You ever wonder what’s in our water we drink. It depends on where you live. You could be drinking water from a well, purified water or lake water. If you’re drinking lake water then fish swim in the water you drink as well as many other plankton-sized crustations.
   If you live near the waters of Lake Champlain there may be other creatures, not so microscopic, that share your water.  The world calls this creature Champ
   But who is Champ? One theory suggests that Champ is a dinosaur that managed to escape extinction and lives on in Lake Champlain. Another suggests that the creatures could be surviving zeuglodons, a primitive form of whale with a long snake like body.
   These creatures have been thought to be long extinct, however fossils of them have been found a few miles from Lake Champlain in Charlotte, Vt. Champ might also be a Lake Sturgeon.
   There are sturgeons in Lake Champlain and they can grow to great lengths. They are a very old, almost prehistoric fish with a scale-less body that is supported by a partially cartilaginous skeleton along with rows of scales. 
   Its single dorsal fin, running along its spine, would match many descriptions of Champ, although its sharp, shark-like tail would not.
   Another theory is that Champ could be related to a plesiosaur. A plesiosaur is a prehistoric water dwelling reptile (not a dinosaur) with a long snake- like head and four large flippers. Plesiosaurs loved fish and other aquatic animals.
   Scientists date the plesiosaur to the Triassic period, 200 million years ago, through the Cretaceous period, about 65 million years ago (when all dinosaurs are thought to have gone extinct).                                                                           
   For over almost 400 years, sighting of Champ has been seen by many. Here are a few reported sightings of the legendary creature.
   There have been at least 300 reported unexplained sightings of Champ over the years.
  There is no certainty when the first sighting of Champ was; however, the creature was depicted by Native Americans. It was said that Samuel de Champlain saw Champ in 1609.
   This claim that he spotted a strange monster has been traced by historians to actually have occurred in the St. Lawrence estuary however.
   Other sightings include: 1819: Bulwagga Bay, Port Henry, NY; 1871: Horseshoe Bay, riders of the steamship Curlew claimed to see a head and long neck that created quite a wake.; 1870: Charlotte, Vt., a full steamboat spotted Champ; 1873: Dresden, NY., another steamboat full spotted Champ; 1945: In the middle of the lake the creature was spotted by the famous S.S. Ticonderoga; 1954: A 14 inch reptile was trapped in Shelburne Bay, possibly a baby. ; 1977: The Mansi photograph was taken by Sandra Mansi, a tourist from Connecticut, with her Kodak Instamatic, of what she called a dinosaur. This has become the most famous piece of evidence featured nationally in Time Magazine and the New York Times among others; 1984: Off Appletree Point, Vt. 86 passengers aboard the Ethan Allen spotted three to five humps which disappeared after about three minutes due to the approach of a speed boat.; 1993: Button Bay State Park, Ferrisburgh, Vt. A baby Champ reportedly swam between two women bathers; 1995: Dennis Hall of Champ Quest recorded Champ on video.
   Champ is serving as a mascot for Lake Champlain Land Trust. In the eyes of the Lake Champlain Land Trust, Champ embodies the mysteries, wonders and importance of the Lake and the creatures that may or may not live within.      
  The fact that we do not know whether Champ exists, means there is still an undiscovered and protected portion of the lake left to discover.
   Perhaps most importantly, Champ helps educate the public about this beautiful place and gives us all a reason to sit quietly by the lake and ponder what lies beneath.
  Weather they live in the woods, above or beneath the earth or in the waters of Canada, legendary  creatures may not be proven but they all have a place in Things That Go Bump In a Canadian Night and it’s getting more crowded by the week.

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