From the Humber Monster to big cats: Ten of Hull s most fantastic animals – Hull Daily Mail
From the Humber Monster to big cats: Ten of Hull’s most fantastic animals
Over the years their have been recording sightings of everything from wolves to sea monsters
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- 05:00, six AUG 2017
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As we all know there are few more magical and mystical places than East Yorkshire.
There all manner of animals and creatures that have been rumoured to wander the streets and waters of Hull and the rest of the county.
Some are wonderful and whimsical, but others fall in the area of reality with eyewitness reports of their unusual sightings.
From the humps of the Humber Monsters, to leopards, sharks and wolves, Hull has a weird and wonderful array of fantastic brutes.
Hull historian-in-chief Mike Covell has taken out his magnifying glass to search out for the stories behind these infrequent creatures.
Humber Monster
Fewer locations hold more mystery and mystique than the murky brown waters of the Humber. The Hull press began reporting sightings of Sea Serpents as early as 1817, with one such monster sighting coming in the 1920’s from Hull-bound vessel that “saw something” in the North Sea.
The earliest sighting of the Humber Monster came in one thousand nine hundred twenty two when a Grimsby vessel’s squad claimed they had seen something near the mouth of the Humber.
They sailed towards two large fins, but the creatures swam off at speed.
The scare truly began in one thousand nine hundred thirty four when Hull, Grimsby and Cleethorpes fishermen all reported eyeing a large black creature that interfered with their fishing gear.
Days later a civilian and his wifey witnessed it whilst they were driving near Spurn Point.
Shark attacks
There have been remarkably number of sightings of sharks in local waters, with the earliest sighting dating back to 1823, when a large shark appeared near the Potteries and attempted to attack Hull children cleaning their feet in the Humber.
In September 1909, it was reported a shark had entered Humber Dock, or the Marina as it is known today.
Two boys called Richard Middleton and William Busby managed to hook the creature, pulling it to Queen’s Dock where it died before it was bought by a Beverley businessman who put it on display.
Man vs Wolf
In one thousand eight hundred eighty nine at the zoological gardens in Hull, wolves, which were being fed, leaped over the head of a keeper and made an escape into the gardens.