Monster Quest's episode "THE LAST DINOSAUR" featured a search for the legendary and mythical creature called Mokele-mbembe. I was interested to spend the hour watching the expedition searching out the mysterious crypto-creature.

The website program description is as follows:

"THE LAST DINOSAUR: In the jungles of central Africa there may be a living relic of a dinosaur that stalks the rivers and frightens the local inhabitants. The feared creature… is said to closely resemble the enormous long necked and four legged sauropod - a dinosaur that science claims went extinct 65 million years ago. However, for more than two hundred years, explorers, missionaries and natives have reported sightings of a strikingly similar monster. Tracks found by a recent American expedition may yet be proof of this elusive monster. Monster Quest analyzes the evidence and travels deep into the dangerous wilds of Cameroon, Africa, to mount a search for what may be the last dinosaur."

Remarkably, the program shows locals of some village who could not identify a creatures like bears from pictures but were able to identify a sauropod-like creature from a line drawing and point to it calling it a Mokèlé Mbèmbéone. This big beast is also known as "the one who stops the flow of rivers" Mokèlé Mbèmbéone is said, in the episode, to 'hang out' where three rivers come together, deep in the jungles of Cameroon.

The explorers had equipped themselves with a 'fish' finder, an underwater sonar type device, several motion capture cameras and an extra large dug-out canoe.

After some interesting interviews with the local tribe members they set out on their river adventure. It seemed somewhat eerie to watch them floating down the river realizing that man-eating crocodiles, snakes and lions may be the lesser danger and that the territorial Mokèlé could spring out of the water with one crushing blow break the wooden canoe in pieces and dispatching the Monster Questers, to the bottom of the river and worst.

So on they go.

Floating down the river… floating… and floating… and well…

Anyway, in spite the devotion of a whole hour to the subject, the 'Questers were not able to get one single frame of the water loving sauropod. Of course the episode was full of intriguing stories, the natives told. Personal experiences from those who said they had seen, heard and in many cases run from the 'monster'.

So the legend remains and Mokèlé Mbèmbéone is still lost, waiting to be found. Lost for now and until then, the 'Last Dinosaur' will continue to be larger than life. Perhaps if Mokèlé IS ever found we will find that it really is actually larger than life!

This episode first aired in June 24, 2009.

Thanks for the information you've shared. I believe that I've learned a lot from the points.


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Central Africa has been a popular place for Dino hunts and for good reason. Of course, with the recent study concerning how some Dinos were probably warm-blooded we don't have to confine our hopes to steamy jungles .

Stego said

Central Africa has been a popular place for Dino hunts and for good reason. Of course, with the recent study concerning how some Dinos were probably warm-blooded we don't have to confine our hopes to steamy jungles .

Are you thinking that we might check out the isolated cold climate areas too?

I think, any obscure region of the earth with low/no population is a good location to fuel the imaginations and energies of the hopeful/wishful modern day living dinosaur hunters!

I hope they find something…

Yes, I think (like you) that the main prerequisite is isolation. It seems like a slippery slope: the fewer animals of a species, the harder it is for that species to survive. Of course it wouldn't be a surprise if all the dinosaurs were dead. Many species go extinct every year. BUT, it is impossible to prove that all Dinos are extinct. That's my opinion.