Last Friday I read an article about the Lake Storsjön monster being removed from the endangered species list. Personally, I think it's pretty conscientious to put an animal that may or may not exist on there, just in case. So I got looking for a picture of the lake monster (like the blurry ones of the Loch Ness monster that have been circulating for years). Sure enough, there are some.
Storsjöodjurets Officiella Hemsida
Photo taken by Carina Johnson in 1983
In 1996, the lake monster was supposedly caught on video, but I was only able to find a still, not the actual video.
More photos of Lake Storsjön (sans Storsjöodjuret) on Pherobase.com
Nope, theres no monster in this one, as far as I know.
Written accounts of the monster go back to 1635. According to stories, Storsjöodjuret was brewed up in a cauldron on the lakeshore by two trolls named Jata and Kata. He escaped into the lake and grew very large, until he could circle the island Frösön. I'm guessing he was a nuisance, because then Ketil Runske (or maybe Gudfast) came along and cast a spell to bind Storsjöodjuret, which was carved into a stone on Frösön island in lake Storsjön.
Runestone on Frösön island depicting a large, serpentlike creature
GUST, which stands for Global Underwater Search Team, is dedicated to searching for lake monsters. In addition to expeditions in search of Storsjöodjuret, they have also traveled to Scotland's Loch Ness and Lake Seljordsvattnet in Norway.
Hunting Season Opens for Mythical Creature
(from Yahoo News)
By KARL RITTER, Associated Press Writer
Fri Nov 11,12:35 AM ET
A mythical monster, believed by some to have lived for hundreds of years in the murky depths of a Swedish lake, is now fair game for hunters -- if they can find it. Authorities have agreed to lift its endangered species protection.
Hundreds of people claim to have spotted a large serpent-like creature in Lake Storsjon in the northwestern province of Jamtland, and in 1986 the regional council put it on a list of endangered animals.
But a government watchdog challenged the decision, saying such protection was hardly necessary for a creature whose existence has not been proven.
The regional council agreed to remove the listing this month, but declined to rule out that a monster lives in the 300-foot deep lake.
"It exists, inasmuch as it lives in the minds of people," the council's chief legal adviser Peter Lif said about the purported beast. "But I guess we'll have to agree that it cannot be proved scientifically, and then it should not be listed as an endangered species."
The so-called Storsjo monster was first mentioned in print in 1635. Hundreds of sightings have been reported since then. Some people describe the creature as a snakelike animal with a dog's head and fins on its neck. But no clear image of it has been captured on camera.
Storsjo monster aficionados said lifting the endangered species protection was a mistake, and appeared insulted by the decision.
"We are not fanatics," said Christer Berko, of the Storsjo monster association. "We see this as very interesting phenomenon that we unfortunately have not been able to document."