Africa's Cryptoid Bear

Nandi Bear: Member of Ursidae Family or Different Species?

Jun 9, 2007

Zoology maintains no bears live in Africa but ursine fossils have been discovered there. Bears are found in the Americas and Eurasia. Could they exist in Africa?

Sightings

The Nandi tribe, for which this bear is named, has seen this mysterious animal the most often. European settlers and other non-natives have also sighted it. By those accounts, this cryptoid has the mannerisms and posture of a bear. It climbs trees and is brown and small. It resembles the European brown bear which has relatives in America and Asia.

It is ferocious, nocturnal and is said to prey on and eat humans and livestock. Natives claim they have killed the animal by burning huts when it goes inside of them. The Nandi bear has successfully avoided scientists and hunters.

Theories

It’s possible that it is a true member of the ursidae family. The Atlas bear lived in Africa, but is believed to have become extinct in the early 1800s. It was believed to have lived in northern Africa, not eastern, was not a good tree climber and had dark brown fur on its back and orange on its belly.

It could be the European brown bear. It’s possible the animal went south. This type of bear lived in the Middle East not that long ago. The animals could have wandered to the eastern jungles of Africa. Or it could be an Asian bear that migrated.

Some cryptozoologists postulate the Nandi bear is a species of the hyena believed to be extinct or an unknown species or a surviving Chalicothere. Hyenas are thought of as scavengers, but they are also fierce hunters who will attack and kill herbivores and panthers. The short-faced hyenas, thought to be extinct, were as big as lions and had ursine faces.

It is doubtful that the Chalicothere theory is valid for two reasons. The animal had a sloped back, was related to horses and was herbivorous.

Some zoologists think the Nandi bear is an unknown species of a giant baboon. Some African natives aver it is a type of monkey. This makes sense because people who haven’t seen a bear compare it with other animals they have seen and monkeys are the most likely candidates. Europeans maintain that the animal is a type of bear, especially when they have seen it up close.

It has been suggested that the Nandi bear is a type of aardvark. These animals can attain the height of seven feet, but they have long tails and short chubby legs. They primarily eat insects and do not eat humans, which is physically impossible for them to do.

An Investigation and Another Possibility

Around 1920, British Museum authorities investigated the Nandi bear because of the accounts that this animal was attacking human beings. Skulls and hides of the alleged animals were sent to the museum to be examined. The skulls and hides turned out to be those of leopards and hyenas, often times, the pelt of one was attached to the skull of another. A paw print tracing was sent, but this tuned out to be impressions of a hyena’s paw superimposed upon another one.

It is possible that known animals are mistaken for the Nandi bear. Sometimes, when people see something, they see what they want it to be, not what it is.