Ennedi tiger
Encyclopedia
The Ennedi tiger is a purportedly living Sabertooth cat inhabiting the Ennedi Plateau
, located in the east of Chad
, in Sub-Saharan
Africa
.
There are reports of two different species, one that mainly inhabits the mountains (called Hadjel, Gassingram, or Vossoko), and a Water-inhabiting one (called Mourou N'gou, Mamaimé, or Dilali).
The Mountain type, according to the reports, is larger than a lion
and lacks a tail.
The teeth protrude from the mouth, and the feet are hairy.
The coloration is red or reddish-brown with white stripes.
It is strong enough to carry off large antelope
s.
It is nocturnal and cave dwelling in the Ouadai district of the Ennedi mountain range.
Natives described it to western explorers, who identified it as a Machairodus
sabertooth.
The Water type is of unknown relation to the first, although it is also larger than a lion (8-12 feet), very fierce, and has protruding teeth.
The animal's color pattern is red with white markings (comparable to mountain cats), to leopard
-like with stripes, to uniform brown.
Its teeth are always described as "walrus
-like" and the tail is always long in reports.
Some have suggested an otter
as a candidate.
Its habitat extends into the Central African Republic
.
There are also tales of water lions in folklore
in Congo
, Angola
, Zimbabwe
, Kenya
and Sudan
. A cave drawing that illustrates a walrus
-like creature with a long tail exists in South Africa
.
A related footnote: the last lions in the Sahara also survived here, until they became extinct before mid-20th century (the last lion was seen in 1940) http://www.wildlife-conservation.org/docs2/Fondation%20Faune%20Book-Chap-II.pdf.
Ennedi Plateau
The Ennedi Plateau, located in the North-East of Chad, in the Bourkou-Ennedi-Tibesti Region, is a sandstone bulwark in the middle of the Sahara. It is assailed by the sands on all sides, that encroach the deep valleys of the Ennedi...
, located in the east of Chad
Chad
Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...
, in Sub-Saharan
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa as a geographical term refers to the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara. A political definition of Sub-Saharan Africa, instead, covers all African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara...
Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
.
There are reports of two different species, one that mainly inhabits the mountains (called Hadjel, Gassingram, or Vossoko), and a Water-inhabiting one (called Mourou N'gou, Mamaimé, or Dilali).
The Mountain type, according to the reports, is larger than a lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
and lacks a tail.
The teeth protrude from the mouth, and the feet are hairy.
The coloration is red or reddish-brown with white stripes.
It is strong enough to carry off large antelope
Antelope
Antelope is a term referring to many even-toed ungulate species indigenous to various regions in Africa and Eurasia. Antelopes comprise a miscellaneous group within the family Bovidae, encompassing those old-world species that are neither cattle, sheep, buffalo, bison, nor goats...
s.
It is nocturnal and cave dwelling in the Ouadai district of the Ennedi mountain range.
Natives described it to western explorers, who identified it as a Machairodus
Machairodus
Machairodus was a genus of large machairodontine saber-toothed cats that lived in Europe, Asia, Africa and North America during the Miocene through Pleistocene living from 11.6mya—126,000 years ago, existing for approximately .-Species:...
sabertooth.
The Water type is of unknown relation to the first, although it is also larger than a lion (8-12 feet), very fierce, and has protruding teeth.
The animal's color pattern is red with white markings (comparable to mountain cats), to leopard
Leopard
The leopard , Panthera pardus, is a member of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera, the other three being the tiger, lion, and jaguar. The leopard was once distributed across eastern and southern Asia and Africa, from Siberia to South Africa, but its...
-like with stripes, to uniform brown.
Its teeth are always described as "walrus
Walrus
The walrus is a large flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous circumpolar distribution in the Arctic Ocean and sub-Arctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in the Odobenidae family and Odobenus genus. It is subdivided into three subspecies: the Atlantic...
-like" and the tail is always long in reports.
Some have suggested an otter
Otter
The Otters are twelve species of semi-aquatic mammals which feed on fish and shellfish, and also other invertebrates, amphibians, birds and small mammals....
as a candidate.
Its habitat extends into the Central African Republic
Central African Republic
The Central African Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Chad in the north, Sudan in the north east, South Sudan in the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo in the south, and Cameroon in the west. The CAR covers a land area of about ,...
.
There are also tales of water lions in folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
in Congo
Kongo people
The Bakongo or the Kongo people , also sometimes referred to as Kongolese or Congolese, is a Bantu ethnic group which lives along the Atlantic coast of Africa from Pointe-Noire to Luanda, Angola...
, Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
, Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
and Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
. A cave drawing that illustrates a walrus
Walrus
The walrus is a large flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous circumpolar distribution in the Arctic Ocean and sub-Arctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in the Odobenidae family and Odobenus genus. It is subdivided into three subspecies: the Atlantic...
-like creature with a long tail exists in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
A related footnote: the last lions in the Sahara also survived here, until they became extinct before mid-20th century (the last lion was seen in 1940) http://www.wildlife-conservation.org/docs2/Fondation%20Faune%20Book-Chap-II.pdf.