By Tim Binnall
A group of Slovakian hikers say they spotted a sizable mystery creature emerge from the waters of the country's largest alpine lake. According to a local media report, the intriguing event occurred late last month as Pavol Jackovič and two companions were exploring the High Tatras mountain range. While taking a break from climbing, the group was stunned to see a large white anomaly in the Veľké Hincovo Pleso lake approximately 500 feet below where they were resting. "It must have been something very big if a person sees it from that height," Jackovič marveled, estimating that the mystery creature was "at least" 10 to 13 feet long.
The hiker later lamented that the group was so stunned by what they were seeing that they never thought to take a picture of it, which sounds unfathomable but is actually a fairly frequent response by witnesses to weirdness like UFOs or Bigfoot. "Probably, if I were alone, I would have said I was dreaming," Jackovič mused, "but we didn't dream this, that's for sure." In a testament to their sincerity, Tatras mountaineer Jaroslav Švorc indicated that, in conversation with the hikers, they "literally swore that they had seen some strange creature there, like some huge fish, but they couldn’t identify it."
To that end, identifying what the weird animal might have been has proven to be a challenge for Slovakian wildlife experts as Veľké Hincovo Pleso is a particularly inhospitable alpine lake that is covered in ice for around 270 days a year. With only the testimony of the hikers to go on, officials currently have no plans to conduct a survey or use sonar to get to the bottom of the odd mystery. Meanwhile, the curious account has captivated local residents who wonder if the location may be home to their country's version of the Loch Ness Monster. “I listen to various rumors from every side," resort owner Milan Štefánik said, noting that theories include a fish that "has grown to gigantic proportions to fairy-tale characters."