Water Cryptid Discussion

I was predominantly in the mammal camp for a long time. The surfacing for air didn’t bother me so much because many marine animals, especially things like crocs and turtles barely have to expose anything more than their nostrils to breathe, which could easily be missed by those on shore.

I ruled out reptiles until I ran across an article that talked about finding the presence of plesiosaurs in the antarctic–suggesting that they were capable of surviving in cold water climates. I haven’t turned up anymore on this front, but as we’ve come to accept the idea that land dinosaurs had much in common in with birds, perhaps long necked water dinos adapted in ways to mimic mammal abilities to survive in cold water climates.

In recent times I have begun to back away from the mammalian theory. As I said, I was a staunch supporter of it being a long necked seal type animal (in loch ness, there have been sightings where witnesses described hair on the animal they saw). However, I had an epiphany while at a zoo watching sea lions and otters. It struck me that both, as well as lions spend a fair amount of time at the surface in play and just plain ole swimming or getting from point A to B, and having observed sea lions off California, I realized that even though they would only have to extend their noses to breathe, their instinct is to stick to the surface. The only reason I’d consider for them staying hidden would be if that if they were under threat on a constant basis which has never been the case at Ness or any other loch / lake I’ve read about. Simply, mammal behavior throws it way down on the totem pole for culprits in the long necked lake critter.

However, I’ve recently come to wonder if what we’re dealing with is some sort of amphibian. Amphibians share a lot of characteristics with land and water critters. And having observed frogs, they don’t have to extend much above the water to breathe either. And with the land accounts of Ness, an amphibian could certainly come ashore. True, amphibians tend to hibernate in cold weather, so that’s a strike against it, but in dealing with some 20- + foot critter with a long neck that eludes common sightings, perhaps there are more pieces to the puzzle before we get an answer 🙂

It is a case of where most of the animal types have some of the characteristics necessary to fit the bill, but each of them also has something in its make up that keeps it from fitting the bill entirely. So, my contention is that obviously there’s something more at work in the adaptation department (unless you want to get into the supernatural realm…which I don’t 🙂 ), that we haven’t seen or taken into account.

I do know that there are enough reports around the world and consistently to make me believe there are unknown critters in the waters, of size and not presently represented by science. I remember Arthur C. Clarke saying that he was doubtful of lake monsters, but thought there was a much greater possibility of something similar in the oceans. I tend to believe him, but think it’s also possible that some of those unknown critters may well have made their way into lochs and lakes and built a population there.