2005-04-15

Moby Dick?



It is likely that a sea monster spotted off the coast of Greenland in the 18th century was not Sigmund or any other monster. Rather, it was most likely an excited whale.

Researchers at St Andrews University examined four accounts of the "most dreadful" serpent-like monster - sighted in 1734 - and tried to link it with known animals in the North Atlantic. The team of experts believe the seafarers actually spotted one of the last remaining Atlantic grey whales - and caught it in an excited state.

Research chief Charles Paxton said: "We think they saw a whale which was for some reason feeling very happy. It reared out of the water, fell on to its back and they saw this thing that they assumed was a tail." But he added: "You wouldn’t expect to see a whale in this state on his own."


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Awwww, you just brought back alot of memories for me with this pic...It is sooo cute.

Jen Jordan said...

I take it you're referring to Sigmund.