INVESTIGATIVE FILES JOE NICKELL

Ogopogo: The Lake Monster

mong the world’s lakes three times the length of Loch reputed to host a great Ness and, at a maximum depth Aunknown creature is of 762 feet,1 slightly deeper as Lake Okanagan in the Canadian well. Formed from an ancient province of . valley, it was filled by waters Known as Ogopogo, the leviathan from glacial melting which was is said to be “one of the most thor- complete about 10,000 years oughly documented unidentified ago (Roed 2005). lake creatures,” second only to Okanagan is only one of Scotland’s Nessie, and “possibly many Canadian lakes reputed the most famous North American to provide a home to levia- monster aside from Bigfoot” thans. At least thirty-nine of the (Blackman 1998, 69). Noting lakes in British Columbia alone that Ogopogo has been dubbed reputedly have such “aquatic ’s , anomalies,” according to John cryptozoologist John Kirk (1998, Kirk, author of In the Domain 4) counters that the description of the Lake Monsters. However, ought to be the reverse: “Since he singles out Okanagan as “the the appearances of the Canadian lake of mystery” (Kirk 1998, beast predated those of its Scottish 28, 11). cousin, it ought to be said that The scenic lake rarely freezes Nessie is Scotland’s Ogopogo.” over—only about four times in But does such a monster the twentieth century (Okan- exist? and I agan 2005a)—and it is famous have long been interested in the Figure 1. Map of Lake Okanagan illustrates selected sites. for its sandy beaches, campsites, alleged denizen, and resorts. Fishing charters and we resolved to look into the 41.) promise “big fish,” which in- mystery. As luck would have it, National The Monster’s Lair clude rainbow trout and kokanee (Okan- Geographic Television was also inter- agan 2005b). Okanagan Lake is within ested. (Ben’s analysis of the Ogopogo Okanagan is the largest of a group of five the range of such aquatic mammals as phenomena appears in this issue, page interconnected lakes in the Okanagan beaver, muskrats, and otters (Whitaker Valley of south-central British Columbia. Joe Nickell, CSICOP’s Senior Research 1996), and waterfowl including ducks, Named for the local forest-dwelling mallards, geese, and many others (Bull Fellow, has investigated paranormal claims Native Americans, the Okanagan people, worldwide for more than three decades. and Ferrand 1994). Some of these crea- the narrow fresh-water lake stretches for tures might provide food for a giant lake His recent books include The Mystery some seventy-nine miles from its southern Chronicles and Secrets of the Sideshows. creature, if such indeed existed. extremity at Penticton to its northern tip According to folklore attributed to near Vernon (see figure 1). It is thus over

16 Volume 29, Issue 6 SKEPTICAL INQUIRER the native culture, the monster was a demonic entity called N’ha-a-itk, and its home was Rattlesnake Island or a cave beneath it or adjacent to Squally Point (Gaal 2001, 113, 122–123; Kirk 1998, 47). The arrival of white settlers contin- ued to spark interest in the Okanagan monster though not always with high seriousness. The palindromic name Ogopogo2 came from a 1924 music-hall song. Titled “The Ogo-Pogo: The Funny Fox- Trot,” the song was about a banjo-play- ing water-being from Hindustan (Shuker 1995, 100). It was performed at a lun- cheon in Vernon, B.C., on August 23, 1926. As a result of the catchy song— according to an account I discovered at the library in —“the guests left Figure 2. Divers with the National Geographic Television expedition search for caves beneath Rattlesnake Island. the Kalamalka Hotel to spread the fame of Ogopogo far and wide” (Brimble- combe 1930).3

The Ogie Expedition National Geographic Television (NGTV) invited the two of us on an expedition to Lake Okanagan—a week’s quest to find the fabled creature, or to explain the monster phenomenon. Apart from travel, we spent more than four days on site, investigating the mystery: interviewing eyewitnesses and studying photographic evidence; conducting historical and other research (much of it in advance of the expedition); performing an experiment regarding one recorded sighting; and tra- versing the lake and its shores by foot, auto, sonar-equipped boat (with profes- Figure 3. Side-scanning sonar search of a portion of the lake revealed no leviathan. sional divers on board!), and seaplane. Accompanying us for much of this the Grand Okanagan Lakefront Resort home to Ogopogo (figure 2), while Ben, grueling work was Canadian cryptozo- (where we roomed). We were loaded for John Kirk, and I motorboated to the ologist John Kirk. We were also assisted monster hunting: In addition to the TV island and scrambled onto the rocks. by Arlene Gaal, whose book In Search of crew of four, were the two of us and John These searches yielded only underwater Ogopogo was never far from our fingertips. Kirk, as well as the boat pilot and his fissures too small for a leviathan and an In her home in Kelowna, she made avail- relief, two men in charge of sonar, and island devoid of bones or other traces of able for study many of the photographs, a diving crew of three—some thirteen Ogopogo’s supposed prey. films, and videos that purport to depict men and one woman (Brook Holston Darryl Bondura searched the depths Ogopogo. Our relationship with these of NGTV) plus an impressive amount with side-scanning sonar, which also turned two monster hunters was so respectful of gear and equipment. We also towed a up nothing of significance (figure 3). He and cordial that NGTV producer Noel motorboat, which served many practical says he has scanned several square miles of Dockstader seemed to wish for more uses, including filming, and was available Okanagan’s bottom—once identifying an sparks between us. in case of any mishap. ultralight plane at about 100 feet deep— The second full day of our expe- We covered much of the southern but has never seen a large lake denizen or dition—Saturday, February 5, 2005— half of the lake, giving special attention to even the skeleton of one (Bondura 2005). was the most exhausting. After an early Rattlesnake Island (a.k.a. Monster Island) Two days later, Ben and I flew over the breakfast, we boarded a houseboat at and its environs. Two divers went down same area in a seaplane (figure 4) scouring to search for the caves that are legendarily the waters for any sign of Ogopogo.

SKEPTICAL INQUIRER January / February 2006 17 of Ogopogo, whereas they actually seem quite varied. For example, the color ranges from light to dark green, dark brown, brown- black, blackish gray, to jet black; at least one source mentioned a white underside, and the skin was smooth, snakelike, or shiny. The height out of the water is vari- ously stated as in the three- to seven-foot range, with estimates of up to fifteen feet. The length is exceedingly variable, and includes small creatures dubbed “Ogo- pups” and larger animals of some eight to seventy feet long. The head has been likened to that of a snake, sheep, cow, deer, or horse, with protrusions said to Figure 4. Rattlesnake Island is viewed from a seaplane. Photos by Joe Nickell. be horns or ears, and with beady eyes and whiskers. The body is said to resemble Despite the excellent viewing the plane the “Chronology” to Gaal’s In Search a log or great snake, featuring “saw- allowed, Ogie was still a no-show. of Ogopogo (2001, 185–208). Mentally, edged coils” or one to several humps. Much of our assessment of the I rounded up the usual suspects: wake Appendages reportedly include various Ogopogo phenomenon thus necessar- effects, bobbing logs, beavers, otters, fins, or flippers or webbed feet; some- ily depended on the reports of eyewit- schools of fish, and many others. times it has a forked tail. The creature’s nesses—including Gaal and Kirk. We Although sturgeon represented a proba- movement is often described as “undu- also analyzed the numerous sightings ble candidate for some Lake Champlain lating,” but it frolicks, splashes, swims chronicled in Gaal (2001, 185–208), and sightings, at Okanagan their presence has rapidly, slaps the water with its tail, and we studied original photographs and film not been established; indeed, rewards of so on (Gaal 2001, 185–208). and video footage. up to $10,000 have failed to produce a It seems extremely unlikely that eye- single sturgeon (Gaal 2001, 19). witnesses were seeing a single type of The Sightings Since Mrs. Susan Allison’s sighting of creature—let alone that it was a plesio- In preparing for the trip to Okanagan, 1872—the first by a white settler—eye- saur, zeuglodon, basilosaurus, or other I studied the approximately 330 eye- witness reports of Ogopogo have prolif- extinct or unknown creature. However, witness sightings—ranging from the erated. Blackman (1998, 69) and others by picking out some of the more common eighteenth century to 2001—listed in overstate the uniformity of descriptions features and allowing for misperceptions and exaggerations, I was able to pro- duce a composite drawing of Ogopogo (figure 5) and show its similarity to the otter—actually otters, swimming in a line (figure 6). As with other lake mon- ster habitats around the world, Lake Okanagan coincides with the habitat of otters, in this case the Northern River Otter, Lutra canadensis, as shown in the National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mammals (Whitaker 1996, 782–785). Of course, not all sightings are of otters, just as not all UFOs are weather balloons. However, they may well be responsible for some of the best sightings such as one in 1989 by John Kirk (1998, 52–53) and others: The animal was an estimated thirty-five to forty feet long and consisted of “five sleek, jet-black

Figures 5 and 6. Author’s composite drawing of Ogopogo (top) is compared with otters swimming in a line humps” and a lashing tail. It was mov- (after Gould 1976). ing very fast—perhaps, the eyewitnesses

18 Volume 30, Issue 1 SKEPTICAL INQUIRER thought, twenty-five miles per hour. Such film of the event (Gaal 2001, 52–55). Center for Inquiry Libraries, for his repeated an estimate is probably inaccurate, based Un fortunately, the footage is only about help with this project. Tom Flynn provided as it necessarily is on multiple unknowns ten seconds long, and “a large dark professional assistance in planning our exper- iment. I also appreciate the assistance of the (i.e., size of “animal” and distance from appendage that moves out of the water” staff of the Okanagan Regional Library and viewers). It should be noted that “Otters (Gaal 2001, 54) appears to be one of the Kelowna Museum, both of Kelowna, are among the fastest swimmers of all ani- many defects of the old film. Gaal (2005) B.C., as well as the entire National Geographic mals,” having a six-miles-per-hour cruis- conceded to me that the film might Television crew and others who lent assistance ing speed and the ability to go “much depict two creatures rather than just one; in many ways, including the land surveyors of the firm Runnalls Denby. faster” (Otter 1993). if so, I would suggest a pair of otters. • The DeMara video: On July 24, Notes On Film and Video 1992, Paul DeMara videotaped, off 1. Greater depths have been claimed, e.g., Photographic evidence of Ogopogo Kelowna, “something or some things” “nearly 1,000 feet (305m)” (Gaal 2001, 14). is generally poor, as we found from that were “traveling just below the surface 2. A palindrome is a word, phrase, etc., that reads the same forward or backward. perusing Arlene Gaal’s collection at of the water at a fairly good speed, esti- 3. The facts regarding the song have often been her home in Kelowna. However, she mated at five miles per hour.” Suddenly misreported. For example, Blackman (1998, 71–72) a boat appeared, towing a water skier, says W.H. Brimblecombe wrote the song, and Gaal showed us three film/video sequences (2001, 88) that it was sung at Vernon in 1924. that were of interest: and crossed the line of movement, where- 4. An alternate skeptical view comes from an • The Folden film: This footage was upon the skier tumbled into the water. FBI video specialist, Grant Fredricks (2005), who About five minutes later, DeMara saw analyzed the DeMara video and concluded that shot by Art Folden in August 1968. what he saw was “very consistent with debris from Driving along Highway 97 with his and filmed what he termed “a similar a fallen tree in the water . . . the objects very slowly family, he saw something moving in the anomaly” (Gaal 2001, 64), estimated by bob up and down.” He also pointed out, as we did, Gaal at thirty feet long and composed of that the objects don’t react to the approaching boat water and pulled off the road to record or skier, nor does the skier seem at all alarmed by the object with his 8-millimeter movie three sections. Several minutes later came the objects. This suggests that the skier recognized camera. The result is what resembles a a third sighting of something moving whatever was in the lake and knew it was not unusual, nor a threat. fast-moving log. Most observers think it under water (Gaal 2001, 62–67). is a swimming creature, although I think Gaal (2001, 62–66; 2005) agrees there References were several “creatures” (she counted it could be two, one swimming behind Blackman, W. Haden. 1998. The Field Guide To the other. Folden estimated the object seven) in the first video sequence, North American Monsters. New York: Three as 300 yards offshore, and Ogopogo and I think they look remarkably like Rivers Press. otters. I also believe the second and Bondura, Darryl. 2005. Interview by Joe Nickell, enthusiasts have concluded the object February 5. was very large and moving quite fast third sequences do not represent a single Brimblecombe, W.H. 1930. Ogopogo. The Fourth (Gaal 2001, 46–52; Kirk 1998, 47–48). three-section creature but rather otters Annual Report of the Okanagan Historical and swimming in a line.4 Natural History Society, September 9; reprinted Ben sold NGTV on the idea of May 1975, 28–29. doing an on-site experiment regarding Yet another videotape, shot by Ken Bull, John, and John Ferrand, Jr. 1994. National the Folden film. This we accomplished Chaplin on July 17, 1989, has been dis- Audubon Society Guide to North American Birds: missed by wildlife experts as “most likely Eastern Region, revised ed. New York: Alfred on Sunday, the day after our boat A. Knopf. excursion. We selected a site south of a large river otter or beaver” (Gaal 2001, Fredricks, Grant. 2005. Quoted in Lake Monsters. Is that Ben, John Kirk, and 71), and John Kirk is among many who It Real? series. National Geographic Television, agree (1998, 64). airdate August 20. I agreed was either Folden’s original Gaal, Arlene. 2001. In Search of Ogopogo: Sacred site or a nearby one consistent with it. Creature of the Okanagan Waters. Surrey, B.C. Conclusions Hancock House Publishers Ltd. Briefly, the experiment involved plac- ———. 2005. Interview by Joe Nickell, February ing a boat at varying distances from the Despite many sincere eyewitnesses, a crit- 4. shore, established by a surveying crew. ical look at the evidence yields no proof Gould, Rupert T. 1976. The Loch Ness Monster. of a large unknown creature inhabiting Secaucus, N.J.: Citadel Press, 116 (illus.). The three of us agreed on an approxi- Kirk, John. 1998. In the Domain of the Lake mate off-shore distance we thought was Lake Okanagan. Mundane explanations Monsters. Toronto: Key Porter Books Limited. about where Folden’s creature would can account for the reports, and the very Mackal, Roy P. 1983. Searching for Hidden Animals. best sightings may be of Northern River London: Cadogan Books. have been. The results demonstrated Okanagan Lake. 2005a. Available at www.selling that the distance was far less than Otters swimming in a line. They imitate kelowna.com/kelowna_info/okanaganlake. Folden had thought, and therefore esti- the very look of a serpentine creature—an htm. Accessed January 21. image inherited from sea-monster tales Okanagan Lake. 2005b. Available at www.bc mates of the object’s size and speed had adventure.com/adventure/explore/ok/mabel/ to be reduced accordingly. and Native American legends—that peo- okanagan.htm. Accessed January 21. • The Thal film: On August 11, 1980, ple now expect to see, and some indeed Otter. 1993. Collier’s Encyclopedia, 18: 248. do perceive, on “the lake of mystery.” Roed, Murray A. 2005. Geologic history of some fifty tourists watched as Ogopogo Okanagan Valley and origin of Lake Okanagan, British Columbia. Available at www.geoscapes. performed for about forty-five minutes Acknowledgments off the beach at Kelowna. Larry Thal ca/pov/okhistory5.html. Accessed February 21. In addition to those mentioned in the text, Shuker, Karl. 1995. In Search of Prehistoric Survivors. of shot some 8-millimeter I am grateful to Timothy Binga, Director, London: Blandford Books.

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