Do mermaids exist?
Are mermaids real?
The answer is as complicated as sifting through the data on whether UFOs are real. Evidence for the existence of mermaids has been uncovered in cultures from around the globe dating back 1000s of years. There are references from ancient Babylonia dating to circa 1894 BC and in China from the 4th century BC. The concept of mermaids in Europe and North America is likely influenced by Greek mythology. In this mythology sirens were creatures whose enchanting music and song caused sailors to wreck their ships along rocky shores. In more recent times Henry Hudson in 1608 reported sighting a mermaid in the Arctic Ocean and the infamous English pirate Blackbeard recorded numerous sightings of mermaids. There are more contemporary reports too. Such as one made in Zimbabwe in 2012 when workers blamed mermaids for driving them away from their work on two reservoirs.
Mermaid is a compound word made from two Old English words: mere meaning sea and maid meaning a girl or young woman. A number of modern day women could reasonably be thought of as mermaids. For example, in Japanese female skin divers have for at least 2,000 years free-dived to collect shellfish and seaweed. Increasingly their diving has been regarded as a tourist attraction. In Florida, beginning in 1947, Florida’s Weeki Wachee Springs state park has been regarded as “The Only City of Live Mermaids.” Here professional female divers perform underwater wearing costumes with fabric mermaid tails.
While there has been no hard evidence that mermaids exist, there is biological information suggesting a strong connection between humans and a watery existence. In their development human embryos go through a stage where they have slits and arches in their necks. These are reminiscent of the gill slits and gill arches of fish; however, these structures are not gills although they are similar to the gills in fish. It appears that humans share a common ancestor, albeit a long time ago, with fish.
Mermaid Sightings
Mermaid sightings may be more credibly tied to a very different siren from the one in Greek mythology. There is a group of mammals known as sirenians. The animals in this group are entirely aquatic and vegetarian. These plant-eating animals live in fresh and salt water. Manatees, dugongs, and the extinct Steller’s sea cow all belong to the group known as sirenians. Manatees can be found along the West coast of Florida. These homely yet somehow endearing animal are grow to immense size compared to humans. Adults weigh between 800 to 1,200 pounds and reach up to 10 feet on length. They have three or four tiny nails at the end of each flipper and their tail, unlike a whale’s, is rounded like a big paddle. Manatees have flexible lips that they can use to grasp and pull food into their months.
Any sailor who mistook a sirenian for a mermaid didn’t have any Hollywood ideals for beauty. Having personally had the opportunity to swim and kayak alongside manatees in Florida, I can state without doubt they these docile creatures neither look nor sound like Ariel from Disney’s Little Mermaid. Despite these things, they are enchanting.
