Baby Ogopogo Carcass?
Posted by: Loren Coleman on November 30th, 2008
Last month I was contacted by Arlene Gaal, a respected historian and researcher who has written many books on the history of the Okanagan Valley and also the Ogopogo mystery. The American History Channel was coming to Kelowna to film an episode of “MonsterQuest”(a show of which I was already somewhat familiar). They wanted to interview myself and my girlfriend Jessica about our sightings and were interested to see what photographic evidence I had obtained.
In Josh Dorsey’s (director) own words my photos were “the most interesting and compelling pieces of evidence” he had yet seen in regards to Ogopogo.
I have since had them analyzed by Dr.Edward Bousfield, a biologist and esteemed Cadborosaurus researcher who said that in his professional opinion my photos show a large “Megaserpent” or unknown aquatic animal living in Okanagan Lake.
I was one of the few people on the boat during the MonsterQuest expedition and I was the 3rd person on planet Earth to hold and photograph whatever it was they pulled up from a cave near Squally Point.
I initially didn’t think it looked very much like a fish but who knows what decomposition can do to a carcass. The headlines are reading “Baby Ogopogo” but we will have to patiently await the DNA testing in Guelph as even my pictures are not clear enough to ascertain what exactly the divers found that day. Sean Viloria
Upcoming on next season’s MonsterQuest, the results of the baby Ogopogo body find will be revealed.
I have attached a picture showing the divers with the specimen bag…though for now I had to remove the creature. I do believe that any person on the planet interested in “MonsterQuest” or Cryptozoology would think this worthy of readership…and I would be more than happy to re-write a summary at some point.
I was only supposed be a witness interview but they ended up threading my story throughout the whole episode so I would be glad to share my account for the benefit of all those interested.Sean Viloria
Here are images that give more hints of what was found.
I have included the first pictures anyone will have seen of the decomposing carcass the Dive Team pulled up from the cave in Okanagan Lake during the “Monster Quest” expedition that I was a part of. This was the first of two planned dives and took place after the helicopter thermal scan. When they pulled it up, someone came in and shouted “They found something!.”
Being one of the few present with a digital camera I tried to take as many photos over the shoulder of the divers during the excitement and even got to hold the specimen and inspect it for a few seconds before I unfortunately had to depart the expedition to catch a plane.
I am not a biologist.
I am an artist, photographer and musician; I have nothing more than my keen interest, open mind and beyond my few personal sightings I have researched a few things cryptozoological, but upon first glance I was unsure as to what exactly it was they found.
My initial thoughts were not a fish because the skin appeared too wrinkled and not scaled but upon first observation of the photos both Arlene Gaal and Dr.Edward Bousfield commented that it looked fish-like.
Salmonoid or possibly a Ling Cod were there suggestions. Every person I saw look at the specimen on that boat seemed to not be able to identify this creature at all even though Bill Steciuk himself has spent many years on the lake and should be familiar with most of it’s inhabitants. I have read the recent “baby ogopogo” headlines and I remain skeptical though regardless of what the DNA testing proves, I still 100% believe in the animal’s existence and I know that the MonsterQuest team did not leave empty handed.
Joshua Dorsey (director) and his crew did exactly all they could given the time and conditions, which was shine a little more light on the hugely compelling mystery that is Ogopogo.
Their biggest difficulty was that unlike other lake creatures around the world there exists a mass amount of real evidence spanning 100 years proving the existence of an unknown zoological species living in the waters among us.Sean Viloria
Photo of Jessica Weigers (Sean’s girlfriend), MonsterQuest director Joshua Dorsey, and Sean Viloria.
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.
wow a dead anchovie, thrilling….
I can’t make anything from the pictures without using my imagination but it does make me want to see the episode more. I know that if it’s not an ogopogo that they found a lot of people are going to be grumbling but I think it looks like it will be an enjoyable episode, and who knows maybe they did find something interesting 🙂
I wonder how much money he wants before he’ll let people see the clear photos.
*sigh*
What is that, a decomposed prawn?
Thanks for the post, Loren.
I look forward to sharing future evidence with the Cryptomundo readership.
Ogopogo episode of MQ airs in February!
Just another shameless act of false promotion to get attention from MQ. I enjoy reading the articles on here that Loren posts because I know there is some kind of merit to them, unlike the countless times MQ just strings me along into inconclusive reports and moronic “experts” who blab about technology, instead of using common sense approaches.
I must be clear that Bill Steciuk is the only person who has ever said that what MQ found was a “baby ogopogo”.
Even MQ themselves called other researchers after Bill’s statement to say they had no idea what it was.
There is no way anyone should have ever come out and said we found a “baby ogopogo” before the DNA testing was done.
Arlene Gaal, Ed Bousfield and John Kirk all said it was a fish.
I am not trying to promote MQ as much as tell the world not to get too excited by recent headline’s and that no matter what the DNA testing proves, the Ogopogo is very real and the evidence obtained by myself and others, proves it.
For the record I never wanted money for clear pictures my only concern was ruining the MQ episode by giving away too much.
I let MQ use some photos I have taken of the Ogopogo and after a week of shooting and them getting exclusive use of my photos for the first time (which the world will see in February). I did not make a penny from any part of my involvement with MQ.
I only wish to help on any small level that I can to validate the important, crucial research people like Arlene Gaal, John Kirk and Loren Coleman are and have been doing.
Just once I would like a “mystery” show that actually figured out the answers to their own questions. Usually it goes, “Does big foot exist? There’s evidence. People say they’ve seen it, but we didn’t get anything on camera so we must say goodnight.” I hope for the best, but am very pessimistic.
It amazes me how people hound MQ when they don’t find conclusive evidence. I can understand being disappointed but these are wild and secretive animals which don’t work around our schedules. When these creatures have been seen it’s because someone was there at the right place at the right time. I’ve said it before at least MQ is funding these expeditions to try and get researchers out there, and the only way these cryptids will be found it people are out there and they have a bit of luck on their side. So lets take what we can get here. If you can do better go out there and get the proof, I bet guarantee that if you can find conclusive proof of a cryptid you could get your own show (or at least a television special 🙂 ) Seriously though the more people who are out putting the time in to try and find these cryptids the better our chances of catching one, I look forward to the episode no matter what they did (or didn’t) find.
i see a fish head on the 2nd pic.
The body looks small like a fish. You can tell straight out it’s a fish, but examining the pic. Why? cause look at the face, eyes…etc. attached to a small body just like a fish,.. it’s brown. you can tell. i don’t see flippers, i see fins.
it looks like a fish, not what people describe as ogopogo.
Idk what their trying to pull on us, but it’s not working.. but non the less, i’m going to watch that ep. to make sure.
but i may be wrong. As of right now, i’m not ruling out a fish, it can be a unknown fish, which would be awesome to see. 🙂 the lips look big as well like a fish. last thing i remember Ogopogo had a long body like a sea serphent with flippers and a long NECK> this creature on the pick has a short neck like a fish, minus well not a neck. 🙁
One way to find out is the watch the ep..
A helicopter thermal scan over water? Thermal wavelengths penetrate about a tenth of a millimeter of water: the thickness of a sheet of paper. I wish we had a fraction of the money these television people waste.
First and foremost this is a tv show and it’s entertaining, no matter what the outcome of their expeditions are. People that are highly critical of MQ for not finding conclusive evidence of these cryptids are ridiculous. There’s a reason these are cryptids, its because they probably don’t exist, or they are so rare that it’s almost impossible to gather the conclusive evidence. Just watch and enjoy the shows. After the criticism of the sasquatch attack II episode by the viewers, and being let down by not finding a bigfoot at snelgrove lake I find it rather comical. Do all these MQ viewers expect the MQ show to just magically gather the conclusive evidence of all these cryptids?? come on people, put your expectations in perspective!!
Greg102–
Agree completely. No cryptid is going to be found by any of these shows. They are not investigators as much as they are show people and even if they would like to investigate they are at the mercy of the shows time constraints, budgets, and flair for the dramatic to keep things interesting. Just enjoy the ths show people and stop looking at them as scientific investigations–they aren’t!
i do not agree. I do believe these shows can find cryptids. all they have to do is look.
Cryptids just walk around. if they weren’t walking, you can find them. 🙂
The problem is, it’s not entertaining. Odds of finding a cryptid are slim at best but you can still make an entertaining, provocative and informative show. Unfortunately MQ most often fails in their attempt.
With a little retooling I’m sure the show can improve as it is possible to keep the attention of the viewer without shaking hands with Bigfoot.
As for the pictures, it’s completely understandable to not give everything away in lieu of the broadcast.
I agree that it’s “possible” that MQ could find a cryptid, but that’s equivalent to hitting the mega millions lottery 4 weeks in a row. Possible, but not likely, especially when these expeditions are like 2 days at most for majority of them. I enjoy the shows no matter what the outcome, at least history channel is putting its money into something cryptozoology related! They’ve made it to producing a 3rd season, so that’s something to celebrate!!! The most likely chance to find a cryptid is going to be in the ocean, or the orang pendek in Sumatra. Another thing to note is if they actually discovered conclusive evidence of a cryptid, you would hear about it way before the TV show airs. It would send shockwaves throughout the scientific community. I’ll still watch every episode, it’s better than nothing crypto related 🙂
as much as tell the world not to get too excited by recent headline’s
Done and done.
Obviously if there was clear, irreproachable evidence of an animal like this it would have made headlines in science journals as well as mainstream news before an episode of MQ aired, but I am curious about the DNA results.
Thanks, Sean (OgopogoTruth?) for clearing things up and for your efforts! I’ll tune in.
Sadly I have yet to see a complete MQ episode here in Mexico.
But the way I see it, the program has 2 clear missions:
*First and foremost, to entertain.
*And second, to make a case that investigating the existence of these creatures is a worthy Scientific endeavor.
Whatever else is gained if these two are met is already a plus.
I would certainly have to agree with you here Sean, I was personally a little bit shocked when I heard that Bill announced that what MQ found was a “baby Ogopogo.” To be perfectly honest. I think Bill was WAY too quick to say such a thing and to be frank, the specimen found didn’t resemble anything remotely like an Ogopogo to me. I of course always try to remain optimistic when these things come up, but I will be very surprised if the specimin is an Ogopogo.
When MQ asked for my own personal opinion about the specimen, I tried to remain adamant about these opinions and I hope that in the final version of the episode they will try and show both sides of the coin. I think that this is the most responsibly scientific approach to the issue, seeing as neither Bill or anyone else on that boat knew what it was.
To say that the specimen was a baby Ogopogo before any scientific examination was conducted is in my humble opinion scientifically irresponsible.
To everyone saying MQ won’t find something, did you all forget about the giant squid?
I agree with Andrew Minnesota and others up there…MQ should not be raked over the coals for not finding anything. At best, it’s a roll of the dice…they walk into an environment and spend a really small amount of time looking for something that has evaded capture/sighting for decades…I think they COULD find something but it will be sheer luck at best. As others, the point of MQ is to get general public interested in cryptids to the point where spending more for cryptozoology is seen as worthwhile and a good expenditure of dollars.
What I do not like about MQ is that it is sensationalistic…they play up the mundane and the things that have lilttle or nothing to do with cryptozoology (And I fully understand there is a force back there trying to make things more exciting, and blah, blah, blah). And to be fair, some of their methods are more than a little ridiculous–like getting a bunch of guys to tromp through a minute section of the pine barrens to try and scare up the Jersey Devil–that was the proverbial needle in the haystack and I don’t they should have used that footage unless they had come up with something.
That is, what I believe, ticks people off and gets them negative against MQ–that they (MQ) spend so much air time on some of these approaches and then come up with absolutely nothing. And I agree with that.
Or second, using footage of the Mantauk monster during the show…which obviously had nothing of significance other than filler. And if they spend more than two minutes of air time on the golf balls in Loch Ness business (especially if they play up the fact that they “discovered” something), I am going to get ticked all over again, and think twice about watching on a regular basis.
Like I said, I don’t mind them investigating and looking for cryptids…heck, I don’t even mind if they carry out crazy ideas as long as they don’t use it as a marketing ploy…
I think that shows like Monster Quest will and does find cryptids, but I don’ think the government will let them say.
To newoyahero, the giant squid was already proven.
Also in a couple bags there is obviously a fish but in one I’m not 100% sure cause the head’s shape.