August 1997, Ogopogo was sighted by Carr's Landing, North End of Okanagan Lake.
An underwater camera was purchased September 19, 1997 to search for bodies in Okanagan Lake. There are about 6. It was even said the camera might be used to look for Ogopogo!
November 29, 1997. Ogopogo was seen by some hunters up Terrace Mountain, near Bear Creek. Gary Sorrenson of Westbank relates his experience with his friend Terry Horton:
Heading back down Bear Lake Main from hunting, I commented to my hunting partner, Terry Horton, on how calm the lake was. It was just like a sheet of glass. I had said I should have brought my cam corder. As we came down to Westside road, I asked Terry if he could see a boat on the lake. No, he replied, Why? What is that on the water? I asked. It was a long wake or almost like a very long log. At first, we thought it may be a log-boom, but for the length it was too straight. As we drove along Westside road we both noticed it was moving. So I pulled over just above the log-dump by Bear Creek.
We both got out of the truck and looked with our binoculars. It was very clear out and, as mentioned before, the water was perfectly calm. We saw an object moving towards the bridge, about 1/3 of the way across the lake. I asked Terry if he saw something or was it just me. No, he said. There is something moving. We watched for 10 minutes and on two occasions it seemed to be breaking water or coming up. It could have been humps. I estimated we were about 2-3 miles from it. But both of us have good binoculars. The speed of this would have been about the speed one would troll at when fishing. I estimated the object to be 25-40 feet long.
It was not a boat. Nor a large bird. I am now fully convinced that we do have something of considerable size in our lake.
Signed Gary Sorensen
Spring 1998, there were two sightings of Ogopogo in the Vernon area a few in the Kelowna area.
Following from Andrew Bennett: July 4, 1998 - a group of friends and I rented kayaks from Summerland and paddled up to a private wharf. We had just docked and there was a swell 10 feet from shore. (Jake Heppner was sure whenever he saw a swell it was Ogopogo) I looked close and it appeared like a beige rolling carpet bending four feet around, then black like the edge of a carpet - the color of the water. This sharp black line may have been the origin of the black line on the lake Mayor of Kelowna John Hindle warned of as a sign of an oncoming storm to get off the lake. One hour later a storm blew up on our way back. To me this appeared as a white carpet of scales or hair rolling towards me, then a sharp black line like the back of an Orca or the color of the water as if the carpet ended. Everyone looked. Some said it was just a beaver, others were not so sure. Later there on the raft we were swimming and I asked if anyone could see the carpet. The answer: "There is no carpet". "It (Ogopogo) is usually reported as dark blue, black or brown with a lighter underside". The sighting reminded me of the ditti "His mother was an earwig, his father was a whale" - the underside was like an earwig the upperside like a whale.
-- reconstruction of following observation: Ogopogo is reported as black from above the water, white from beneath. That summer I observed a yellow strip in the lake. Took a closer look through my telescope at 230X (and saw what looked like a 40 foot long object 100 feet away) and saw a long yellow-green object just below the water. A white underbody just beneath the surface would be colored thus by the water. Was Ogopogo sunning himself? However, there is a long shallow section just beyond Gellatly Nut Farm beach. Thus either this was Ogopogo laying on this shallow section or this was just the long shallow section itself.
May 5, 1999: Donna M. and Kathy M. were driving down Gellatly Road by the Gellatly Cemetery about 1PM when they notice whitecaps in the middle of a calm lake. There were no boats in sight and this white swath was travelling 1 kilometer out from Gellatly Point towards Kelowna. They pulled over and watched for some time. There were 3 white waves moving in a strait line up the lake (opposite of wind tossed waves). They were moving very fast and the object appeared to the viewers to be very large (possibly the 3 waves were 3 ogopogo's?). The swath had moved a considerable distance between reference points. A motor boat approached from the north going south. The white froth disappeared before the boat. They watched and compared the wake of the boat to the white swath and determined they were very different.
Nippon Television of Japan came to the Okanagan to search for Ogopogo at the end of February 2002. They used sophisticated sonar and tracking gear but did not have any success. Three other film makers are planning to search for Ogopogo this year.
September 5, 2001, Daryl Ellis did not wear goggles in his swim of Okanagan Lake this year so as not to scare himself. Beginning at Vernon he observed something silvery and slippery and said there is definitely something very large in Okanagan Lake. This was his second swim of the lake for cancer, Ogo Chaser II, August 15 - September 3, 2001.
August 24, 2000 a report from Daryl Ellis, a cancer survivor, who swam the length of Okanagan Lake, 80 miles, to raise money for cancer research: Two ogopogos swam underneath him for two hours by Westbank. He could see him ahead and behind him, making Ogopogo 20 feet long. One was shaped like a log the other like a box. (Male and female or young and full grown?) Their color was grey/black. On his break he swam back to the spotting boat. He was afraid to go back into the water. They could not see Ogopogo from the boat and Daryl was ushered back in. When he entered the water again the Ogopogos were waiting for him. Later, by Okanagan Lake bridge, Ogopogo suddenly appeared and looked up at him with eyes as big as grapefruits. (The Elasmosaurus, a plesiosaur, has very large eyes and very good eyesight.)
A commitee considered evidence for the $2 million Ogopogo Search ending September 3, 2001, to go to Lloyd's of London. The video by Rattlesnake Island was not clear enough. A sonar image taken was not enough. A picture of the creature had to be dramatic and clear.
May 21, 2001 Diana Sabine reported seeing Ogopogo from a campground near Peachland at 8:45pm. She watched from lake level: "I looked up and there was a hump. Then it was gone. Then there was another hump."
Order Arlene Gaal's new book "In Search of Ogopogo". Just published June 2001. $16.95 Cdn or $14.95 US. 208 pages, updated photos and sketches. She now has another book soon to be published.
April 18, 2002, 14 member crew see Ogopog while filming a documentary on him. The picture shows a long ripple. "We saw two humps undulating in and out of the water" "It was huge, black and shiny." Its head was spewing out water. More at
www.seesya.com About that day Andrew Bennet was combing the calm lake at 6AM with his telescope when he saw a long ripple, a silver flash and two dark objects below.
Bones discovered September 23 2004 may be first stealth dinosaur, a plesiosaur that lived over 230 million years ago in the shallow ocean off China. Ogopogo's long neck may have served the same purpose. Inorder not to scare away its prey the small head would strike at the same time sucking in water by enlarging its throat taking its prey completely by surprise.
June 4 2004, Debbie reported seeing Ogopogo to CKOV radio. She was watching the lake with her three children at 7:30 PM on the north west end of the lake. First the ducks and loons took off. Then she heard a thump thump thump thump in rapid succession making the water spray up, spitting and splashing, much louder than a beaver slap. Then she saw three smooth shinny humps mostly submerged. The creature swam about 3 feet and submerged leaving the water perfectly calm. She was so scared she ran into the house and thought "Who should I call? No one will believe me." Just two weeks previous also at 7:30 PM she saw a neck and dinosaur head moving through the water past about three houses. The skin was hairless and the colour was a deep grey black like she had never seen before. She estimated the body to be 15 feet long swimming like a snake, very mellow and quiet. The head had a bump on the top - dolphins have a bump they use for sonar. It was the weirdest color and the head the weirdest shape.
June 2004, Maria related what a fellow she knew told him: He was on a boat in Okanagan Lake saw what he thought was a log. He reached out to touch it, and it swam away. He said it swam up and down like a dolphin and he saw more than one.
October 22 2004, John Casorso reported seeing and video taping Ogopogo the morning of August 9, 2004. He and his family were in a house boat by Trader's Cove at the old ferry docks early in the morning when he heard a thump thump thumping (same reported thumping as by Debbie) and thrashing beneath the house boat and the house boat tilted 20° and rocked. The lake was perfectly calm and there were no motor boats. He saw the object 30 feet away, got his video recorder and video taped a large dark object like a black wave, submerging and surfacing, only still, a hundred yards away - he video taped it for 15 minutes. At times there appeared to be two parallel objects. When he got home he played it back and the object resolved clearly depicting a large object with humps, stretching out at times like a reptile, perhaps the best video yet of Ogopogo.
There have been four sightings of Ogopogo this spring of 2005 according to the Kelowna Daily Courier. M. Hunter told me he saw black waves appear mid July in the middle of the lake when out on his boat for the day with his family when there had not been any boats for hours.
"Foster did find an excellent skeleton of a baby plesiosaur. This specimen may be one of the finest specimens to ever be collected from Antarctica...went north into central Oregon and collected jaws of a very large plesiosaur from the Cretaceous...mosasaurs.. "
Sea monster's remains found on Arctic island. October 5 2006
Two plesiosaurs have been discovered in Australia from 115 million years ago. July 28 2006
In a CKOV63 radio interview early September 2006 on hand gliding in the Okanagan, the president of the club urged people to take up the sport and that they might even see the "Ogopogo Snake" in Okanagan Lake.
There have been two reported sightings of Ogopogo in the Daily Courier this spring, 2006. Both tell of three seven foot long black humps moving through the water when there were no boats on the lake.
Daryl Ellis is again swimming the length of Okanagan Lake this year 2006 for diabetes research. Anyone who wishes to participate in the swim can contact Daryl at 1-250-558-9814, announced today July 26 2006. You will need a boat to accompany you on the swim.
Daryl Ellis swam Okanagan Lake on his annual swim last year on September 8 2005, called Ogo Chaser. On one vivid encounter he saw Ogopogo raise his head above the water and look around and was close enough to hear the splash of his head as he went under. Daryl waited a good hour before resuming his swimming marathon.
A friend also told me of seeing Ogopogo raise his head and quickly duck under water.
2007: Ogopogo was seen by a retired dentist in Saturday's Kelowna Daily Courier October 13 2007. He was rowing by the Eldorado Hotel and the mouth of Mission Creek south to Pentiction when he noticed a wave from behind. There were no other boats on the lake at the time, so he looked back. He saw two or three humps come out of the water three feet. The color was brown to black and no fins swimming slowly south. He watched as it submerged leaving a wake that lasted two minutes.
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Here is a story from the Shuswap Lake just north of Okanagan Lake: One sunny August day about 1970 our family had gone to Sunny Brae on the north shore of Shuswap Lake to have a picnic and celebrate our youngest daughter's birthday. After a pleasant afternoon of swimming and sun-tanning, full of fried chicken and birthday cake, we piled into the car and started home.
Soon my husband noticed waves coming onto the shore and expecting to see only what he had thought to be a log. We were travelling about 35 miles an hour but to our amazement so was the "log". Upon closer examination we found this log was really a greeny-grayish snake-like creature. About 30 feet of his body protruded from the water. He had no scales or humps on his back that we could see.
We stopped the car but soon he slipped beneath the waves and disappeared from sight. There were several other sightings of him that summer. Several years ago a skeleton about 20-25 feet long washed up on the shore of Silvery Beach. This lake creature is known as "Tazama" - Water Bear. Also the Shuswap and Okanagan used to form one large lake. This is where our kokanee came from and probably our Ogopogo.
"It is a known fact that a plesiosaur like animal exists in Africa. Taxonomists are struggling to classify an animal which washed up dead on the shores of Lake Mankalla, Zimbabwe in March, 1995. Results of preliminary studies of the animal were published in the January 1996 issue of the South African Journal of Science. The creature in question is described as a "Quadruped, whose feet have evolved to form flipper like appendages which evidently propelled the animal through the water as they would be almost useless on land." The article goes on to state that the animal's skeleton, "though smaller than that of a prehistoric plesiosaur, bears a striking resemblance to fossilized specimens of those animals." The remains of the creature are currently housed at Withingyersrand University. Specialists from several universities and scientific institutions are currently at Lake Mankalla, searching for living specimens."
-- This article appeared in the local Kelowna paper, the Daily Courier. I contacted the author, a Mr. West, who verified the report and was leaving shortly for South Africa. My attempt to contact the Withingyersrand University, as have attempts by all others, failed.
A search on Plesiosaur can be a very interesting study.
Order an Ogopogo poster with the best pictures yet! Mail Frank E. De Smet at 2644 Saddleridge Dr. Westbank, BC. Ph. (250) 707-0181 , or at frank_desmet@telus.net $10 a poster.
Ogopogo is protected by Federal Law under the Fisheries Act: "No one shall hunt, kill fish or marine animals by any means of rocket, explosive materials or explosive projectiles or shells." Ogopogo is specifically protected under Provincial Law under the Wildlife Act.
Endangered Wildlife in B.C. - How to Contribute Data to the CDC Shouldn't Ogopogo be included?
Save Ogopogo! In 1998 25,000 Kokanee died, possibly from a gill parasite. July 5, 2002 CKOV reported 70 dead Kokanee at the north end of the lake. July 27, 2002; 100,000 Kokanee estimated have died. Specifically 2 year olds, that is, 20% of all 2 year olds. The cause is still unknown.
Song - Just a Lonely Ogopogo. Real Audio
"In the Sunny Okanagan where the big red apples grow,
living in the Okanagan, lake so fair,
is the famous Ogopogo, and one thing I'd like to know,
is he the only Ogopogo there?
I wonder if the Ogopogo is lonesome, wonder if he is feeling sad or blue.
I wonder if he wishes for and Ogopogo Mrs. and lots of little Ogopogos too.
I bet he is just a sad old Ogopogo with no one to sing his love songs too.
Though he has my sympathy, I am sure you will all agree,
W'd rather see him lonesome than see two.
One day the Ogopogo took a stroll along the shore.
Left his footprints in the sand so they say.
Maybe he was looking for an Ogopogo sweet heart,
but still he is all alone at play.
I wonder if the Ogopogo is lonesome, wonder if he is feeling sad or blue.
I wonder if he wishes for and Ogopogo Mrs. and lots of little Ogopogos too.
I bet he is just a sad old Ogopogo with no one to sing his love songs too.
Though he has my sympathy, I am sure you will all agree,
W'd rather see him lonesome than see two."
Hydrophone sampling in Okanagan Lake. Can it be Ogopogo? Real Audio The Elasmosaurus was a plesiosaur that grew to 50 feet long and may have made similar sounds. The Elasmosaurus fed on shrimp and fish. There is lots of shrimp in Okanagan Lake. While netting shrimp Fisheries discovered a hole in their net - Ogopogo?
Mountain Road Productions will be airing a 13 part series on 'Canadiana' including an interview with me on Okanagan Lake over Roger's Cable.
Books on Ogopogo; search under Ogopogo
1989 Sightings of Ogopogo
Loch Ness Monster
The Centre for Fortean Zoology
Stay at a Peachland Bed & Breakfast at Ogopogo's home!
There are many many lakes with legends of a lake monster. There are some notable legends from Asia. Some Canadian lakes: Kootenay Lake, Shawnigan Lake on Vancouver Island, Cultus lake out of Vancouver, Nicola lake by Merritt, and Muskrat lake near Ottawa to name just a few. Even a report from Nanaimo of a sighting of a 10 foot silvery creature in a nearby lake August 2007.
"From August 1, 2000 to September 3, 2001, we will offer $2 million to any person finding alive and definitively verifying Ogopogo's existence." You will need a free permit. Check the website for locations nearest you.
However, Fisheries state anyone using any device to actually do this must (also) obtain a permit from the Department of Fisheries and it is unlikely permission would be granted. That makes obtaining definitive proof legally very difficult. Fisheries did indicate a purely scientific study may be ok. However, one method that might work would be to do what Daryl Ellis did; swim up Okanagan Lake with a spotter boat in hope of filming him, perhaps befriending him.