Comments on: That “Cryptid Mammal Reptile” Footage

By: Loren Coleman

Loren Coleman — Sun, 03 May 2009 01:13:47 +0000

“It’s still a great find of a seal that shouldn’t be there! There aren’t any warm-water dwelling seals native to Florida anymore–went extinct.”

That statement makes the assumption that any filmmaker’s reported location of footage is as stated (in this case allegedly Florida). But one has to be careful, for nothing assures any of us that what we are seeing was actually filmed where it is said to have been recorded.

By: aclockworkorange

aclockworkorange — Sun, 03 May 2009 00:49:17 +0000

To the seal/manatee hybrid theory:

Impossible. Seals and manatees may appear superficially similar, but they are not closely related by any means.

Manatees, believe it or not, are actually more closely related to elephants. And their skull structures are completely different–seals are carnivores with more forward facing eyes and predatory teeth and manatees are herbivores, with eyes further to the sides of their head and lots of molars–like cows.

As far as a mix of footage of a seal and a manatee? It’s still a great find of a seal that shouldn’t be there! There aren’t any warm-water dwelling seals native to Florida anymore–went extinct.

So at the very least, by the seal theory, we have an out of place seal, perhaps an “extinct” seal, and at most a completely new species.
Personally? I don’t know. That three-pronged tail seemed way too thin and graceful and perfectly symetrical to be an injured manatee. And out of the 2000 injured manatees the Florida fish and game dep. has photo-documented, none came close to matching that tail.

By: Dr. Strings

Dr. Strings — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 13:49:49 +0000

It was definitely a combination of seals/manatee/dugong or some other similar seal-type mammal. The problem is that people see something that is mundane (like this guy that shot the footage), and then shape it to fit their idea of a cryptid. His drawing that he had done based off his own description simply looked like a manatee with a monstered-up head and face. That’s the letdown; somebody sees something mysterious that usually has a perfectly logical explanation, and then turn it into something it’s not and challenge everyone to disprove it. It’s also a giant red flag when somebody claims to have conclusive proof (i.e. the San Fran Sea Serpent videos) yet won’t offer it up or tries to charge any interested parties money. It’s usually a big hype-up in an effort to generate cash before the so-called proof is debunked.

By: Dj Plasmic Nebula

Dj Plasmic Nebula — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 09:04:25 +0000

Manatee/Seal

Seatee

By: skyninja

skyninja — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 08:03:31 +0000

I’m surprised that there is little to no discussion of the behavior of the creature when trying to discover the identity. People only reference appearance, which seems silly in this case, since we can never really see the thing.
I’m no expert on manatee behavior, but my understanding was that manatees are typically very docile and lethargic. I looked up some videos of manatees, just to make sure. Sure enough, there they were, just bobbin’ around. I’m sure they are capable of the thrashing about and carrying on that’s seen in this video, but if we were seeing a pod of manatees, I would think there would be much more footage if them behaving as manatees behave on a regular basis.

On the other hand, there’s strong evidence that this isn’t anything special. It seems to me (though I may be wrong), that any group of scientists dedicated to the discovery of unknown creatures were shown compelling footage of a new animal, led to its “lair,” and then found the creature on sonar, they would probably stick around for another week (or whatever it took) to get the job done. They didn’t, either because MQ is on a tight budget and schedule, or because they actually solved the mystery, and it was a dud, but the investment was made and the show must go on. I’m going with the latter explanation, because the men in charge know that their budget constraints would be eased up considerably with the discovery of a living “sea monster,” and scheduling can be adjusted to accommodate such a victory. Either way, the re-learned lesson here is, when it’s all said and done, this is entertainment, not science.

By: Samson77

Samson77 — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 01:37:09 +0000

After watching this episode, and seeing the video clip of the “trident” tail flipping up out of the water, I 100% believe it is an injured manatee tail. Not only can you see where the cuts are forming the “trident”, but you can also see smaller, shallower cuts on the end of the tail.

By: wegojoe

wegojoe — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 00:52:35 +0000

The animal on MonsterQuest looks a lot like an Elephant seal, especially the tail.

Then again it might have been Bigfoot in a wet suit.

By: Remus

Remus — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 23:57:36 +0000

Thank-you for the update re: the promised videos, Craig.

Reneged on permission to show them after the big build up on this site? Not surprised.

Proof of this claim is sketchy and the behavior of it’s “discoverer” suggests either a hoax or a delusion IM”H”O.

By: Greg102

Greg102 — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 23:19:10 +0000

Kudos to MonsterQuest. Great episode. I’m not entirely sure it’s solved though. A lot of that footage is obviously different animals at different times. The trident tail I would have to agree is too symmetrical to be an injured manatee. Once again a 2 day expedition doesn’t turn up anything. I know they have budget restraints, but this is one case where if they spent 1-2 weeks on that water this would absolutely be solved, I’m sure of it. Oh well…

By: lumbarjack03

lumbarjack03 — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 23:10:01 +0000

I’m not one too comment and for all the talk maybe it just is a manatee, but how come know ones mentioned that extinct seal. perhaps there is a colony left still unbeknowest too us like the wood bison. after all the picture of that seal with the tail looks exactly like the video footage. how come no one is talking of that in depth which i think is more feasible