Thames River Monster? What Was The Creature In The Water? [Video]
A bizarre video surfaced last week on YouTube that purportedly shows something strange in the Thames River. Could it be the Thames River monster? Laypersons and biologists alike are stumped as to what the mysterious creature in the video could be. Earth Mystery News reports that it could be anything from an “alien creature” to a Russian submarine to something as mundane as a wayward whale, as the Thames River connects to the ocean and has a history of being a temporary home to lost sea creatures.
Take a look at the video that’s inspired so much controversy and debate.
David Aragorn, the editor of Earth Mystery News, seems to think that the most likely explanation for the Thames River monster is a wayward Russian sub, saying that the object in question seems to be much larger than it appears on the surface.
“The objects shadow below the water is very long and gives me the impression of being much longer than we see on the surface.”
Other experts, however, aren’t so sure, and a general consensus regarding what the Thames River monster actually is or might be hasn’t been reached. As the Evening Standard reports, wildlife experts are “stumped” by the video showing the Thames River monster, saying that they have no answer as to what the strange creature lurking in the Thames river could be.
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The video was reportedly shot from an Emirates Air Line cable car, and the footage taken next to The O2 shows what appears to be a huge creature or object with two humps coming up out of the water (maybe for air?) and then submerging itself quickly back beneath the surface of the Thames. Online, most think that the Thames River monster is most likely a whale or a sub, but no one seems to know for sure.
Some are speculating that the Thames River monster could be a southern cousin of the legendary Nessie (Loch Ness monster) or perhaps Nessie herself on vacation.
Even experts from the London Wildlife Trust have weighed in on the Thames River monster mystery. Ian Tokelove told the Standard that biologists are “not aware” of “anything that large and moving” that should be in and about the Thames river.
“We had a good look at the footage but it isn’t clear enough to make out what we are looking at.”
Tokelove, despite not knowing what the Thames River monster might be, is using the video and the attention the footage has garnered as an opportunity to boost Thames River tourism. He encouraged the curious to go check out the river, boasting that it’s home to over 100 species of fish and that seals “are not uncommon.”
The senior curator at the Sea Life London Aquarium, Jamie Oliver, told the media that “given the size” of the Thames River monster in the video, he has “no idea what that could be if it is an animal.”
Biology experts at the Marine Conservation Society and Natural History Museum have chosen not to issue comments on the Thames River monster video, given that the footage was so grainy and hard to decipher.
Despite the bizarre speculation surrounding the footage of the Thames River monster, in all likelihood, there is a very down-to-earth and logical explanation for the odd video. The Standard reported in 2015 that in the last decade, over 2,000 seals and hundreds of dolphins and porpoises have been seen in the Thames River. Seals have been seen in the Thames as far upstream as Hampton Court, and both porpoises and seals have been seen in south-west London at Teddington Lock.
If you want to check out the wildlife of the Thames Rivers, Canary Wharf is reportedly the best vantage point to spot large marine life due to its high elevation.
What do you think? What is the Thames River monster? Could it be a less-than-incognito Russian submarine? Is it a relative of the infamous Loch Ness monster? Could it be a lost whale? Will we ever know? Let us know your theories about the Thames River monster in the comments below.
[Photo by Chris Ratcliffe/Getty Images]
