More News On Lake Champlain Video
Posted by: Loren Coleman on June 2nd, 2009
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I was just interviewed by a news reporter in Vermont who will be breaking the “Champ video” story in the mainstream media overnight. (Needless to say, he wanted to ask me my opinion on this breaking news item, based on my research in this arena.)
More importantly for now, the journalist mentioned some details of the May 31st incident with me.
I first asked him about the identity of the YouTube poster.
I bet some youthful masters of the Internet who read Cryptomundo could find out much info on “mookiebone,” if they tried. The name behind the YouTube handle was discovered quickly by journalistic cyberdetectives, I was told.
The reporter won’t share the name of the casual videographer with me today, but it will be published tomorrow. As it turns out, the reporter, by chance, learned that he knows the 37-year-old man, who happened to have been a former tenant of his in Burlington. He said the YouTube poster used the name, just like everyone else does on that site, but that the man is grounded and “just an ordinary guy.”
The video individual isn’t really interested in publicity, and doesn’t make any claims that he filmed Champ. All he really says is that what he recorded was too large for a dog, didn’t look like anything he’d seem in Lake Champlain before, and doesn’t know what it was/is.
How the taping occurred was that the person was down at the lake, using his cellphone to capture the early morning scenery. He’d done the same thing the week before, and that footage is also up on Facebook and/or YouTube.
The man saw something, remained quiet, pushed the zoom button that is on his cellphone, and continued recording what he was seeing.
To answer a question mentioned by Cryptomundo comment makers, this eyewitness turned off his cellphone because he got worried that he was running out of memory in the cellphone. He felt that if that happened, he might loss all that he’d recorded, and he didn’t want that to occur.
The cellphone cameraman then stayed around for a half hour or so, waiting to see if “it” came back, came out of the water, and/or came on shore. Nothing happened and no re-appearances occurred.
The newsman knows exactly where the footage was taken, and the size of the object filmed is, he assured me, quite large, with the indication of the seeming separate structure (tail? a young animal?) behind the main creature being rather apparent to him.
The reporter was level-headed about his news approach to the story, neither sensationalistic nor ridiculing in his discussion with me, but sincerely curious.
I’ll post the article by this reporter as soon as I am aware of it.
UPDATE
The name and background of the 37-year-old individual who took the footage has been revealed in the newly published article, and enhanced enlarged photos have been added to the greatly revised posting, “Media and Others Take Closer Look At ‘Champ Video’” of June 3rd. Please examine those images, and leave comments there, if you wish.
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About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct).
Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015.
Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.
To me it resembles a land mammal trying to keep it’s head above water and aiming for the opposite shore.
When I first looked at the video, I thought, possible cryptid. The explanation of why the video was shot with no commentary, and that it was a cell-phone, explains the fact that you could hear a clicking sound as he zoomed in at the beginning of the video. Also, the way the camera zoomed also lends credence to the cell-phone camera claim. It was not a smooth zoom from far to near, but zoomed the way cell-phone cameras zoom, say 2x to 4x to 8x, etc…
The way the animal in the picture sinks under, then up again without any actual diving, just sinking and coming back up, is also interesting to me.
I don’t think it odd that “Champ” would swim toward shore. That doesn’t mean it was planning on coming on shore. And near the end of the video, it seems to me that the animal is turning away from the nearest shoreline, following the shoreline, not preparing to come out of the water.
For me, this is a video of an unidentified animal. (of course, with my luck, by the time this posts, it’ll be proven a hoax.) Nonetheless, I vote that this Champ.
Interesting, Loren. It’s good to see there are at least some reporters who approach things soberly and respectfully. I look forward to further installments of this item.
Loren…
This thread is a good choice. Being able to compare the original video against others that show identifiable knowns in a similar environment sure helps.
If anything, now I feel less inclined to think that the animal is an unidentified known. To me it looks like an unknown, which makes it unidentifialbe naturally.
Comments by naysayers in the previous thread make me wonder whether this blog has been invaded by Rhandi or similar dark forces that want to discourage further research on large unknown animals. (LOL)
Bah, humbug. Fake.
I’ve spent many years on the water and seen a myriad of things swimming and afloat in it. I do not think this object is self-propelled, the wake is all wrong, and there is no mass to the body. Everything about the film, the “filmer”, and the way the story has unfolded all screams “fake”.
Happy to be proved wrong, of course, but I’m certainly not holding my breath about this one.
the neat thing is that those channel markers are usually about 4-5 feet in length usually.
so prob about 3 feet of it is out of the water if that is the case whatever it is could be 6-9 feet or more in length very interesting video
Well, it sure doesn’t look like a beaver!
Beyond that I have to agree with the poster who said it seemed like a terrestrial air breathing animal trying to keep its head afloat. However and of course this is just an impression, the size of the “creature” does look fairly large. Do we have any idea what the pole like object is sticking out of water behind it at the beginning of the video? It looks much too thin to be buoy.
Anyway Loren, it definitely looks interesting and worth further investigation.
After thinking about it, I’ve come to the conclusion that it is ei:
A) An unknown, “cryptid”-type of creature,
OR,
B) A deer. But that possiblity seems like the less likely of the two.
I agree wholeheartely Buckeyes1. Definitely bears further investigation.
I thought “swimming deer” too the first time I watched but after watching it again, I’m not sure. At about 28 or 29 seconds, it clearly stops in the water and smoothly sinks vertically for a few seconds before continuing on. I originally thought this was possibly the point where the deer was crossing a sandbar which was why you could see so much of the body. However, generally when swimming deer (or dogs or any “land” animal) reach a point where they can touch (i.e. a sandbar), they start bounding, almost like they are running or jumping through the water. Whatever this is doesn’t do any of that. Its movements are very smooth, like it belongs in the water. Also, about 1:45, you body is seen again. If this was a drowning deer, it wouldn’t be in that position. At that point, if it really was drowning, the body would be almost vertical, literally pulling the head under, not floating along horizontal to the surface. So I’m saying either some kind of aquatic animal (known or unknown) or a hoax.
This is interesting footage…will be curious to see the take on it in the media.
I do not think this is a land animal struggling to keep its head above water…the movement and actions are more…lazy…almost like just cruising along, than trying to stay above water…it doesn’t fit.
And there is definitely a back end that only hits the surface near the end, suggesting a much longer critter…definitely not the back end of a deer or moose or other land animal.
As for log, it doesn’t keep the same pace and it is moving with too much purpose to be a piece of wood floating along the top. And during the middle of the footage, it appears to me that the end/head turns or shifts without shifting the entire rest of the visible parts suggesting independence and a critter. So I vote no on a log.
As for hoax…did not see any tow lines or any evidence so far of someone on shore pulling something in…underwater something, it would be possible, but again, there seems to be a definite movement that suggests to me that whatever it is, is just out for a morning swim…lazily moving along and checking out the surrounding water.
So far, I am inlcined to think its a living critter cruising the lake, and something built for water. Is it Champ…I guess we’ll see…
cool–thanks Loren!
It looks fake! Too slow, strange proportions, looks like it’s a model that is pulled by someone on the beach.
Great follow-up Loren, the clip certainly looks interesting and shows a few anomalies. I’m afraid I am not making any judgement on this one I’m just going to sit back and see what the outcome is. I shall look forward to reading this newspaper man’s account as he is not revealing that much so we should get a more full story when it is published.
UPDATE
The name and background of the 37-year-old individual who took the footage has been revealed in a newly published article, and enhanced enlarged photos have been added to the greatly revised posting, “Media and Others Take Closer Look At ‘Champ Video’” of June 3rd. Please examine those images, and leave comments there, if you wish.