Champ is a lake monster which reportedly dwells in Lake Champlain, which lies partially on the US-Canada border, entering Quebec, Vermont and
New York. There is no scientific evidence proving Champ's existence, but there have been over 300 reported sightings.
There are a variety of descriptions of the creature: A plesiosaur (A theory often associated with creatures like Nessie and Ogopogo), a Tanystropheus, and more recently, a whale.
History of The Legend[]
Many hundred years ago, two tribes lived on the banks of Lake Champlain. Both tribes had legends about a creature living in the lake. The first reported sighting came in 1883 where Nathan Mooney, Town Sheriff, claimed to have seen 'A gigantic water serpent about 50 yards ahead', from where he was on the shoreline. He claimed to be so close he could see 'Round white spots inside it's mouth', presumably teeth, and that 'The creature appeared to be 25 to 30 feet long'. After he revealed this, many also said that they had seen the creature. This came 50 years before the Loch ness controversy.
Evidence For Champ[]
- In the 1970's, a woman named Sandra Mansi took a photograph of what appeared to be a large, brown-colored animal swimming in the water.
- In 2002, a group of investigators put highly sensitive underwater hydrophones deep under the surface of Lake Champlain. The results shocked them. They recorded what appeared to be echolocation. The clicks were heavily similar to that of an Orca or a Beluga, but of a completely unknown animal.
- Skeletons of toothed whales are often found around the brink of Lake Champlain, but the question is: What were they doing there?
- In 2007, a man shot a video of something crawling under the water in a shallow area of Lake Champlain.
- Like Loch Ness, Lake Champlain is over 400 feet (120 m) deep, and both lakes were formed from retreating glaciers following the end of the Ice Age about 10,000 years ago. Believers also claim both lakes support fish populations large enough to feed a sea or lake monster. This legend would require either a single 10,000 year old animal, or a sizable breeding population.
Evidence against Champ[]
- According to a 1970's magazine article, Samuel De Champlain, the person that Lake Champlain is named after, described "A 20-foot serpent, as thick as a barrel, with a head like a horse."
In reality, such a sighting was never published. Champlain's real description was more similar to the Long-Nosed Gar, a type of fish living in the lake.
- Some people do not find Sandra Mansi's photo authentic, or her account credible. She cannot locate the exact location where she saw a Champ, and she did not keep the negative of her photo. She only took one photo (She later explained that it was the last photo on her camera, however.)