The mysterious inhabitants of the lakes are spoken and written about in many countries of the world. Some believe that relic animals of the era of dinosaurs have survived to this day in a number of lakes on the planet, others see in the messages about lake monsters only pranks, mistakes of observers or their fantasies. On the territory of Russia there are also several lakes where strange creatures were observed, the largest of them is Ladoga.
The monster scares the fishermen
Lake Ladoga is the largest freshwater lake in Europe. It stretches from south to north for 219 km, and its maximum width is 138 km. The area of the lake without islands is 17.6 thousand km, this is a real small sea with depths of up to 230 meters. The lake also has its own cryptozoological mystery - the alleged presence in it of some relict monster, which eyewitnesses have repeatedly observed in its waters.
The co-chairman of the North-West Committee for the Study of Anomalous Phenomena, biologist Svetlana Yavorskaya, vice-president of the International Academy of Mega-science Alexei Popov, biologist and traveler Anatoly Shimansky, and all those who managed to meet this monster are sure of the real existence of the Ladoga monster.
There are several observations of Ladoga Nessie, and the witnesses of her appearance are experienced people, serious and not inclined to fantasies. In 1973, A. S. Konovalov, a resident of the village of Mantsinsaari, Pitkyaranta district, saw the mysterious creature with his own eyes. He recalls: “In the summer of 1973, as usual, we hunted fish on Ladoga. I remember it was a bright sunny day. There was almost no wind. Looking at the smooth surface of the lake, we saw in the distance an object on the surface of the water and shining brightly in the sun. Actually, that's why we noticed him. At first they thought that maybe which boat had turned over, and even decided to go up to it to check, but after looking closely, they saw that the “object” was alive! He slowly sailed along the coast, but it was clear that he was approaching us. To be honest, we freaked out, started the engine and straight to the shore,the good was not far. Back in the day my father told me that there is a 'monster' in the lake, and people say that somewhere he was supposedly seen. I didn't really believe it, and suddenly I remembered all this."
Having got out on the shore, the fishermen climbed onto the shore terrace. “… We continued our observation and made sure that it was some kind of huge animal. It was approaching, and it was already possible to see those parts of it that protruded from the water. His body was about ten meters long. " Here is some more clarification from the same eyewitness: “A rather large head rests on a long neck. We even saw the expression of wide-set eyes - they exuded ferocity and anger. " Obviously, in this case, the fishermen could not confuse a huge living creature with a log floating in the lake or birds swimming one after another. The observation is specific and unambiguous - the monster actually was.
An equally serious observation of the Ladoga monster was made in the mid-80s by Peter Ermolaev, a resident of the Uuksu village of the Pitkyaranta region. He also clearly observed the monster when he swam in a boat far from the coast, about to go fishing. “Suddenly,” he recalls, “no further than fifty meters from my boat, water boiled, and the head of a monster of a dark gray color floated to the surface. Opening its huge mouth, the beast made a hissing sound and immediately disappeared under the water. I must have turned gray this minute. Of course, after such a meeting, the eyewitness forgot about fishing and hurried to land ashore as soon as possible. As in the previous case, we cannot talk about the fact that the eyewitness could confuse the monster with something else, more familiar and understandable to us.
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Observations You Can Trust
The Ladoga monster was observed not only on the water, but also from the shore. And in these cases there is no reason to doubt that the eyewitnesses saw a relic animal, and not a floating snag. For example, Mikhail Bardin, a resident of the city of Sortavala, witnessed the appearance of a monster when he was on one of the islands located not far from the city.
He had binoculars with him, so when, 200 meters from the shore, the water boiled and something dark appeared, he was able to clearly see the emerging mysterious creature. Bardin recalls: “A small head on a graceful neck appeared above the water, very large eyes were clearly visible. The animal apparently hunted, prowling its head in different directions. Then the head disappeared under the water. Thank God that it was far enough away and did not pay any attention to me."
An equally interesting observation of a mysterious creature by Anatoly Shimansky was published in the magazine "Miracles and Adventures" (No. 1, 2002). An eyewitness, not at all doubting who he saw, called his note "Nessie in Ladoga". It is also important that this time a scientist from a scientific group, which on the northeastern coast of Ladoga collected material on the infection of the forest with pests, became an eyewitness to the appearance of the monster.
So, A. Shimansky writes: “At the end of June the weather settled down, and it became a ritual for me to sit on a boulder warmed up during the day and admire the changeable colors of the evening dawn, reflected in the mirror of the lake. And then one day something completely amazing happened: the bay of the lake between two capes was covered with ripples and the noise of schools of fish jumping out of the water, and some kind of mass snaked above the surface of the water, creating large waves. Closer to the shore, a huge head appeared above the water, merging with a thick neck. She made a hissing-whistling sound and again plunged into the water.
Arriving at the expedition camp, I told my colleagues about the phenomenon I had seen, but was laughed at by them, which, in general, did not surprise me. However, local fishermen have also repeatedly observed some strange creature hunting for fish and tearing their nets. They did not frighten him with the seals, which also annoy them a lot."
In an interview, biologist Anatoly Shimansky said about the monster of Lake Ladoga: “I am convinced that the Ladoga Nessie really exists. The monster was seen many times by local fishermen, you can read about it in the chronicles of the Valaam Monastery, and, importantly, similar monsters are depicted in rock paintings that our distant ancestors used to decorate the Ladoga caves with”.
Are there two different monsters in Ladoga?
In the observation of Shimansky, one should pay attention to the huge head that merged with the thick neck, at the same time Bardeen remembered a small head on the graceful neck … Some of the eyewitnesses told a lie? I don't think, most likely, two species of relict animals could have survived in Lake Ladoga, so a double sensation can be expected by scientists!
One species clearly resembles a plesiosaur, which had a small head and a long neck. It is believed that the famous Nessie belongs to the plesiosaurs. The second species of relict animals was observed by A. Shimanskii and, most likely, by Pyotr Ermolaev. Perhaps this is some kind of a mosasaur, an aquatic dinosaur with a short powerful neck and a huge mouth.
However, skeptics are sure that there is no monster in Ladoga, and eyewitnesses could just see large fish - catfish or Atlantic sturgeon. In their opinion, the Ladoga seal is also suitable for the role of a monster. How could seasoned fishermen confuse the habitual inhabitants of Lake Ladoga with a monster? Skeptics, as usual, ignore this question …
Abnormal news 11, Andrey SIDORENKO