From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Champ (cryptozoology)
Champ (cryptozoology)
Champ
(Lake Champlain Monster, Champtanystropheus americansus)
americansus)
Creature
Grouping Cryptid
Sub grouping Lake Monster / Sea Serpent
Data
First reported 1883
Country United States Canada
Region Lake Champlain
Habitat Water
Champ or Champie or Champy[1], is the name given to
Champ, Champie,
a reputed lake monster living in Lake Champlain, a nat-
ural freshwater lake in North America, partially situated
across the U.S.-Canada border in the Canadian province
of Quebec and partially situated across the Vermont-New Map of Lake Champlain watershed
York border.[2] While there is no scientific evidence for
the cryptid’s existence, there have been over 300 report- Lake Champlain is a 125-mile (201 km)-long body of fresh
ed sightings.[3] The legend of the monster is considered a water that is shared by New York and Vermont and just a
draw for tourism in the Burlington, Vermont and Platts- few miles into Quebec, Canada.
burgh, New York areas. The Champ legend has become a revenue-generating
Like the Loch Ness Monster, while most regard attraction.[5] For example, the village of Port Henry, New
Champ as legend, others have speculated it is possible York, has erected a giant model of Champ and holds
such a creature does live deep in the lake, possibly a rel- "Champ Day" on the first Saturday of every August. As
ative of the plesiosaur, an extinct group of aquatic rep- the mascot of Vermont’s lone Minor League Baseball af-
tiles.[4] filiate, the Vermont Lake Monsters, Champ became more
prominent after the team was renamed from the Ver-
Cultural importance to New mont Expos to the Vermont Lake Monsters. Champ has
been the primary attraction of the New York - Penn
York and Vermont League affiliate since their inception. Several nearby es-
tablishments, including a car wash, use "Champ" as a lo-
go.
History of the legend
Two Native American tribes living in the area near Lake
Champlain, the Iroquois and the Abenaki, had legends
about such a creature. The Abenaki called the creature
"Tatoskok".[6][7][8]
An account of a creature in Lake Champlain was os-
tensibly given in 1609 by French explorer Samuel de
Champlain, the founder of Québec and the lake’s name-
sake, who is supposed to have spotted the creature as he
was fighting the Iroquois on the bank of the lake.[2] How-
Vermont Lake Monsters mascot ever, in actuality no such sighting was recorded, and it
has since been traced back to a 1970 article.[5]
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Champ (cryptozoology)
A report in the Plattsburgh Republican dated July 24, summer of 2005[12]. Close examination of the images may
1819, titled "Cape Ann Serpent on Lake Champlain", gives be interpreted either as a head and neck of a plesiosaur-
the account of a "Capt. Crum" sighting an enormous ser- like animal and even an open mouth in one frame and
pentine monster.[5][9][10] a closed mouth in another; or as a fish or eel. Although
The first reported sighting actually came in 1883 two retired FBI forensic image analysts, who reviewed
when Sheriff Nathan H. Mooney claimed that he had seen the tape, said it appears authentic and unmanipulated,
a “…gigantic water serpent about 50 yards away” [11] one of them added that "there’s no place in there that I
from where he was on the shore. He claimed that he can actually see an animal or any other object on the sur-
was so close that he could see “round white spots inside face"[15].
its mouth” and that “the creature appeared to be about One piece of evidence, though not a "sighting" per
25 to 30 feet in length”. Mooney’s sighting led to many se, is the recording of echolocation from within the lake
eyewitnesses coming forward with their own accounts by the Fauna Communications Research Institute in 2003,
of Champ sightings. Mooney’s story predated the public working as part of a Discovery Channel program. The
Loch Ness controversy by 50 years. group has concluded that the sounds they have recorded
Champ became so popular that P. T. Barnum, in the are similar to that of a Beluga Whale or perhaps an Orca,
late 19th century, put a reward of $50,000 up for a carcass but not of a known animal, and no dolphin or whale
of Champ. Barnum wanted the carcass of Champ so that species have been previously known to live in the
he could include it in his epic World’s Fair Show (Krystek lake[16]. Study of the Mansi Photo in this context has
3). led to speculation that rather than a neck and head, the
Some believe that Champ may be a plesiosaur similar photo shows a flipper of some large animal in the act of
to “Nessie”, claiming the two lakes have much in com- trolling[citation needed]].
mon. Like Loch Ness, Lake Champlain is over 400 feet
(120 m) deep, and both lakes were formed from retreat-
ing glaciers. Believers also claim both lakes support fish
See also
populations large enough to feed a supposed sea or lake • Lake monster
monster (Krystek 1). This legend would require either a • Cryptozoology
single animal, or a sizable breeding population. [12] • Mussie
• Lake Tianchi Monster
• Loch Ness Monster
Mansi photograph • Ogopogo
In 1977, amateur photographer Sandra Mansi released a • Mokele mbembe
photograph that appeared to show a plesiosaur-like body
and neck sticking out of the lake.[13] Mansi later showed
the photo, which is similar to the famous "Surgeon’s pho-
References
to" of the Loch Ness Monster, to Joseph W. Zarzynski. [1] McKinstry, Lohr (28 September 2008). "Lake
Zarzynski, founder of the Lake Champlain Phenome- Champlain expedition searches for Champy". The
na Investigation and a Wilton, New York Social Studies Press-Republican (Plattsburgh).
teacher, took the photo to George Zug of the Smithsonian http://www.pressrepublican.com/homepage/
Institution’s Department of Vertebrate Zoology. Zug local_story_272053009.html. Retrieved 5 October
states that the creature in the photo does not resemble 2009.
any creature or animal living in Lake Champlain.[citation [2] ^ "Canada’s Lake Creature: Champ". Welcome to
needed] Ogopogo Country. Centre culturel Marie-Anne-
The entire bay of the lake where the photograph re- Gaboury. 2001. http://cnc.virtuelle.ca/ogopogo/
portedly was taken is no deeper than 14 feet (4.3 m). Ac- lake_creature/champ.html. Retrieved 25 October
cording to Joe Nickell, there are few explanations for how 2009.
a giant creature could swim, let alone hide, in such shal- [3] "Champ, the Famed Monster of Lake Champlain".
low water[5]. Furthermore, it has been suggested that the Lake Champlain Land Trust. http://www.lclt.org/
object in the photograph could possibly be a rising tree Champ.htm. Retrieved 25 October 2009.
trunk or log[14]. Rotting trees often gather gas in the [4] Champ, the Lake Champlain "Monster"
process of decay, and sometimes rise to the water’s sur- [5] ^ Joe, Nickell (July/August 2003). "Legend of the
face at considerable speed. Lake Champlain Monster". Skeptical Inquirer. CSI.
http://www.csicop.org/si/show/
legend_of_the_lake_champlain_monster/.
Recent reports Retrieved 2010-04-03.
Champ reportedly can be seen in a video taken by fish- [6] "Champ History - From Ancient Times". Lake
ermen Dick Affolter and his stepson Pete Bodette in the Champlain Region. Lake Champlain Visitors Center.
2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Champ (cryptozoology)
Archived from the original on 15 February 2008. [12] ^ Phillips, Adam (21 March 2006). "Is Lake
http://web.archive.org/web/20080215094635/ Champlain Home to a Sea Serpent?". Voice of
http://www.lakechamplainregion.com/ America. http://www1.voanews.com/english/
content_pages/champyhistory.cfm. Retrieved 14 news/a-13-2006-03-21-voa14.html. Retrieved 25
December 2006. October 2009.
[7] "The Legend of Champ". The Adirondack Coast. [13] Radford, Benjamin (April 2004). "Lake Champlain
Adirondack Coast Visitors & Convention Bureau. Monster". Fortean Times.
Archived from the original on 30 July 2007. [14] "Legend of the Lake Champlain Monster". The
http://web.archive.org/web/20070730204024/ Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.
http://goadirondack.com/ http://www.csicop.org/si/show/
sub_menu_page.php?sub_menu_id=133. Retrieved legend_of_the_lake_champlain_monster/.
25 October 2009. Archive copy at the Wayback Retrieved 31 October 2010.
Machine [15] "Is There a Monster in Lake Champlain?". GMA.
[8] "Sea Monsters in Vermont". Kids Pages. Vermont ABC News. 22 February 2008.
Secretary of State. http://www.sec.state.vt.us/ http://www.abcnews.go.com/GMA/
Kids/champ.html. Retrieved 25 October 2009. story?id=1648547&page=1. Retrieved 25 October
[9] "Cape Ann Serpent on Lake Champlain". Plattsburgh 2009.
Republican. 1819-04-24. [16] "Lake Champlain Research". Fauna
[10] "The Search for Champ". Lake Placid/Essex County Communications Research Institute.
Visitor’s Bureau. http://lakeplacidmedia.com/ http://animalvoice.com/lakechamplain.htm.
uploads/PDF/Champ.pdf. Retrieved 2010-04-03. Retrieved 25 October 2009.
[11] Chorvinsky, Mark. ""Champ" of Lake Champlain".
Strangemag.com. NESSIE and Other Lake Monsters.
http://www.strangemag.com/champ.html.
External links
Retrieved 25 October 2009. • Champ, the Lake Champlain "Monster"
• Champ sightings board
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Champ_(cryptozoology)&oldid=467689065"
Categories:
• American folklore
• American folklore legendary creatures
• Lake cryptids
• Sports mascots
• Vermont culture
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