Lest we forget, they also breathed fire out of their mouths. Their looks vary but the most common descriptions indicate they had reptile-like bodies, bat-like wings and sharp claws. However, it sometimes fights back when cornered and it is not unusual to find sperm whales with scars left from their battles with giant squids.ĭragons are probably the most common mythical creatures out there. The weaker giant squid generally flees when confronted by a whale. However, we know it has the largest eyes of all living creatures, grows up to 18 meters and is frequently hunted by sperm whales for food. It lives so deep underwater that we have limited information about it. Curiously, the giant squid is as elusive as the legend it inspired. The kraken moved from folklore to reality when the remains of a giant squid was found on a shore in Denmark in 1853. There are no accounts that it ever attacked or sank a ship or is even powerful enough to sink one. The so-called kraken is actually the giant squid, which is huge (as the “giant” in the name already hints) but considerably smaller and less violent than sailors claimed. If it was unsuccessful, it started swimming in circles until it created a whirlpool that sunk the ship. Legend says the kraken attacked and sank ships with its strong arms. According to sailors of old, it is a huge, octopus-like creature with a fondness for sinking ships and eating its crew. The kraken is probably the most fearsome sea monster ever imagined. Put in their fish-like rears that sometimes stick out of the water and you have a mermaid. They have five human finger-like bones on their flippers and can turn their necks and stand in shallow waters like a human. Sailors mistook them for mermaids because of their unique human and fish-like characteristics.Ī fully-grown sea cow is about six feet long, which is around the height of an adult human. They are the largest aquatic herbivores in the world. Both animals are called sea cows because of their huge size. Well, the creatures we call mermaids are actually manatees and their closely related cousins, dugongs.

Wait, what? Masculine? But mermaids are almost always female, aren’t they? He described them as “not so beautiful as they are said to be, for their faces had some masculine traits”. Christopher Columbus even spotted three during his first trip to America. Surprisingly, many of those stories are actually real even though they may be exaggerated. Tales of mermaids, a race of half-human and half-fish hybrids that live in the ocean are a common sailor’s tale. It is just that we mistake them for some other creature.ġ0 Real People Who Died Searching For Mythical Places 10 Mermaids Now, you may be thinking, if they are really around, why do we not have pictures? We actually do. However, as we are about to find out, many of these supposedly mythical creatures actually existed and some are still around today. The fact that we often lack verifiable evidence to prove they are real does not make their situation any better. According to common folklore, most have ridiculous features and characteristics that may make it impossible to believe in their existence. Stories of mythical creatures are never in short supply.

Are giant squids real