Cryptozoologists have hunted prehistoric sea creatures like Loch Ness, Champy and Tessie for decades, if not centuries. But there's one creature that recently added to the list of elusive cryptid hunts and is still unknown to many, and it's called the Ningen.
Cryptozoology learns about the existence of a creature from rumors or folklore, one of which is the Loch Ness monster. A cryptid, on the other hand, is a creature or plant that purports to exist but is unknown to scientific consensus and is often very hard to believe.
Well, Ningen is one of the cryptids that makes cryptozoologists curious. This mysterious monster has been caught on camera several times.
Its origins are unknown, and various speculations exist. There are those who call Ningen living beings, there are also those who claim that they are man-made creatures, come from outside the planet, or from the bottom of the Earth.
The Japanese magazine Mu, which covered supernatural phenomena in November 2007, suspected that Ningen was an artificial organism secretly produced by Japanese scientists and placed in Antarctica.
At that time, some people were suspicious of the Japanese Government's whale research project and believed that Ningen was a new creature created by scientists.
It is also suspected that Ningen appeared on Google Maps looking like a dolphin. Until now, there have been no photos and videos that clearly show Ningen's form, and the Japanese Government has not given a definite response.
Ningen, the Japanese Mermaid?
In a number of popular Japanese online forums, various alleged sightings of Ningen have been circulating for a long time. These creatures, called water humanoids, are said to be the size of a whale. Ningen, which means human in Japanese, is a creature with the body of the moon and has a height of 20-30 meters. Ningen was first sighted by a Japanese research vessel, off the coast of Antarctica.
The creature was described as a pale white, human-like figure with a torso, appendages and fingers like ours, but with a mermaid-like tail. He is also described as having minimal facial features with a small slit mouth and two vacant looking eyes.
The Ningen sea creature is often seen at night and in cold waters, leading some to believe that it hides in the Arctic region, under permafrost.
There are several blurry videos and photographs floating around the internet that purport to show the Ningen sea creature in its natural environment. But like most cryptids, no one has provided conclusive proof.
Over the past decades, a number of hydrothermal vents have been discovered in the Arctic depths. In these frigid waters, new and strange life forms, such as the Yeti crab, have been found swarming around the hole. Some scientists theorize that hydrothermal vents are where life originated on Earth in an early phase some 4.6 billion years ago.
Meanwhile, the Ningen creatures remain an anecdotal tale among Japanese sailors and fishermen. There were rumors that the Japanese government was taking the reports about Ningen seriously, compiling many alleged reports.
There were also rumors that photographic evidence of Ningen being captured by sailors from the original story, but the Japanese government destroyed the evidence to avoid attracting attention and causing controversy.
Some speculate that the Japanese government may be involved in covering up Ningen, because of the rare chemical compounds it may produce that are medicinal or highly venomous and can be used as weapons.
It is unclear whether any cryptozoologists are currently pursuing Ningen, as its location would require a well-funded expedition and crew members with knowledge of the Arctic region.