FRONTIERS OF ZOOLOGY Dale A. Drinnon has been a researcher in the field of Cryptozoology for the past 30+ years and has corresponded with Bernard Heuvelmans and Ivan T. Sanderson. He has a degree in Anthropology from Indiana University and is a freelance artist and writer. Motto: "I would rather be right and entirely alone than wrong in the company with all the rest of the world"--Ambroise Pare', "the father of modern surgery", in his refutation of fake unicorn horns.
Scott Mardis posted this on my Facebook wall yesterday and it comes from the owner of Nora's Loch Ness page. Comparing the photos I can see what the points are about the head: the top photo seems to show a much larger kind of head with the ears set higer up and a more elongated snout.
Compared to both the South American giant otter and the North American river otter, the Champlain creatture does seem to have a head of about the same dimensions as the South American otter, meaning it has a head of very large actual or absolute size. But the head is not shaped the same. The ears are indeed mare prominent and higer on the head, the eye are further back from the end of the snoutand the snout is more elongated in the top photo.The eye is also further back and the snout more elongated relatively in comparison to the normal North American river otter. My impression is still that this is a giant otter at least the same size as the South American giant otter, but with a head of a much different shape: the Master-Otter of Ireland more than likely. And although it also seems to be seen in Loch Ness, its neck falls far short of the longer-necked creature reports from both Loch Ness and Lake Champlain (see giant otter photo below). But it is a much smaller and more agile creature than the Plesiosauriian type of Water-monsters and therefore likely to be more common and more commonly reported. We do seem to be seeing more photos of this type more often in recent years, in Britain and in Europe, in Russia and Northern China, in Alaska and in Canada. One of the things that determine this category are the swimming posture in the water, which is often the same as this Lake Champlain photo at the top.
This is a video said to have been taken on Lake Iliamna and said to be an ordinary river otter. As I make out the scale, it is at least twice the size of an ordinary river otter (it is also quite specifically NOT a sea otter). I think this type has been filmed several times inThe UK (not for certain at Loch Ness so far), Scandinavia and Russia near the Baltic sea, and possibly in other places, possibly including Lake Champlain. Generally it is like a common otter but at least twice the dimensions. Below are some comparisons with other typical "Water Monsters"as they are commonly reported.
I imagine the stretch between the head and the tail part is in the realm of five to six feet. And this is not two otters in a line either: the head is too big and the head end and tailend are proportionate to each othe. The whole creature is verthe swimming moose with its hump-train, but as we shall see it is a common thing for the two to be confounded and called the same creature. Below: the traditional creature called a water panther or underwater cat, it seems comparable to the Master-Otter but with the occasional addition of the large rack of antlers (as below). Those antlers would really be because of mistakenly lumping them in with Swimming Mosse sightings, at such times when the two types of sightings occurred together in the same geographic area.(the otter below has a broadened tail)
Underwater panther, Great Lynx, The fabulous night panther, Great under-water wildcat, Great underground wildcat, Gitche-anahmi-bezhe, Gichi-anami'e-bizhiw, Mishibizhiw, Mishipizhiw, Mishipizheu, ...
The Underwater panther is powerful creature in the native American folklore.
Underwater panthers are described as water monsters that live in opposition to the Thunderbirds, masters of the powers of the air.
Underwater panther was an amalgam of features from many animals: the body of a wild feline, often a mountain lion or lynx; the horns of deer or bison; upright scales on its back; occasionally bird feathers; and parts from other animals as well, depending on the particular legend.
Underwater panthers are represented with exceptionally long tails, occasionally with serpentine properties.
The creatures are thought to roar or hiss in the sounds of storms or rushing rapids...
Pronunciation: Varies by dialect: usually mih-shih-bih-zhew or mih-shih-bih-zhee in Anishinabe, and nahm-bee-zhuh in Potawatomi
Also known as: Great Lynx, Water Lynx, Night Panther, Matchi-Manitou, Underground Panther, Underneath Panther
Type: Monster, water spirit, panther
Related figures in other tribes: True Tiger (Miami-Illinois)
The Water Panther is a powerful mythological creature something like a cross between a cougar and a dragon. It is a dangerous monster that lives in deep water and causes men and women to drown. The legends of some tribes describe Water Panther as the size of a real lynx or mountain lion, while in others, the beast is enormous. Water Panther has a very long prehensile tail which is often said to be made of copper[or else horns said to be made of copper-DD]. Details of the monster vary from community to community, but in many stories, Water Panthers are described as furry with either horns or deer antlers and a sharp saw-toothed back
Below is a gallery of representations for the Water-Panther(from a google photo search): the basic animal is reasonable enough, an otter the size of a big cat. The representation of Horns probably was another description of the ears(Costello would certainly agree with that) and the appearance of (Armoured) scales on the body and spines along the back are probably due to locks of fur sticking together. This description also occurs in Iceland and in Africa with the Dingonek. These features can also occur in South American Water Tiger reports probably based on the (known) Giant river otter. Note that some depictions include the longitudinal leaf-shaped tail fin and occasionally a stinger in the tail. I imagine actually the ("Alligator") mound, 2nd down, representation comes closest to depicting the real beast's proportions.
This last imporssion of an enormous beast with antlers is doubtless based on the Water-Horse: ie, a swimming moose with a "String of buoys" in its wake causing the observer to believe it is the prolonged body of a serpentine animal.
Just for reference, here is the track of the South American Giant otter:
-Which roughly match the description of the tracks attributed to some African "Water-Lions" and "Water-leopards"
