Unknown Sirenian of Central Africa.
Variant name: Guidiara (in Guinea, “water
lion”).
Physical description: A large fish or octopus.
Head is like a gorgon’s. Tentacles.
Behavior: Sucks blood and eats the brains of
infants. Hides among rocks in the river and attacks
passing canoes.
Distribution: Mbomou River, Central African
Republic; Uele and Dungu Rivers, Democratic
Republic of the Congo; Niger River, Guinea.
Possible explanations:
(1) A F reshwater Octop us, though all
known cephalopod species are exclusively
marine, and none are sanguinivorous.
(2) Evidence for an extended range of the
West African manatee (Trichechus
senegalensis), proposed by Bernard
Heuvelmans. Adults are generally 9–10 feet
long. This animal is found in rivers,
estuaries, swamps, and lagoons from the
Senegal River in the north to the Cuanza
River, Angola, in the south, and it occurs as
far as 1,200 miles from the sea along the
Niger River. Its presence in certain
tributaries of the Congo has been suspected
but never confirmed. Its reputation as a
brain-eater is probably fear-based, since all
known sirenians are herbivorous.
(3) A giant Catfish (Family Siluridae),
suggested by Marc Micha.
The Migas, according to many accounts, is believed to possess human-like features such as legs. However, the creature does not commonly leave the water, and finds its food source by sucking blood and brains out of infant human beings by hiding among rocks and striking out at passing canoes for an easy meal.