Ri (Mermaid)

<span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>

Illustration by Michael Lee (2007)

RECENT INVESTIGATION:
Josh Gates and Destination Truth

The Ri is also known as the Mermaid of New Ireland (a northeastern province of Papua New Guinea). The Ri is the ugly stepsister to the fanciful image of the creature popularized in such Hollywood films as Splash and The Little Mermaid. A local fisherman claims to have buried a Ri skeleton somewhere on New Ireland.

The Ri is said to be an air-breathing mammal with the head, arms, and upper torso of a human (although it is sometimes rumored to have the head of a sea-lion), combined with the lower body of a large fish, complete with lateral fins. It was recognized by the International Society of Cryptozoology after fishermen reported several encounters with mermaids in the waters around New Ireland in the early 1980s.

Pictures taken of an alleged Ri in 1985 were identified as a dugong, a known manatee-like marine mammal.

During the broadcast of the Ri episode of Destination Truth, a big figure that had a fin, arms, and hair was reportedly visible in the background of one of the cameras.