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| OGOPOGO - THE ORIGIN OF THE LEGEND |
N'ha-a-itk
"Water Demon"
The
story of Ogopogo living in the Okanagan Valley in British
Columbia, Canada, has been passed down from generation
to generation for centuries, long before the coming of
the European settlers. Sighting reports were often of
an unusual animal surfacing, submerging and swimming swiftly
through the waters of Lake Okanagan. The First Nations
people feared this sacred creature, which they named N'ha-a-itk, "Water Demon". The early settlers also reported
sightings of N'ha-a-itk and they patrolled the shores
to protect their families. |
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| Drawing
of skeleton of Basilosaurus Cetoides, the Alabama State
Fossil. Click
here for more details. |
Drawing of skull of Basilosaurus
Cetoides, the Eocene whale. Click
here for another related link. |
Ogopogo
possibly a primitive whale
Some scientists
believe that, unlike the Loch Ness "monster",
the Lake Okanagan "resident" must be a form
of primitive whale, Basilosaurus cetoides. "The general
appearance of Basilosaurus tallies almost exactly with
the loglike descriptions of the creature known locally
as Ogopogo. The creature
is most often described as being one to two feet in diameter
with a length of 10 to 20 meters (30 to 60 feet). The head
has been described variously as being horse or goat-like.
One characteristic often repeated by many of the people
who believe they have seen this "monster" is its
resemblance to a log. It is reported to be able to move
with astounding speed but many sightings in calm weather
have been made of the creature apparently feeding on either
fish or aquatic weeds. People who were very close, between
50 and 100 feet, report seeing fins or feet on the creature. |
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Change
of Name
In a book called "Ogopogo:
The True Story of the Okanagan Lake Million Dollar Monster",
author Arlene Gaal tells of how a Vancouver Province reporter
named Ronald Kenvyn composed a song which parodied a popular
British ditty which included the following stanza:
His mother was an earwig;
His father was a whale;
A little bit of head and hardly any tail-
And Ogopogo was his name.
The name Ogopogo stuck and
the Indian name N'ha-a-itk was replaced by the anglicized version of the
name. |
Continuous
sightings
Although Ogopogo is not
yet as world-famous as Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster, the
Okanagan "lake monster" has had its share of
international press coverage, and even more so lately. "Lake monster"
hunters from all over the world have visited Kelowna and
there have been numerous sightings over the years. Some
people claim that there have been more sightings over
the years of Ogopogo in Lake Okanagan than of "Nessie"
the Loch Ness "monster in Scotland. |
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