Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Strange shore-sounder slivers along Mandeville seawall


What is it which slivers through Mandeville's shallow waters?

Don't ask me. I'm totally in the dark.

I was taking pictures of a bunch of ducks which bobbed about 100 to 125 feet off the Mandeville lakeshore one Saturday morning recently. Suddenly, my eye was drawn to one duck that was scooting rapidly across the water. It was hard to make it out, but I realized it wasn't a duck when it lifted up and dived -- it's long tail curving up to follow it under.

The creature would stay under water for 2 to 3 minute before it would surface. It mostly followed a line, but it was hard to predict exactly where it would resurface.

When this mysterious amphibian (I am guessing) got close to the lakefront seawall, I shot these pictures. It appeared to about 6 to 8 feet in length -- a large part of that the tail. In the bottom picture you can barely see the little feet. It appeared to disappear under a bridge and up a drainage ditch.

Still I have no idea what it is. Maybe you do?

--steve buse
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10 comments:

Sarabeth said...

river otter not in the river?

Ms M said...

That is a mystery! Could it be an eel?

B SQUARED said...

Always wondered what happened to Nessie.

Profile Not Available said...

My first guess was a river otter too. Could this be your Nessie?

http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Lontra_canadensis.html

Victor said...

I'm with Sarabeth and Kelly, I think it's probably a river otter. We have 'em up here in BC too.

Marie said...

The head makes me think of an otter too....

raf said...

Looks to be a river otter, Steve, but six feet would be a big stretch.

photowannabe said...

Is it an April Fools Nessie?

Halcyon said...

I was thinking a manatee... was it brackish water?

Wanda said...

I must say I was thinking April Fools too. (((smile)))