Mermaid Sightings: What Witnesses are Really Seeing
Mermaids have long been the subject of ancient folklore. Hollywood has capitalised on the sensation with films like Splash and Little Mermaid by Disney. For the most part, mermaids are believed to be nothing more than myth and legend. However, what are the origins behind the legend? Could the myth be based on reality? Mermaid sightings have been taking place for centuries and continue to this day.
Many people from across the globe have reported sightings of a half fish and half women or man breaking the surface of the ocean waters. Of the hundreds of sightings, most of them can be likely dismissed as a mistaken identity. Manatees and elephant seals are likely candidates of what some people are actually witnessing. The Loch Ness monster is a great example of how witnesses can easily mistake an object for something else. A lot of Loch Ness sightings have turned out to be floating logs, sturgeons and schools of fish.
Hoaxes are another potential cause. Hoaxers will go to great lengths for a little publicity. They will create a false sighting and place it on Youtube. With a camera, experienced swimmer and a mermaid suit, you can create a video that can easily create a buzz.
Aside from mistaken identities and the occasional hoaxes, there may be more intriguing explanations to account for some of the sightings. With such a large ocean and so little of it explored, it would be naive to say that every single creature of the deep has been discovered and documented. It is very well possible that some of the sightings is of a species still unknown to science. This does not make the creature a mermaid, though it could have an upper body that resembles a human torso.
The human eye sees what it wants to see, and who wouldn't want to believe that mermaids actually exist? Unless one is actually captured, mermaids will remain in the list of undiscovered entities that keep cryptozoologists and paranormal investigators busy.
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