Geoffrey Williams, An Unknown Animal on the Uasingishu, Journal of the East Africa and Uganda Natural History Society, July 1912

AN UNKNOWN ANIMAL ON THE UASINGISHU By Geoffrey Williams

I am asked to describe the strange beast that I once saw up on the Uasingishu, and it is with some diffidence that I make the attempt since experience has taught me that descriptions of unrecorded animals do not meet with much credence.

However, as I now hear that it has been seen again, I feel encouraged to do the best I can.

Several years ago I was travelling with a cousin on the Uasingishu just after the Nandi expedition, and, of course, long before there was any settlement up there. We had been camped on the edge of the Escarpment near the Mataye and were marching towards the Sirgoit Rock when we saw the beast. There was a thick mist, and my cousin and I were walking on ahead of the safari with one boy when, just as we drew near to the slopes of the hill, the mist cleared away suddenly and my cousin called out ‘What is that?’ Looking in the direction to which he pointed I saw a large animal sitting up on its haunches not more than 30 yards away. Its attitude was just that of a bear at the ‘Zoo’ asking for buns, and I should say it must have been nearly 5 feet high. It is extremely hard to estimate height in a case of this kind; but it seemed to both of us that it was very nearly, if not quite, as tall as we were. Before we had time to do anything it dropped forward and shambled away towards the Sirgoit with what my cousin always describes as a sort of sideways canter. The grass had all been burnt off some weeks earlier and so the animal was clearly visible.

I snatched my rifle and took a snapshot at it as it was disappearing among the rocks, and, though I missed it, it stopped and turned its head round to look at us. It is in this position that I see it most clearly in my mind’s eye. In size it was, I should say, larger than the bear that lives in the pit at the ‘Zoo’ and it was quite as heavily built. The fore quarters were very thickly furred, as were all four legs, but the hind quarters were comparatively speaking smooth or bare. This distinction was very definite indeed and was the first thing that struck us both. The head was long and pointed and exactly like that of a bear, as indeed was the whole animal. I have not a very clear recollection of the ears beyond the fact that they were small, and the tail, if any, was very small and practically unnoticeable. The colour was dark and left us both with the impression that it was more or less of a brindle, like a wildebeeste, but this may have been the effect of light.

The mist had entirely lifted and the beast stood out quite plainly against the rocks. Unfortunately I had no second cartridge ready, and it had vanished before I could get another shot. Owing to the extreme hardness and dryness of the soil at the time and the number of stones there was no definite spoor to follow, and though we sought for it for some time we never saw it again.

Some weeks later we showed the boy who was with us a book containing illustrations of the animals of various countries and told him to say when he found anything at all resembling what he had seen. After some time he came to the picture of a brown bear and at once stopped and said that that was the animal.

Since then I have learnt that it is known amongst the Nandi as ‘Chemosit,’ and their description tallies with mine.

A few days ago a friend of mine brought down one of my old Nandi boys to Nairobi and I showed him some large illustrations to the Jungle Book, asking if he saw anything there which was like ‘Chemosit.’ He picked out the picture of Baloo, the Indian bear, at once.

I have also heard of the same thing in the Kakumega country near Kabras, and was twice warned by the people not to sleep with my tent door open for fear of the ‘Shivuverre,’ which they described as a nocturnal beast something like a hyaena only infinitely larger and very savage. It was not, they said, the least like a lion or leopard. I heard of a skin in Kabras and tried very hard to obtain it; but could not do so.

The Nandi say that they once killed one years ago owing to its having climbed up on the roof of a hut and broken through.

It killed the people in the hut, but others burnt the place down with the animal inside. They say the reason it is never killed is because it is entirely nocturnal, is very rare, and only attacks solitary people, who never return to tell the tale.

When I saw it, it was quite early in the morning, and the Nandi account for its being about at that hour by the fact that the mist prevented its realising the approach of daylight.

I might add that the beast was not the least like either a baboon or an ant-bear, of this I am quite certain.