In Canadian folklore, the Manipogo is a lake monster said to live in Lake Manitoba, Manitoba, Canada. The creature was dubbed Manipogo in 1960, the name echoing British Columbia's Ogopogo. [1] It is the namesake of the Manipogo Provincial Park.
There is also a monster called Winnepogo, named for either Lake Winnipegosis or Lake Winnipeg, [2] thought possibly to be the same creature since the lakes are connected.
The community of St. Laurent on the southeast shore of Lake Manitoba holds a yearly Manipogo Festival during the first week of March. [3]
Manipogo is described as being a serpentine monster between 4–15 metres (13–49 ft) long. [2]
It is described as having "a brownish-black body and at least one hump that shows above the water." Its head is sometimes compared to that of a horse, camel, or sheep, while others have claimed it was flat and diamond-shaped. [2] [4]
It is purported to let out a shriek or cry as it surfaces; a "prehistoric type of dinosaur cry," as one witness described. [2]
Some people have suggested that Manipogo may be some kind of prehistoric creature, such as a plesiosaur, with a long neck that lives in the water. [2]
Explanations by critics for supposed sightings have included that what people are likely seeing are floating logs or river otters. Other sceptics believe that the so-called monster is actually a swimming moose with its head above the surface and its humped back showing as well. Moose are known to grunt and bleat when swimming, which could explain the cries some people have heard. [2] [5]
Another possibility is that it could be a sturgeon, which are a common fish in Manitoba and can live for more than 150 years. [2] Lake sturgeon never stop growing and are the largest freshwater fish in Manitoba. The average size is about 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) , and they can grow up to 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) and weigh over 140 kilograms (310 lb). [6]
The local First Nations population has legends of serpent-like creatures in Lake Manitoba going back hundreds of years. [7]
Sightings of the lake monster have been reported since the 1800s. [7] The first documented sighting by a white settler came in September 1909, when Hudson's Bay Company fur trader Valentine McKay claimed to see a huge creature in Cedar Lake near Graves Point on Lake Manitoba. [8] [2]
In 1960, the creature was dubbed Manipogo, [1] a hybrid of "Manitoba" and "Ogopogo," the famous monster of Okanagan Lake, British Columbia. A number of sightings were reported that year. [2] The name was created by Tom Locke, a land inspector who was responsible for planning the Manitoba government's program for public playgrounds and recreational parks. [2]
Locke would go on to give the name to Manipogo Provincial Park as well, located on the northwestern shore of Lake Manitoba, as reported sightings have largely taken in the Toutes Aides area (RM of Lakeshore) nearby. [2] [4]
The only photo to ever come from a Manipogo sighting was taken by Richard "Dick" Vincent in August 1962 while on a fishing trip near Meadow Portage. [2] [4]
A group of 17 witnesses, all reportedly strangers to each other, claimed to have spotted three Manipogos swimming together. [9]
In the early 1960s, Professor James A. McLeod of the University of Manitoba investigated the creature by trying to locate its remains. If there is a breeding population in the lake, carcasses and bones should remain after death. [9] McLeod found none.
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Sightings have occurred throughout the last century, mainly in the Toutes Aides area (RM of Lakeshore), north of Sainte Rose du Lac. [4]
Manipogo was featured on an episode of the television documentary series Northern Mysteries . [10]
The monster is mentioned in John Kirk's 1998 book, In the Domain of Lake Monsters: The Search for the Denizens of the Deep. [11]
The community of St. Laurent on the southeast shore of Lake Manitoba holds a yearly Manipogo Festival during the first week of March. [3]
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