The Storsjö Monster
Did you spot my tail?
I feel a bit lost when the history of my family comes up, but from what I have gathered, we have lived in this lake ever since Lake Storsjön evolved after the most recent Ice Age.
It should be about nine thousand years ago; time goes fast when you have taken water over your head as we Storsjö Monsters say. We like it here, and always have. There are only four lakes in Sweden of larger size; this one has just the right depth with an average of just over 17 metres; we have great neighbours and mates in the form of the 20 species of fish that we socialize with.
My old ancestors – and now we’re talking seriously old – have described how, when they were young, hardly any people lived round the lake. Today the situation is quite different. People have moved here, farmed the land on the shores, built towns and bridges, so nowadays we are most happy in the winter when we can retire and hide underneath a thick layer of ice.
I must admit it is a bit disturbing during the winter season with all the snowmobile traffic and all the shouting and laughing along the many tour-skating courses immediately above our heads, as we try to nod off and go to sleep. But the noisy winter people sound like they’re having fun. And they must, just like us, be happy in this environment.
From what I’ve heard we are a bit famous, a cultural heritage, a trademark, intimately connected with Lake Storsjön and Jämtland. We are said to be characterised by mystery, thrills and magic.
Naturally, we have seen that the interest in us is huge. Humans have built observation posts around this large lake, for people hoping to spot one of us; we have our own exhibitions at Jamtli and most recently, we have seen the keen population of Svenstavik mounting under-water web cameras to keep constant track of us. A bit like Big Brother actually, most of it a bit of fun actually.
It is not all that easy to avoid the cameras. Did you, by the way, notice a small section of my tail flashing past one of the web cameras the other day? Nice tail, or what do you say?
GPS N63º 9’ 25.83, E14º 28’38.42
