Sea Serpents and Lake Monsters: Legends or Reality ?
About three-quarters of the surface of our planet is covered by water, so it's no surprise that, since ancient times, people have observed sea monsters.
The Bible mentions the Leviathan five times. It is a creature half-serpent and half-dragon, part of the Phoenician folklore but also found in most Eastern philosophies. In Europe, Scandinavian sailors were the first to provide accounts of these sightings. The Swedish writer and historian Olaus Magnus includes depictions of sea monsters in unsettling tales within a work published in 1555 ("Historia de gentibus septentrionalibus").
In all these accounts is described a 60 meters long creature with a diameter of 6 meters; it was a black animal with something like a mane, glowing eyes, and a head that rose like a capital on a column.
Interestingly, this description is corroborated by more recent accounts. During the 18th century, sightings of a gigantic sea serpent off the coast of Norway were reported. Another Swedish writer, Erik Pontoppidan, published a volume in 1752 compiling all possible testimonies on the subject.
In the 18th century, the overwhelming wave of scientific rationality also emerged: sea monster sightings were thus relegated to the rank of sailor legends and became subjects of ridicule. Yet, despite general skepticism, it seems that the famous monsters continued to rise from the waters, terrifying the sailors.
A rational explanation can be easily found: for example, the “humps” of the serpent glimpsed above the waves are often nothing more than playful dolphins. However, some scientists accept the hypothesis of gigantic aquatic creatures. In 1893, the English biologist Thomas Huxley wrote that there is no reason why sea creatures similar to reptiles, reaching lengths of 15 meters or even more, couldn’t exist.
In the first half of the 19th century, sea monster sightings multiplied along the coasts of North America. The naturalist Constantin Samuel Rafinesque became passionate about it, putting his expertise and reputation in defense of the so-called "megophias," or "great serpent."
Fierce debates erupted between supporters and detractors of the "sea serpent." The most resolute enemies of the "megophias" even went so far as to publish false testimonies of sightings to ridicule the "defenders" of sea monsters (a practice still common today regarding mysterious phenomena). The spread of fake reports led to a significant decrease in new encounters with the terrifying creatures: sailors no longer dared to report what they saw, fearing they would be labeled as drunkards or visionaries.
Yet it cannot be denied: strange things sometimes happen at sea. For example, the crew of a ship claimed to have seen something resembling a crocodile, with 15-centimeter-long teeth, off the coast of Brazil. In the same area, several years earlier, a similar monster had terrified the crew of a British steamboat.
There are numerous reports of "sea serpents": that of Lieutenant George Senford, who claimed to have seen a “serpent” about 20 meters long; that of an English major who, in 1879, while traveling aboard the "City of Baltimore," saw a serpent around 9 meters long with a bulldog-like head in the middle of the Gulf of Aden—his report was countersigned by many other passengers; and the more recent declaration of Captain John Ridgway, who, on July 25, 1966, during a rowboat crossing of the Atlantic, saw a creature ten meters long with “a phosphorescent body, as if encircled by neon lights,” not far from his boat. The creature submerged near the boat and did not reappear.
In 1975 and 1976, off the coast of Cornwall, one of these monsters (a "Morgawr," as it is called locally) made several appearances, and it was even photographed.
In Wales, specifically in the waters of Cardigan Bay, three young girls saw an unidentified creature in 1975. It crossed the beach and submerged in the water: the animal measured about 3 meters, had a long neck, a long tail, and green eyes. This description was confirmed by several fishermen who recognized in a sketch a creature they had previously spotted.
One might wonder why "sea serpents or monsters," if they really exist, are so little known. Perhaps, in part, it’s due to progress: it’s possible that these creatures now prefer to avoid heavily trafficked sea routes.
Some have passionately studied these "sea monsters." Bernard Heuvelmans, a Belgian zoologist specializing in the search for extinct animals, published a work ("Dans le sillage des serpents de mer") that is the most comprehensive and detailed on this subject. The author claims to have collected nearly six hundred accounts covering a wide period (1639-1964): about sixty of these are clearly fake, and an equal number refer to known animals mistakenly identified as monsters. Around 120 cases are dismissed due to a lack of detail or descriptions deemed too dubious or embellished with incredible details. However, approximately 350 of the most fascinating cases remain.
After carefully studying them, Heuvelmans classifies them into nine different types: from the traditional "sea serpent" with a long neck and cigar-shaped body (the most commonly observed) to the giant crocodile, between 15 and 20 meters long, sighted only in tropical waters. For the other types, the author uses purely descriptive and imaginative terms, like "sea horses," "creatures with multiple humps," "giant seals," or "yellow-bellies." None of these names relate to scientific classifications. One group is even called "ambiguous periscopes" and includes some creatures comparable to giant eels (or "long-necked animals"). The so-called "giant eel" appears to have its natural habitat in deep-sea trenches, surfacing only shortly before dying. The "sea lizard" (another term for the giant crocodile) might be an animal that survived from the Jurassic period, while the "yellow-bellies" could simply be giant fish or specific types of sharks.
The researcher also notes that, since the beginning of the century, most sightings have involved "long-necked" sea monsters. According to him, this may indicate that their numbers are increasing.
Humanity is far from having explored the depths of all the seas: every new expedition discovers some new fish, perhaps thought to have been extinct for thousands of years. This was the case with the coelacanth, a fish believed to be extinct for 70 million years, which was instead found in the nets of some South African fishermen off the coast of Madagascar.
It is therefore possible that, if these creatures truly exist, someone might eventually capture valid images of them or explain the mystery behind certain sightings that currently seem fantastic.
No fossil remains of prehistoric marine animals have ever been found on the ocean floor, as the seabed conceals everything that settles on it. Thus, we cannot know (except in rare cases) which creatures populated the prehistoric seas, how they evolved, or if they have survived.
Certainly, the ocean depths could provide many answers to these questions, but unfortunately, they remain, and will always remain, inaccessible.
