Telegraph: Australian scientists have solved the mystery of the ‘Hafguf’ sea monster Fox News

According to Scandinavian legends, these fantastic creatures could freeze motionless, their mouths wide open, in an upright position on the surface of the water, waiting for prey, which sometimes became ships. According to legend, sailors could swim through the mouths of their ships, mistaking the teeth of a monster for sea rocks.

Scientists in Australia have found that, in fact, myths describe one of the ways whales use while hunting. These mammals have been seen more than once in an upright position on the surface of the water, their mouths wide open, waiting for the fish to swim.

At first, experts thought that mammals had invented this method of hunting recently, but after studying literature, including ancient legends about sea monsters, they changed their minds. “I was struck by the fact that the Scandinavian description of ‘hafguf’ is very similar to the behavior of whales hunting with such a ‘trap’, but at first I thought it was just an interesting coincidence”, said marine archaeologist Dr John McCarthy (quoted by RIA News).

This behavior of marine mammals was first recorded by scientists in 2011, and has since been observed many times. According to them, new technologies, especially drones, have played a big role in this, which now makes it possible to notice what experts did not know before.