The Nandi Bear
by Matthew J. Eaton
"What the Abominable Snowman is to Asia, or the great Sea Serpent is to the oceans, the Nandi Bear is to Africa. It is one of the most notorious of those legendary beasts which have, so far, eluded capture and the collector's rifle."

- Frank W. Lane

Called the most ferocious of African mystery beast, the Nandi Bear evokes cries of horror in both natives and westerners alike. Known through out east Africa as duba, kerit, chimisit, kikambangwe, vere, sabrookoo, and various other names. There are too many reports to simply write off the Nandi Bear as widespread myth. Sightings of Nandi Bears by westerners support the likelihood of such a beast existing. Officially there are no members of the bear family currently known to resided in Africa, but reports of bears or bear-like creatures on the continent is nothing new. Herodotus, Pliny the elder and other writers from ancient times placed bears in Africa. More recently, Dr. O. Dapper wrote in 1668 that "squirrels with tails much larger than those in Europe, bears, wild cats, and very venomous vipers..." all inhabited the Congo.

Though its name creates thoughts of a bear like creature, the Nandi Bear is actually described as being rather hyena-like. It's names is due to the fact it was first reported to westerners by the Nandi tribe of Africa and it is said to have a bear like face and way of walking. Also one of its African names duba may hint at its true identity. Cryptozoologist Bernard Heuvelmans thinks that duba originates from either the Arabic word for bear (dubb) or their word for hyena (dubbah). Its true identity will be discussed in a later section.

The Nandi Bear is often described as being a large hyena-like animal about the size of a lion. It is said to have a brownish red to a dark color coat. Reports indicate that it is known to prey upon the children and natives of various the African Villages from time to time (probably due to food shortages). There have been a number of reports of both natives and westerners actually killing a Nandi Bear, though in typical cryptozoological fashion the corpses were never preserved.

The natives of East Africa have told the story of the Nandi Bear for centuries. During that time writers and researchers alike have made reports of a bear or hyena-like creature throughout east Africa, though never giving any accurate description. It wasn't until the early part of the 20th century that westerners began seeing and describing what the natives have seen for centuries. Below are some of these early accounts of the beast known as the Nandi Bear.

Two well-known Kenya colonists, Major Braithwaite and Mr. C. Kenneth Archer gave one of the best accounts of the Nandi Bear. They saw an animal that they thought was a lioness at first, however they later noticed the impression of a snout. The beast stood very high forward, about 4 ft. 3 ins. to 4 ft. 6 ins. at the shoulder. "The back," they say, "sloped steeply to the hindquarters and the animal moved with a shambling gait which can best be compared with the shuffle of a bear. The coat was thick and dark brown in color. Finally, the beast broke into a shambling trot and made for a belt of trees near the river, where it was lost." Due to their experience, their story is not likely to be that of a misidentification. Their report is similar to others of the Nandi Bear.

As a member of the Nandi Expedition in the early 1900's, Geoffrey Williams had an encounter with the Nandi Bear. He wrote the following in the Journal of the East Africa and Uganda Natural History Society:

I was traveling with a cousin on the Uasingishu just after the Nandi expedition, and, of course, long before there was any settlement up there. We had been camped ... near the Mataye and were marching towards the Sirgoit Rock when we saw the beast ... I saw a large animal sitting up on its haunches no more than 30 yards away. Its attitude was just that of a bear at the 'Zoo' asking for buns, and I should say it must have been nearly 5 feet high ... it dropped forward and shambled away towards the Sirgoit with what my cousin always describes as a sort of sideways canter. I snatched my rifle and took a snapshot at it as it was disappearing among the rocks, and, though I missed it, it stopped and turned its head round to look at us ... In size it was, I should say, larger than the bear that lives in the pit at the 'Zoo' and it was quite as heavily built. The fore quarters were very thickly furred, as were all four legs, but the hind quarters were comparatively speaking smooth or bare ... the head was long and pointed and exactly like that of a bear ... I have not a very clear recollection of the ears beyond the fact that they were small, and the tail, if any, was very small and practically unnoticeable. The color was dark ...

In 1912, Major Toulson, a military settler upon the Uasin Gishu plain, had an encounter with a Nandi Bear. He reported the following to British anthropologist C.W. Hobley.

... one of my boys came into my room and said that a leopard was close to the kitchen. I rushed out at once and saw a strange beast making off: it appeared to have long hair behind and was rather low in front. I should say it stood about 18 in. to 20 in. at the shoulder; it appeared to be black, with a gait similar to that of a bear--a kind of shuffling walk ...

N.E.F. Corbett, the District Commissioner of Eldoret, reported another encounter with the Nandi Bear in March 1913:

I was having lunch by a wooded stream, the Sirgoi River, just below Toulson's farm ... to my surprise I walked right into the beast. It was evidently drinking and was just below me, only a yard or so away ... it shambled across the stream into the bush ... [I] could not get a very good view, but am certain that it was a beast I have never seen before. Thick, reddish-brown hair, with a slight streak of white down the hindquarters, rather long from hock to foot, rather bigger than a hyena, with largish ears. I did not see the head properly; it did not seem to be a very heavily built animal.

During the construction of the Madadi Railway a number of workers reportedly spied the Nandi Bear. One railway employee, called Schindler, discovered a series of canine-like tracks. They were 8.5 inch-long tracks with five toes instead of four (like most dogs) and a rather long heel. The sketches he made of these tracks show these unique characteristics. G.W. Hickes, an engineer in charge of building the railway throughout East Africa, saw the Nandi Bear on March 8, 1913. He reported the following:

It was almost on the line when I first saw it and at that time it had already seen me and was making off at a right angle to the line ... As I got closer to the animal I saw it was not a hyena. At first I saw it nearly broadside on: it then looked about as high as a lion. In color it was tawny--about like a black-maned lion--with very shaggy long hair. It was short and thickset in the body, with high withers, and had a short neck and stumpy nose.
It did not turn to look at me, but loped off--running with its forelegs and with both hind legs rising at the same time. As I got alongside it, it was about forty or fifty yards away and I noticed it was very broad across the rump, had very short ears, and had no tail that I could see.
As its hind legs came out of the grass I noticed the legs were very shaggy right down to the feet, and that the feet seemed large...

Not long after Hickes had his sighting, a native servant saw an animal much like the one Hickes saw. Only this time he reported that the creature was standing on its hind legs. A subcontractor had seen the same animal, or one like it, and mentioned it having a thick mane, long claws, large teeth, and an upright stance of about six feet.

In 1919, a farmer named Cara Buxton related the following story: A short time ago a 'Gadett' [or geteit, another name for the Nandi Bear] visited the district. This name is given to the animal by the Lumbwa and signifies the 'brain-eater.'

Its first appearance was on my farm, where the sheep were missing. We finally found all ten, seven were dead and three were still alive. In no case were the bodies touched, but the brains were torn out. During the next ten days fifty-seven goats and sheep were destroyed in the same way; of these thirteen were found alive ...

The animal that committed these crimes was eventually tracked down and killed by natives armed with spears. In this case the animal turned out to be nothing more then a common, but unusually large, spotted hyena that had turned to eating brains for unknown reasons. Next to various hyenas being misidentified as the elusive beast, both black honey badgers and baboons are also mistaken for the Nandi Bear from time to time.

Sightings by westerners after the 1920's are rare, but still do occur. In recent times hunters searching for the beast report finding tracks and hearing blood curdling howls, unlike those made by any known animals. Unlike westerners, natives continue to report the Nandi Bear committing its violent crimes against them. Kitapmetit Kipet, the head of a Nandi village reports the Nandi Bear as"… a devil which prowls the nganasa (hut settlement) on the darkest nights, seeking people, especially children, to devour; it is half like a man and half like a huge, ape-faced bird, and you may know it at once from its fearful howling roar, and because in the dark of night its mouth glows red like the embers of a log."

Besides the obvious question of whether or not the Nandi Bear exists, there is still another question, which plagues cryptozoologists, what it could be. Below is an overview of the most mentioned or likely candidates to the Nandi Bear's identity.

The features of the Nandi Bear are indeed bear-like, from its general appearance to its movement. As stated earlier bears are now absent from Africa, there is however one African bear that fits the general description of the Nandi Bear. The Atlas bear was a small brown bear known to have lived up until the Paleolithic. Its description is like that of the Nandi Bear, it was rather small for a bear and is thought to have had a fur of a dark color. Some reports of the Nandi Bear have it waiting in a tree for a possible victim to pass by. Being a small bear the Atlas bear could easily perform these deeds. The only problem with the Atlas bear is its known range, which is confined to northwest Africa. There are only a handful of bears known to have a fossil record in Africa, of which the Atlas bear matches up the best with Nandi Bear. Plus, an Atlas bear surviving in East Africa seems highly unlikely as it is. It could of course be an unknown species of bear, however there is no fossil record to back up this fact. Still, there is a chance that an ancient species of bear could have remained hidden for thousands of years in the vast unexplored areas of the African continent. The search continues.

It seems that an unknown form of hyena best suits the Nandi Bear. Hyenas are best known as scavengers, but can be vicious animals that can be a true force to reckon with at times. A popular theory is that the Nandi Bear may be a form of undiscovered hyena or even a prehistoric survivor. During the Pleistocene there lived in Africa a hyena that was roughly the size of a modern lion and possessed a bear-like face known as the Short-faced hyena. Unlike the hyenas of today, the Short-faced hyena was a much more active hunter and thus would make it capable of the Nandi Bear's attacks. If the Short-face hyena survived into modern times it would fit the descriptions given by both westerners and Africans of the Nandi Bear quite well. However, some researchers simple do not support the undiscovered hyena theory. Instead, they suggest that people are just seeing normal hyenas committing savage acts. It is possible that this explains some reports by westerners, but the natives now the habits of hyenas well and would be familiar with a hyena despite how strange it behaved. Yet, as shown in the above case of the "brain eater" even the best experts can be fooled time to time. Nevertheless, an unknown hyena remains the most likely candidate for the Nandi Bear.

Some zoologists feel that the Nandi Bear may be a surviving Chalicothere. The

Chalicothere, like the Short-faced Hyena, is thought to have gone extinct in the Paleolithic. The Chalicothere was a sloped back relative to horses, which had large claws in place of hooves. It is believed that these claws were used for digging up roots and possibly for defense purposes. If they were indeed used in warding off predators then an enraged individual could indeed be capable of the Nandi Bear's attacks. Though general appearance of the two creature does resemble one another, there is a simple fact that goes against all things Nandi Bear. The Chalicothere was a strict herbivore.

The Nandi tribe describes the Nandi Bear as a primate. A large baboon-like creature to be exact. A large baboon would be capable of the Nandi Bear's attacks, for they are known to raid sheep herds and rip sheep apart with their lion like fangs. The fact that the Nandi Tribe likens it to a primate strengthens the giant baboon theory. Since baboons are known to be omnivorous, it is possible that these giant baboons raid human settlements when their normal food supply is low. Fossil finds of giant baboons twice the size of modern species show that such a creature existed in the past.

It has been suggested that a number of animals may in fact be called the Nandi Bear. Whether it be the unknown primate reported by the Nandis or the bear-like creature seen by westerners in the 1920's. We are no closer to solving this mystery now then we were a hundred years ago. Until a dedicated researcher is brave enough to launch another Nandi Expedition into the wilds of Africa, the Nandi Bear will continue to haunt the African forests. The legend endures.
Works Cited:

1. Shuker, Karl. The Unexplained.
2. Coleman, Loren. Cryptozoology A to Z.
3. www.wizards.com/rpga/lj/stories_011.asp
4. www.perso.wanadoo.fr/cryptozoo/welcome.htm
5. www.fortunecity.com/roswell/siren/552/chemosit.htm
6. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Animal Kingdom