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"Hardly any wetland bird is more easily identified than the Roseate Spoonbill"
This article contains information relating to a former cryptid. Former cryptids are either cryptids proven to exist, or those that are no longer considered cryptids. |
The Sakhalin Island Sea Wolf is a name given to a mysterious animal carcass that was photographed sometime prior to August 16, 2006 (the exact date the photos were taken is unknown). The carcass was found on a beach along the Strait of Tartary on the Siberian island of Sakhalin, reportedly first found by local fishermen and later assessed by Vladimir Bedzhísov, director of the Culture Department of Sakhalin. Photos of the carcass sparked interest online due to its plesiosaur-like appearance.
The story was first brought to the attention of cryptozoologists through a post made on Aug 16, 2006 on Argentinian science fiction website Axxon[1]. This report was later translated to English and posted on American cryptozoology website Cryptomundo on Aug 17[2]. On Aug 28, news site English Russia would post an article about the animal including pictures[3]. These pictures were then reposted in another article by Cryptomundo that same day[4]. All articles tell a similar story of a strange creature being discovered by either fishermen or soldiers, but some details differ between the sources.
Sighting[]
Fishermen on the island of Sakhalin, in the far east of Russia, have found the remains of a huge, unknown marine animal, said Vladimir Bedzhísov, director of the Culture Department of the Sakhalin region. "One of the fishermen tried to identify the find with the help of an encyclopedia and, to his surprise, discovered that the animal resembles a plesiosaur (a prehistoric marine reptile)," said Bedzhísov in statements to the Interfax agency. The animal, according to the testimony of the fishermen, is about seven meters long, its skin is dark gray and is covered with hair about 5 centimeters long. The tail of the marine "monster", found on one of the banks of the Tatarsky Strait, is one meter long by 40 centimeters wide. Bedzhísov announced that today a specialist from the museum of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, the capital of Sakhalin, will travel to the site of the discovery. Contributed by Eduardo J. Carletti.
- The earliest copy of the story as shared on Axxom, translated from Spanish
The date of the original sighting is unclear, with the earliest report on the animal coming from August 16, 2006. Sahkalin is a Siberian island and a Russian-owned territory located in the sea north of Japan and west of Alaska. The exact location of the sighting is unknown.
It was often reported by later sources that the creature was found by Russian soldiers, not fishermen. However, there is no concrete evidence that the witnesses in the photos are military personnel or that they were the initial discoverers.
Speculation[]
The bizarre appearance of the carcass lead many people to speculate wildly about the possible identity of the animal. Early comments on the English Russia article and Cryptomundo posts make various suggestions such as dinosaur, crocodile, plesiosaur, killer whale, basking shark and horse. As with the Zuiyo-Maru carcass, many people were eager to jump on the sensationalist assumption that the carcass belonged to a late-surviving plesiosaur or mosasaur. Some initial sources claim that the photos were taken not long before the carcass was removed by either the Russian military or scientists.
The most commonly accepted identity for the Sea Wolf is that the carcass was that of a beluga whale, a suggestion made by many not long after the photos were publicized in 2006[5]. Evidence in favor of this includes the fact that the overall skeleton structure matches that of a beluga, as well as the skull structure. The shaggy “hair” on the animal is decomposed blubber and soft tissue – this kind of decomposition is seen in many other beached carcasses. The Sakhalin carcass may have been decomposing at sea for some time before washing up. This would explain the advanced state of decomposition as well as the lack of fins and tail flukes found near the carcass, as these extremities likely rotted away before the carcass was beached.
In pop culture[]
The carcass was the inspiration for SCP-682, an entry to the SCP Foundation written in 2008. One of the carcass photos was used in an older version of the article before the website removed images whose usage was not cleared, but the anomaly's description still matches the appearance of the carcass. SCP-682 is an antagonist in the video game Containment Breach.
This carcass is also depicted in The Art of Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
Gallery[]
External links[]
Additional sources not linked in the main article
- Prima Media - Морское чудовище, найденное сахалинскими рыбаками, оказалось обычной касаткой - Aug 18, 2006
- TopNews.ru - На Сахалине нашли плезиозавра - Aug 28, 2006
- Mysterious Universe - Russian Sea Monster Possibly Identified After Eight Years
References[]
- ↑ Axxon.com.ar "Pescadores rusos hallan restos de un enorme animal marino desconocido". August 16, 2006
- ↑ Cryptomundo.com "Russian Fisherman Haul Up Dead Plesiosaur?" August 17, 2006
- ↑ English Russia "Unknown creature was found by soldiers" August 28, 2006
- ↑ Cryptomundo.com "Photos of Russian Plesiosaur" August 28, 2006
- ↑ Glen J. Kuban "A Russian Plesiosaur?" 2006