Encounter Atlas
The dingonek is a strange water animal that big-game hunter John Alfred Jordan said he saw in 1907 on the Migori (then 'Maggori') River, which flows into Lake Victoria. His friend Edgar Beecher Bronson told the story in his 1910 memoir In Closed Territory.
Jordan described it as about 14 or 15 feet long, with a broad head, spotted leopard-like markings, scales and two long downward fangs or tusks. He said he fired a .303 rifle at it, the animal leapt from the water, and he ran. He searched the river banks for two days but never saw it again.
Colonial official C. W. Hobley mentioned the account in a 1913 natural history article alongside other Lake Victoria monster stories, and Jordan later wrote it up himself. Suggestions range from a misread crocodile or hippo to pure exaggeration.
What witnesses report
- A long, scaly body in a river
- Leopard-like spots
- Two large tusks or fangs
- Unaffected by a rifle shot
Famous cases
- 1907John Alfred Jordan fires at the dingonek
Migori, Kenya
Seen the Dingonek?
Tell us what happened. Every report is read by a person before it goes on the map, and you can stay anonymous.
