Behemoth

By Jonathan C. Leicht

Jim Thompson, chief game warden of the Masai Mara Game Reserve in Kenya, has a major problem. Three of his prized elephants have been gored to death in the past month. The only clues left are mysterious tracks reportedly belong to a creature long thought extinct. Thompson suddenly finds himself on a tumultuous adventure as he travels across the African continent, hoping to convince himself and the world that he is on the verge of an incredible discovery.

He is not alone. On the other side of the world, Professor Stephen Gregory is embarking on an adventure of his own. Forced to resign over his unpopular scientific beliefs, this once-distinguished professor gets the chance of a lifetime when he is offered an expedition into the heart of Africa in search of a creature that could prove his theories true once and for all.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Dec 6, 2011
• ISBN: 9781449733308

Jonathan C. Leicht

Jonathan Leicht teaches Creation seminars across the country.  He currently resides with his wife and three children in Prescott, Arizona.

Book preview

Chapter 1

BERHANU ZUBERI, KNOWN AS BEN to his close friends, burst through the office door of his boss, Jim Thompson, chief game warden of the Masai Mara Game Reserve, located in the southwest corner of Kenya. Jim looked up from the map he was studying and said, Jambo, Ben. Did you finish your rounds already? The disturbed look on Ben’s normally cheerful face made Jim take a second glance. What’s wrong, Ben?

I think you’d better come with me, bwana, Ben replied in his typical accented English. We have a big problem.

Jim jumped up from behind his desk and followed Ben to his Jeep. Ben had been Jim’s chief assistant ever since Jim took the job five years ago and had proven to be an invaluable asset in every aspect of running the reserve. What Jim hadn’t known about the animals in the reserve when he came here, Ben taught to him. If there was a problem with a tour group, Ben handled it. Whenever a government bigwig wanted the royal treatment at one of the reserve’s private resorts, Ben made the arrangements. About the only thing Ben had failed to do was teach his boss anything beyond rudimentary Swahili.

Ben navigated his Jeep over the bumpy dirt path, remaining silent over the fifteen-minute drive. He soon spotted his crew standing in the tall savannah grass and quickly veered in their direction. Once the Jeep screeched to a halt, Jim jumped out and stopped short at the sight in front of him.

Oh, no, he whispered, almost to himself. Not again!

That’s the third this month, bwana, Ben added. The two men knelt down beside the massive bull elephant, taking care to avoid the pools of blood that had spilled from its dead body. The cause of death was obvious: several gaping holes about five inches wide were found across the underbelly of the dead creature.

Just like the last two, Jim observed. He gave Ben a questioning look. How did this happen, Ben?

Ben hesitated for a moment, and then shrugged his shoulders and said, Who knows, bwana? Poachers would have taken the tusks, and they would have used guns. These wounds look like someone crawled between the animal’s legs and used a jackhammer.

Jim nodded as he carefully prodded the wound with his walking stick. It went in easily, sinking in two feet before striking solid flesh. He pulled out the stick and examined the length of the wound, saying, I guess we can rule out an altercation with a rhino. This wound is twice as long and much narrower than any rhino horn I’ve ever seen.

Ben agreed. Besides, he added, rhinos usually don’t end up on the winning end of a fight with an elephant. Is it possible he impaled himself on something in the reserve? A fencepost or a broken tree limb, perhaps?

I suppose it’s possible, Jim replied doubtfully, but where would this guy have found a fencepost? And how could he have accidentally impaled himself a half dozen times? Jim sat silently as he pondered this latest dilemma.

Ben finally interrupted his thoughts by saying, Bwana, it’s almost time for the tour groups to start arriving. What do we do?

Keep them away from here, Jim answered at once. Drag some brush over the carcass, and drag some logs across the path. He slapped his knee in frustration. After that, he continued, we need to figure out what’s killing our elephants while we still have time. He looked at Ben and said, Set up some teams to monitor the largest elephant herds around the clock and make sure they’re armed. However this is happening, I want it stopped. No more dead elephants, all right?

Ben nodded somberly and promised, We’ll do our best, bwana.

•

… and so, given what we now know about the pre-flood climate, it is possible, however unlikely, that dinosaurs may still exist today in the regions of the world where the climate has remained comparable—the rainforests of South America or Central Africa, for instance. Professor Stephen Gregory adjusted his glasses as he peered at his notes. "Again, let me reiterate that I am not saying that I firmly believe dinosaurs still exist today, only that as created beings—not products of evolution—the possibility cannot be discounted. With that, I conclude my lecture and will now open the floor to any questions." Immediately, the aisles filled with students approaching the microphones that were set up beforehand.

Dr. Gregory, you are saying that you believe that man and dinosaurs coexisted? came the first question. How is it, then, that the entire scientific community disagrees with you? What evidence do you have that they don’t?

Dr. Gregory smiled and replied, Well, I wouldn’t say that I have evidence that they don’t; rather that we have studied the same evidence and, for whatever reason, have arrived at different conclusions. As you know, I have called into question several of these opposing arguments, which is why this shall be my final lecture to you. It has been clear to me, especially over the past two decades, that several of my colleagues have exhibited less-than-objective behaviors when looking at such evidence, especially if it supports the arguments of what they call religious zealots." In other words, if evidence supports the biblical account of man and dinosaurs living side by side before the flood, then it couldn’t possibly be accurate in their estimation.

Let me give you an example of this, Dr. Gregory continued as he activated the slide projector, illuminating the screen behind him. Here is a picture of the Paluxy River, near Glen Rose, Texas. He advanced to the next slide. During droughts, when the water level is abnormally low, a curious phenomenon can be observed: dinosaur footprints have been fossilized in the river bed! Next slide. "What is even more curious, however, is that there are also human footprints fossilized in the riverbed, intertwined with the dinosaur footprints; in some cases, on top of one another!" Gasps went up across the audience as they viewed the photos of the prints.

In 1989, these compelling pictures were exhibited at a creation conference in Tennessee, Dr. Gregory went on, at which two noted evolutionists were in attendance, both of whom were visibly agitated by the presentation. The next morning, these two evolutionists flew to Dallas and immediately drove to the Paluxy River, carrying with them what witnesses called a large iron bar." With this large iron bar, they proceeded to vandalize three of the most prominent tracks that showed human footprints and dinosaur tracks on top of each other. How do we know they were the culprits? These pictures I have shown you were taken three days before the two men carried their bar down to the river. Now, look at the pictures taken three days after their visit." Dr. Gregory advanced to the next slide, and there were cries of dismay across the auditorium as the audience viewed the visibly damaged fossils.

The outrage from the mainstream scientific community was nonexistent for such a deliberate act of destruction of valuable fossils, Dr. Gregory stated, "mainly because they didn’t want to face the fact that their theory might be full of holes. Imagine the international outcry if a creationist had committed a similar act of vandalism, say at Olduvai Gorge!" Murmurs of agreement rippled across the room.

Despite their efforts to destroy scientific evidence for their own purposes, Dr. Gregory continued, "there remain at least fourteen sequential human footprints intertwined with at least one hundred thirty-four dinosaur prints in the same strata, which evolutionary scientists have been unable to adequately explain. Some scientists doubt that the prints reported to be human are indeed so, and the site has generated a great deal of controversy to this day. It is clear, however, that the two evolutionists in attendance at the conference were concerned that the tracks might be what they appear to be. Otherwise why would they risk destroying them?" The audience was now abuzz with excitement.

The next student approached the microphone and asked, If dinosaurs and man lived together, wouldn’t man be living in constant fear of being eaten? Laughter echoed across the auditorium.

Dr. Gregory smiled himself and replied, "You’ve hit upon another touchy subject with evolutionists. Take the Tyrannosaurus Rex, for example. He’s got big teeth, right? Perfect for consuming a nice, juicy steak dinner, right? Wrong! Simply assuming that an animal is a vicious meat-eater merely because he has long, sharp teeth is inherently unsound science. Why? Because no one has ever actually seen a Tyrannosaurus Rex take a bite out of anything! Furthermore, present-day animals, such as the giant panda and the spider monkey, follow the opposite pattern; they have long, sharp teeth, but they’re nothing more than vegetarians."

A few skeptical guffaws erupted. One student in the front row stood up and shouted, "T-Rex, a vegan? Come on, prof; I’ve seen the movie. He’s a vicious killer! Everyone knows that." Choruses of agreement followed.

Dr. Gregory smiled again and answered, "I’ve seen that movie, too. I’ve also seen the one where Luke Skywalker blows up the Death Star with his X-wing fighter. Do you believe that actually happened as well? The auditorium roared with laughter, and the embarrassed student hastily took his seat. I wouldn’t trust Hollywood as a reliable source for anything scientific. Their goal is only to sell the most tickets possible. Next question?"

Another student asked, You mentioned the possibility of dinosaurs still surviving today. If that were true, wouldn’t we have found concrete evidence of their existence by now? Don’t you think we would have found a live one, or at least a carcass?

Not necessarily, Dr. Gregory countered. First of all, nature has a very efficient system for disposing of dead animals, even very large ones. Where do you think the stories of a ‘secret elephant graveyard’ started? Secondly, Western scientists, especially American scientists, have a tendency to become overly conceited. At times, we think we know all there is to know about the animal kingdom, which simply isn’t true, as has been proven over and over again. Let me see a show of hands: how many of you believe the idea of dinosaurs living today to be preposterous, absurd, and unbelievable? Nearly every hand in the room shot up. Let me give you some real-life examples of preposterous, absurd, and unbelievable animal stories.

Dr. Gregory loaded a new set of slides and clicked to the first one. "Example number one: Who knows what this is? Over two hundred years ago, the first specimen of this species was examined by scientists and declared a hoax. The creature was so laughable, that it couldn’t possibly be taken seriously! What was it supposed to be? A hairy duck, or a beaver with a duck’s bill that laid eggs? It was like nothing ever seen before. However, after four years of studying, it was determined not to be a hoax created by sewing various animal’s body parts together, but a living, breathing, albeit rare animal—the duck-billed platypus."

Dr. Gregory clicked to the next slide. This next animal was considered to be just as absurd as the platypus when stories out of Africa reached the ears of Western scientists in the early 1900s. These accounts were full of rumors about an animal that was half-giraffe and half-zebra, which was well known to the African natives as a delicacy. Not until a scientist was shown a tanned hide by a native did he realize this was a living, breathing animal still undiscovered by the Western world. He set out on an exhibition, and finally discovered the elusive okapi, which can now be seen in zoos around the world.

Next slide. "You have all no doubt heard of the giant squid, probably due to either Moby Dick or 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, but how many of you know that when those books were written, the giant squid was a yet undiscovered creature, existing only in myth! Even today, the giant squid remains one of the world’s most elusive creatures. The first live specimen was captured in a commercial fishing net only ten years ago. In fact, most of the bits and pieces of the specimens scientists possessed came out of the stomachs of sperm whales. Even more interesting is that as far as we can tell, the giant squid is not an endangered species, nor is it even rare—it is simply an elusive animal that lives in a habitat not easily accessible by humans."

Dr. Gregory stopped the slide show for a moment as he said, "I am sure most of you would consider a fire-breathing dragon to be one of the most popular animal myths of all time, yet, at the same time, some serious questions arise. For example, how is it that two very different cultures—one in Great Britain, and one in China—have ancient stories concerning the same fire-breathing creature, even though at the time these stories originated, there was no direct or indirect contact between the two? Is it possible that such a creature actually existed? The question becomes even more intriguing when we find mention in the Old Testament of a fire-breathing creature whose description closely resembles that of our modern idea of a dragon! All of a sudden, the idea of such a creature ever existing becomes a little less preposterous.

With that in mind, Dr. Gregory said as he resumed the slide show, "let’s take a look at our next creature. In 1912, a group of pearl hunters landed on a remote South Pacific island chain. When they returned to civilization, they told stories of giant lizards that the natives feared and worshipped, horrible-smelling creatures that could chase and kill a water buffalo, creatures from whom even an insignificant bite would cause death within three days.

An international hunting expedition was assembled, and using carcasses of dead animals for bait, the hunters lured into the open a strange and fearsome creature that few had ever seen—a large reptilian beast that was almost ten feet in length and weighed over six hundred pounds—the Komodo dragon. Eventually scientists discovered that it was the toxic saliva that induced a quick death, but even today, the Komodo dragon is an animal for which it is wise to maintain a healthy respect.

Dr. Gregory clicked to another slide and said, Our final example in this set is not an exotic creature, but a simple fish—a fish, however, that was considered to be extinct much like dinosaurs for over sixty-five million years, until a ship captain pulled up the strange-looking fish while trolling for sharks off the coast of South Africa in 1938. When the Western scientific community received word of this supposed living fossil, it caused quite a stir. For years, the coelacanth had been considered a missing link," since the coelacanth has an extra set of fins than most fish, leading scientists to postulate that it used these extra fins to crawl along the ocean floor, in possibly the first stage of leg development. Here, now, was an unheard-of chance to verify an evolutionary hypothesis, and show conclusive evidence of an animal in transition from water dwelling to land dwelling! Unfortunately, someone forgot to tell the fish that. Not only were these specimens unchanged from their fossilized relatives, but it turns out that the coelacanth does not crawl along the ocean floor with its extra set of fins, but merely uses them to turn in a tighter circle in the water. Adding insult to injury, it was revealed that the extinct coelacanth was well-known to the local fishermen, who had been feasting on it for years."

Dr. Gregory stopped the slide show again and said, Perhaps you’ve noticed that many of these animals were well-known to the indigenous peoples long before the Western scientific community confirmed their existence, and that they tended to live in areas not easily accessible by civilized folk. I stress this point, because I want to share with you now the story of Mokele-Mbembe, the creature well known to the peoples of central Africa, but scoffed at by the Western world. Mokele-Mbembe, whose name means literally one who stops the river’s flow, is described as being larger than an elephant with a long, flexible neck, and a long, very powerful tail, with which it has been known to capsize the native’s boats. Mokele-Mbembe prefers feeding on the various fruits of the plants along riverbanks, and can stay submerged for long periods of time. When Western missionaries heard about this creature, they drew a picture for the natives, who immediately identified the picture as representing Mokele-Mbembe. The picture they drew was that of an Apatosaurus, more commonly called Brontosaurus.

Dr. Gregory looked around the assembly hall at the audience, which had become fully captivated by every word he said. "I’m sure you are all wondering why there haven’t been expeditions to search for this mysterious creature, and my answer is that such a quest isn’t as easy as it may seem. The Congo Basin, the area in which Mokele-Mbembe is said to reside, is roughly the size of the United States west of the Mississippi River, and is an impassible swampy jungle filled with subterranean passages, disease-bearing insects, snakes, and guerrilla soldiers. Alas, it is the last of these impediments that has proven to be the greatest hindrance to a full-scale expedition. The political climate in the region is so unstable that there is no realistic chance in the foreseeable future of mounting a search for the elusive Mokele-Mbembe. Now, I am not dead certain that Mokele-Mbembe is, in fact, a dinosaur, but the descriptions I have heard thus far are very intriguing. At the very least, it should warrant looking into further, but once again, the mainstream scientific community has shown almost no interest in researching Mokele-Mbembe, even if the political climate were different. I can only conclude from this that they are not interested in the truth, for fear that it may undermine all that they hold to be true. If a remnant of dinosaurs has survived, it could mean that all we’ve presumed to know about them and their supposed extinction has been based upon faulty data and suppositions."

Dr. Gregory heard a commotion coming from the back of the auditorium, so he sighed and said, Thank you all for your attentiveness and your eagerness to learn the truth, but I must wrap up this session now. I wish you all the best of luck in your studies. God bless you.

With that, he stepped away from the podium and waited while the students filed out of the auditorium. Once the room had cleared, he walked down the aisle toward the foyer, where two men where waiting. One, a bespectacled, balding individual, looked extremely nervous, while the other seethed with anger as he paced around the foyer, waiting for Dr. Gregory to emerge.

Dr. Gregory walked out with his notes in one hand and his tray of slides in the other and nodded at the two men. Good afternoon, Dean Simmons, he said to the nervous little man. He merely nodded at the other and said tersely, Professor Jackson, it’s so good of you to drop by and bid me farewell.

Stuff it, Gregory, Dr. Jackson said in seething rage. You should have been run out of here years ago. He glared at Dean Simmons and then turned his attention back to Dr. Gregory. I can’t imagine why you were given one last chance to spew your lies and poison the minds of our students.

Dean Simmons cleared his throat nervously and said, Professor Gregory is a well-respected instructor at Northeast University, and as such …

"You mean was a well-respected instructor, Dr. Jackson interrupted, before he allowed himself to be brainwashed by the religious lunatics who want to attribute everything to their God, even if there is not a shred of scientific evidence to back them up."

And as such, he has earned the right to leave on his terms, Dean Simmons finished. All he wanted was to do one last lecture. Surely you don’t have a problem with allowing him that tiniest bit of leeway, Professor Jackson?

Every time he’s given a platform to speak, he undermines the progress of the scientific community, Dr. Jackson said in anger. How can you expect me to stand by and allow him to make disparaging remarks unchallenged?

Because your challenges have nothing to do with hard evidence, and you know it, Dr. Gregory asserted. Bring me evidence, and we will debate the merits all day long if you wish. But spare me your elitist attitude toward anything that dares to contradict your hallowed scientific beliefs.

Dr. Jackson smirked and replied, I’m not the one whose career is in a freefall. I’m not the one who’s an outcast in the scientific community. Why should I stoop to your level to humor your pathetic viewpoint?

Have you ever examined the fossils at the Paluxy River, Dr. Jackson? Dr. Gregory asked angrily. "What about the similar strata of dinosaur and human footprints found in Mongolia? Have you ever bothered to look at any of the evidence for yourself?"

I don’t have to, Dr. Jackson replied in a self-aggrandizing way. I know a desperate creationist hoax when I see one. This is just the latest attempt to undermine the prevailing scientific philosophies with some off-the-wall conspiracy theory. He snorted and continued, Good grief, man, take a look at yourself! You’re actually propagating this nonsense that dinosaurs may still exist! If that doesn’t scream dementia, I don’t know what does. If you were smart, you’d accept the Alvarez Impact Theory as fact, just like everyone else.

Science once accepted as fact that the sun revolved around the earth, and anyone who proposed otherwise was persecuted, Dr. Gregory answered softly. Apparently not much has changed in four hundred years.

Dr. Jackson stiffened at the remark, and then shot back, You’ve done this to yourself. Don’t go and blame others for your fall from grace. With that he stormed away, infuriated.

Dean Simmons sighed as he wiped his glasses. Look, Stephen, I really am sorry it had to come to this. You know I defended you before the board of trustees, but they wanted your head and nothing could stop them.

Stephen smiled and clapped him on the back and said, I know. Thanks for trying, Dean. It was time for me to go, that’s all. I guess I’d better clean out my office before my stuff gets tossed onto the street.

Dean Simmons smiled and shook his hand, saying, Good luck, Stephen, in all you do. Keep in touch from time to time.

I will, he promised, and now I’d better get out of here before I jeopardize your career as well.

The two old friends bid each other farewell and parted. Dr. Gregory headed to his office of twenty-five years to finish packing the last of his books. As he entered, he noticed a large envelope placed in the middle of his desk. That’s funny, he wondered, where did that come from? He grabbed his letter opener and tore into the envelope, pulling out a plane ticket and a brief note that read:

Professor Gregory,

I would be most honored if you would agree to join me for the weekend at my country estate. I think I have a proposition that just might be of interest to you. If you decide to come, I will have a car waiting for you at the airport.

Signed, John Maxwell

John Maxwell! The name was very familiar to Dr. Gregory. The eccentric billionaire was well known in scientific circles as a collector of rare and priceless scientific oddities, ranging from a telescope supposedly made by Galileo, to a chalkboard filled with Albert Einstein’s early notes on the Theory of Relativity. Dr. Gregory couldn’t imagine what John Maxwell wanted with him, but his curiosity soon got the better of him. He glanced at the airplane ticket—first class, JFK to Heathrow, leaving in two and a half hours. He slowly fingered two rings attached to a chain around his neck, which he always wore beneath his shirt, while he pondered the proposition. Finally, he shrugged and thought, what do I have to lose? Then he threw the last of his books into a box and lugged them down to his car. He would have just enough time to run home and pack a suitcase before heading to the airport.

Chapter 2

ALL RIGHT, STAND BACK, JIM ordered his workers as he approached the fresh carcass on the riverbank, with Ben at his side. Ben quickly relayed the order into Swahili, and like magic, the workers pulled back, jabbering among themselves in fear. Jim was disturbed himself by the scene in front of him—a large Cape buffalo bull had been disemboweled, in a similar fashion to the three dead elephants. This time, however, the hyenas and vultures had already picked at the underside of the animal, making it impossible to tell anything more.

Jim turned to Ben with a look of concern in his eyes. I don’t like this, Ben, he whispered, "What, or who, is doing this? And don’t