An Icelandic man who shot video purporting to show a legendary giant serpent swimming in a glacial river has spoken to media and likely solved the mystery of what the bizarre object is.
Amateur cameraman and farmer Hjortur Kjerulf shot the video that seems to show the "Lagarfljot's Worm" swimming in the river Jokuls I Fljotsdal, in east Iceland, about a week ago (Read more: video purports to show snake monster).
At the time skeptics suggested it was nothing more than a piece of torn fishing net or transparent plastic sheeting.
Now Kjerulf, 67, has told Bylgjan Radio how he filmed the object — indicating it was never stationary in the water and nothing more than an optical illusion.
Kjerulf told media he first noticed the "monster" from his kitchen window while drinking a cup of coffee, and it was still there when he finished the drink some time later.
This suggests the object had not moved at all, and remained in the same spot while Kjerulf found his camera and went out to the riverbank to film it from two different angles.
It is now believed the snake is nothing more than a piece of cloth or net caught on an underwater rock or branch.
But Kjerulf said he never intended to perpetrate a hoax.
"That is ridiculous," IceNews quoted him as saying on Bylgjan Radio. "This is no joke."
A Finnish woman, described by Discovery News as a "sceptical investigator", has also since analysed the video.
After taking several screen shots of the video, Miisa McKeown, said she found the object is actually stationary in the water, and only appears to be moving upstream.
"The movement was the most fascinating aspect, but when I realised how quickly the water was flowing I figured that could very well cause that effect on a flexible object trapped there," McKeown told Discovery News.
The footage made headlines worldwide after it was published in an article on the website for Iceland's national broadcasting service RUV.
It has since been viewed more than 3 million times on YouTube.
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