Manipogo

In Canada, there are numerous monsters lurking in the lakes—this almost goes without saying. Most know of Canada's Loch Ness Monster, the Ogopogo, but did you know there are several other lake monsters in Canada with the suffix "pogo"? The Igopogo, Winnipogo, and Manipogo are three of which and they are discussed in my book People are Seeing Something: A Survey of Lake Monsters in the United States and Canada. The following is an excerpt:

Dwelling in another large, freshwater lake in North America, is yet another cryptid—the Manipogo. The Manipogo is described as being between 12 and 50 feet long with either a horse-like or a sheep-like head; and the creature’s skin is said to be “muddy-brown” in its color.1The Manipogo is another lake monster of the 'multi-humped' variety, much like the Ogopogo and the Loch Ness Monster. Eyewitnesses describe seeing several humps above the water as the creature moves2. Not surprisingly, the Manipogo is named after the Ogopogo, its much more famous cousin.

The lake that is home to the Manipogo is Lake Manitoba, Canada’s thirteenth largest lake. Lake Manitoba is situated in south central Canada in the province of Manitoba. The province takes its name from the massive lake. Sitting at an elevation of 812 feet, this impressive lake has a surface area of 1,817 square miles. There are 568 miles of shoreline along the lake, and it has a length of about 140 miles. The maximum width of the lake is 28 miles.3

 Lake Manitoba is obviously an extremely large body of water, much like other lakes that are said to be home to mysterious, large, aquatic creatures. What differentiates Lake Manitoba from so many other lakes is its depth. Lake Manitoba is remarkably shallow, with a maximum depth of only 23 feet!4The shallow depth of the lake, accompanied by eyewitness descriptions of the beast being a “muddy-brown” color, makes me wonder if perhaps the Manipogo is a bit different than Champ, the Ogopogo, Nessie, and others; perhaps the Manipogo is some sort of bottom-dweller; could it be a giant, bottom-dwelling eel?

Manipogo Sightings

Manipogo sightings are said to date back at least to 1908. It is also claimed that the First Nations people have handed down legends of a creature that lives in Lake Manitoba.5The Manipogo does not have the history and number of sightings as its cousin, the Ogopogo—Manipogo is seldom seen, and leaves little in the way of evidence. However, there are more than enough sightings for the creature to be taken seriously.

Arguably the best sighting occurred in 1962 when two men were fishing on the lake. Dick Vincent and a coworker spotted a serpent-like creature, and began following it in their boat. Luckily, they had a camera onboard and were able to get a picture before the animal disappeared. Unfortunately, the picture is inconclusive; it only shows a dark object on the water. In later years, Vincent said that the creature he saw was not the Manipogo, and that he was unsure of what he saw that day.6

In 1935, a timber inspector named C.F. Ross claimed to see a creature while accompanied by a friend. They described the animal as looking very much like a dinosaur, and claimed that it had one horn on its head. C.P. Alric claimed to see the beast in 1948. Alric stated that the creature rose six feet out of the water and let out a “prehistoric type of dinosaur cry.”7

Another interesting report is in the form of a mass sighting. About 17 people allegedly saw three manipogos swimming together in the lake. Most of the people reporting this did not know one another.8This report, though inconclusive, is credible. Several friends might make up a wild story to try and fool people; but it is very unlikely that a group of strangers would conspire and come forward with a fake report.

In 1997, the Manipogo gained national attention when The Globe and Mailreported on a creature, 15 meters (approximately 45 feet) in length, being shot by a local resident. Someone had asserted that they shot the Manipogo and had taken its carcass. Unfortunately, this whole episode ended up being nothing more than a hoax.9

Other sightings of a serpent-like beast have been reported, but there has been nothing definitive to support the theory of a living cryptid in Lake Manitoba. If the creature exists, it is apparently much shyer than many of its serpentine, lake monster cousins, such as the Ogopogo. This shyness has left us with a lack of pictures, videos, and far fewer documented sightings to compare and analyze. Much more study and research is required to solve the mystery of the Manipogo. Until then, the Manipogo can be celebrated the first Saturday in March at the Manipogo Festival in St. Laurent!10

End Notes

1."Manipogo: The Monster of Lake Manitoba." Before It's News. October 24, 2012. Accessed January 6, 2015. http://www.beforeitsnews.cm/alternative/2012/10/manipogo-the-monster-of-lake-manitoba-2484816.html.

2. "Manipogo!" - Winnipeg Free Press. Accessed January 1, 2015. http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/blogs/babaluk/Manipogo-101002079.html.

3. "Water Stewardship Division." Lake Winnipeg Stewardship Board. Accessed January 1, 2015. http://www.gov.mb.ca/waterstewardship/water_quality/lake_manitoba/facts_figures.html.

4. Lake Winnipeg Stewardship Board, "Water Stewardship Division."

5."Lake Monsters of North America." Markosun's Blog. Accessed January 6, 2015. http://www.markosun.wordpress.com/2012/10/24/manipogo-the-monster-of-lane-manitoba/.

6.Winnipeg Free Press, "Manipogo!"

7."Lake Monsters of North America."

8.Rory Storm. Monster Hunt: The Guide to Cryptozoology. (New York, NY: Sterling Pub., 2008), 40.

9. Storm, Monster Hunt, 39.

10.Michael Forest. "St. Laurent's Manipogo Festival Always Entertaining." Interlake Group. March 6, 2012. Accessed January 7, 2015. http://www.interlaketoday.ca/2012/03/05/st-laurents-manipogo-festival-always-entertaining.

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