The placing of a mythical monster on Sweden’s endangered species list, in an apparent fit of bureaucratic zeal, has caused an administrative problem for the country’s authorities

"During a routine inspection of the environment court in Jaemtland recently, we came across a decision that attracted our interest," said Nils-Olof Berggren, a Swedish parliamentary ombudsman. "The court had turned down an application from a man who wanted to search for and hatch the monster’s eggs, probably believing [the application] was just a joke." However, Mr Berggren found there was an actual decision from 1986 placing the monster under protection. "We decided to have a closer look at how the listing came about and how it is applied. If a court decided it cannot be applied, we want to find out if the monster really needs to be protected or if the decision can be scrapped," he said. Legend has it that the giant serpent, similar to the Loch Ness Monster has lived for centuries in Jaemtland’s Lake Storsjoen, Sweden’s fifth-largest lake. Although about 500 people claim to have seen the monster, described by one as a snakelike animal with a dog’s head and fins on its neck, it has not been captured on camera. With such vague evidence of its existence, the ombudsman last week asked the Jaemtland county administrative board to send documents that led to its decision in 1986. The issue was brought to the ombudsman’s attention by the man who was denied permission to search for the monster’s eggs. Magnus Cedergren said he wanted to hatch them to raise monster babies and turn them into a tourist attraction.