Champ is said to inhabit the waters of Lake Champlain, one of the largest lakes in the United States, with a depth of 400 feet and a width of 12 miles at its widest. It borders Vermont, NY, and Canada. Both Native American Tribes that lived near the lake, the Abenaki and the Iroquois had their own legends of a monster inhabiting it. The Abenaki believed a long, horned serpent lived in the lake. They called it the Tatoskok. The first official sighting was by Samuel De Champlain, who the lake was named after, but it turned out to be a false lead, when further research revealed he was just describing a large garfish. Sightings began in 1819, predating sightings of the Loch Ness Monster by over 110 years. Then reports of the monster started being run in Newspapers. In 1873, a railroad crew reported seeing the head of a giant serpent, with bright, silver-white scales that glistened in the sun. In August of that same year, a small steamship loaded with tourists, allegedly struck the creature and almost turned the ship over!
In 1977, A woman named Sandra Mansi took this photo between Vermont and the Canadian border. It’s authenticity is still held in high regard. Some scientists believe that Champ is a plesiosaur like Nessie because the two lakes have so much in common. Both Lake Champlain and Loch Ness are over 400 feet deep, formed during the last Ice Age, and support fish populations big enough to feed them.
The Fauna Communications Research Institute conducted a search for echolocations at Lake Champlain. Upon analyzation, they came to the conclusion the sounds were not from any known marine animal, as each type of animal that does create an echolocation sound has its own signature! The places where the echolocation was taken is also significant, as they were by some of the deepest parts of the lake, including a man-made channel deep under the lake which the scientists say could be the perfect refuge for a large underwater animal.These scientists also figure that this cryptid would have to have a much larger brain than those of a plesiosaur to be able to emit and interpret such echolocation signals.
However, Skeptics point out that if there are monsters in Lake Champlain, there must be enough of them to have a breeding population. Could 50 large lake monsters live in Lake Champlain? It’s up to you to decide!
Do you believe?