More Sea Serpent, please

What’s that Oliver, you would like some more?  Certainly, have a little sea serpent, lutefisk style.  And don’t you make that face!

According to my Google translation of this news item, these pictures are purported by the local mayor to be a legendary local sea serpent in Seljord, Norway.  The Seljord Orm.

 

Clear as a leaping Asian carp on a bitter Midwestern day.

Currently 36.54% of respondents to an online poll (on the sidebar of that article) think it must be a sea serpent, barely nudging out the 34.85% that think it must be some other natural phenomenon and leaving the “I don’t think anything of it” crowd in the dust at 28.59%.

I have to admit to being in the not thinking much of it group.  I know it looks tremendously like a water dragon leaping from the waves and blowing ice daggers out its nose, but I am still going with “nothing much”.  I can also be convinced of “other natural phenomena”.  Something along the lines of an eel, though I’m only seeing references to whitefish and trout in the lake.  As usual perspective is not provided for size approximations.  It might be a fishing lure.

The mayor has her reasons.  I can dig that.  This orm has been around a long ass time.  She (apparently called Selma? more info here) is part of the community.  Who am I to crap on a good legend?

The animal is known from written sources back to the mid-1700. Having learnt by the scots at Loch Ness, the locals frequently use “Sea Serpent” commercially. Seljord has now got a Sea serpent inn, a Sea serpent camping, a Sea serpent gate (a tunnel along the main road), sea serpent this, that and whatever. The camping grounds with bathing and fishing facilities are full of tourists, sea serpents or not. (source)

The mayor seems to be saying that she has no other explanation.  I guess that’ll do, now eat your damn sea serpent treated with lye or you can’t have any freaking pudding.

People have been on the lookout.  No serious evidence has surfaced yet (hahahahah, surfaced *wipes eyes* oh, man, I am hilarious).

These guys didn’t find anything back in 1998.  They were even trying to trap the thing.

How about a cautionary tale of crypto expeditions, producing this awesome quote:

Before getting into the details of my misadventure, let me state without reservation that there was no evidence obtained during the search that could be construed by a reasonable person to be supportive of the existence of a large unknown animal or animals in Lake Seljordsvatnet. It was not, however, a complete waste of time. While the search may not have produced a monster, it did produce a valuable case study on how not to conduct a research expedition. It may also provide an allegory that speaks for some of the problems that plague cryptozoology generally.

Sea serpents are generally like Santa Claus.  Shut up and take your picture with Selma, grab a hot toddy and don’t ruin it for everyone else.

 

 

Hat Tip: cryptozoo-oscity