What kind of animal is the "water monkey" in rivers and lakes?

There are two possibilities for explanation from a scientific point of view: one possibility is that the "water monkey" is an otter, and the other possibility is that the "water monkey" is another species that is different from the otter. Mysterious creatures discovered by humans.

"Water monkeys" are "water ghosts". They usually live in the water and sometimes come ashore. They are often found in wild water sources such as mountain ponds and reservoirs. Water monkeys are very good at water, and their limbs will become weak after being away from water for ten minutes. In the water, the strength of the water monkey is several times greater than that of humans, so once it is hugged by it in the water, it is life-threatening.

Otter: The scientific name is Lutra lutra (Linnaeus, 1758), which is an animal of the Weasel family and the genus Otter. The otter has a long body, short snout, slightly protruding and round eyes, small ears, short limbs, brown back and grayish brown belly. Otters are secretive and like to live on steep banks, riverbank shoals, and in rivers, lakes, creeks and marshes with few aquatic plants and dense forests nearby, where they live a hidden life in caves.

However, the legendary water monkey has more mysterious characteristics. Obviously, these characteristics cannot be explained by otter theory. Otters can only attack smaller creatures. So some people think that this is a mysterious creature that has not yet been discovered.

Extended information:

The legend about the "water monkey":

1. Guangdong water monkey:

In the older generation population , we can often hear from their mouths the water monkey (water monkey), a mysterious animal that lives in rivers. From their descriptions, we know that the water monkey is a humanoid underwater animal with fur all over its body. Its characteristics are that the fur is very long and red, and the buttocks are also very red. It is monkey-shaped and a bit like a child.

Cantonese people say that the scientific name of this underwater creature is Feng Shui monkey. They live on fish, but they also like to suck blood. Just like mosquitoes, they suck the blood of other creatures for certain physiological needs. Including human ones.

I heard that many people were killed by this kind of water monkey in Maoming, Huazhou and Chaoshan areas of Guangdong, and then sucked human blood from their heels. It is said that water monkeys are extremely powerful underwater, but only a little on land. No strength either. Its biggest feature is that it can emit a strange chemical that can make people lose consciousness and listen to its commands, tricking people into falling into the water and becoming its prey. There are people in society who use this chemical to confuse people and defraud them of money.

2. Hunan water monkey:

In our hometown in Hunan, water monkeys are also called drowned ghosts. But no one has seen it. This water ghost story was told by my uncle, who experienced it personally when he was a soldier in the north.

At that time, there was a mountain village next to the station. There was a pool in the mountain village. Legend has it that there were water monkeys in the pool. People often see them appearing in the trees near the pond. As soon as someone comes, they will jump into the water with a "plop" and disappear.

At that time, we were about to publicize the breaking of feudal superstition, so the army sent a company and ten water pumps to start up at the same time. After a day of pumping, the water in the pool was drained, but nothing was found.

So dozens of soldiers were asked to search, and finally a monster was caught in the mud. It was said that he looked really like a monkey, was very strong, and even screamed. In the end, he had to be handcuffed with iron chains. This incident caused a sensation at the time, but I don’t know what happened to it later.

Baidu Encyclopedia-Water Monkey

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