Kilopilopitsofy

The Kilopilopitsofy, also called the Tsomgomby, is a hippo-like cryptid inhabiting the lagoons and rivers of west-central Madagascar. They are described as the size of a cow, but without horns, very dark, smooth skin, pink coloration around the mouth and eyes, flat feet and sometimes even large floppy ears. Kilopilopitsofys are nocturnal and escape from humans by running into the water. 

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According to the zoologist Jean Pascou, he showed locals photos of various animals, and they all pointed at a photo of a hippo and said that that animal is a kilopilopitsofy, despite no hippos living in Madagascar since the 17th century. Pascou also asked to describe its vocalizations and an elderly man imitated a kilopilopitsofy call, which sounded almost identical to a hippo call. The only problem with the theory that kilopilopitsofys are hippos, is their large ears, which some have theorized to be jowls or were evolved to dissipate heat. 

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In 1876, the skin of a kilopilopitsofy was shown to Josef Audebert, who compared it to an antelope, which is both unusual because that doesn’t match the description of the kilopilopitsofy, and no antelopes live in Madagascar. 

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In the 1980s, a man named Manaca claimed to have seen a hippopotamus’s head rise out of a lake, open its enormous mouth and then dive under again. In 1997, a man named Kirindy, who was cast out of his village and lived in the rainforest, claimed to have witnessed a big, fat hairless animal with a massive head and tusks. When he got close it spun its tail and violently defecated on him. As bizarre and humorous as this may seem, the African Hippopotamus is the only known animal to do this behaviour, far too specific for someone to make up.