Comments on: Otter Unknown Kappa

By: whiteriverfisherman

whiteriverfisherman — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 18:20:52 +0000

I could not have made my point any better than red_pill_junkie did. I think that sums up the Kappa story perfectly. Perhaps they should make an animated Kappa series, at least an animated version would look real in an animated sort of way.

Monkey with a turtle shell, come on. I bet Kappa’s are known to have winged mice with duck bills for pets.

By: Tengu

Tengu — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 16:14:37 +0000

I dont think an otter could be a kappa. (unless it was grandfather making a joke, of course)

Kappa are identified with monkeys (not all of them have shells!) and maccaques love to sit in hot springs.

The few otters I have seen just look like plumb old otters to me

But the Aimu say the otter is very foolish and call a forgetful man an `otterhead`

By: mystery_man

mystery_man — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 15:43:34 +0000

The only large turtle that could be considered somewhat of a Japanese animal is the loggerhead turtle, which makes it’s way by Japan. The only problem with that is Kappa have always been associated with streams and rivers, but loggerheads are seagoing. I could be wrong, but I don’t think they venture up rivers, do they? The best bet for a turtle being behind the Kappa sightings would be the invasive snapping turtle, in my opinion.

By: mystery_man

mystery_man — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 15:36:08 +0000

Dogu4- That’s interesting to speculate about. I suppose there could have been some sort of ethnoknown aquatic animal like the “sea ape” at one time in Japan that gave rise to these legends and historic accounts of Kappa sightings. I also do agree that lack of any good remains could occur. It would certainly be exciting to find some fossils like that! I agree, this is a fascinating topic.

Mnynames- Take your pick of Paleolithic animals of Japan. Japan had bison, horses, bears, wolves, tigers, wild bovids, great elks and deer such as the giant Yabe deer, mammoth, the list goes on and on. There were also five different types of elephants that roamed the landscape here at one time or another. Among them were the Akebono elephant, or Stegodon, and the Naumann elephant (Paleoloxodon naumanni). This sort of fauna was abundant in Japan until about 12,000 years ago.

A lot of people are wondering if some kind of turtle could be behind the sightings of Kappa and I have some thoughts on that. Japan has a lot of endemic turtle species, but none of them are nearly large enough to be mistaken for something like a Kappa. In modern times, however, there has been a problem with non-indigenous snapping turtles showing up in the wild in Japan. These are typically pets that have been discarded when they got to big to take care of. There was also a law put into effect requiring all owners of snapping turtles to register them. A lot of people chose to release them rather than have to comply with the law, and this contributed to the problem. So I guess for modern day sightings, a large snapping turtle could be the culprit.

By: dogu4

dogu4 — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 13:18:06 +0000

This subject is endlessly fascinating for me and your mention of the water-loving macaques brings to mind that as well as sea otters and stellers sea cows, George Steller, during his voyage with Vitus Bering to North America in the 1740s, described an enigmatic creature he called the Sea Ape. Steller was an objective, educated and experienced naturalist, not likely to make up fantastic creatures. Since the Aleutians are part of the same northern Pacific oceanic system that extend from at least northern California to northern Japan, one has to wonder if the legendary sea ape, a quintessential cryptid, might not have had a representative in the cultural memory of Japanese animals, now relegated to legend.
The idea that a marine mammal could have been widely distributed and quickly wiped out and leave no record is not unprecedented. The mustelid known as the fisher, infact gets its name from what was presumed to be a marine mammal (hence the name fisher) sometimes referred to as the seamink. Its sole physical remains are a handfull of bones found in a midden along the coast of northeastern North America. This despite its once being so abundant that it supported a commercial market for its fur so that its commercial name, following its extinction, was given to another fur bearer that is known to shun water but had fur similar enough to be given the name once reserved for the seamink. Perhaps one day a thorough survey of the submerged landscape that was exposed for so much of the last geologic age will give us some evidence, but what we see now is a thin shell of the diversity the continent once supported.

By: CryptoHaus_Press

CryptoHaus_Press — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 07:27:20 +0000

one point i note in passing: the excellent overview re: rare otter itself notes that it’s nocturnal and rarely seen, preferring to be a stealth hunter, evidently.

this might account for the resemblance to the kappa by legend. imagining seeing an otter in the daylight (as are the above excellent & much appreciated photos) makes the comparison seem a bit hard to believe for experience locals.

but… add night and some torches flickering on the water’s surface and/or moonlight? hey, it doesn’t take THAT much sake to then transform an otter with a monkey-like mane into a kappa being, eh? especially that FIRST photo with those ‘fangs’ jutting out and those crazy wild eyes that photographed otter is flashing at us!
just a thought, hopefully ‘illuminating’ in context to the apparent similarities.

By: Mnynames

Mnynames — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 06:19:34 +0000

And I thought my favourite animal was unique with its status in Japan…The Asian Horseshoe Crabs (Tachypleus tridentatus and T. gigas) have national treasure status as well, and I believe are also considered quite endangered, mostly due to the developments of bulkheads along much of the coast. If I’m not mistaken, the city of Kasaoka is one of the few areas where they can still breed successfully, and their spawning attracts quite a spectacle every year. That’s quite different from the US, where most people (If they know of our Horseshoe Crabs at all) consider them junk fish or, at best, bait.

On the Otter/Kappa theory, I too think it’s a bit of a stretch. I’d be more inclined to favour the Macaques or any possible large turtles (Don’t happen to know if their are any in Japan) as an explanation.

If Loren considers it relevant, I’d love to hear of any Paleolithic fauna that Japan now lacks (Or may yet remain as cryptids) if you know of any, Mystery Man.

By: Maine Crypto

Maine Crypto — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 02:48:41 +0000

The shell of the Kappa makes me think giant turtle as mentioned. It is interesting that it always comes back to otters…..hmmm.
I will say that I (as well as my son) am a huge fan of those green teens!

By: cryptidsrus

cryptidsrus — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 21:11:19 +0000

Loren:

It’s not surprising it’s an OTTERLY wonderful world.

By: cryptidsrus

cryptidsrus — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 21:09:52 +0000

RED_PILL_JUNKIE:

TURTLE POWER!!!

BTW—

I think I saw you over on UFOMYSTIC. Was that you?

Anyway, great story. Could indeed be the source of the KAPPA.

P.S.—This is neither here nor there, but that last animated TMNT movie SUCKED HOSEWATER.
Just my two cents.
I actually missed Vanilla Ice in the soundtrack during that one. Yeah, sue me.