GRYTTIE: (SWEDEN)

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Thought by some to be nothing more than a rogue sea cow, there is a small contingent of investigators who staunchly believe that this animal is nothing less than a juvenile sea serpent.

In central Sweden, located in Hälsingland, deep in the forest between Hudiksvall and Ljusda, is a beautiful body of cold, deep water known as Lake Gryttjen. Like so many of its sister lakes — such as Lake Champlain or Loch Morar, which were landlocked throughout Northern Europe during the last ice age — Lake Gryttjen is said to harbor an amazing monstrosity in its murky depths.

First brought into the public eye in the 1980’s, legends of a sizable, marine animal have circulated around the lake for decades. Believed at first to be a hoaxer’s reaction to the popularity of LAKE MONSTERS like NESSIE or Norway’s infamous SELMA, it soon became apparent to investigators that eyewitnesses were reporting a genuine animal.

Described alternately as being serpentine and long or large and round — not unlike the contrasting descriptions of fellow Swede, STORSIE — this possibly “horned” animal has been seen on numerous occasions over the past three decades. These sightings resulted in the forming of the Gryttie Group in 1985. Since its inception this organization has dedicated itself to discovering the identity and origin of this unique creature.

During the summer of 1987, this conglomeration hired an aquatic robot from the Navy called the “Lady Bird.” The robot consisted of a remote controlled video camera, which moved along the lake bed by means of crawler. The system included a TV monitor, located on the shore, which reproduced images from the camera. Sadly this expedition uncovered no new information about the beast.

In 1988, the group decided to pool their resources and purchase a very sophisticated, robotic, underwater camera that was equipped with propellers. Thomas Sjöbeck, the group’s technical manager, claimed that the robotic investigation — which was apparently led by Dr. Bengt-Åke Lindhe — resulted in the discovery of what is believed to be a lip shield from an unknown animal’s horn.

Eager to find out what this “horn” may have belonged to, marine geologist — Per Söderberg, from Stockholm University — searched the lake using side can sonar in 1992. The probe, sadly, revealed nothing new about the lake or the creatures therein.

Since those initial sightings, there have been multiple research teams who have investigated this phenomenon, and at least one documentary, which was produced for Swedish television and aired on November 30th, 1995

Although some cryptozoologists believe that Gryttie is a juvenile SEA-SERPENT, most agree that the animal is probably a rogue sea cow. The Gryttie Group apparently supports this hypothesis and has even gone so far as to dub the creature “Hydrodamalis Gryttiensis,” which utilizes the scientific designation of he sea cow. The Gryttie Group continues its dogged pursuit for evidence of this mysterious monster.

© Copyright Rob Morphy 2002 — 2011

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