hi it's katrina from mysterious lake
monsters terrorizing boats
to some of the most dangerous animals in
the world here are nine terrifying
creatures
found in alaska
number 9. lake iliamna monster
lake iliyamna is the largest lake in
alaska and it is rumored to be the home
of a monster
the lake ilyama monster or illy for
short
is said to range from 10 to 30 feet long
and locals say it is a
large dark colored beast there are
numerous tales about the creature among
nearby villages
including one native legend described by
john chandelmeier of the anchorage daily
news
that speaks of gargantuan sea creatures
moving back and forth between the seen
and unseen worlds the native tinget
people describe a creature called the
gona cadet
a large beast with the head of a wolf
and the body of an orca
the aleut people called it the jeek
eknack and it is said to travel in
groups
attack canoes and kill warriors but is
it the same creature
while there are different variations of
these stories they all describe
an incredibly massive and potentially
dangerous unidentified animal
locals are reportedly sometimes afraid
to cross the lake for this reason
especially since it is so remote the
only way to get across is by small boat
or plane
local residents gary nielsen spoke of an
encounter with kdlg
a dillingham radio station stating there
was more than one at least three
the first was the biggest maybe double
the size of a 32-foot gill netter
the animal either blew like a whale or
spit water from his mouth or something
the smaller animals behind him did the
same but not as dramatic
they were black or very dark gray they
surfaced like whales for maybe two or
three seconds about a mile
offshore i am at a total loss as to what
they could be
at least six adults and several children
witnessed the incident
and they walked away from it with very
similar accounts of what they saw
and what happened amateurs and experts
alike have speculated regarding what the
lake ilyamna monster might
be their guesses include sturgeons which
don't grow nearly as large as the
monster's reported size
seals and the possibility that the
stories are just that
stories local resident bruce wright a
former marine ecologist has decided to
try to find it once and for all
he hopes to photograph it by sinking a
video camera to the bottom of the lake
and at least learn more about what lives
in this mysterious place
so far no physical evidence has turned
up but one thing remains
clear if the monster is real you do not
want to get in its way
number 8. moose if someone asks you to
name some of alaska's most dangerous
animals
moose may not be among the first
examples that come to mind
especially compared to apex predators
like bears but
moose are hazardous in their own right
while their behavior is not
usually outright threatening their
abundant population numbers
are moose outnumber bears three to one
in alaska and violent encounters with
humans are statistically
far more common they wound more people
than grizzly bear and black bear attacks
combined
these large animals are certainly
capable of killing or seriously injuring
humans
with antlers measuring up to six feet
from end to end
and they can weigh as much as 1 500
pounds
moose wander into towns and cities in
the winter and look through the trash
although moose are not naturally
aggressive they are also not
immune to aggression especially when
they feel harassed or hungry
while moose typically flee from
perceived threats if they are busy
looking through your garbage and you
scare them
they sometimes respond by kicking
charging and stomping
especially when they have offspring to
protect thankfully
most moose charges are bluffs according
to the alaska department of fish and
game
but the agency stresses that it's
important for people to know how to
respond when this happens
and to avoid a situation like this
entirely if possible
attacks are most common during mating
season in september and october
to prevent getting in their way the
department of fish and game recommends
keeping dogs
away from moose and not throwing things
at them feeding moose is actually
considered a crime in alaska
for their safety and yours it has a
maximum penalty of one year in prison
and a ten thousand dollar fine number
seven
kushtaka the tlingit people who live in
coastal alaska and parts of canada and
have a history dating back some 10
000 years believe that some otters have
shape-shifting powers that enable them
to look like
human men these creatures called
kushtaka
act with the sinister intention of
trapping people's souls and stop them
from reincarnating
while in human form kushtaka approach
unsuspecting victims in villages
in the forest and at sea they sometimes
travel individually or in groups
and are most dangerous in group form to
lure a human toward them they sometimes
imitate the sounds of crying women or
babies
kushtaka are indistinguishable from
ordinary humans
these malevolent beings tend to appear
when a person is injured or lost
pretending to be rescuers
but instead of guiding people to safety
kushtaka lead their victims deeper into
the woods and either rip them to shreds
or turn them into kusaka too either way
the individual is rendered incapable of
reincarnating
the irony to be found in this situation
is in the seemingly harmless nature of
otters and their deceptively cute
appearance
thankfully there is one effective way to
avoid crossing paths with akushaka
they are terrified of dogs so keeping a
canine companion around deters them from
coming near you
number 6. bears alaska is home to all
three north american bear species
black bears polar bears and brown bears
the latter of which injure the most
humans out of all
believe it or not brown bears are
statistically three and a half more
times likely to hurt people during
encounters
despite the polar bear's deadly
reputation according to national
geographic
which reported on research by brigham
young university biologist tom smith and
steven herrera
professor emeritus of ecology at the
university of calgary
bears in alaska generally avoid humans
making attacks rare
sightings are uncommon as well and when
one happens a bear will usually walk
away
but an encounter is always possible and
could be fatal
the national park service recommends
avoiding close contact with bears at all
costs
one easy way to accomplish this is to
avoid attracting them with food
but the agency also warns to never run
from a bear
simply stating on its website you can't
outrun a bear
instead people are encouraged to let the
bear know that they are human by waving
their hands in the air and talking in a
normal tone of voice
should the worst happen in a bear
attacks there are two choices
to play dead or fight back a bear will
generally leave the scene the moment
they believe someone is no longer a
threat
according to the national park service
so playing dead is sometimes effective
but this isn't always the case and when
worse comes to worse a person may have
no
option but to fight back number 5.
bigfoot bigfoot sightings have been
reported in many parts of the u.s and
the world
and alaska is no exception people claim
to see evidence of the cryptid as far
back as the early 20th century
when a story circulated about a trapper
reporting bizarrely large footprints in
the snow in a forest
and disappearing shortly thereafter then
in 1940 a group of women reported seeing
a large
hairy man-like creature while out
picking berries they supposedly captured
and
fed the animal which later died
according to a letter written by one of
the individuals involved
but these hairy man-beasts are dangerous
predators that inspire
terror and fright three years later in
1943
an unknown creature attacked a man who
later died from his injuries
there were no other witnesses to the
incident except the man's dog team
who reportedly chased the terrifying
animal away
these are just some examples of the
reported bigfoot sightings throughout
alaska
oftentimes the enormous creature moves
too quickly for people to catch more
than a brief glimpse of it
hunters looking for moose and deer have
reported coming across
man-like footprints and remains of
animals torn apart
but not like the way a bear would eat
estimates of its height range from seven
to eight feet tall and one witness
claimed that it looked like it weighed
around 400 pounds
bigfoot sightings and other strange
occurrences became so common in one
village called portlock
located along the southern edge of the
kenai peninsula that all its residents
eventually fled
starting in the 1930s portlock was
plagued by mysterious deaths and
disappearances
as well as sightings of strange
creatures including the nantynak
or big hairy creature throughout the
1940s
numerous mutilated bodies turned up in
the area showing telltale signs of
brutal deaths
meanwhile people continued to just
disappear
the fears revolving around these
tragedies and the monster who might have
played a role in them became so
widespread
people fled portlock in droves nearly
completely abandoning it by the 1950s
hunters returned years later and noticed
footprints measuring a foot and a half
long
today the once bustling village remains
a ghost town
number 4. mountain lions as you already
know
mountain lions are real animals but they
are rarely seen in alaska which is
considered outside the species range
making them seem almost mythical in the
region the wild felines are most often
spotted
in southeastern alaska near known
populations in neighboring british
columbia
but sightings have been reported much
farther north and to the west
including on the kanai peninsula and
around the city of palmer according to
the alaska department of fish and game
mountain lion populations are increasing
throughout parts of north america
perhaps explaining why people are
increasingly noticing them
outside their established areas experts
believe it's unlikely that the species
will establish a breeding population in
alaska
but they find it entirely believable
that the big cats sometimes wander there
human encounters with mountain lions are
rare and therefore so are physical
altercations between them
and us as the mountain lion foundation
points out on its website
you are more likely to drown in your
bathtub be killed by a pet dog
or hit by lightning but it's not
impossible for things to get ugly
between a mountain lion and a human
especially if someone doesn't know how
to properly react to the wild cat's
presence
running is a bad idea and so is playing
dead
a more effective approach is just like
with bears to wave your arms in the air
or open and flap your coat to look
bigger and talk loudly while walking
backwards
giving the animal its space in most
cases people succeed in thwarting the
animal
worst case scenario if it leaps at you
it's most likely going to go for your
neck
so once it lunges you have to fight back
number three
wolverines wolverines have a fierce and
fearless reputation
and are also known for their highly
aggressive and territorial tendencies
they aren't huge adult males typically
weigh between 20 and 55 pounds
and measure up to 3.3 feet long not
including their tail but looks can be
deceiving
and wolverines are extremely strong for
their size
additionally they have razor sharp claws
and powerful jaws that can crunch
through meat and bone
they will kill livestock small animals
and even moose if they feel like it
this solitary species which is related
to minks and weasels
is more abundant in certain parts of
alaska than others
and it's rare for wolverines to enter
human populated areas
while it's possible in theory for a
wolverine to kill a human
there are no documented deaths but these
ferocious animals do occasionally go
near people
in november 2019 for example the adfg
warned anchorage residents about a
string of wolverine attacks against
pets and livestock fortunately no people
have ever fallen victim to the wandering
creature's violent ways
and wolverines generally avoid going
anywhere near people
still it could happen and the adfg
cautions against doing anything to
attract one
number 2. china river ice monster
back in 2016 an alaska bureau of land
management worker named craig mccaw
captured bizarre footage of a creature
in the china river in fairbanks
it quickly became known as the alaska
ice monster
the video of this strange 15-foot long
ice-covered serpentine creature swimming
slowly in a side-to-side motion quickly
went viral
generating countless comments with
people's theories on what the animal was
included among the guesses were
suggestions that the so-called ice
monster was an atlantic surgeon
a bull shark ice or debris that simply
looked like an animal
or something else entirely perhaps a
north american version
of the lochness monster the more
imaginative among these theories quickly
fell out of favor in lieu of more
rational ones
the bureau of land management admittedly
never officially investigated or
identified the creature
technically leaving the matter open to
speculation but the anchorage daily news
noted that according to an adfg
biologist
the most likely case was that frazzle
ice a kind of loose
slushy ice that forms on water had
become stuck to a rope near a bridge
pier this loose random ice is formed in
supercooled turbulent water
and might have swayed back and forth on
the rope which of course would look like
a beast
while this conclusion is not as exciting
as the idea of a north american nessie
lurking in alaska's waters
the latter has technically not been
ruled out yet
number 1. wolves wolves are common
throughout alaska
including in areas inhabited by humans
while they are certainly capable of
doing harm
wolves are rarely aggressive toward us
but they do sometimes attack
and troubling encounters in suburban
areas are on the rise
in a handful of instances wolves have
even killed their victims
the first ever known case of a wolf
killing a human in alaska
which was also the second recorded such
case in north america
happened in march 2010 near the
community of
chignik lake the body of a woman named
candace berner was found on a roadside
and a subsequent investigation
determined that an animal had mauled her
to death
between the evidence and eyewitness
testimony the adfg and the alaska state
troopers determined that wolves
killed miss berner to avoid being
attacked the adfg
recommends storing food properly not
going outside alone in wolf territory
and being aware of your surroundings
should a person encounter a wolf or a
wolf pack they should not
run or turn their back on the animals
instead they should maintain eye contact
aggressively step forward while yelling
or using a noisemaker of some sort such
as an
air horn and if necessary fight back
i mean i don't know who carries an air
horn while walking about
but maybe if you live in alaska you
should just in case of emergency
thanks for watching have you ever been
to alaska it is definitely one of the
places i want to visit
if you'd like to learn about more
terrifying creatures and things from
other parts of the world
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see you later bye