Agaliha
October 1st, 2005, 10:51 PM
Well I was reading up about one of my favorite animals: MANATEES! I think they are sooo cute. They are really gentle sea mammals. And what do you know: they are related to my other favorite animal-- elephants!!
Here is a site with general info: http://www.savethemanatee.org/info.htm
Anyway, as I was reading about them it kept mentioning that way back sailors had mistaken the manatee for mermaids. Now if you look at a manatee-- it's kinda hard to believe, but so many sites and books mention it. So it made me wonder. Note their order too "sirenia"....
Here is some info and sites that mention it:
"This group of solely aquatic mammals, known scientifically as the Sirenia, is unrelated to whales and dolphins. The scientific name comes from the sirens, the mythical sea nymphs who lured lovesick sailors to watery graves, because some historians believe that sailors reporting mermaid sightings actually saw manatees. Indeed, they have no hind legs, and they do have a flipper-like tail vaguely resembling a mermaid's. But they also have a blimp-shaped body and a pair of paddles for front legs. A sailor would have to have been at sea for a long time to mistake a "sea cow" for anything resembling a beautiful woman with long tresses." (http://www.uga.edu/srel/ecoview3-6-05.htm)
What is the sea animal which has given rise to the legends and myths about mermaids?
Probably the best of several theories which have been proposed as explanations of the mermaid myths involves the manatees of the tropical western Atlantic and west coast of Africa and the dugong from Oriental and Australian shores. The manatee is a large marine mammal which lives in shallow bays in some areas along tropical American coasts. From a distance, a manatee might be confused with a swimming human, although all similarity disappears at close range. The body of the manatee is covered with fine wrinkles and is hairless except for the strong bristles which cover the two cleft lobes of the upper lip. The body ends in a broad, shovel-like, horizontal tail with rounded edges. The dugong is very like the manatee except that the tail is forked. The mermaid stories became prevalent in Europe about the time of the early Portugese explorations along the West African Coast and it is supposed that they were based on sightings of these animals in the shallow bays which the ships visited.
(http://www.rsmas.miami.edu/support/lib/seas/seasQA/QAs/m/manatees.html#number4)
Factoid: Manatees were once mistaken for mermaids by sailors.
(http://www.npca.org/marine_and_coastal/marine_wildlife/manatee.asp)
The folklore of the sea contains many references to the sighting of mermaids. The consensus of modern opinion however is that such sightings were of the manatee, one of four species of sea cow belonging to the order Sirenia.
(http://www.bahamaswildlife.fsnet.co.uk/manatee.htm)
Anyway, I just wanted to share this view of mermaids.
Here is a site with general info: http://www.savethemanatee.org/info.htm
Anyway, as I was reading about them it kept mentioning that way back sailors had mistaken the manatee for mermaids. Now if you look at a manatee-- it's kinda hard to believe, but so many sites and books mention it. So it made me wonder. Note their order too "sirenia"....
Here is some info and sites that mention it:
"This group of solely aquatic mammals, known scientifically as the Sirenia, is unrelated to whales and dolphins. The scientific name comes from the sirens, the mythical sea nymphs who lured lovesick sailors to watery graves, because some historians believe that sailors reporting mermaid sightings actually saw manatees. Indeed, they have no hind legs, and they do have a flipper-like tail vaguely resembling a mermaid's. But they also have a blimp-shaped body and a pair of paddles for front legs. A sailor would have to have been at sea for a long time to mistake a "sea cow" for anything resembling a beautiful woman with long tresses." (http://www.uga.edu/srel/ecoview3-6-05.htm)
What is the sea animal which has given rise to the legends and myths about mermaids?
Probably the best of several theories which have been proposed as explanations of the mermaid myths involves the manatees of the tropical western Atlantic and west coast of Africa and the dugong from Oriental and Australian shores. The manatee is a large marine mammal which lives in shallow bays in some areas along tropical American coasts. From a distance, a manatee might be confused with a swimming human, although all similarity disappears at close range. The body of the manatee is covered with fine wrinkles and is hairless except for the strong bristles which cover the two cleft lobes of the upper lip. The body ends in a broad, shovel-like, horizontal tail with rounded edges. The dugong is very like the manatee except that the tail is forked. The mermaid stories became prevalent in Europe about the time of the early Portugese explorations along the West African Coast and it is supposed that they were based on sightings of these animals in the shallow bays which the ships visited.
(http://www.rsmas.miami.edu/support/lib/seas/seasQA/QAs/m/manatees.html#number4)
Factoid: Manatees were once mistaken for mermaids by sailors.
(http://www.npca.org/marine_and_coastal/marine_wildlife/manatee.asp)
The folklore of the sea contains many references to the sighting of mermaids. The consensus of modern opinion however is that such sightings were of the manatee, one of four species of sea cow belonging to the order Sirenia.
(http://www.bahamaswildlife.fsnet.co.uk/manatee.htm)
Anyway, I just wanted to share this view of mermaids.