Do Lake Monsters Roar?
Posted by: Loren Coleman on August 11th, 2010
Algona Republican
Algona, Iowa
June 4, 1879
The Lake Champlain water monster has been seen again, this time by a “trustworthy and temperate farmer.” He describes it as having a head like a serpent, only much larger; showing fifteen feet of its body above the water, and making a noise like the discharge of a gun.
could it be a cousin of the european eel? they can live up to 88 years. and there distant cousins can get past 40 feet in length. They also crawl out of the water at night to hunt for prey to eat. Its a pretty neat animal. And there really fast out of the water. They can even get up on trees. now im not sure if anyone has seen them on trees but these animals are very adaptable.
“like the discharge of a gun”?
Maybe this noise was due to it slamming back into the water? 15 feet of head and neck would make a considerable noise if it submerged quickly.
Sorry shownuff, but there are no known eels which come only close to 40 feet. Perhaps you are meaning oarfish, but at first they aren´t related to eels at all, but the often claimed length of 11 m is also highly dubious. Maximum lengths of around 7 m are much more probable.
The very largest true eels are conger eels which can in exceptional cases reach around 3 m and the giant moray Gymnothorax javanicus which reaches similar lengths.
I suppose it depends on where in the animal kingdom it fits…obviously not a bird, and most likely not an insect.
If it’s a reptile, well alligators and lizards can make sounds, but I don’t know enough to know if size would have any influence other than decibel levels. If it’s a mammal or pinniped, then walruses and sea lions could definitely make noises that fit that description–bark like noises. If it’s a fish of some sort, I doubt it, but who knows…not up on that front either.
And perhaps there was another source for the noise that the farmer wasn’t aware of. Of course, the force of slamming back down into the water could be the culprit too.