The Ogopogo is a lake monster believed to live in Okanagan Lake in British Columbia, Canada, according to Canadian folklore. Some scholars have studied how the creature's story developed from First Nations stories and common themes found in other water monster legends. Today, the Ogopogo is used in the region's commercial symbols and appears in media representations.

Background

Okanagan Lake is the largest of five connected freshwater lakes in the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia. It is named after the Syilx Okanagan Nation, who have lived in the valley for a very long time. The lake was formed when melting glaciers flooded a valley about 10,000 years ago. It is 127.1 kilometers (79.0 miles) long, with a maximum depth of 232.3 meters (762 feet) and an average depth of 75.9 meters (249 feet). Over the past 110 years, the lake has frozen over during eight winters.

The lake monster is often described as a snake-like creature with smooth, dark skin. It has a large body, thicker than a telephone pole, and can grow up to 15 meters (49 feet) long. The creature is said to move quickly, using vertical wavy motions of its body and a strong tail to propel itself forward. Some people compare it to the mystery creature Cadborosaurus or the extinct animal Basilosaurus.

Etymology

According to historian Mark M. Orkin, the creature received its name on a night in 1924 when people in the city of Vernon, British Columbia, first heard an English music-hall song. Orkin mentions that the song included specific lines, though they are not provided here. He also notes that a different version of the song appeared in the Vancouver Province newspaper in 1912 and again in 1926. According to the DC, the name was first used in 1912. The creature is sometimes called by the pet name Oggy. Smaller creatures of the same kind may be referred to as Ogopups.

History

According to Ben Radford, the Ogopogo is "more closely tied to native myths than is any other lake monster." The Secwepemc and Syilx people viewed the Ogopogo, which they called the Naitaka, as "a powerful spirit with harmful intentions." The word "n'ha-a-itk" can mean different things, such as "water-demon," "water god," or "sacred creature of the water." In native stories, the Naitaka required a live sacrifice for safe passage across the lake. For many years, First Nations people offered small animals as sacrifices before entering the water. Oral traditions often told of Chief Timbasket, who refused to give a sacrifice, claiming the demon did not exist. When he entered the lake in a canoe with his family, the Naitaka "whipped up the lake's surface with its long tail," and the canoe and its passengers were pulled to the lake's bottom. The Naitaka was often described as using its tail to create strong storms that drowned victims. In 1855, settler John MacDougal reported that his horses were pulled underwater, and nearly his canoe, before he cut the rope.

According to Pat Raphael of the Westbank First Nation, part of the Okanagan Nation Alliance, the idea of the Naitaka as a demon arose from misunderstandings between early European settlers and the Syilx/Okanagan people. To the Syilx, it is n ̓x̌ax̌aitkʷ (n-ha-ha-it-koo), a sacred spirit of the lake that protects the valley. The spirit was said to live in caves under Rattlesnake Island (also called Monster Island) or near Squally Point.

Alleged sightings

In 1872, Susan Allison saw Ogopogo for the first time. She was the first non-native person to live in the region and made the first detailed report from a white settler. She also established relationships with the local Native peoples.

In 1968, Art Folden saw something moving in Okanagan Lake while driving on Highway 97. He stopped his car and filmed what he said was the creature. The video showed a large wake on the water. Folden thought the creature was about 100 meters (110 yards) away from the shore. A computer study of the footage showed it was a solid, three-dimensional object. Folden saw "something large and lifelike" on the calm water and used his home movie camera to record it. In 2005, Benjamin Radford, Joe Nickell, and John Kirk studied the footage for a National Geographic Channel show called Is It Real?. They used surveyor boats to measure the distance of the creature from the shore. They found it was closer to the shore than Folden thought, which meant the creature was smaller and slower than he believed. They concluded it was likely a real animal, but its size had been overestimated. It could have been a waterfowl, otter, or beaver that was too far away to identify clearly.

In the 1980s, a local tourism group offered money for proof of an Ogopogo sighting. Greenpeace said the creature must be filmed, not captured, because it was listed as an endangered species.

In 1980, about 50 tourists watched something for 45 minutes off a beach in Kelowna. Larry Thal, a tourist from Vancouver, recorded 10 seconds of the event on 8 mm film. Some people think the footage shows two otters instead of a large creature.

In 1989, John Kirk said he saw an animal that was 10.7 to 12.2 meters (35 to 40 feet) long. It had five black humps and a long tail. He thought it was moving at about 40 kilometers (25 miles) per hour.

Another sighting happened in 1989 near Bear Creek. Ken Chaplin and his 78-year-old father, Clem, used a video camera to watch the area. Chaplin recorded a thin, snake-like creature that was about 15 feet (4.6 meters) long. It was 75 feet (23 meters) away from their canoe. The creature slapped its tail with enough force to possibly harm a person. Chaplin returned with his daughter and saw the same creature again. These sightings were reported in Time Magazine and an episode of Unsolved Mysteries. However, local biologists, including Robert Lincoln and Chris Bull, said Chaplin likely exaggerated the size of the creature. They believed the video showed a beaver instead.

On July 24, 1992, Paul DeMara filmed something moving just below the lake’s surface. It was estimated to be traveling at 8 kilometers (5 miles) per hour. A boat with a waterskier appeared in the footage, and the skier fell into the water near the object. DeMara recorded two more videos showing multiple animals in the water. Benjamin Radford said the creature was likely several otters. In 2005, Grant Fredericks, a forensic video analyst, said the object looked like debris from a fallen tree. He noted the object moved slowly and did not react to the skier.

In August 2008, photographer Sean Viloria and his girlfriend, Jessica Weagers, saw a disturbance in the water near Peachland. Viloria took one photo of two humps emerging from the water. His camera later stopped working, so he could not take more pictures. The photo was not shared publicly until 2020. Eight days later, Viloria and Weagers saw another disturbance and took 11 photos of an unknown object near a boat. Only 3–4 photos were shown publicly. Viloria estimated the creature was 5.5–6 meters (18–20 feet) long based on the boat in the background. Experts, including Chris Bull, said the photos did not match any known lake animals. A biologist suggested the black/red texture might be a different creature or pollution. The show MonsterQuest examined the photos and found no signs of tampering. This was the first time the photos appeared on television. Some people said the photos might show a windsurfer that had tipped over.

In 2011, a cell phone video showed two dark shapes in the water. Benjamin Radford said the video was unclear, but it likely showed two floating logs.

In September 2018, three sightings were reported. One described a giant snake about 15 meters (49 feet) long.

In June 2024, a sighting was reported of a long snake in the water.

Searches

In 2000, a Japanese expedition found a 40-foot sonar image of an object about 7 meters below the surface near Rattlesnake Island. Several underwater caves were also discovered near the island. In 2001, a later expedition found unclear sonar readings of a large object. In 2006, another expedition discovered more caves at much greater depths.

In 2009, an expedition led by Bill Steciuk, an Ogopogo enthusiast, used thermal imaging from a helicopter, a chase boat, and a dive team to investigate caves near Rattlesnake Island and Squally Point. The expedition began at dawn when the chase boat saw a group of birds north of Rattlesnake Island, suggesting something large might be hunting underwater. The thermal imaging helicopter found heat trails near the surface offshore of Squally Point. Ray Snitynsky, who took the images, estimated the object that made the trails was between 40 and 50 feet long. A dive team later recovered a decomposed snake-like body from an underwater ledge. DNA testing showed the body was a Kokanee salmon that had decayed too much to be identified. The next day, diver Craig Smiley was lowered into the lake near Rattlesnake Island. Bill Steciuk used underwater sound recordings to try to attract the creature. When the sound frequency increased, Smiley’s signal was briefly lost after sediment stirred up around him, possibly due to an animal. Smiley also found large sinkholes on the lake floor, some up to 5 meters long. This expedition was shown on the show Monster Quest in the episode "Lake Demons."

In 2023, an expedition led by Bill Gibbons and Bill Steciuk used ROV equipment to investigate known sighting locations. The first stop was Rattlesnake Island and Squally Point, but strong winds forced the team to move north past Kelowna. Next, they reached the mouth of Bear Creek, where a small dark object passed their boat. They then traveled to the deepest part of the lake, where they recorded an object about 3 meters (9 feet) long swimming near their boat.

Explanations

According to Benjamin Radford, a skeptical author, modern reports of Ogopogo are likely mistaken sightings of animals such as water fowl, otters, or beavers. He explained that First Nations stories did not describe a real lake monster like Ogopogo, but instead referred to a legendary water spirit. Although the supernatural creature known as N'ha-a-itk of the Okanagan Valley Indians is no longer believed to exist, a less frightening and more scientifically based creature, whose exact appearance is debated, has taken its place. Joe Nickel and Benjamin Radford suggest that claims of "sightings" in the region may involve wildlife. Otters often swim in a line, and their movement can be mistaken for a long, continuous serpent. Radford noted that John Kirk’s 1989 sighting was probably of a group of otters.

Sturgeon are sometimes mistaken for lake monsters, but their presence in Okanagan Lake is uncertain. A reward of $10,000 is currently unclaimed for clear proof of sturgeon in the lake.

Benjamin Radford has also suggested that waterspouts may have inspired First Nations myths. Waterspouts are often seen on Okanagan Lake, forming when air temperatures drop while the lake water remains warm.

Appearances in other media

In the third season episode "Quagmire" of The X-Files, Agent Mulder tells his partner, Agent Scully, about the Ogopogo, a creature said to live in Lake Okanagan. This is an example of a lake creature that is widely known.

The Ogopogo is also mentioned in the English version of the Super Nintendo game Final Fantasy IV. In the game, it is the name of a powerful boss in the final dungeon. This creature looks like a more dangerous version of a monster called Leviathan and uses a water attack called Deluge.

The animated series The Venture Bros. includes the Ogopogo in its episode titled "Return to Malice." A character named Number 21, who works for the main villain, says the Ogopogo is real and describes it as a type of ancient sea creature called a plesiosaur. He also says that other lake monsters, like Champ and Nessie, are not real.

Okanagan Lake and the Ogopogo are important parts of the story in the Mike Tyson Mysteries episode called "Ogopogo!"

The Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card game includes cards based on mysterious creatures from around the world. One of these cards features the Ogopogo, shown with the characteristics most people recognize.

In the first season of Gravity Falls, the episode "The Legend of the Gobblewonker" shows a lake monster that looks like a plesiosaur. This creature is said to live on "Scuttlebutt Island" in Lake Gravity Falls, which is inspired by Rattlesnake Island. The monster chases the main characters around the lake before being trapped in a cave. It is later revealed to be a robot controlled by a man named Fiddleford McGucket, who built it to get attention from his son. At the end of the episode, it is shown that a real Gobblewonker, a different creature, lives in the lake.