Posted by: John Kirk on May 26th, 2014
In December last year, MSNBC came up to Canada to interview me for a program on cryptids which was part of the Caught on Camera series.
We talked for about two hours and much of this was recorded on video.
Finally nearly six months later, the cryptid episode aired.
I watched it tonight and have mixed feelings about the program. I will not comment on the alien aspect. It is not my place to do so.
I will, however, discuss the cryptids in the program.
I’m sure many of you recall the Lagarfljot footage that was obtained in 2012. It shows something in the water of Lagarfljot, a lake with a reputation for cryptids, but what it is is not what it appears to be. An Icelandic farmer, saw something in a small bay where a river runs into the lake. He immediately assumed that it was the legendary Lagarfljot orm.
I watched the video he obtained many, many times and concluded that this was not a cryptid, but rather detritus or debris in the water. They may have been chucks of ice that floated together or even some other natural material that is not a cryptid. I noted caught on Camera used footage of a radio journalist – who was also the nephew of the guy who filmed it – to make the case for it being the legendary orm.
I beg to differ with him. I have seen the entire video and the object does not move. Rather water moves over it and gives it the appearance of movement. The object remains static throughout. Also, if you know anything about lake cryptids as reported by eyewitnesses, they have vertical not horizontal flexion like the Lagarfjot anomaly.
I did say during the interview that I do believe that there is something in that lake because I have seen footage showing a dark object of fairly lengthy proportions swimming in the lake and another piece that has some creature making enormous splashes in the water. I certainly did not say I believe that the footage shown on Caught on Camera depicted what I have good reason to think is there.
The less said about the el chupacabra episode the better. Suffice it to say the chupacabra of Latino origin looks nothing like a canid. Although I am far from convinced about the chupacabra’s existence, no one has ever described it looking like a dog, coyote or wolf. I was not happy that the program used my comment about there the creature originated as they did because I felt people might get the impression that I thought it was a valid cryptid.
I was pleased to say that a dead animal discovered in Texas and thought to be a chupacabra turned out to be a really rare hybrid of coyote and Mexican wolf. It’s a an odd looking creature and it has been stuffed and preserved for posterity.
I was happier with the Cadborosaurus sequence as it did show Kyle Nash who is now the official spokesman for the Nash footage since his father Kelly passed away last year.
There was more footage this time than on Hillstranded and they did not use the “blowing” sequence again. We still don’t have the footage of the camel-like head looking at the camera, which is a pity. I felt I was more accurately portrayed in this sequence than any other during the program.
You’ll be able to read more about Caddy and the Nash footage when the new book written by Paul LeBlond, Jason Walton and I is published by Hancock House books later this year.
One of the founders of the BCSCC, John Kirk has enjoyed a varied and exciting career path. Both a print and broadcast journalist, John Kirk has in recent years been at the forefront of much of the BCSCC’s expeditions, investigations and publishing. John has been particularly interested in the phenomenon of unknown aquatic cryptids around the world and is the author of In the Domain of the Lake Monsters (Key Porter Books, 1998). In addition to his interest in freshwater cryptids, John has been keenly interested in investigating the possible existence of sasquatch and other bipedal hominids of the world, and in particular, the Yeren of China. John is also chairman of the Crypto Safari organization, which specializes in sending teams of investigators to remote parts of the world to search for animals as yet unidentified by science. John travelled with a Crypto Safari team to Cameroon and northern Republic of Congo to interview witnesses among the Baka pygmies and Bantu bushmen who have sighted a large unknown animal that bears more than a superficial resemblance to a dinosaur. Since 1996, John Kirk has been editor and publisher of the BCSCC Quarterly which is the flagship publication of the BCSCC. In demand at conferences, seminars, lectures and on television and radio programs, John has spoken all over North America and has appeared in programs on NBC, ABC, CBS, PBS, TLC, Discovery, CBC, CTV and the BBC. In his personal life John spends much time studying the histories of Scottish Clans and is himself the president of the Clan Kirk Society. John is also an avid soccer enthusiast and player.