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Possible mermaid spotted off Israel

Half-girl/half-dolphin creature appears only at sunset ... and will probably sing, dance and destroy mankind.
By Michael d'Estries
Thu, Aug 13 2009 at 2:42 PM EST
Read more: ANIMAL RESEARCH

Photo: alaskandude/Flickr
You know what the world needs more of? Random mythical creature sightings. I only say this because when I was a boy, it seemed that at least once a year there was some reported sighting of the Loch Ness monster, Bigfoot or some variant of a UFO. Somewhere around adolescence, however, such stories seemed to dry up. Either I wasn't paying close enough attention (likely) or the world's supernatural took a break.
 
Well, I'm excited to announce that at least one of the above is making a comeback: Mermaids! This is fantastic because a.) Daryl Hannah was a hot mermaid in Splash (giving hope to single, desperate men everywhere that the ocean may hold promise.) and b.) Ariel was a cute mermaid in Disney's The Little Mermaid, which essentially confirms my first point.
 
The mermaid in question for this story comes to us from the Israeli town of Kiryat Yam, near Haifa. Apparently, numerous eyewitnesses have reported a sea creature that looks like a cross between a little girl and a dolphin frolicking in the surf, generally around sunset. From the article,
 
"People are telling us they are sure they have seen the mermaid and they are all independent of each other," said Natti Zilberman, a local council spokesman. The creature, according to the fast-growing local legend, performs a series of acrobatic tricks before disappearing beneath the Mediterranean waves.
 
As expected, such stories have given a boost to the town's tourist trade — with local officials now offering a cash prize of $1 million to the first person to take a photograph of the alleged mermaid. Granted, if someone does really manage to catch the dolphin-woman on camera, you can expect Kiryat Yam to gain some of the same tourism dollars as the fabled Loch Ness did. As one councilman put it, if such a thing really exists, it will bring in a lot more than $1 million.
 
Hopefully, it will also sing.
 
MNN homepage photo: Chuwy/iStockphoto


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Comments(11)

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Posted By Harry Hole - Thu, Jan 28 2010 at 7:42 PM EST

What A Scam

PT Barnum would be proud.

Posted By Chrissy - Wed, Aug 26 2009 at 12:33 AM EST

i think i know where she came from

i think i know where she came from because in WWW.real-wishes.com, there is a section saying "Tell Your Story", and in that section, a girl wrote that she wished to become a mermaid, and that it came true, various stories after that were informing her about the mermaid sightings right after her wish came true, maybe its her, you should try to contact that person.

Posted By Anonymous - Mon, Aug 24 2009 at 7:52 AM EST

What if

If we do get a picture or catch her
What we going to do?....
I mean there isnt much but ask her where the hell she came from
and then probably throw her in a tank so men can perve on her

Posted By Kenzy - Thu, Aug 20 2009 at 8:52 PM EST

Conflicted...

I really don't see what this has to do with the web site...then again, like someone said: lighthearted articles from time to time are fun!

I was that one kid who believed in mythical things way longer then most (oddly enough, I stopped believing in Santa much earlier....), and while confirmation would be just the magical highlight of my life...dude, the poor (hypothetical) creature! It would never get a moments piece and forever be nothing more then an object of scientific study and.... More

Posted By Kathryn Brett - Thu, Aug 20 2009 at 10:55 AM EST

Phooey on Non- Believers!

To the 'Anonymous' poster who was 1st up; Have you lost your sense of wonder,or have you no 'magic' in your life? If so, how sad for you......mermaids (and men), dragons, faeries & pixie dust can all bringsome lightness and yes, 'magic', into our lives, and re-awaken that playful spirit in us. Keep publishing these wonderful stories!

Posted By Anonymous - Wed, Aug 19 2009 at 10:51 PM EST

Far Fetched

Not sure how this fits in to the scope of the Mother Nature Network. Yeah, a mermaid - come on, let's get in touch with the real world here. Please don't report on things like this anymore.

Posted By Mary T-B - Sat, Aug 22 2009 at 10:44 AM EST

Far-Fetched? Ironic! lol!

It's wonderfully ironic that a viewer dismissed the Mermaiden sighting story as far-fetched ~ a "fetch" being both the distance a sea-wave runs and the name given a totemic se-creature ~ how fetching!

Posted By Sara without an 'h' - Thu, Aug 20 2009 at 1:32 PM EST

Live a Little

I think it is great that MNN posted a story like this.. There is no need for you to be so uptight over such a lighthearted article, learn to laugh at the silly things in life.

Posted By Ronna Sommers - Wed, Aug 19 2009 at 3:10 PM EST

Mermaids

This is just delightful! Thank you for making me laugh!

Posted By Pamela Drake - Thu, Aug 13 2009 at 5:27 PM EST

You forgot about Mermen....

Like Triton, son of Poseidon and Amphitrite.

Posted By Grey Garvin - Thu, Aug 13 2009 at 5:26 PM EST

Famous Mermaids

There are the Siren Sisters Hevatica and Dilithase. And Hans Christian Anderson's The Little Mermaid.

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