Spring 1987, Vol. 6, No.1

The ISC Newsletter

... tip poked above the water about a foot... About 4 or 5 minutes passed from the time it bumped me until the time it swam from view."

The report by Mrs. Clark went on to give specific details: the estimated length of the serpentine-shaped animal was 25 to 30 feet. Its breadth was estimated at 3 to 4 feet. Its color was described as "a very dull dark grey." No head was observed, and it appeared that the animal kept its head below the surface. The witness "got the impression that the head joined the body without a neck -like a fish or snake." She also felt that "it may have had fins, but I didn't see any." No hair was discerned, but "on its back it had light colored stripes and on its tail it had light colored round spots. The animal was long, narrow, and smooth. Because it was moving away, I could only see its back and tail."

The report continues: "It was in the process of diving when I first saw it. It did not completely surface again, but it was so large and the water so clear that I could see it very well as it lazily swam north just a few feet below the surface... It swam north in an undulating manner. Although it swam smoothly and well, it created a very large wake. It traveled about 3-5 miles per hour. It moved up and down... After it was too far away to see any more, I could still see the large wake for several minutes until it too disappeared." The animal itself was not heard to make any call or noise, and no cetacean-like blowing was heard or observed. Mrs. Clark believes that the animal was "very curious about me" and "the shock of seeing it freaked me out".

In her summary, Mrs. Clark states: "At the time, I could not believe my eyes, so I told myself it was just a big fish. However, fish don't grow that big (in lakes anyway) or behave the way this thing did. This thing looked and acted more like a whale than a fish, but I have never seen a whale that skinny and snaky-looking before. Nor have I ever heard of any that fit that description. I have seen killer whales perform at the Vancouver Aquarium, and although the animal I saw had a whale-like tail, it didn't use it the same way as normal whales. By this I mean that it didn't seem to rely on it to the same extent as regular whales. Instead of using it as its main source of propulsion, it kind of 'humped' itself along like a giant inchworm... I really have no idea what I saw, but it was definitely not reptilian, and I'm sure it wasn't a fish."

Mrs. Clark also stated that she did not report her encounter at the time as "I was afraid no one would believe me." After receiving the report, the Editor contacted Mrs. Clark to propose publishing the highlights of her encounter in the Newsletter, and, because reservations had been expressed about unwanted publicity, to propose that a pseudonym be used. Her response was: "Although we are not seeking publicity, I would not mind you using the report provided you refer to me as Mrs. B. Clark. We do not want our address used, however. While we wish to remain semi-anonymous, to protect our privacy, we would find it offensive to see my sighting in print with another name attached to it."

As most Society members are aware, reports of a "monster" in Lake Okanagan go back to the past century, and even predate the arrival of Anglo settlers. The Inians called it naitaka, and the non-Indian name of Ogopogo was bestowed in the 1920's. Over 200 sightings reports have been catalogued by local investigator Arlene Gaal (see Interview, Newsletter, Summer, 1986), compared to about 260 Champ reports compiled by Lake Champlain investigator Joseph Zarzynski. (A recent compilation of Nessie reports lists over 900 sightings, but a more discriminating list compiled by Roy Mackal 10 years ago gave about 250 reports.) Indeed, like at Loch Ness in Scotland and Lake Champlain, nestled between the U.S. states of New York and Vermont, the communities surrounding Lake Okanagan have a benevolent disposition towards their monster, one reason undoubtedly being the economic benefits derived from increased tourism.

The community which has benefited most is Kelowna, a picturesque but surprisingly modern town on the eastern side. The Kelowna Museum maintains an archive on Ogopogo, and the Chamber of Commerce provides fact sheets on the monster to visiting tourists, and sells monster souvenirs. Although not as sophisticated as the marketing efforts at Loch Ness, one product is quite imaginative: a sealed tin can containing an Ogopogo embryo floating in a liquid, which is guaranteed to grow to maturity provided the can is not opened before June 9 in the year 2000. And in a waterfront city park a green statue of Ogopogo has stood for many years, with humps curling up and down. Because some of the statue's teeth tend to disappear during the tourist season, a local dentist reattaches new teeth from time to time as a free service -with appropriate press coverage.

Then, in 1983, the local Tourist Association announced a $1 million reward for "proof" of Ogopogo's existence. In the unlikely event of the Association having to pay up, an insurance policy was purchased from Lloyds of London -which only added color to the proceedings (see Newsletter, Spring, 1984). The $1 million reward is no longer in effect, but the Association now offers free lakeside incentive packages.

Like at Loch Ness and Lake Champlain, however, there is a serious cryptozoological component to Ogopogo, which essentially addresses the question: Do large, unknown animals inhabit the lake? As with most Scottish lochs -and, again, Lake Champlain- Lake Okanagan (and most other British Columbia lakes) has a primarily late Pleistocene geological history, with previously more accessible connections to the Pacific Ocean, and isostatic rebound of the land, which essentially landlocked the lake. As has been proposed for Loch Ness, it is possibly that large marine animals may have become ecologically "trapped" in the lake, and certainly now, with man's more recent intervention, no large animal could possible negotiate its way through hundreds of miles of controlled waterways and dams to the Pacific. Also, unlike with the Scottish lochs, the Lake Okanagan region is surprisingly arid -an advantage to the local wine industry- and no large marshes are present to permit the undetected transit of a large amphibious animal over land.

While some cryptozoologists believe that "lake monsters" are essentially "trapped" in their lakes, others, like Roy Mackal at the University of Chicago, propose that they do, in fact, enter and leave at will, either through waterways or across marshy terrain. Mackal concedes, however, that in some instances, such as Lake Okanagan, such animals may have become permanently trapped, not from post-glacial geological events, but from man's much more recent intervention.

The other main question often addressed is the kind of animals "lake monsters" may represent, and most observers look to arguments concerning Nessie for clues. Almost every conceivable kind of animal has been seriously proposed to explain Nessie: giant invertebrates, fish (including large eels), giant amphibians, plesiosaurs, and various kinds of mammals. Bernard Heuvelmans believes that "lake monsters" are essentially large, long-necked seals, to be found both in some lakes and in the marine environment. Mackal prefers the zeuglodon hypothesis: zeuglodonts were archaic semi-amphibious cetaceans which became extinct many millions of years ago. They had long, slender bodies, and they moved in the vertical mode typical for mammals.

In all probability, "lake monsters" have many explanations, not the least of which is a combination of old traditions and myths, hoaxes, misperceptions, etc. There are literally dozens of North American "monster" lakes, and it is inconceivable that they could all harbor breeding colonies of giant seals, archaic whales, or whatever. In those cases where the sightings -and the entities giving rise to the sightings- are real, large fish, such as sturgeon or catfish, may be responsible.

Such explanations are hard to reconcile with the sightings reported in some lakes, however, and it is also difficult to attribute all such reports to a single king of animal. Although Mackal feels that all such ("authentic") monster reports may ultimately be explained by surviving archaic whales, many of the reports from Loch Ness and Lake Champlain involve descriptions of bulky bodies, long necks, and small heads -a more plesiosaur- like configuration.

Ogopogo, on the other hand, has usually been described as long and slender, like the descriptions given in many of the historical "sea serpent" reports. Although the animal's head was not seen, it is intriguing to think that Mrs. Clark, who described a cetacean-like tail, may have actually observed -and been touched by- a zeuglodont.

As this report has not been made public before, the Editor invites comments concerning what kind of animal Mrs. Clark may have encountered in Lake Okanagan that July morning in 1974.