We’ve got our own version of the Loch Ness Monster in Great Cove. The first sign of its presence usually is a school of good-sized fish (Pogies?) jumping out of the water for no obvious reason.
We’ve come to realize that they jump because they see the monster rising fast toward them from the black depths. The monster attacks with tremendous speed and force, sometimes bursting high out of the Cove to catch its prey as they leap for their life.
We’ve seen, at a significant distance, the monster’s silhouette and parts of its breaching body and can tell that it’s a large seal of some type. But, we haven’t been able to confidently identify what type of seal it is. We think that it’s probably a Harbor Seal, our most common seal.
File Photo
Harbor Seals can grow to over six feet long and weigh almost 400 pounds. Usually, Harbor Seals find their prey along the bottom (e.g., lobsters and other crustaceans) or chase fish at mid-sea depths. This Great Cove lurker is different, and we’re glad it prefers fish over arms and legs.
(Brooklin, Maine)