In Lake Champlain this summer, on July 31, near Scotch Bonnet, cryptozoology enthusiasts Katy Elizabeth and Dennis Hall recorded underwater audio which sounds remarkably like echolocation of a marine mammal. They say that it sounds like a beluga whale. Beluga whales have been known to swim into brackish waters, but the 125 mile long Lake Champlain is fresh water and it is unlikely that a beluga whale could either get into the lake or survive in its waters. Lake Champlain is said to be the home of the lake creature which has been nicknamed “Champ.” There have been many reports of sightings of “Champ” since 1609. Native American tribe legends also tell of a large creature that lives in the lake.

Champ Echolocation Lake Champlain 2014

Both Elizabeth and Hall are Champ enthusiasts. Katy Elizabeth founded a group called Champ Search and has written two books about the legendary creature. Dennis Hall reported seeing Champ in 1985 and recorded the sighting on video. It might be easier to dismiss their accounts if they were the first to make such recordings.

In 2003, the Fauna Communications Research Institute in 2003, working as part of a Discovery Channel program, recorded echolocation in three areas in the lake. They reported that the sounds were similar to a beluga whale or orca, but was not of a known animal. No dolphin or whale species have been previously known to live in the lake. Marine mammals are the only known creatures to use echolocation.  The recordings in Lake Champlain are the first echolocation to be observed in fresh water.  A trailer for a History Channel program, which discusses the observations  —  Lake Champlain’s Monster: