The Cryptid Zoo: Ogopogo (or Naitaka)

The creature or creatures called Ogopogo in modern literature (but Naitaka in pre-conquest oral traditions) are supposed to inhabit Lake Okanagan in British Columbia, Canada. The name "Naitaka" is also sometimes applied to lake monsters from nearby lakes, or even applied generally to all Canadian lake monsters.

Ogopogo looks a bit like a hybrid between an alligator and a more standard lake monster, with a long snakey body about 40 feet in length that is dark greenish-brown with ridges along the back, a split whale-like tail, and a horse-shaped head. Ogopogo is one of the most famous North American lake monsters.

You can find out more about Ogopogo from the following sources:

Bennett, Andrew. Unpublished Stories of Ogopogo

Blackman, W. Haden. The Field Guide to North American Monsters New York: Three Rivers Press, 1998. Pages 69-72

Campbell, Elizabeth Montgomery and Solomon, David. The Search for Morag. New York: Walker, 1973. Pages 48-49

Chorvinsky, Mark. Ogopogo, Canadian Lake Monster

Clark, Jerome and Coleman, Loren. Cryptozoology A-Z. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1999. Pages 85-86, 183-184

Clark, Jerome. Unexplained!. Detroit: Visible Ink Press, 1999. Pages 322-326

Coleman, Loren. Mysterious America: The Revised Edition. New York: Paraview Press, 2001. Page 84

Gaal, Arlene. In Search of Ogopogo: Sacred Creature of the Okanagan Waters.

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Gaal, Arlene. Ogopogo: The True Story of the Okanagan Million-Dollar Monster.

Keel, John A. The Complete Guide to Mysterious Beings. New York: Doubleday, 1994. Page 310

Moon, Mary. Ogopogo.

Newton, Michael. Encyclopedia of Cryptozoology: A Global Guide to Hidden Animals and Their Pursuers. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2005. Pages 60, 107, 136, 164, 205, 221, 231, 236-237, 296, 322, 336, 348-349, 352, 373, 379, 413, 418, 428, 491

Ogopogo

Rose, Carol. Giants, Monsters and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend and Myth. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, 2000. Page 274

Steiger, Brad. Out of the Dark: The Complete Guide to Beings from Beyond. New York: Kensington Books, 2001. Pages 82-83

Weidensaul, Scott. The Ghost with Trembling Wings: Science, Wishful Thinking and the Search for Lost Species. New York: North Point Press, 2002. Pages 156-157

Wikipedia, The. Ogopogo