The Ri of New Ireland
In Papua New Guinea, islanders spoke of merfolk with human heads and fish tails. Expeditions went looking for them, with cameras.
What was reported
On the island of New Ireland, people told of the ri: sea creatures with a human head and upper body and a fish-like tail, sometimes caught in nets. In 1979 the American anthropologist Roy Wagner wrote about them and joined an effort to find them.
In 1983 and 1985, expeditions went out to film them. They saw animals surface in the lagoons, and photographed one.
Explanations offered
The animals they found were dugongs, large sea mammals related to manatees, which can look strangely human when they rise to breathe. Some of the team still argued that the local ri was different, but no evidence of anything else was found.
- When
- Investigated 1979–1985
- Where
- Namatanai, New Ireland, Papua New Guinea
- Witnesses
- Islanders, an anthropologist and expedition teams
- Status
- Explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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