Images of a “serpent-like” sea creature gliding through the waters of an Icelandic river have been captured last week by Hjörtur Kjerúlf.
The video shows a mysterious creature swimming through the cold water of the glacial river Jökulsá í Fljótsdal, in east Iceland and it has already become a monster hit on the internet in just over a week.
Some are claiming this grainy footage is proof of the existence of the legendary beast Lagarfljótsormurinn – Iceland’s version of Scotland’s Loch Ness Monster.
The notorious “snake-like” creature is said to live in the Lagarfljót lake, which is 25 miles long and 367 feet deep – and it has been the subject of many a supposed sighting since reports of it first emerged in 1345.
However, an expert on the legendary Lagarfljótsormurinn lake beast believes this footage is fake.
Loren Coleman, director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine, has researched the Icelandic creature and wrote about it in his book Field Guide to Lake Monsters and Sea Serpents.
He said he was concerned about the ‘robotic’ look of the creature featured in the video and believes it is an elaborate hoax.
On his website Cryptomundo, Loren Coleman wrote: “Frankly, this video shows something that looks like a constructed snake-like object, with rigid sections, being propelled through the water.
“From the movement on the water’s surface, it would have to be something other than a mammal, like a giant worm, a reptile or a fish.
“The head appears to have been made to look like it belongs to a giant anaconda. The sections do not gracefully flow, but are sectionally moving from side-to-side. Mammals move up and down.
“It seems someone attempting this fakery, perhaps by using a robot with tarps, fish nets, or trash bags – a favorite for watery hoaxers – has decided to take the phrase <<sea serpent>> and/or <<worm>> too literally.”
According to Coleman, the most recent sighting of a strange creature in Lake Lagarfljót was in 1998, when a teacher and their class of pupils said they saw something close to the shore.
However, they did not describe it as having a “worm-like” appearance.
Another reason why Loren Coleman believes the footage to be a hoax, is because of the creature’s appearance. He said the phrase “Icelandic Worm Monster” was coined in the 21st Century and comes from a misunderstanding and mistranslation of Lagarfljótsormurinn simply as Lagarfljót worm.
This is instead of the more correct Lagarfljót Würm or Wurm – a phrase which harks back to dragon folklore.
Loren Coleman added: “The traditional sightings of this lake’s <<monster>> – going back to 1345 – are not <<snake-like>>… Instead, they describe Lagarfljótsormurinn as having a hump, a long neck, and whiskers, more like a long-necked Waterhorse than a giant snake.”
He said because of the creature’s misinterpreted adopted name, hoaxers may mistakenly create it in the shape of a snake which contradicts all other eye witness accounts.
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