The Ichisonga is a pachyderm-slayer from the folklore of the Lambas of Zambia, usually found in the Kafue River. It is a herbivorous water beast that resembles a rhinoceros and has a horn on its forehead.
Although a grass-eater, the ichisonga has a special hatred for the hippopotamus. If an ichisonga hears a hippo, it leaves the Kafue River, traveling along the bank so the hippo does not scent it. Then it re-enters the water, goes for the largest bull hippo, and stabs it to death with its horn.
If an elephant is killed nearby, the ichisonga will roar and drive the hunters away from the carcass. It then stays near the elephant’s remains for days until the carcass rots. The ichisonga is motivated by uŵulwishya – jealousy.
References
Doke, C. M. (1931) The Lambas of Northern Rhodesia. George G. Harrap and Company Ltd., London.
A Book of Creatures 
Hates Hippos, hates Elephants, what else does it hate? Rhinos, Wilderbeasts, Lions?
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Probably everything
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Some of these monsters are so well conceived by the locals, one can’t help wondering if they are real. At the very least the Ichisonga sounds like a recently extinct species that the Lamba people’s oral traditions have retained the memory of. Your Dixon-esque illustration of it brings me to the conclusion that a crime has been committed by reality that this creature isn’t alive.
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Aw thanks! It’s part of a larger cultural tradition that probably has the rhino at its core (remember that the mokele mbembe also has a horn and kills hippos).
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Someone needs to open a therapy office for 90% of the creatures in this site
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Mythology doesn’t seem to like large African safari creatures much. I LIKE hippos. And elephants.
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Probably because elephants are the biggest and scariest thing, so anything that can kill them must be even scarier.
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Like the roc, for instance.
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Il y a t’il un lien avec l’Emela ntouka et les autres “dinosaures vivants” d’Afrique (ninki nanka, nguma monene, muhuru … )
Je les trouvent tous fascinants 🙂
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Considering how it is similar to Emela-Ntouka, would it be safe to say that Emela Ntouka is a misinterpretation of this creature? A monster story meant to only be a story and then taken literally and cherrypicked by cryptozoologists and creationists alike?
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Yeah, they’re all rhinoceros derivatives imo.
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