Posted by: John Kirk on May 9th, 2014

As some friends know I am part of a group that seeks Mokele-mbembe in Cameroon and the Republic of Congo. These are dangerous places. Last month Congolese troops crossed the border at Lobeke where we know the head ecoguard and kidnapped two soldiers and two ecoguards. They were held for ransom, but the threat of unleashing 600 Rapid Response Field Force troops, induced the Congolese to release the Cameroonians. Wenoperate in this area and our work is fraught with danger.

My colleague and fellow Scot Bill Gibbons has made a fundraiser video showing what we have to contend with and what we have discovered in our travels in search of Mokele-mbembe in Africa. It is a perilous business and you can see what I have to contend with when I am there. In 2012, I was sitting on the banks of the Dja river 100 kilometres from the last outpost. We had seen two herds of aggressive elephants, a 16 foot crocodile and heard the angry cries of a troop of mean chimpanzees. I thought to myself that I must be nuts being out there in the middle of nowhere seeking something so elusive. I still think I am nuts for not being able to resist the allure of an animal I have heard, but not seen and wanting to go back for more even though it might kill me.

I can be seen briefly at the front of a dugout as we navigate the Dja.

New findings concerning Mokele-mbembe have prompted us to launch a major expedition set for late 2014. Watch out for our crowd funding event with some great concessions, coming soon. Thanks for watching!

Our friend and fellow explorer Michel Ballot is risking life and limb to go back to Cameroon in July. Michel was rendered serioysly ill in 2012 with a horrendous case of salmonella and we had to take him to hospital. He barely survived, but is back to good health. There may be another expedition later this year, but I have other cryptozoological events to go to so I will not participate. There’s always next year for putting my life at risk again.

This is Michel. He holds the record at 15 expeditions. Next is Bill Gibbons with 7.

And without our guides Noel and Blaise, wevwould be up the proverbial creek without a paddle. These guys would die for you if they had to. Truly, two great men.

About John Kirk

One of the founders of the BCSCC, John Kirk has enjoyed a varied and exciting career path. Both a print and broadcast journalist, John Kirk has in recent years been at the forefront of much of the BCSCC’s expeditions, investigations and publishing. John has been particularly interested in the phenomenon of unknown aquatic cryptids around the world and is the author of In the Domain of the Lake Monsters (Key Porter Books, 1998). In addition to his interest in freshwater cryptids, John has been keenly interested in investigating the possible existence of sasquatch and other bipedal hominids of the world, and in particular, the Yeren of China. John is also chairman of the Crypto Safari organization, which specializes in sending teams of investigators to remote parts of the world to search for animals as yet unidentified by science. John travelled with a Crypto Safari team to Cameroon and northern Republic of Congo to interview witnesses among the Baka pygmies and Bantu bushmen who have sighted a large unknown animal that bears more than a superficial resemblance to a dinosaur. Since 1996, John Kirk has been editor and publisher of the BCSCC Quarterly which is the flagship publication of the BCSCC. In demand at conferences, seminars, lectures and on television and radio programs, John has spoken all over North America and has appeared in programs on NBC, ABC, CBS, PBS, TLC, Discovery, CBC, CTV and the BBC. In his personal life John spends much time studying the histories of Scottish Clans and is himself the president of the Clan Kirk Society. John is also an avid soccer enthusiast and player.