Comments on: Susquehanna’s Mystery Thing

By: mikfoss

mikfoss — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 13:26:15 +0000

Not far from there in Kinzua, PA, you can stand on the damn and watch catfish that are six feet and longer. I grew up in northwestern Pennsylvania and remember many times going up to the damn and watching them for hours.

By: Fhqwhgads

Fhqwhgads — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 02:50:34 +0000

Yes, and on re-reading the account, I don’t think manatees ever move fast enough to send waves lapping on the shore, either.

By: cryptidsrus

cryptidsrus — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 17:24:29 +0000

I wish Maurer would have been thoughtful enough to have brought along a video recorder and/or camera to record the “whatever.” Would have saved a lot of speculation and unfortunate “ridicule” for the man.
But—as it is, great story. He’s right—there is so much we do not know about what our rivers and oceans contain it’s really not funny. Great post, Loren.

By: Quacker1

Quacker1 — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 13:29:26 +0000

While I don’t know the catfish situation in the northeast, down here in the south catfish over 6 feet are not entirely unheard of. He mentioned gar being caught in the river as well. I don’t know what species of gar live in the Susquehanna, but alligator gar can get over seven feet long, and since they often live in low-oxygen environments, they’ve evolved the ability to take in gulps of air to supplement their oxygen needs. I’m not sure if other gar do this as well. However, both of these fish can get massive, and could easily confuse someone who has never seen a fish of that size surface, (especially if you can’t see the entire fish). However, while gar would be more inclined to surface, since they surface quite often, you’d think more people would have noticed over time. Since he mentions he only sees this creature once every few years, and others see it only sporadically, I’m throwing in my vote to very large, very old catfish that’s occasionally spotted surfacing for whatever reason, (perhaps multiple very large catfish). Of course, the Susquehanna is a very old river, so there are probably tens of species it could be. We’ll probably never know.

By: springheeledjack

springheeledjack — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 20:47:27 +0000

YEs, the more info we get, the actual shot of making a known guess on the critter…but a large swimming creature could literally almost be anything.

How about a rough size guess-timate, coloring, shape, time of day, season (good call Fhqwhgads), etc. That is a lot of what creates more mire for the crypto to slog through…getting detailed accounts helps determine whether we actually have a big fish, some known critter invading new waters, or actually have something that does not fit the known creatures.

SO, I guess the mantra for the rest of the year should be–give us detailed information!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By: Fhqwhgads

Fhqwhgads — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 19:34:08 +0000

It would be nice to know the seasons in which the sightings have occurred. Rare sightings may indicate this is not a permanent resident. Of course, manatees have been seen in other waterways that flow into the Chesapeake, and I don't think they lift their heads entirely out of the water -- they just get the nostrils above the waterline.

By: shdwmnkyX

shdwmnkyX — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 18:09:37 +0000

Possibly a Catfish. In the dark its skin could look like a seal. And I don’t think a five or six foot Cat fish is out of the question.

By: coelacanth1938

coelacanth1938 — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 16:12:04 +0000

A Dakwa maybe?

By: swnoel

swnoel — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 15:17:58 +0000

Could it have been a sturgeon? They reach to large size and do on occasion jump out of the water.

By: Roddy Hays

Roddy Hays — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 13:17:43 +0000

Maybe a Siamese carp ? Could someone have released one into the waterway ? Are there any in the US at all ? They reach that length and can attain weights of over 300 lbs.

This is just an offer for your “carp” theory, grin. There’s all sorts of other possibilities, of course……..