Pseudoscience: The study of and search for animals, especially legendary animals, usually to evaluate the possibility of their existence.

I’ve always been intrigued with folkloric creatures like the Loch Ness monster, Sasquatch, Chupacabra, Abominable Snowman, Kraken, Sea Serpents, The Mothman, Thunderbirds, and the Jersey Devil, just to name a few.

Today I am an acting cryptozoologist!  I’ve watched show after documentary after movie on these interestingly mythical creatures.  It’s safe to say that I have more than a passing interest in these folkloric, mystical, unusual, and surreal beings.

I live in an ideal location, nestled between the Riding Mountains and the Duck Mountains.  I am also surrounded by plenty of lakes, most notably Lakes Manitoba, Winnipeg, and Winnipegosis.

A Lake Monster in Canada

Loch Ness isn’t the only lake with a reputation for a monster. In North America, many large, deep, cold water lakes have stories about sea monsters. These lakes were formed over ten thousand years ago, during the last ice age.

In Canadian folklore, Manipogo is the lake monster said to live in Lake Manitoba.

Today, in search of this elusive sea creature, I decided to head out to Manipogo Provincial Park (aptly named after the sea creature).

Lake Manitoba is Canada’s thirteenth largest lake at 4,624 km² and the world’s 33rd largest freshwater lake. There is also a Lake Winnipegosis sea monster called Winnepogo, thought by some to be the same creature, as the lakes are connected. Manipogo is said to travel through the inner-channel rivers between Lakes Winnipeg, Winnipegosis, and Manitoba.

“Manitoba has a special place in the world of monsters,”  says the website Mysterious Universe, noting that the term cryptid was actually coined by Manitoban John Wall to describe unexplained creatures, particularly Sasquatch.

Manitoba is a hotspot for lake monster lore, with Manipogo, Winnepogo, and even smaller local stories creating a kind of “monster network” across the province’s waters.

Historical Sightings

One of the most well-known sightings of Manipogo dates back to August 1962. Two sport fishermen, Dick Vincent of KCND Television (now Global) and his television colleague John Konefell, spotted a serpent-like creature about 300 metres from their boat.  

It was around 4:00 P.M. when the two men began heading back to their camp. Suddenly, they came upon a thin animal, its body bobbing up and down as it advanced. Vincent grabbed his camera and took three pictures of it. They watched for about 5 minutes before the creature dove back below the surface. They were able to take a blurred photograph. In subsequent years, Vincent denied that he saw Manipogo and claimed to have just seen “something in the lake.”

Since the late 1800s, people have claimed to see the creature, but no conclusive evidence of the monster’s existence has ever been found.  The local native population has legends of serpent-like creatures in Lake Manitoba dating back hundreds of years.

Many First Nations accounts describe Manipogo as a guardian spirit of the lake — a being to respect rather than hunt, reminding everyone of the power and mystery of the waters.

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Today’s Hunt

Today I explore the lake — maybe I can finally prove the legend of Manipogo, Lake Manitoba’s serpentine sea monster!  I don’t actually expect to see a creature.

Departure: And I’m off, on my way to Manipogo Provincial Park in Toutes Aides, Manitoba — distance 101 kms, about 1h 10 mins away.

I’ve arrived!  Let the monster searching begin … I’m coming for you, Mani!