod that could be up to 10m (30ft)
long, thought to live in the Likouala swamps of northern Congo.
-
- Adam and friends were inspired by stories of sightings
and reports that date back more than two centuries to the region,s first
white explorers and traders. The creature is well-known to the local pygmy
tribes who fear it. One story alleges that, about 50 years ago, a creature
was killed by villagers but its flesh proved inedible and the carcass was
left to rot on the riverbank. If there is anything to the story, Adam and
John intend to find the bones.
-
- The lads had to abort their previous attempt to go to
the Congo in 1998, due to the outbreak of civil war. This time, they have
studied the records of previous expeditions see Whatever happened to,
on page 66 and realise the difficulties they face. That is why they have
are negotiating with William Gibbons, who was himself planning his third
expedition to the region. Bill has considerable experience of the territory
and its people and decided that October 2000 is the best time to go. For
three months, they plan to survey five target areas near Lake Tele.
-
- Sanderson & McDonald
-
-
- Another possible addition to the expedition is Swedish
explorer-ufologist Jan-Ove Sundberg, organiser of the recent Global Underwater
Search Team which so publicly failed to find any sign of the legendary
water monster in Norway,s Lake Seljord in 1998 see FT87:48 and 117:48.
Other applications have come from Holland, Australia and America covering
a range of specialities - "but we have no palæontologist yet."
-
- Sundberg coined the title "Dino2000," for the
joint effort and it seems to have stuck. As well as providing their own
funds, Dino2000 are seeking sponsorship from industry and the media, and
the recent publicity has already resulted in some deals.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- And what will they do if they spot Mokele-mbembe? Adam
told FT: "We won,t kill or capture the creature - just observe it.
Our film and video records will be released for scientific scrutiny."
-
- What are their chances of success? "Very slim, but
not impossible," says cryptozoologist Dr Karl Shuker. "It,s a
classic example of success depending almost entirely upon being in just
the right place at just the right time otherwise it,s like looking for
some moving needles in an unimaginably vast, virtually impenetrable haystack!"
-
- We wish them luck!
|
