Plesiosaurs have been extinct for 70 million years, a dinosaur that ruled the seas during the Mesozoic period. But are they truly extinct? There are many creatures that survived the Great Extinction, many creatures like the crocodile and the shark. There are creatures once thought to be extinct that have now been found to be quite alive. And there are tales of giant "Sea Monsters", like the Kraken, now thought to be accounts of a quite natural albeit elusive creatures known as Giant Squid. Indeed, the term sea monster conjures up images that seem to be better suited to those of fantasy. But are creatures like Nessie, The Loch Ness Monster and Champ truly just the imaginings of unreliable witnesses. The reports of these creatures range from Siberia to California. The skeptics are quick to point out that there is no evidence to support the existense of these animals, and that the lakes or Lochs that they are said to inhabit do not contain enough food to support a single one of them, nevermind a viable breeding colony.
Yet, as I pointed out in my overview of the alien section, is it not possible that these are creatures that spend their lives in the deep oceans of the world, migrating to these lakes via deep underground rivers to perhaps spawn or raise their young? The idea does not seem so far-fetched to me. Not when you consider the eye witness testimony of thousands of reliable people down through the years. Indeed, there is enough such testimony to have the phenomenom proven in any court. So why is the scientific community so unwilling to give this subject the attention it deserves?
Because to do so is to invite scorn. To consider it is to sign your own professional seal of doom.
This is for many reasons, yet there is an undeniable mass psyche at work here, one that favors the debunkers and closes all future doors on the debate. There is an unwritten rule that "Scientific mind means I am right no matter how crazy I might sound". It is sciences highest achievement, and yet it's greatest short coming. I have heard a little saying that I really enjoy: Absence of proof is not proof of absence. Truly this is an accurate statement. As I have stated, it seems as if an almost conspiratorial state exists that seeks to crush any type of suggestion that seeks to challenge accepted standard belief. It is a shame that more wealthy people do not spend more time exploring these other possibilities, as it is impossible to get any kind of governmental or educational institution to give grants in these fields. But that is another story....
There are stories of Plesiosaur like creatures from all over the world. And there are two factors that are present in nearly every case, except for one or two instances where these creatures have been seen on land. All sigtings have taken place either out at sea, or in lakes that are extremely deep. This fact supports the idea that these creatures are perhaps deep ocean dwellers that travel to lakes via underground rivers to perhaps spawn. As this whole matter is highly speculative, there is no way to know if they can breath underwater as fish do, or if they need to surface for oxygen. One of my favorite pieces of the puzzle happened in 1977.
On April 25, 1977 the Japanese fishing vessel Zuiyo Maru hauled the huge carcass you see to the left aboard as it trawled for Mackerel off of the coast of New Zealand. The corpse was netted at a depth of 900 feet. It weighed about 4,000 pounds, measured 32 feet in length and was observed by 18 crewmen. Despite its decomposition it was seen to have a long neck, a long tail, four fins and a well developed spine. The carcass had tissue samples snipped, was weighed measured and tossed overboard. Unfortunately dna testing was not available back in those days, or the debate over the existence of plesiosaurs would well be over.
I have researched this incident quite a bit, as I am very sure that when those fishermen threw the carcass off of their boat, they were throwing away the proof of a lifetime. I am sure that whatever losses they may have endured from the loss of space in their ice box would have been more than made up for by what would have been paid for the right to examine this creature.
On many web sites I have come across, the creature has been in their view completely debunked. The claim that the creature is a Basking Shark, with its head eaten and its tail, except for the remaining fragments that just happen coincidentally to look like a plesiosaur's head and tail is spoken about matter of factly. They even claim to see the fish's dorsal fin, as further proof of their skeptism. I however, do not see a dorsal fin on the creature. Again I am as mystified by the amount of effort that some people will go into in order to explain away a mystery as I am by people who make ludicrous claims.
Why is not for me to answer, instead for myself I try and tread as close to the center as possible, keeping an open mind, but not letting my brains fall out. I almost can see the parrallels between a religous zealot and these peoples atheism. It is so extreme that it leaves no room for open debate. People have a very hard time accepting that they may be wrong, or that there may be some magic in life, sadly enough for them.
In my view, the authenticity of the claims of this creatures indentification lie in these photographs, as well as with the fishermen who recognized that this was no usual animal that they had caught in their nets. To the left is a shot of the creature as it lie on the deck, and as an impulse I decided to enlarge a section of this photo. To me, this is all the proof I need that this was not a Basking Shark, or any kind of identifiable creature. But I will let the pictures speak for themselves. So the next time you hear of someone sighting a Nessie or a Champ or a Sea Monster, do not be so quick to scoff, because we truly dont know anything about what lies beneath the surface of this planet...
