Montauk Monster Attracts L.I. Boaters

On May 5th a the remains of a new
unidentified corpse washed up on the beaches of Long Island, and locals are saying
it is yet another Montauk Monster. Montauk was for 30 years the home of Capt. Frank
Mundus, known as “Monster Man”, and he is generally credited for being the inspiration
for Quint in the movie Jaws. Mundus died over a year ago in Hawaii, but Montauk
boaters evidently hanker for a new monster since white sharks have been scarce around
Montauk since Mundus retired.

Mundus started the Montauk Monster craze years ago and the spot has been a Mecca for boaters for years.

The story began with a July 23, 2008 article in a local newspaper, The Independent.
Jenna Hewitt, 26, of Montauk, and three friends said they found the creature on
July 12 at the Ditch Plains beach, two miles east of the district. The beach is
a popular surfing spot at Rheinstein Estate Park owned by the town of East Hampton.
Hewitt was quoted: “We were looking for a place to sit when we saw some people looking
at something... We didn't know what it was... We joked that maybe it was something
from New Jersey.”



The widely published photo of a bloated, leathery animal corpse — only it was like
no animal anyone had seen before. A stout, hairless creature with a beak, claws,
and the almond-shaped eyes familiar from renderings of space aliens, it looked,
in short, like a monster, said an article in New York Magazine last year.

Montauk in the lower right is about 20 miles from Plum Island, which can be seen NE of the “t” in Orient Point.

The article went on to say that “a number of eyewitnesses say they saw the monster
with their own eyes. ‘I saw the monster,’ says Michael Meehan, a 22-year-old waiter
at the Surfside Inn, which sits above the beach where the monster washed up. "I
just came walking down the beach and everyone was looking at it. No one knew what
it was.’ So did anyone there, you know, do anything about it?



"This woman kept calling animal control," said Meehan. "She wanted to name it after
herself. I think they came and got it. The carcass. Whatever it was."

A new monster has washed up on a Long Island beach and boaters are patrolling the coast looking for more.

The Mystery Island



Adding to the mystery and the monster mystique is the fact that not far from Montauk
and where the monsters are washing up is the notorious Plum Island. In 1954 the
United States Department of Agriculture established an Animal dieases research center
on the island. Wikipedia says, “The Plum Island Animal Disease Center (PIADC)
is a United States federal research facility dedicated to the study of foreign animal
diseases. Since 1954, the center has had the goal of protecting America's livestock
from foreign animal diseases. During the Cold War a secret biological weapons program
targeting livestock has been conducted at the site. This program has been the subject
of controversies, and the facility has gained a cult status.”



Local boaters have long thought there might be anthrax on the island, which is well
posted, and few are bold enough to venture ashore. Many boaters think that this
island might be the source of the monsters. Needless to say the Federal government
is not saying anything about the monsters, not that anyone would believe anything
it said anyway.



In 2003, the Department of Homeland Security took ownership of the island and facilities;
the Department of Agriculture continues to work on the island. In December 2008,
the U.S. Department of Homeland Security recommended Kansas as the site for a new
high-security animal disease lab, a decision that could eventually close Long Island's
Plum Island Animal Disease Center.



This recommendation has led locals to speculate the DHS would like to take over
the island for its own surveillance purposes since the island is at the mouth of
Long Island Sound and not far from Groton, CT, one of America’s largest submarine
bases.


The Moscow Monster

Sakhalin, where these photos were allegedly taken, is in the Siberian far east and is best known for brown bears and the base from which Russian fighter jets shot down a Korean Airlines 747 that was off course 20 years ago.

If all of this were not enough, it now turns out that the Russians have come out
of the closet with their monsters, and Montauk has nothing on Moscow.



Prior to the discovery of the Montauk Monster, the carcass of a creature had washed
up on the shores of Sakhalin, Russia in 2006. The carcass of the creature appears
to be reptilian, however it still remains unidentified. According to the people
who found the creature they claim it’s not a fish due to structure of the bones
and teeth. Additionally, it’s not an alligator or crocodile because it has a skin
that contains hair or fur.



Once again, the creature is not available for public viewing. It has been taken
in by Russian Special Services for further examination. People are referring to
the creature as the “Moscow Monster.”

Boating has yet to catch on in Sakhalin except for some salmon fishing outfitters.

From time to time strange things pop up in Siberia, usually through the tundra, though. This creature certainly makes the Montauk Monster look like a piker.

We encourage our readers in the interest of science to suggest what they think
might be the source of these unexplained creatures…