CHEBOKERIIT: "THE NANDI BEAR"

The Nandi Bear is a nocturnal animal

That used to attack humans only 

On dark moonless nights.

The legendary creature eat only the brains of its victims, 

After making away with the head. 

This lead people to move wearing baskets 

And pots in their heads as a false bait.

It preyed upon the children and natives from the villages. 

The legends referred to it as: 

Chebokeriit, Chemosit, Kerit, Keteet, 

Koddoelo, Ngoloko, or Duba, 

Drawing from Arabic words for 'bear' and 'hyena.' 

The Samburu called it 'Nkampit

The Nandi Bear derives its name from the Nandi people.

Because it was found in Nandi Hills 

In the early 20th century

The residents of Nandi Hills slept with cooking pots on their heads 

Since the Nandi Bear mostly targeted human heads.

It made a noise like the native  word 

"Kundit"  

Which meant it wanted 

"Brains Brains Brains".

It's size was that of a Great Dane, 

With a forehead like a man, round ears, dog's nose,  

Eyes bigger than the lion's 

And a tail like a donkey's.

The Nandi Bear screamed like a child 

To lure people from their huts

Then pounce on them, feeding only  on the brains.

In some instances it broke into their houses.

Some described the Nandi bear beating its chest  like  a gorilla, 

While others claimed it moved around with  its back legs.

In 1925 a village in Nandi Hills appealed for the government's help,

After an animal believed to be the Nandi Bear dragged off a girl at night 

After  breaking a hole in a hut.

It also battered a hole through a thorn enclosure

And carried away a full-grown bull.

Because of the many complaints, 

Hitchens the local administrator cleared a vast area Between the village and the forest, 

And covered it with  sand. 

This was to ensure  any animal crossing it would leave footprints.

That very night a huge animal raided Hitchen's camp 

And carried away his dog. 

Shots were fired but the beast escaped letting out  bloodcurdling yells.

Hitchen claimed that the animal literally shook 

The ground as it thudded off. 

In the morning enormous tracks were found on the sand break.

The Nandi bear is described as a fierce, robust carnivore 

With towering front shoulders, 

Standing at over four feet tall, 

And a sloping back resembling a hyena.

Some experts suggest it could be a misidentified Hyena 

Or a surviving giant hyena from the Ice Age.

Karl Shuker proposes that the existence of the Nandi bear 

Could be explained by the survival of the short-faced hyena species, 

Pachycrocuta brevirostris, 

Which went extinct around 500,000 years ago.

Nandi Bear was never captured, 

Even though around 1950,  

There were some speculations that  a piece of skin with long brown hair preserved  

At the British Museum belonged to the creature.

Captain A.T.A Ritchie  the game warden of East Africa announced, 

"l believe in the Nandi Bear." 

But also believed it was probably a  giant hyena  

Or great Kalahari strandwolf which prowled along the shores of Lake Victoria."

Or it may be something different from what we know," 

He added.

In 1905 

Explorer Geoffrey Williams encountered a beast in Uasin Gishu. 

The ferocious monster was heavily-built 

And had a long pointed head. 

It looked like a bear, he would later say, 

But bears had not been seen this far south in Africa 

For thousands of years. 

Williams did not talk about the frightening experience for 7 years, 

And only then, after other sightings were reported.

In 1912,

Major Toulson, a military settler in Uasin Gishu,  

Talks of having seen

“A strange beast which stood about 18 inches to 20 inches 

At the shoulder and appeared black, with a gait similar to that of a bear 

A kind of shuffling walk”

In March 1913 

The District Commissioner of Eldoret, 

NEF Corbett. 

While fishing in the Sirigoi River 

He encountered the beast but survived to tell the story. 

“It was evidently drinking and was just below me. 

I heard something going away and it shambled across the stream into the bush,” 

He later said.

In 1919, 

67 goats were found dead, 

Their brains being the only thing 

That were missing.

In 1961, 

Gardner Soule noted that sightings were reported in Kenya 

Throughout the 19th century 

And early 20th century 

But it has "never has been caught or identified".

In 1983, 

Richard Meinertzhagen speculated that 

It may have been an 

"Anthropoid ape now extinct on account of decreased rainfall."

The Nandi bears Golf club in Nandi Hills 

Gets its name from this animal.

In 1983, from m Richard Meinertzhagen

Because in 1925 

The Nandi Bear 

Attacked a nearby village in Nandi Hills.

The legendary creature is a

Ferocious killer from the past.