CRYPTOZOOLOGY: The Kraken and other Sea Monsters




Human beings have discovered all the animals that exist right? No, wrong. There are new species being discovered in the Amazon and around the world every day. Cryptozoologists believe that there are still rare creatures yet to be found. For centuries the giant squid was believed to a mythical creature existing only in Greek legends and fisher mens tales. The sea could be home to some amazing things we are still yet to discover. There are thousands deep trenches under the sea that we have yet to fully explore, caverns so deep they reach pressures that would crush a human being alive.

These legends of giant sea beasts is a common theme running through all cultures, from the Leviathan mentioned in the bible right the way through to the modern day. In ye olde days crossing the sea was something that people had to do regularly, (not like these days where we can just get on a plane) it would have been a common experience for sailors, spice traders, pirate raiders and foreign invaders and other crusaders. The ancient Chinese believed in a fish that could leap over a waterfall and be transformed into a sea dragon. This is the legend which inspired the Magikarp pokemon. 

Probably the most famous sea monster is the Kraken, a legendary giant sea creature which lives in the seas around Scandinavia. Kind of octopus like the Kraken can smash up and destroy ships with its enormous tentacles and should you be lucky enough not to be killed and eaten by the man eating creature itself it can also create whirlpools which can rip ships to shreds and suck you down to a watery death. In Greek legend the Kraken was one of the titans controlled by the god of the sea, Poseidon. 


Release the Kraken!

What is the Megalodon? Well... Imagine a shark that is so enormous that he eats whales for dinner some reports quote the creature as over 20m in length. It is also known as the Megatooth shark because its of the sheer size and scariness of his teeth. The Megalodon was a prehistoric shark (Carcharocles megalodon) which many people believe could still exist in the present day. Its not unheard of for animals to have survived from that time period, there is evidence that this can happen: Reptiles like crocodiles and alligators were around in those days as well as many birds, insects and plant life. Some Cryptozoologists theorize that the Loch Ness monster could in fact be a left over from the time of dinosaurs.

There are two monsters or 'titans' which are repeatedly mentioned in the bible, these are the Leviathan and the Behemoth. The Book of Enoch explains which is which and where these monsters can be found on Earth. "And on that day were two monsters parted, a female monster named Leviathan, to dwell in the abysses of the ocean over the fountains of the waters. But the male is named Behemoth, who occupied with his breast a waste wilderness named Duidain." The leviathan is described in the Book of Job as a monster which no man could capture, with multiple limbs and a back covered with shields which no weapon could penetrate. Most impressively for a sea creature it can breathe fire! Satanists and Demonologists believe the Leviathan to be one of the princes of Hell.

Here's a curve ball. Mermaids are a type of sea monster too. When we think of mermaids we have this romantic image, we think of the little mermaid or splash because these are the images we are given by the media. Mermaids are ugly. How sexy can a fish woman be? I've seen photos of supposed mermaid corpses and I can tell you they are not a pretty sight!



Like we say, the Ocean is massive and we cannot possibly know about every thing that lives down there, life can change and evolve and there will always be new developments. Some of these may one day be proved not to exist or to exist and I'm sure that creatures we didn't expect to be proved real could be. I just shared with you some of my favorite cryptozoology creatures and cryptids and I would love to hear if you have anymore to add or any suggestions that should have made the list.


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