Painting by local artist with police sketch-artist training, depicting Darryl Ellis sighting.

The Okanagan Lake is home to a creature witnessed by natives since the 19th century, predating Nessie  by 80 years.

The Kelowna Chamber of Commerce has the following for those interested in the monster.

“Before the white man came to the Okanagan Valley, the Indians knew of the lake monster which they called N’ha-a-itk. This monster lived in a cave close to Kelowna at a place called Squally Point.

“Indians would never paddle a canoe or raft near this area because often a storm would spring up and from the water would rise N’ha-a-itk to claim another life. If it was necessary to go within the area it was better to carry a small animal and throw it overboard as a sacrifice to appease the monster.

native picture of ogopogo?
“The first white settlers heard of N’ha-a-itk from the Indians, but these sturdy citizens were not superstitious, and many of them saw the monster and experienced phenomena that were rather unusual.

“One instance tells of two horses swimming behind a boat and mysteriously being pulled beneath the waves; another of a girl and her horse getting the scare of their lives as a huge black serpent-like creature slithered off the rocks into the lake.

“In the past 30 years many reputable persons have seen ‘Ogopogo,’ but as most of the roads are high above the lake, it is almost impossible to photograph anything one might see.

“In a two-year period 21 reputable citizens have seen our friendly lake monster, and the general descriptions all agree: 20 to 50 feet long with a heavy snake’s body, a horse’s or goat’s head – well bearded, and traveling at a fast speed or lazily sunning himself.

“This is all we know of Ogopogo. Perhaps someday we may see him ourselves, but in the meantime it’s nice to know he’s there keeping a benevolent eye on his favorite city.”

photo taken by Dan Basaraba

The monster is about 40-50ft in length and has been photographed and videotaped. The first documented sightings were in 1872 while the region was being colonized. The earliest story tells of a man leading horses across the lake only to be pulled under by something unseen (I assume this is the story referenced in by the chamber of commerce

still frame from 1976 film by Edward Fletcher

In 1926 at mission beach, the monster was again witnessed by upwards of 30 people. Bobby Carter wrote in the Vancouver Sun “too many reputable people have seen the monster to ignore the seriousness of actual facts.” In 1968 the monster was allegedly caught on film. The clip shows a dark object moving itself through shallow water near the shore. In 1989 the creature was again videotaped swimming through the lake and flicking its tail to create a splash. Some people have tried to say this motion is characteristic of a beaver but this creature is much too large to be a beaver. A few weeks later the same witnesses filmed it again.

Photo by the Wachlin family taken in the early 1980′s

Skeptics have theorized the video could be a misidentification of a log (we’ve heard that one before) a giant lake surgeon or a standing wave in the lake traveling below the surface. This creature intrigues me, especially since it has such a long history and seems to show up frequently enough to be taped! I wonder about how an ecosystem could function with such a mighty serpent, I figure it must only eat algae instead of fish. I’d also be curious to know if any of people living in this town go swimming in the lake. I’m wondering if I would and I can’t say for sure. What do you think of the videos? Do you think it’s the monster? Or is it a deceitful ploy to bring tourists to the region? Am I the only one getting creeped out here?

Read More: Monsters of the North

Source: Kelowna Chamber of Commerce

Photo 1: worldmysteryhouse.blogspot.com

Photo 2: genesisspark.com

Photo 3: http://www.ogopogomonster.com/photo-album.htm

Photo 4: http://ogopogomonster.com/user/cimage/long-ogo.gif

Photo 5: http://www.iseeallmonsters.com/page1/styled-3/