In editing Blackman's article on the Cadboro Bay Sea Serpent the creature is described in general terms as follows: the cadborosaur, popularly known as Caddy, is a sea serpent reputed to live in Cadboro Bay, between Vancouver Island and the Mainland of British Columbia. Like all sea serpents it is long and thin but it also has two large flippers, and a jagged crest which is frequently mistaken for a mane that possibly provides him with ballast. Its head is usually described as "horselike", it has a slender neck about two-and-a-half feet thick, and has been reported as being of various colours.

According to reports from sightings, like all aquatic reptiles it is extremely well suited to high-speed travel. Large portions of its body have been seen that have given the impression of its having several, snakelike, humps or coils and, like all wild animals, whenever it is approached it immediately dives and disappears.

It has been described as having everything from a horrific to a loveable face. It has no visible ears but his nostrils are well defined and it has a long beard and whiskers. His bulbous, black eyes are said to cast a reddish green glow (?) under certain conditions. It is reported to have eight-inch fangs, rows of sharp, fishlike teeth, and a snake-like tongue.

However, despite appearances, Caddy has yet to have posed a danger to humans, or to other animals, although, in 1934 a witness observed him swallowing a wounded duck. Nevertheless, his diet is thought to consist largely of kelp and other sea plants, which is only occasionally supplemented by fish and waterfowl.

Caddy's existence has been part of the folklore and legends of the Chinook Indians for many hundreds of years but, when it was first documented by white settlers in the mid-1920s, it was called the "Sea Hag," because of the fear it inspired. In 1933, Archie Wills, the editor of the Victoria Times, began promoting the beast as a local mascot. It sponsored a "name the monster" contest and selected "cadborosaurus" from the entries. Caddy, as it quickly became known, was promptly adopted by the residents of Cadboro Bay and the surrounding areas. His most recent sighting was in 1997.

Ernest Lee, who hunted for Caddy throughout the 1940s, can attest to the locals' undying affection for their creature. In the spring of 1943, Lee rammed the hapless serpent twice with his motorboat. After being struck on the second occasion, Caddy stopped moving and sank below the surface, presumably dead. If it had not emerged just two weeks later, the public outrage over the monsters' death might have cost Lee his freedom or even his life.

Despite the fact that Caddy has resisted capture, more than enough evidence suggests that the creature does exist. The number of sightings tends to prove his existence, and the list of people who have spotted him include civic dignitaries and respected citizens. In August 1932, F.W. Kemp, an official at the Provincial Library of Victoria, saw the beast; in October of the following year, Major W.H. Langley, a clerk of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly and a well-known barrister and amature marine biologist, also glimpsed the creature. Judge James Thomas Brown, who had spent over thirty years as the highly respected Chief Justice of the King's Bench in Saskatchewan, observed Caddy from a distance of less than 150 yards.

Caddy sightings are still more impressive when observed by groups of witnesses. In February 1953, for example, at least ten people watched for over an hour as it cavorted throughout Qualicum Bay, halfway up the east coast of Vancouver Island north of Victoria. The following February, near Nanaimo, it repeated this performance for a group of more than thirty people. Such sightings are difficult to dismiss as hoaxes or mass hallucinations and have inspired a handful of scientists to investigate the creature. Marine scientists Paul LeBlond, from the University of British Columbia, and E.L. Bousfield, from the Royal British Columbia Museum have determined that Caddy is an enormous reptile with mammalian traits. They have also been credited with baptizing it with its scientific name, Cadborosaurus willsi, and in December 1992 Bousfield notified the American Society of Zoologists of its existence.

The efforts of researchers such as Bousfield and LeBlond have also unearthed sightings of a variety of cadborosaurus that lacks both whiskers and a visible crest. This creature, dubbed Amy, is believed to be Caddy's mate. The female serpent is smaller, reaching only sixty feet or so, has darker skin, and has been much more elusive.

Caddy and Amy have evidently produced offspring. Captain Bill Hagelund reported capturing an infant cadborosaurus while fishing in Pirate's Cove in 1968. The small, eel-like creature was sixteen inches long and roughly one inch in diameter. Its lower jaw contained a full complement of tiny, sharp teeth. It also had underdeveloped flippers, a spade-shaped tail, and a layer of yellow fuzz on its underbelly. Captain Hagelund had thought of taking the baby monster to scientists at the Pacific Biological Station, in Departure Bay, but it became afraid that the serpent's frantic efforts to escape would result in its death. In consequence he released it back to the wild.

Unfortunately, not all of Caddy and Amy's offspring have been so fortunate; several cadborosauri have been shot at by frightened fishermen but the body was never recovered.

The species, cadborosaurus, appears to be preyed upon by other sea creatures. In October 1937 the corpse of a young cadborosaurus was extracted from a sperm whale's stomach. It was taken to Naden Harbour whaling station in the Queen Charlotte Islands, off the northwest coast of British Columbia, where it was extensively studied but where only three photographs were apparently taken. Although decay prevented a more thorough description of the creature's exterior, the rotting mass was roughly ten feet long, possessed a horselike head, and had a snakelike body. Unfortunately, as with so many reported finds of monsters and other creatures of the unexplained, this corpse also disappeared before a reliable study could be made.

However, while the famed "Caddy corpse" has vanished, the living creature still appears to be alive and well. In 1996 there were over a dozen sightings of him and, in June 1997, it was spotted in a much publicized encounter when it surfaced near Desolation Sound, in the middle of Vancouver Island's east coast.

All people are urged to keep a lookout for Caddy. It has been known to roam throughout the entire Pacific Northwest Coast but it appears to prefer the security of Cadboro Bay, where it might be most commonly expected to be seen.

If you see him always approach him slowly, using every effort to avoid startling or confusing him. Don't make sudden movements and don't attempt to touch him. Keep a comfortable distance between you and always leave him with an escape route. Never approach within one hundred feet of a small animal, as the parent may interpret this as an attack on its offspring and will surely attack in its defence.