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Ogopogo sighted in Lake Okanagan
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by chowdawg | July 23, 2008 at 09:42 am
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Holman says she noticed a wave in the water on Okanagan Lake and couldn't believe her eyes when she turned to look. Holman says she took a picture and is now waiting to get the photo developed. Whether it turns out or not, the Kelowna, B.C., woman is now convinced that the legendary Ogopogo does exist.
The original name for Ogopogo was "Naitaka" or "N'ha-aitk", an Aboriginal name meaning "sacred creature of the water." Ogopogo got its present name in 1926 when a bunch of folks in Vernon, BC jokingly renamed it from a 1920s song. First Nations legends support the existence of a lake monster long before the first the arrival of European settlers. The first recorded sighting was in Mrs. John Allison in 1872 who claimed she saw a serpent-like creature, somewhere between 6 and 15 metres long, with a horse-shaped head and a dark blue or brown body, not dissimilar to the monster of Loch Ness in Scotland. Sightings are reported each year and all carry similar descriptions of a creature ranging anyway from 20 to 50 feet long, with a horse shaped head and a serpent like body. Sightings have been reported throughout the length of the lake but the monster appears to favour an area just south of Kelowna in waters near Peachland.
Sightings are usually discredited as logs or weeds or otters, and there is no solid evidence to support Ogopogo’s existence. But there are believers, I think Robyn Holman is now one of them.
Ogopogo’s fame goes beyond the borders of British Columbia:
· In 1990, a Canadian postage stamp depicting an artist's conception of the Ogopogo was issued.
· Ogopogo was an enemy in Square-Enix Super Nintendo game Final Fantasy IV.
· Ogopogo was both codename and mascot for 1996's Microsoft Publisher 97, with
· Ogopogo graphics featured prominently in the beta setup. Team t-shirts featured two versions of the monster: a small stylized picture on the front patch, and a larger, animation-influenced upper-body shot on back.
· In 2005, a film inspired by the Ogopogo and made in New Zealand was released. The filmmakers were about to name the creature in the film after the Ogopogo until an Aboriginal protested that use of the name compromised Aboriginal religion, although other Aboriginals encouraged the use of the name "Ogopogo." Thus, the creature became "Mee-Shee" and the film was called Mee-Shee: The Water Giant. Jim Henson's Creature Shop modeled Mee-Shee after the late actor Walter Matthau
· The logo for Kelowna's Western Hockey League team, the Kelowna Rockets, also depicts Ogopogo.
· The 2006 Love Harder Records release from Curious Hands, a garage rock band from Portland, OR, entitled 'Sea Monster' features the track 'Ogopogo'. The cover artwork also includes the depiction of a watery serpent of unknown origin.
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (3)
at 10:36 on July 24th, 2008
Growing up in the Okanagan, I was always on the look-out for the legendary Ogopogo. Imagine my surprise 30 years later and 430km away, when he finally reared his not-so-ugly head at, of all places, the Calgary Stampede parade! Than you Ogopogo, for making a believer out of me.
BrenBrenBren has contributed a photo to this story.
at 09:09 on July 25th, 2008
SO, it's been several days now since this so-called sighting. How long does it take to get this picture developed? And most people today use digital-cameras. But anyways, still waiting to see the photographic evidence. "I want to believe" :)
at 18:09 on August 4th, 2008
The Ogopogo as seen from City Park in Kelowna.
aaroncity has contributed a photo to this story.