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Horse Eels

Xanatic*

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It's only recently that I heard about this cryptid. I wanted to hear people's thoughts on the plausibility of this. As I understand, eels have special bones that means not much is left behind. So I guess we won't find any skulls laying around.
 
I'm a big fan myself. The notion of a very large fresh water eel does have some credibility to my mind. We know little about most of the family, a decent population of whacking great 'anguilla equus' might easily exist in remote marshy areas.

You hardly ever see eels in lakes (unless you hook them). I've been fishing for almost 40 years and barring a few I've seen in clear streams have only once seen an eel in a lake. If behaviour was similar, I'd think it likely there could be a a fair few 'anguilla equus' about in some places and we'd hardly ever notice them.
 
A Page About Horse Eels Here.

Many stories about these amphibious things haunting the margins of Irish lakes places them in a supernatural category - they were feared for their predation on cattle and humans, which rules out membership of the eel family entirely, I think.

Thomas Crofton Croker, mentioned as a main authority on that page, was known for spinning out his yarns but the horse eel's misty domains have encouraged many later accounts.

This thread refers to the "horse leech" - another name for the thing.

The link to a Blather article no longer works as the article, which I vaguely remember, is no longer on that site.

edit 3.50 pm: An article on the 1954 sighting of a horse-eel at Lough Fadda.


edit 2, 3.53 pm: The 1998 article by Daev Walsh of Blather has been located! :)

edit 3, 4.04 pm: Horse Eels depicted in Grattan Bridge Sculptures?
 
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A giant eel or 25-30 feet would be a formidable predator, easily capable of killing horses , cattle or men.
 
I guess it might tie into kelpies, weren't they usually described as horse-like?
 
A giant eel or 25-30 feet would be a formidable predator, easily capable of killing horses , cattle or men.
I doubt they're that big. I think it more likely they're conger eel sized, 40-50lb, perhaps occasionally 100lb.

Still formidable and eels are quite fearless. I don't doubt a 50lb eel would take a bite out of anything, horse face or leg, but I doubt one would be able to pull in a horse.
 
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There is a book called A Life on the Boyne that talks about two eels 10 and 12 feet long that died after eating poison in an Irish lake. They were supposedly photographed on the steps of a big house in the area.
 
There is a book called A Life on the Boyne that talks about two eels 10 and 12 feet long that died after eating poison in an Irish lake. They were supposedly photographed on the steps of a big house in the area.
That sounds like the kind of thing.

A 3m conger can be 200lb. If that photo existed it would be very interesting indeed.
 
There is a book called A Life on the Boyne that talks about two eels 10 and 12 feet long that died after eating poison in an Irish lake. They were supposedly photographed on the steps of a big house in the area.

Just a note ...

The title of the book is A Life By The Boyne, authored by a Jim Reynolds (Zircon Publishing Ltd., 1989). I've also seen it listed once with a 1984 publication date.
 
It's only recently that I heard about this cryptid. I wanted to hear people's thoughts on the plausibility of this. As I understand, eels have special bones that means not much is left behind. So I guess we won't find any skulls laying around.
It might be connected with the Cumbrian Dregpike, which also has a horse's mane and hind legs on the body and head of a giant pike. Something that can swim as well as steady itself on a lake or river bed seems at least evolutionarily plausible...
 
Have Horse Eels been recently named a Cryptid? I have never known of them until just now reading the above posts. In Loren Coleman's book Cryptozoology A-Z, the horse eels didn't make the cryptid list. In my studies, we only discuss the cryptids we are most familiar with. I will definitely look into the horse eels!
No sir. Been around as long as anyone can remember, but they get a bad name in Nessie's wake you see. You can find quite a bit on a Google search, and within a book or two. The fascinating part for me is that we're told these things can be found in tiny lakes no bigger than an ice skating pond (on occasion). The first part of The Dragon and the Disc (burn the book when you reach the second half) is a classic one that details one team's search for answers along with a handful of tales from centuries past. Gary Cunningham and Rob Cornes have put together several other books that belong on any self-respecting fortean's bookshelf. If that doesn't scratch the itch you'll just have to make your way over to the bogs of Connemara.
 
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Have Horse Eels been recently named a Cryptid? I have never known of them until just now reading the above posts. In Loren Coleman's book Cryptozoology A-Z, the horse eels didn't make the cryptid list. In my studies, we only discuss the cryptids we are most familiar with. I will definitely look into the horse eels!

Water horses of various types are a Folkloric motif, horse eels seem extremely unlikely to exist in my opinion. The assorted monsters seen in Irish Loughs, some of which are "horse-like" in some ways are probably supernatural or hallucinatory, the Loughs are tiny and in populated areas and quite frankly the creatures seen do not seem at all realistic.
 
"Horse" in a creature's name doesn't necessarily imply a resemblance to a horse. For example, there is a bivalve mollusc called the "horse mussel" which is a mussel, but larger than the non-horse type. It's similar to a double bass being called a "bull fiddle" because of its size, rather than any resemblance to a bull.

of course, once a creature is known as the "horse eel", it would be a small step for people to imagine it with a mane. A dorsal fin, a little further forwards, and with a raggedy edge would resemble a mane. Some known species of fish (e.g. the tompot blenny) have a sort of crest on top of their head.

In the normal course of events, it would be surprising if other equine features were not gradually added to make a better story.

Could there be "giant" eels in freshwater lakes? Possibly. Eels are bottom dwelling fish, quite secretive, and seldom seen. As a former scuba diver, I did many dives in fresh water and many in the sea. I saw a lot of congers and some morays in the sea but they were always lurking in crevices. I only once saw a freshwater eel when I was diving. I also once had a good sighting of one when I was standing on a bridge over our local shallow river. Point is, the eel is common, but seldom seen.

The question then becomes, "what is giant?" The largest freshwater eel caught in the UK was around a metre long. On this basis, 1.5 metres would be "giant" but would not be big enough to provide a factual basis for a monster legend. We know that some species of fish keep growing if the food supply allows it. If an eel grew to, say, 3 metres, it would probably be capable of snapping an angler's line and might therefore never be caught.
 
"Horse" in a creature's name doesn't necessarily imply a resemblance to a horse. For example, there is a bivalve mollusc called the "horse mussel" which is a mussel, but larger than the non-horse type. It's similar to a double bass being called a "bull fiddle" because of its size, rather than any resemblance to a bull.

of course, once a creature is known as the "horse eel", it would be a small step for people to imagine it with a mane. A dorsal fin, a little further forwards, and with a raggedy edge would resemble a mane. Some known species of fish (e.g. the tompot blenny) have a sort of crest on top of their head.

In the normal course of events, it would be surprising if other equine features were not gradually added to make a better story.

Could there be "giant" eels in freshwater lakes? Possibly. Eels are bottom dwelling fish, quite secretive, and seldom seen. As a former scuba diver, I did many dives in fresh water and many in the sea. I saw a lot of congers and some morays in the sea but they were always lurking in crevices. I only once saw a freshwater eel when I was diving. I also once had a good sighting of one when I was standing on a bridge over our local shallow river. Point is, the eel is common, but seldom seen.

The question then becomes, "what is giant?" The largest freshwater eel caught in the UK was around a metre long. On this basis, 1.5 metres would be "giant" but would not be big enough to provide a factual basis for a monster legend. We know that some species of fish keep growing if the food supply allows it. If an eel grew to, say, 3 metres, it would probably be capable of snapping an angler's line and might therefore never be caught.

I've read reports of 6ft eels being seen by divers in Loch Ness and 8ft in Lake Windermere.

I recall seeing a picture in the book "Creatures from Elsewhere" of a giant eel with a horse-like head and possibly small horns. I forget any other info I'm afraid, I think it was on the same page as the Irish Lough Monster sightings. There was also the snakey one with the teeth that scared those two ladies, a "dragon headed" creature and "hippo with a horn". Great pictures if nothing else!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Creatures-Elsewhere-Animals-Explain-Unexplained/dp/0856138770
 
I've read reports of 6ft eels being seen by divers in Loch Ness and 8ft in Lake Windermere.
I've heard all sorts of reports from divers — I used to be one. Most are no better at providing accurate details of depth wave height, wind speed, the size of fish, etc. than motorcyclists (I am one) are at providing a realistic assessment of their speed, or Morris dancers (I am one) at assessing how high they used to be able to jump when they were younger.

Visibility underwater is often limited to a metre or two. If there is surface run off from rain then it can be worse. Also, things under water appear magnified due to refraction caused by the difference between the refractive indices of the water, the glass of the diver's mask, and the air space within the mask. It's related to that phenomenon when you poke a stick into the river and the stick appears to be bent.

In the dark and cold, with poor visibility, using only the light of a torch, and catching a fleeting glimpse of an eel, I would not want to give an estimate of the length under oath. Divers very seldom see eels out in the open.
 
I've heard all sorts of reports from divers — I used to be one. Most are no better at providing accurate details of depth wave height, wind speed, the size of fish, etc. than motorcyclists (I am one) are at providing a realistic assessment of their speed, or Morris dancers (I am one) at assessing how high they used to be able to jump when they were younger.

Visibility underwater is often limited to a metre or two. If there is surface run off from rain then it can be worse. Also, things under water appear magnified due to refraction caused by the difference between the refractive indices of the water, the glass of the diver's mask, and the air space within the mask. It's related to that phenomenon when you poke a stick into the river and the stick appears to be bent.

In the dark and cold, with poor visibility, using only the light of a torch, and catching a fleeting glimpse of an eel, I would not want to give an estimate of the length under oath. Divers very seldom see eels out in the open.

I assumed that at least some of these are "the one that got away" type stories. I assumed there'd be issues with visibility under water too, you've clearly elucidated some or all of the variables.

Maybe some divers have seen the occasional large eel though?
 
I assumed that at least some of these are "the one that got away" type stories. I assumed there'd be issues with visibility under water too, you've clearly elucidated some or all of the variables.

Maybe some divers have seen the occasional large eel though?

Eels may seem a good candidate for the factual basis of monster reports. They are long and flexible "like a plesiosaur's neck" and they are also capable of wriggling across damp ground or through long damp grass. Keep adding a bit to the length on each iteration of the story to allow for wishful thinking, and they can become huge!

Also, there are various true or nearly true stories about congers, morays, and electric eels that present "eels in general" as quite formidable.

However, eels undulate from side to side, rather than up and down, and are bottom feeders which makes them unlikely to stick their heads and necks out of the water. Most eels spend most of the day concealed in crevices and hunt at night.

Until there is a clear photo of a fresh water eel substantially longer than a metre, I'm going with that being more or less their maximum length. It's a small jump to imagine one 10% bigger, but I'd need more to go on before I accepted that there "may be" undiscovered eels 3 times as big.

I posted this story elsewhere in the forum, related to Windermere. I do not wish to add further comment to it, but I think it is a fun read.
 
Eels may seem a good candidate for the factual basis of monster reports. They are long and flexible "like a plesiosaur's neck" and they are also capable of wriggling across damp ground or through long damp grass. Keep adding a bit to the length on each iteration of the story to allow for wishful thinking, and they can become huge!

Also, there are various true or nearly true stories about congers, morays, and electric eels that present "eels in general" as quite formidable.

However, eels undulate from side to side, rather than up and down, and are bottom feeders which makes them unlikely to stick their heads and necks out of the water. Most eels spend most of the day concealed in crevices and hunt at night.

Until there is a clear photo of a fresh water eel substantially longer than a metre, I'm going with that being more or less their maximum length. It's a small jump to imagine one 10% bigger, but I'd need more to go on before I accepted that there "may be" undiscovered eels 3 times as big.

I posted this story elsewhere in the forum, related to Windermere. I do not wish to add further comment to it, but I think it is a fun read.

I am aware of the horizontal undulation of eels, who move like other fish and also like reptiles. Whatever people are seeing in lakes, rivers or the sea that undulates vertically and/or raises a head and/or neck above the water, it's not a fish. In fact I'd warrant that other than in the cases of mistaken identity - debris, waves, deer etc. there's nothing physical there at all.

My point was maybe sometimes eels get bigger generally accepted and that might be the only realistic explanation for an unusual animal in a freshwater body. However, even three times bigger wouldn't account for most classic Nessie type sightings. And three or even two times bigger sounds like a stretch, pun intended.
 
I am aware of the horizontal undulation of eels, who move like other fish and also like reptiles. Whatever people are seeing in lakes, rivers or the sea that undulates vertically and/or raises a head and/or neck above the water, it's not a fish. In fact I'd warrant that other than in the cases of mistaken identity - debris, waves, deer etc. there's nothing physical there at all.

My point was maybe sometimes eels get bigger generally accepted and that might be the only realistic explanation for an unusual animal in a freshwater body. However, even three times bigger wouldn't account for most classic Nessie type sightings. And three or even two times bigger sounds like a stretch, pun intended.
When you take the hundreds and hundreds of lake monster sightings into account, and dump the ones that might conceivably be something mundane, you're still left with some dozens by credible witnesses that you can't explain away. It's a head scratcher.
 
I'm sure you've all seen Jonathan Bright's Loch Ness photo from 2013, showing what could be one of those 'water horses':


1650312354523.png


Very strange photo. On zooming in one can see two eyes, two 'horns' or ears, nostrils, a hairy ridge at the back of the head, even an open mouth with water pouring out.
If it's just a wave it's a very odd one.
 
When you take the hundreds and hundreds of lake monster sightings into account, and dump the ones that might conceivably be something mundane, you're still left with some dozens by credible witnesses that you can't explain away. It's a head scratcher.

I suspect that those are mostly not real in a physical sense, either something supernatural for lack of a better word or something more akin to hallucinations;actually, maybe the supernatural is usually something akin to a hallucination. Imagery or sounds generated in the brain and/or mind but having no reality outside it.
 
I do love a horse-eel.

These (allegedly) pop up from time to time, particularly in Connemara in Ireland. Taking a Bayesian slant*, consider the eel is literally…some kind of eel. Could such a large eel exist at all? The New Zealand Long Fin is definitely recorded at 24kg/1.75m or in proper money, 50lb and 5’9”. There are credible and (quite terrifying) reports of these eels reaching more like 48kg and being well over 6’ long.

So, ‘tick’, such a creature could reasonably exist.

Also, the most persistent reports of such are from Connemara – a chunk of Ireland stuck well out into the Atlantic, a first landfall for the gulf stream (together with its northern extension the North Atlantic Drift) and has a natural isolation due to Lough Mask and Lough Corrib, as well as a landscape covered with small loughs and boggy areas. It’s interesting that Scottish tales center on north west, where the same stream lands and then curls over and around Sutherland rendering Inverness quite blamy, with the same average rainfall as London. It’s worth nothing that of the two most widely publisised Loch creatures, one is Loch Ness and the other is Loch Morar, the latter literally on the west coast, a scant half a mile by the linear covid, barely further by the River Morar and is 1,000 feet deep in places. Then there is fascinating Loch Maree, north-western side, short river to the sea.

If I ever find myself with my health and a year on my hands, I might be tempted to get some stout rods, some wires traces and a few calf livers and head for the Western Isles or Connemara.

* I consider the odds of any person actually genuinely seeing 'some cryptid' are mostly driven by the odds of the said cryptid even existing, and in most cases that is a very very small chance indeed.
 
I'm sure you've all seen Jonathan Bright's Loch Ness photo from 2013, showing what could be one of those 'water horses':


View attachment 54492

Very strange photo. On zooming in one can see two eyes, two 'horns' or ears, nostrils, a hairy ridge at the back of the head, even an open mouth with water pouring out.
If it's just a wave it's a very odd one.

Pareidolia. To me it really just looks like a wave. More specifically : the kind of wave produced at the back of an advancing boat (on the boat's trail). You can guess the turbulences on the left side of the picture, with a succession of three waves from left to right, the third being the large one. It's size and shape is most likely the result of the conflict between the lake's waves and the boat's waves. Nothing special about it. I've seen plenty of similar waves in my life and unfortunately, no water horses.

Local legends about "each uiske" (or in the Mediterranean, about the weird association between the sea god Poseidon and horses) are far more compealing than this kind of picture. Why are there so many tales associating horses with the sea ? That's something I would really like to know.
 
Pareidolia. To me it really just looks like a wave. More specifically : the kind of wave produced at the back of an advancing boat (on the boat's trail). You can guess the turbulences on the left side of the picture, with a succession of three waves from left to right, the third being the large one. It's size and shape is most likely the result of the conflict between the lake's waves and the boat's waves. Nothing special about it. I've seen plenty of similar waves in my life and unfortunately, no water horses.

Local legends about "each uiske" (or in the Mediterranean, about the weird association between the sea god Poseidon and horses) are far more compealing than this kind of picture. Why are there so many tales associating horses with the sea ? That's something I would really like to know.
Sea horses? Sorry not being facetious but they have a wide distribution and could having a fish that looks like a horse form a basis for an association?
 
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