A huge monster with a long neck and a large head, fishermen assure, started up in Lake Ladoga
A. S. Konovalov, a resident of the village of Mantsinsaari, Pitkyaranta region, relates the observation of a strange creature to 1973: “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 is 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 went straight to the shore, since it was not far away. 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, but then I suddenly remembered all this.
“Having climbed onto the coastal 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. Its body length is about ten meters.
Much is said and written about Lake Ladoga. We will only notice that it contains a huge amount of secrets. This is the mystery of its formation, and amazing flora and fauna, and incomprehensible sound and light phenomena observed from time to time over the lake. But today our story is about no less amazing mystery of Lake Ladoga - a huge "monster" unknown to science, supposedly living in the depths of the lake.
In the Russian popular science magazine "Miracles and Adventures", No. 1 for 2002, a very curious article by A. Shimansky with the intriguing title "Nessie in Ladoga" was published. Here it is:
“We arrived from St. Petersburg to the northeastern coast of Ladoga in mid-June with the aim of collecting material on forest pest infestation.
»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 confuse him with seals, which also annoy them a lot."
A. S. Konovalov, a resident of the village of Mantsinsaari, Pitkyaranta region, relates the observation of a strange creature to 1973: “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 is 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 went straight to the shore, since it was not far away. 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, but then I suddenly remembered all this.
“Having climbed onto the coastal 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. Its body length is about ten meters.
Petr Ermolaev, a resident of the Uuksu village of the same Pitkyaranta region, according to him, “was fishing somewhere in the mid-eighties, having climbed a sufficient distance into the lake. Suddenly, 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."
A resident of the city of Sortavala, Mikhail Bardin, being on one of the islands located not far from the city, watched the monster through binoculars from a distance of two hundred meters: “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."
But the Zvonin family from the Salmi village tells the legendary story of their daughter, who, at the age of ten, vacationing with her parents on the lake, suddenly saw a strange animal not far away: “I could have thrown a pebble at him,” the girl said. - This animal must probably be very beautiful. I saw his long and flexible neck with a small graceful head, and I liked it. Then it disappeared under the water."
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How to relate to all these and similar, albeit few, messages? To completely ignore them, or still try to understand this difficult issue?
Three possible explanations can be proposed:
we are talking about false testimony
persons who sincerely believe that they have seen a living being are in fact wrong
a real unidentified animal lives in Lake Ladoga.
In response to these “possible explanations,” it can be assumed that someone, having lived a long and unblemished life, completely unexpectedly tells an obviously false story and becomes a universal laughing stock. But you need to know the life of a Karelian village or a small village in order to understand that there is no point in any such deliberate lie. This is simply not accepted by local residents and is always condemned. But the fact that their grandfathers and great-grandfathers passed on such "incredible" stories "by inheritance" makes us take the aforementioned stories and observations more seriously.
Apparently, sincere delusions of witnesses can also be attributed here. To assume that the observer saw not a living creature, but a "accumulation of algae" or "a half-submerged tree trunk" is similar to an insult, because a resident of the Karelian hinterland, who spends most of his life on rivers and lakes, is always distinguished by professionalism, observation and excellent knowledge of his fishing places.
Therefore, there is every reason not to exclude the possibility of the real existence of some unknown animal in Lake Ladoga.
It is interesting, but in the ancient legends and legends associated with the founding and life of the Valaam Monastery, an unknown animal of monstrous size is often mentioned, which repeatedly devastated the networks of monks, but never fell into them.
By the way, Ladoga is far from the only place in the world where such mysterious creatures are observed. In Iceland, there are still legends about the existence of a mysterious animal scrimsl in the lakes. In Canada, in British Columbia, they tell from the time of the Indians about the existence of a huge animal ogopogo in Lake Okanagan. In Ireland, a large unidentified animal has also been observed in four lakes since 1945. The Swedish press has repeatedly reported on the mysterious inhabitants of six lakes in the country.
And the famous Loch Ness monster! Having analyzed all the available documentary materials related to this phenomenon, the Central Office of Aerial Photographic Intelligence of England (and this is a very respectable institution) came to the following truly sensational conclusion: “We believe that we are dealing with an unidentified living object living in Lake Ness. Even if it is a mammal, reptile, or a mollusk of some order known to science, the animal is of such size that it is of great interest for careful study and classification by scientists. If this is an animal of an unknown species, then from a scientific point of view it is also desirable to find out its nature."
It should also be added that the long-standing mystery has finally received a precise scientific definition in the face of English science: "Nessiteras - Rhombopterux" in Russian transcription. Here "Nessiteras" is the name of the genus, where "Nessie" is a geographical place (lake), and "teras" is a curiosity, a miracle. "Rhombopterux" is the name of the species, where "rhombo" is diamond-shaped, "pterux" is a fin.
The name given today to Nessie is sufficient to protect the animal from extinction according to English law.
Imagine something like this two decades ago. Loch Ness was then synonymous with hoax, but time and unbiased serious research puts everything in its place.
Perhaps we are now in Karelia on the threshold of an amazing discovery. If this is so, then the Loch Ness monster can only be envied, since it is difficult to think of a more careful and interested attitude towards oneself.
And our Russian researchers also came across the mysterious inhabitants of the lakes. Let us recall at least the message of the zoologist M. Gladskikh about Lake Khainyr in Northern Yakutia, where the mysterious "northern monster" lives. And the numerous reports of sailors about amazing encounters with unknown giant animals, sea snakes in different parts of the oceans of the world!
Well what then? Despite the fact that the mysterious inhabitant of Lake Ladoga rarely shows us his "face", scientists will try to investigate this one of the most amazing mysteries of Ladoga.