Ogopogo
| Grouping | Cryptid |
|---|---|
| Sub grouping | Lake monster |
| Other name(s) | N'ha·a·itk, Naitaka |
| Country | Canada |
| Region | Lake Okanagan, British Columbia |
| Habitat | Water |
Ogopogo is the name given to a lake monster reported to live in Lake Okanagan, British Columbia, Canada.
Sightings
The first documented sightings of the Ogopogo by European settlers date back as far as 1860 [citation needed] and occur as the area was being colonized, though the first clear sighting, witnessed by a large group of people, occurred in 1926 at an Okanagan Mission Beach {fact}}. There were about thirty cars of people who all claimed to have witnessed the same event. It was also in this year that Bobby Carter, then editor of the Vancouver Sun, wrote, "Too many reputable people have seen [the monster] to ignore the seriousness of actual facts." [citation needed]
The first film of the alleged creature is The Folden Film, filmed in 1968 by Art Folden, which shows a dark object propelling itself through shallow water near the shore. The film was shot from on a hill above the shore. The film was once enhanced, and showed a solid "reptilian" 3D object.[citation needed]
Ogopogo was filmed again in 1989 by a used car salesman, Ken Chaplin. Ken was with his father Clem Chaplin, talking about where he saw the Ogopogo, when suddenly both of them saw a snake-like animal swimming in the lake. The animal was seen turning and even flicked its tail to create a splash. Some believe that the animal the Chaplins saw was simply a beaver, because the tail splashing is a well-known characteristic of beavers. However, Ken alleges the animal he saw was 15 feet long, far larger than a typical beaver (beavers are approximately 4 feet long). A few weeks later, Ken came back with his father and his daughter and filmed it again.[citation needed]
British zoologist Dr. Karl Shuker has categorised it as a 'many hump' variety of lake monster, and suggested it may be a kind of primitive serpentine whale such as Basilosaurus. Other sightings have also indicated that the Lake Okanagan beast is a 'many hump' rather than the 'long neck' type.[citation needed] However, because the physical evidence for the beast is limited to unclear photographs and film, it has also been suggested that the sightings were really of otters and logs (Nickell, 2006). Another theory is that the Ogopogo is a lake sturgeon. There is a spot however with a clear view to the island where they say the entrance to his cave is, but it was recently demolished and made way for a new housing development
Modern depictions
In 1990, a Canadian postage stamp depicting an artist's conception of the Ogopogo was issued. [1]
Ogopogo was an enemy in Square-Enix Super Nintendo game Final Fantasy IV.
Ogopogo was both codename and mascot for 1996's Microsoft Publisher 97, with Ogopogo graphics featured prominently in the beta setup. Team t-shirts featured two versions of the monster: a small stylized picture on the front patch, and a larger, animation-influenced upper-body shot on back.
In 2005, a film inspired by the Ogopogo and made in New Zealand was released. The filmmakers were about to name the creature in the film after the Ogopogo until an Aboriginal protested that use of the name compromised Aboriginal religion, although other Aboriginals encouraged the use of the name "Ogopogo." Thus, the creature became "Mee-Shee" and the film was called Mee-Shee: The Water Giant. Jim Henson's Creature Shop modelled Mee-Shee after the late actor Walter Matthau.[1]
The logo for Kelowna's Western Hockey League team, the Kelowna Rockets, also depicts Ogopogo.
The 2006 Love Harder Records release from Curious Hands, a garage rock band from Portland, OR, entitled 'Sea Monster' features the track 'Ogopogo'. The cover artwork also includes the depiction of a watery serpent of unknown origin.
Name
Canadian Aboriginals had named the supposed beast "Naitaka" or "N'ha-aitk", each of which translate to "sacred creature of the water." In 1926, non-Aboriginals in Vernon, British Columbia jokingly renamed it the Ogopogo.[2] The (palindromic) name comes from a 1920s comic song:
- I'm looking for the Ogopogo,
- His mother was a mutton (or sometimes earwig),
- His father was a whale. (or sometimes Snail)
- I'm going to put a little bit of salt on his tail.
In Canada, "Ogopogo" has also been a name given to items such as boats and canoes. In 1972, the Supreme Court of Canada considered the case Horsley v. MacLaren which involved a boat called the Ogopogo. The case itself is also known as "The Ogopogo case".[3]
"Ogopogo" is also the name given to a few dragon-like monsters in various role-playing games and other fantasy settings. In Final Fantasy IV he is the (optional) last boss monster encountered before the end-boss Zeromus.
"Ogopogo" is the final track on the 2007 self-titled album of PA band Recoil.
Harry Horse (1960-2007) wrote a book for children; The Ogopogo - My Journey with the Loch Ness Monster, in 1983.
Song
Just a Lonely Ogopogo.
- In the Sunny Okanagan where the big red apples grow,
- living in the Okanagan, lake so fair,
- is the famous Ogopogo, and one thing I'd like to know,
- is he the only Ogopogo there?
- I wonder if the Ogopogo is lonesome, wonder if he is feeling sad or blue.
- I wonder if he wishes for and Ogopogo Mrs. and lots of little Ogopogos too.
- I bet he is just a sad old Ogopogo with no one to sing his love songs too.
- Though he has my sympathy, I am sure you will all agree,
- W'd rather see him lonesome than see two.
- One day the Ogopogo took a stroll along the shore.
- Left his footprints in the sand so they say.
- Maybe he was looking for an Ogopogo sweet heart,
- but still he is all alone at play.
- I wonder if the Ogopogo is lonesome, wonder if he is feeling sad or blue.
- I wonder if he wishes for and Ogopogo Mrs. and lots of little Ogopogos too.
- I bet he is just a sad old Ogopogo with no one to sing his love songs too.
- Though he has my sympathy, I am sure you will all agree,
- W'd rather see him lonesome than see two."
See also
- Champ
- Goshi-Narotig Monster
- Lake Tianchi Monster
- Loch Ness Monster
- Manipogo
- Mokèlé-mbèmbé
- Na-Dene Indian mythology
- Turtle Lake Monster
Notes
- ^ Johnson, Brian D. "Ogopogo gets drawn Down Under," Maclean's, July 31, 2006, vol. 119, issue 29, page 56.
- ^ Joseph Brean, "Natives in two nations spear the elusive Ogopogo: Moviemakers give in to demands," National Post, Don Mills, Ontario, March 8, 2002, p. A.1.FRO.
- ^ E. R. Alexander, "One Rescuer's Obligation to Another: The 'Ogopogo' Lands in the Supreme Court of Canada," The University of Toronto Law Journal, vol. 22, no. 2. (Spring, 1972), p. 110.
References
- Gaal, Arlene. 1986. Ogopogo: The True Story of The Okanagan Lake Million Dollar Monster. Hancock House, Surrey, BC.
- Moon, Mary. 1977. Ogoppogo. Douglas Ltd., North Vancouver, Canada.
- Nickell, Joe. 2006. Ogopogo: The Lake Okangan Monster. Skeptical Inquirer, 30(1): 16-19.
- Radford, Benjamin. 2006. Ogopogo the Chameleon. Skeptical Inquirer, 30(1): 41-46.
- Salmonson, Jessica Amanda. 1992. The Mysterious Doom and Other Ghostly Tales of the Pacific Northwest: 149. Sasquatch Books, Seattle, WA.
External links
- Is Ogopogo a Nothosaur?
- Ogopogopedia - the Okanagan's Wiki
- The Cryptid Ogopogo
- The Ogopogo Song (slightly different from original)
- The Ogopogo Song Remix by the Amphibians (band)
- CTV Canada - Québecois claims to have photos of Lake Massawippi monster.
- Ogopogo sightings and stories
- Ogopogo the Chameleon, article about Ogopogo in the Skeptical Inquirer
- The Ogopogo Lake Monster Deep critical analysis of a documentary on the Ogopogo ("Proof Positive")
49°32′50″N 119°35′44″W / 49.54722°N 119.59556°W Coordinates: Extra unexpected parameters
