Lake Champlain Monster Champ — Multiple Credible Witnesses Film Vermont's Sea Serpent

Champ, the lake monster of Lake Champlain on the Vermont-New York border, has been reported since the early 19th century. Modern sightings have continued throughout the late 20th and 21st centuries, with several compelling photographic and video records. In 1977, Sandra Mansi took what became the most famous photograph of Champ—a long-necked creature with a small head rising from the water, taken near St. Albans Bay. Mansi was reluctant to publicize the image for years. When it was finally analyzed in the 1980s by scientists including George Zug of the Smithsonian Institution, they found no evidence of hoaxing and noted the object in the image was consistent with a large animate creature. In 2003, a team of researchers captured a sonar contact at depth indicating a large object approximately 15 feet long moving through the water independently of any current. Video footage taken in 2005 by a fisherman showed what appeared to be a large undulating body moving through the water for several minutes. Both New York and Vermont have passed resolutions protecting Champ from harm, making the creature legally protected in both states. Cryptozoologists have speculated that Champ may be a surviving population of tanystropheus or a large species of long-necked pinniped. The consistency of reports from fishermen, tourists, and law enforcement over more than 150 years makes Lake Champlain one of the most compelling inland cryptid hotspots in North America.