This is how Steller described this creature in his diary:
It was about 1.5 meters long, with a dog-like head and prominent, pointed ears. Whiskers hung above and below the upper and lower lips on both sides, giving it a Chinese appearance. Its eyes were large, and its body was elongated and thick, tapering towards the tail. Its skin was covered with dense fur, gray on its back and red and white on its belly. In the water, however, the entire animal appeared reddish, like a cow's. The tail was divided into two fins, the upper one twice the size of the lower one, like a shark's. What surprised me most was that I didn't see any forelimbs, as in marine amphibians, nor any fins [on the sides]...
For over two hours, the animal swam around the ship, gazing as if in admiration, first at one of us, then at the other. Sometimes it swam so close to the side that you could touch it with a pole. But if anyone made a move, the animal fled. It hovered above the water at a third of its height, just like a human. Sometimes it held this position for several minutes. It watched us for about half an hour, then darted away like an arrow, hid beneath the ship's bottom, and emerged on the other side. Soon, it dove again and reappeared in its original position. It dove and resurfaced in this manner about thirty times.
Once Steller had had his fill of the animal, he decided to euthanize it for a thorough examination and description. He took out his rifle and fired twice, but missed. The animal, unharmed, swam away, never to be seen again.
Steller's description doesn't match any known aquatic species. Until recently, the animal—like the sea cow—was considered extinct. However, in the 1960s, further accounts of its existence began to emerge. For example, in 1965, Brigadier Miles Smeeton had an encounter with a sea monkey while sailing his fourteen-meter yacht, the Tzu Hang, one afternoon near the central Aleutians. His wife, daughter, and a friend also saw the strange creature. British BBC journalist James Clark also had a similar encounter in 1987.
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