Encounter Atlas
On 10 August 1741, naturalist Georg Steller, sailing with Vitus Bering's expedition, watched a strange animal swimming near the ship off the Shumagin Islands in Alaska for about two hours. He described it as about five feet long, with a dog-like head, pointed ears, large eyes and drooping whiskers, a thick grey and reddish fur coat, no visible front limbs and a tail with two fins like a shark's.
It rose upright in the water, dived under the ship again and again, and played with a long piece of seaweed. Steller fired at it to get a specimen but missed, and it swam away. In 1965 sailor Miles Smeeton and two companions reported a similar animal off Atka Island.
Several naturalists later gave it scientific names, but most experts think Steller saw a young northern fur seal behaving unusually.
What witnesses report
- A dog-like head with long whiskers
- Rising upright in the water
- Playful, curious behaviour around a boat
- Thick grey and reddish fur
Famous cases
- 1741Georg Steller watches the 'sea ape' for two hours
Shumagin Islands, Alaska - 1965Miles Smeeton reports a similar animal
Atka Island, Alaska
Seen the Steller's sea ape?
Tell us what happened. Every report is read by a person before it goes on the map, and you can stay anonymous.
