blessmycottonsocks
Antediluvian
- Joined
- Dec 22, 2014
- Messages
- 9,491
- Location
- Wessex and Mercia
Just what did wash up on Porthleven beach (Cornwall) in 1786?
After a huge overnight storm, two boys were exploring the coastline to see if anything of interest had been washed ashore.
They spotted what, at first glance, appeared to be an overturned boat but, when they approached, it showed signs of life.
Men from the village were called and they eventually hacked the creature to death.
Some detailed measurements and descriptions were taken though:
Total length 48ft.
Girth around the widest part of the torso, 24ft.
It possessed a navel.
Vaguely human-looking face, with green eyes and a flat nose.
Two short fore-limbs, the ends of which resembled "monkeys' paws".
Spread hind limbs (or some sort of tail-fluke) measuring 7 feet in width.
On reading the description, my initial thoughts were some sort of Elephant Seal, but the largest ever described only reached 23 feet.
Could this creature have been a Steller's Sea Cow, which may have exceeded 9 metres (30 feet), but which was thought to have been hunted to extinction decades prior to this incident?
https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/plymouth-news/day-sea-monster-half-mermaid-4302932
After a huge overnight storm, two boys were exploring the coastline to see if anything of interest had been washed ashore.
They spotted what, at first glance, appeared to be an overturned boat but, when they approached, it showed signs of life.
Men from the village were called and they eventually hacked the creature to death.
Some detailed measurements and descriptions were taken though:
Total length 48ft.
Girth around the widest part of the torso, 24ft.
It possessed a navel.
Vaguely human-looking face, with green eyes and a flat nose.
Two short fore-limbs, the ends of which resembled "monkeys' paws".
Spread hind limbs (or some sort of tail-fluke) measuring 7 feet in width.
On reading the description, my initial thoughts were some sort of Elephant Seal, but the largest ever described only reached 23 feet.
Could this creature have been a Steller's Sea Cow, which may have exceeded 9 metres (30 feet), but which was thought to have been hunted to extinction decades prior to this incident?
https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/plymouth-news/day-sea-monster-half-mermaid-4302932