Over the years, there have been multiple mysterious sightings of strange animals within the Blackwater Estuary. Though some were later discredited, found to be quite ordinary species, others have led to vast speculation. So, what does lurk in the depths surrounding Essex? Maybe it doesn’t lurk at all; perhaps it creeps or even swooshes its way through the water? Might it feast on creatures taking refuge in our underwater seagrass meadows or break the surface and swipe its prey from the land when no one is looking? Is it friend or foe? It seems that the answers to our many questions might just be on the horizon… literally.  

A creature coined on Twitter yesterday evening as the ‘Blackwater Beast’ has had two confirmed sightings and one other potential sighting along the estuary in the last 24 hours.

Steve Monahan was the first to spot the beast between the Osea beach huts and Horsey Island yesterday afternoon at about 12:30 pm:  

‘I assumed it was just another seal until I noticed that the fins were not seal-like and resembled a fish more than any mammal. It was much bigger than a seal would be. I know the picture is far away, but you can see that it isn’t the right shape for a seal or even a whale really. I have been looking for it on my walks, but I haven’t spotted it since.’  

After seeing Steve’s photo, we put a call-out on social media asking if there had been any other sightings of the mysterious creature. We discovered that the beast had been seen from Tollesbury Wick nature reserve at approximately 4:00 pm by Joel Tobison.

Unfortunately, Joel wasn’t quick enough to capture another photo of the creature but did manage to notice something particularly strange: 

‘I’m sure it was the same animal in the photo because I remember seeing the tail splash out of the water and then a rounded fin which I thought was curious. It swam in a seal-like motion despite looking more like a porpoise, I was very confused.’ 

A Maldon local, Fern Richardson, who has lived in the area since birth remembers many previous eye-witness accounts of odd sea creatures which she claims have always turned out to be false:

‘There is always an explanation for this kind of thing. People see something unusual and jump to conclusions.  

I was very young at the time but in the 50s there were a couple of horrible, strange looking things wash up on Canvey Island which years later were identified as monkfish but, of course, no one knew what they were back then.’ 

One of our Landscape Conservation team, Gemma McKenzie, shared her theories of what the truth behind the Blackwater Beast could really be: 

‘It’s unlikely to be an undiscovered species although that can never be 100% ruled out. It could be a rare cross between two existing species that has lost its bearings as whales sometimes do. However, the most likely scenario is that it is a large shark, seal or harbour porpoise which has sustained injuries or developed growths on its body which would explain the bumps you can see in the picture.’ 

Essex Wildlife Trust has stationed local volunteer, James Tedrickson, to the last place the Blackwater Beast was spotted with the hope it will surface again. For now, keep your eyes peeled at the coast and let us know if you see anything fishy.