Letcher, Owen (1911) Big Game Hunting in North-Eastern Rhodesia, Long, pp. 159-161

 ... many natives in North-Eastern Rhodesia speak of the existence of an animal named the "chimpakwe," which they say resembles the hippo in its amphibian habits, but possesses a horn like the rhinoceros. I chatted with one or two old chiefs on the subject of this strange animal, a beast quite unknown to science, and gathered that the "chimpakwe" existed many years ago in North-Eastern Rhodesia, but at the present day he is probably to be found only in the Luapula River and some deep pools around the borders of the Congo Free State and North-Western Rhodesia. According to the natives, he is an extremely wary creature, and no white man has ever shot him, although it is stated that one or two white hunters have been so impressed with native assertions regarding the "chimpakwe" that they have spent some time in looking for the beast.

I have never been told by natives that the "chimpakwe" killed the hippo, and the stories of its existence that I have heard concern the Luangwa River many years ago, when its water was deeper, the Luapula River, Lake Mweru, and a deep pool near Kapopo.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Doke, Clement M. (1931) The Lambas of Northern Rhodesia: A Study of Their Customs and Beliefs, p. 352

Wolf, Tom & Sparks, Barbara (1995) Colorado's Sangre de Cristo Mountains, University Press of Colorado, p. 157

Goldie, Andrew "Mr. Goldie's Discovery of Gold in New Guinea," Evening News, Sydney (4 Januay 1878)