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, can actually see an animal or any other object on the sur-
1819, titled "Cape Ann Serpent on Lake Champlain", gives face"[15].
the account of a "Capt. Crum" sighting an enormous ser- One piece of evidence, though not a "sighting" per
pentine monster.[5][9][10] se, is the recording of echolocation from within the lake
The first reported sighting actually came in 1883 by the Fauna Communications Research Institute in 2003,
when Sheriff Nathan H. Mooney claimed that he had seen working as part of a Discovery Channel program. The
a “…gigantic water serpent about 50 yards away” [11] group has concluded that the sounds they have recorded
from where he was on the shore. He claimed that he are similar to that of a Beluga Whale or perhaps an Orca,
was so close that he could see “round white spots inside but not of a known animal, and no dolphin or whale
its mouth” and that “the creature appeared to be about species have been previously known to live in the
25 to 30 feet in length”. Mooney’s sighting led to many lake[16].
eyewitnesses coming forward with their own accounts
of Champ sightings. Mooney’s story predated the public
Loch Ness controversy by 50 years.
See also
Champ became so popular that P. T. Barnum, in the • Lake monster
late 19th century, put a reward of $50,000 up for a carcass • Cryptozoology
of Champ. Barnum wanted the carcass of Champ so that • Mussie
he could include it in his epic World’s Fair Show (Krystek • Lake Tianchi Monster
3). • Loch Ness Monster
Some believe that Champ may be a plesiosaur similar • Ogopogo
to “Nessie”, claiming the two lakes have much in com- • Mokele mbembe
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
References
populations large enough to feed a supposed sea or lake [1] McKinstry, Lohr (28 September 2008). "Lake
monster (Krystek 1). This legend would require either a Champlain expedition searches for Champy". The
single animal, or a sizable breeding population. [12] Press-Republican (Plattsburgh).
http://www.pressrepublican.com/homepage/
local_story_272053009.html. Retrieved 5 October
Mansi photograph 2009.
In 1977, amateur photographer Sandra Mansi released a [2] ^ "Canada’s Lake Creature: Champ". Welcome to
photograph that appeared to show a plesiosaur-like body Ogopogo Country. Centre culturel Marie-Anne-
and neck sticking out of the lake.[13] Mansi later showed Gaboury. 2001. http://cnc.virtuelle.ca/ogopogo/
the photo, which is similar to the famous "Surgeon’s pho- lake_creature/champ.html. Retrieved 25 October
to" of the Loch Ness Monster, to Joseph W. Zarzynski. 2009.
The entire bay of the lake where the photograph re- [3] "Champ, the Famed Monster of Lake Champlain".
portedly was taken is no deeper than 14 feet (4.3 m). Ac- Lake Champlain Land Trust. http://www.lclt.org/
cording to Joe Nickell, there are few explanations for how Champ.htm. Retrieved 25 October 2009.
a giant creature could swim, let alone hide, in such shal- [4] Champ, the Lake Champlain "Monster"
low water[5]. Furthermore, it has been suggested that the [5] ^ Joe, Nickell (July/August 2003). "Legend of the
object in the photograph could possibly be a rising tree Lake Champlain Monster". Skeptical Inquirer. CSI.
trunk or log[14]. Rotting trees often gather gas in the http://www.csicop.org/si/show/
process of decay, and sometimes rise to the water’s sur- legend_of_the_lake_champlain_monster/.
face at considerable speed. Retrieved 2010-04-03.
[6] "Champ History - From Ancient Times". Lake
Champlain Region. Lake Champlain Visitors Center.
Recent reports Archived from the original on 15 February 2008.
Champ reportedly can be seen in a video taken by fish- http://web.archive.org/web/20080215094635/
ermen Dick Affolter and his stepson Pete Bodette in the http://www.lakechamplainregion.com/
summer of 2005[12]. Close examination of the images may content_pages/champyhistory.cfm. Retrieved 14
be interpreted either as a head and neck of a plesiosaur- December 2006.
like animal and even an open mouth in one frame and [7] "The Legend of Champ". The Adirondack Coast.
a closed mouth in another; or as a fish or eel. Although Adirondack Coast Visitors & Convention Bureau.
two retired FBI forensic image analysts, who reviewed Archived from the original on 30 July 2007.
the tape, said it appears authentic and unmanipulated, http://web.archive.org/web/20070730204024/
one of them added that "there’s no place in there that I http://goadirondack.com/
2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Champ (cryptozoology)
sub_menu_page.php?sub_menu_id=133. Retrieved [13] Radford, Benjamin (April 2004). "Lake Champlain
25 October 2009. Archive copy at the Wayback Monster". Fortean Times.
Machine [14] "Legend of the Lake Champlain Monster". The
[8] "Sea Monsters in Vermont". Kids Pages. Vermont Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.
Secretary of State. http://www.sec.state.vt.us/ http://www.csicop.org/si/show/
Kids/champ.html. Retrieved 25 October 2009. legend_of_the_lake_champlain_monster/.
[9] "Cape Ann Serpent on Lake Champlain". Plattsburgh Retrieved 31 October 2010.
Republican. 1819-04-24. [15] "Is There a Monster in Lake Champlain?". GMA.
[10] "The Search for Champ". Lake Placid/Essex County ABC News. 22 February 2008.
Visitor’s Bureau. http://lakeplacidmedia.com/ http://www.abcnews.go.com/GMA/
uploads/PDF/Champ.pdf. Retrieved 2010-04-03. story?id=1648547&page=1. Retrieved 25 October
[11] Chorvinsky, Mark. ""Champ" of Lake Champlain". 2009.
Strangemag.com. NESSIE and Other Lake Monsters. [16] "Lake Champlain Research". Fauna
http://www.strangemag.com/champ.html. Communications Research Institute.
Retrieved 25 October 2009. http://animalvoice.com/lakechamplain.htm.
[12] ^ Phillips, Adam (21 March 2006). "Is Lake Retrieved 25 October 2009.
Champlain Home to a Sea Serpent?". Voice of
America. http://www1.voanews.com/english/
news/a-13-2006-03-21-voa14.html. Retrieved 25
External links
October 2009. • Champ, the Lake Champlain "Monster"
• Champ sightings board
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Champ_(cryptozoology)&oldid=471722983"
Categories:
• American folklore
• American folklore legendary creatures
• Lake cryptids
• Sports mascots
• Vermont culture
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