The video of what people believe is a strange creature is simply ice, according to experts of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The viral video that shows what it seems to be a strange creature swimming in the Chena River in Fairbanks, Alaska, has tricked people to believe a new creature was living near the American state.
Two employees of the Alaskan Bureau of Land Management caught on video what it seems to be a water creature unknown to humans. Craig McCaa and Ryan Delaney’s footage was posted on Facebook at the end of October, on Halloween, by the same Alaskan Bureau of Land Management. The post read: “Our Fairbanks employees captured this strange ‘thing,’ swimming in the Chena River.”
Wednesday came and speculations about what it is the mysterious thing on the water continue. Theories said ridiculous things as Nessie moved to Alaska or that a relative of the Loch Ness creature lives in Alaska. People even said that the video was showing a zombie salmon.
The controversy surrounding the video could be attributed to the fact that an official state agency published the video, or because Halloween just passed and people is still excited about mysterious things. But the truth is that the footage is just featuring some ice.
The Alaskan Bureau of Land Management updated its original post about the supposed creature and stated that what people sees on the video is no more than frazil ice stuck to a rope. The rope is probably caught on a bridge pier, explaining the movement of what seems to be a marine creature.
The employees of the agency returned to the site where they videotape the “monster” on October 31. They found that the are had warmed, and the river ice and snow had melted, along with the frazil ice, a.k.a. The Alaskan monster.
Everything you need to know about Frazil Ice to stop believing ice is a marine monster
Frazil ice is a natural phenomenon of the Yosemite Valley that occurs when streamflows are relatively high, but temperatures are below freezing. Frazil ice looks like to be full of slush rather than water, and it is formed when mist freezes.
The phenomenon can occur during all seasons except summer as long as there is high flow over waterfalls and low temperatures. Frazil ice is more commonly seen during spring, around April. The floating piece of ice can usually be seen in the morning, before 09:00 a.m.
Yosemite Nature states in its Frazil Ice episode that the natural phenomenon is commonly seen on Yosemite Creek. Steven M. Bumgardner is the show’s producer and said he had witnessed seven frazil ice events on the creek, mostly in April.
If you are interested in seeing what people around the world though to be the next Nessie you have to visit the Yosemite Creek just below Lower Yosemite Fall or the Yosemite Valley along Ribbon Creek and the Sentinel Creek.
The National Park Service official website says that frazil ice can also be spotted in other states in the U.S., for example, the Hudson River in New York. Canada also hosts the natural phenomenon.
Source: The Washington Post