''Cadborosaurus'', nicknamed Caddy by journalist Archie Wills, is a

sea serpent A sea serpent is a type of sea monster described in various mythologies, most notably in Mesopotamian cosmology (Tiamat), Ugaritic cosmology ( Yam, Tannin), biblical cosmology (Leviathan, Rahab), Greek cosmology (Cetus, Echidna, Hydra, Scy ...

in the

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

of regions of the Pacific Coast of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. Its name is derived from

Cadboro Bay Cadboro Bay is a bay near the southern tip of Vancouver Island and its adjacent neighbourhood in the municipalities of Saanich and Oak Bay in Greater Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Cadboro Bay was the site of ''Sungayka'', a village of the ...

Greater Victoria Greater Victoria (also known as the Greater Victoria Region) is located in British Columbia, Canada, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island. It is usually defined as the thirteen municipalities of the Capital Regional District (CRD) on V ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, and the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

root word "''saurus''" meaning

lizard Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most Island#Oceanic isla ...

reptile Reptiles, as commonly defined, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic metabolism and Amniotic egg, amniotic development. Living traditional reptiles comprise four Order (biology), orders: Testudines, Crocodilia, Squamata, and Rhynchocepha ...

Description

''Cadborosaurus willsi'' is said by witnesses to resemble a serpent with vertical coils or humps in tandem behind the horse-like head and long neck, with a pair of small elevating front flippers, and either a pair of hind flippers, or a pair of large webbed hind flippers fused to form a large fan-like tail region that provides forward propulsion.Bousfield, Edward L. & Leblond Paul H. (2000). ''Cadborosaurus: Survivor from the Deep''. Heritage House Publishing. Dr. Paul LeBlond, director of Earth and Ocean Sciences at

UBC The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

, and Dr. Edward Blousfield, retired chief zoologist of the

Canadian Museum of Nature The Canadian Museum of Nature (; CMN) is a national museums of Canada, national natural history museum based in Canada's National Capital Region (Canada), National Capital Region. The museum's exhibitions and public programs are housed in the Vi ...

, state every elongated animal has been put forward as an explanation for Caddy. These animals include

Conger ''Conger'' ( ) is a genus of marine congrid eels. It includes some of the largest types of eels, ranging up to or more in length, in the case of the European conger. Large congers have often been observed by divers during the day in parts of t ...

eels, humpback whales, elephant seals, ribbon or oarfish, basking sharks, and sea lions. LeBlond and Blousfield state no known creature matches the characteristics found in over 200 sightings collected over a century, noting that Caddy is described as having flippers both anteriorly and posteriorly.

Darren Naish Darren William Naish (born 26 September 1975) is a British vertebrate palaeontologist, author and science communicator. As a researcher, he is best known for his work describing and reevaluating dinosaurs and other Mesozoic reptiles, including ...

contends that LeBlond and Blousfield are engaging in "bad science" and have incorrectly assumed that different, conflicting eyewitness reports are all descriptions of one species when various accounts "are most parsimoniously interpreted as descriptions of many things."

Creatures identified as ''Cadborosaurus''

Sea lion

In 1943, two police officers, Inspector Robert Owens, and Staff Sergeant Jack Russell, saw a "huge sea serpent with a horse-like head" in

Georgia Strait The Strait of Georgia () or the Georgia Strait is an arm of the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and the extreme southwestern mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada, and the extreme northwestern mainland coast of Washington (state), Wash ...

. Later, "with a pair of binoculars, Sgt. Russell saw that the strange apparition was a huge bull

sea lion Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear flaps, long foreflippers, the ability to walk on all fours, short and thick hair, and a big chest and belly. Together with the fur seals, they make up the family Otariidae, eared seals. ...

leading a herd of six sea lions... Their undulations as they swam appeared to form a continuous body, with parts showing at intervals as they surfaced and dived. To the naked eye, the sight perfectly impersonated a sea monster."

Giant oarfish

Some suggestions have been made that Caddy could be an example of the king of herrings or

giant oarfish The giant oarfish (''Regalecus glesne'') is a species of oarfish of the Family (biology), family Regalecidae. It is an oceanodromous species with a worldwide distribution, excluding polar regions. Other common names include Pacific oarfish, king ...

(''Regalecus glesne''). This species can reach in length and weigh up to . "They're long and silvery and they undulate like a serpent would as they swim through the water," said H. J. Walker, a senior museum scientist at the

Scripps Institution of Oceanography Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) is the center for oceanography and Earth science at the University of California, San Diego. Its main campus is located in La Jolla, with additional facilities in Point Loma. Founded in 1903 and incorpo ...

, which has several oarfish in its collection.

Basking shark

The carcass of a decomposing

basking shark The basking shark (''Cetorhinus maximus'') is the second-largest living shark and fish, after the whale shark. It is one of three Planktivore, plankton-eating shark species, along with the whale shark and megamouth shark. Typically, basking sh ...

is often mistaken for Caddy and has fooled experts and laymen. A rotting basking shark may also resemble a decomposing

plesiosaur The Plesiosauria or plesiosaurs are an Order (biology), order or clade of extinct Mesozoic marine reptiles, belonging to the Sauropterygia. Plesiosaurs first appeared in the latest Triassic Period (geology), Period, possibly in the Rhaetian st ...

First Nations accounts

native Native may refer to: People * '' Jus sanguinis'', nationality by blood * '' Jus soli'', nationality by location of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Nat ...

image that fits Caddy's description has been traditionally used throughout Alaska. The image indicates that Caddy or a Caddy-like creature moves north from Vancouver when the waters warm. The Inuit of Alaska have even put the picture on their canoes to keep the creature away. The ''Cadborosaurus'' is called ''hiyitl'iik'' by the Manhousat people who live on Sidney Inlet, ''t'chain-ko'' in

Sechelt Sechelt (, Sechelt language, shíshálh Language: ch'atlich) is a district municipality located on the lower Sunshine Coast (British Columbia), Sunshine Coast of British Columbia. Approximately northwest of Vancouver, it is accessible from ma ...

mythology, and ''numkse lee kwala'' by the Comox band of Vancouver Island. However, it has also been argued that these Native stories reflect a diversity of different animals. Some mythical, some real, and to just lump them into the Cadborosaurus category ignores their diverse origins and often independent backgrounds.

Sightings

There have been more than 300 claimed sightings during the past 200 years, including Deep Cove in

Saanich Inlet Saanich Inlet (also Saanich Arm) is a body of salt water that lies between the Saanich Peninsula and the Malahat, British Columbia, Malahat highlands of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Located just northwest of Victoria, British Colum ...

, and

Island View Beach Island View Beach is located on the Eastern Cordova shore of the Saanich Peninsula, near Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Much of the southern part of the foreshore make up the public Island View Beach Regional Park. The Tsawout First Nation ...

, both of which are also on the

Saanich Peninsula Saanich Peninsula () is located north of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It is bounded by Saanich Inlet on the west, Satellite Channel on the north, the small Colburne Passage on the northeast, and Haro Strait on the east. The exact southern ...

, and at

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay (Chochenyo language, Chochenyo: 'ommu) is a large tidal estuary in the United States, U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the cities of San Francisco, California, San ...

, California.

Kelly Nash video

In 2009, fisherman Kelly Nash purportedly filmed several minutes of footage featuring ten to fifteen (including young) creatures in

Nushagak Bay Nushagak Bay is a large estuary covering over 100 km2 in southwest part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It opens to Bristol Bay, a large body of water in the eastern Bering Sea north of the Alaska Peninsula. It is home to the area's largest ...

. In 2011, a very short segment of the footage was shown on the Discovery TV show ''Hilstranded'', where the Hilstrand brothers (from ''

Deadliest Catch ''Deadliest Catch'' is an American reality television series that premiered on the Discovery Channel on April 12, 2005. The show follows crab fishermen aboard fishing vessels in the Bering Sea during the Alaskan king crab and snow crab fishing ...

'') apparently saw Nash's footage and unsuccessfully attempted to find one of the creatures.

Carcasses associated with ''Cadborosaurus''

*1930: On 10 November at Glacier Island near Valdez a skeleton was found in ice. The skeleton was long with flippers. Some of the remains were preserved in Cordova for scientific study. The creature is thought to be a whale. *1934: In November on Henry Island near

Prince Rupert Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 ( O.S.) 7 December 1619 (N.S.)– 29 November 1682 (O.S.) December 1682 (N.S) was an English-German army officer, admiral, scientist, and colonial governor. He first rose to ...

, badly decomposed remains about long were found. Dr. Neal Carter examined the remains. The creature was identified as a

. *1937: In October a purported ''Cadborosaurus'' carcass was retrieved from the stomach of a sperm whale in Naden Harbour and photographed. A sample of this carcass was sent to the BC Provincial Museum, where it was tentatively identified as a fetal

baleen whale Baleen whales (), also known as whalebone whales, are marine mammals of the order (biology), parvorder Mysticeti in the infraorder Cetacea (whales, dolphins and porpoises), which use baleen plates (or "whalebone") in their mouths to sieve plankt ...

by museum director Francis Kermode. *1941: A carcass called "Sarah the sea hag" was found on Kitsilano Beach. W.A. Clemens and

Ian McTaggart-Cowan Ian McTaggart-Cowan (June 25, 1910 – April 18, 2010) was a Scottish-Canadian zoologist, conservationist, and television presenter. He has been called "the father of Canadian ecology". He was the brother of meteorologist Patrick McTaggart-Cow ...

identified it as a shark. *1947: In December at Vernon Bay,

Barkley Sound Barkley Sound, also known historically as Barclay Sound, is south of Ucluelet and north of Bamfield on the west coast of Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of ...

, Vancouver Island a creature was found. It was identified as a shark. *1950: In Delake, Oregon a creature was found with 4 tails and thick hair. It was identified as a whale shark. *1956: Somewhere near Dry Harbour south of

Yakutat, Alaska The City and Borough of Yakutat (, ; Tlingit: ''Yaakwdáat''; ) is a borough in the state of Alaska. Yakutat was also the name of a former city within the borough. The name in Tlingit is ''Yaakwdáat'' (meaning "the place where canoes rest"). I ...

a long carcass was found with long hair.

Trevor Kincaid Trevor Kincaid (December 21, 1872 – July 1, 1970) was a Canadian-American scientist and professor at the University of Washington who achieved national acclaim for his scientific achievements while an undergraduate student. Kincaid's interests ...

is quoted as saying "description fits no known creature." W.A. Clemens identified the carcass as a

Baird's beaked whale Baird's beaked whale (''Berardius bairdii''), also known as the northern giant bottlenose whale, North Pacific bottlenose whale, giant four-toothed whale, northern four-toothed whale and North Pacific four-toothed whale, is a species of whale fro ...

. *1962: In April near

Ucluelet Ucluelet (; colloquially known as Ukee) is a district municipality on the Ucluelet Peninsula, on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. Ucluelet comes from ''Yuułuʔił'' which means "people of the safe harbour" in the ...

a long carcass was found with elephant like head. The carcass was dragged ashore by Simon Peter and later thought to be an elephant seal. *1963: In September near Oak Harbor,

Whidbey Island Whidbey Island (historical spellings Whidby, Whitbey, or Whitby) is the largest of the islands composing Island County, Washington, Island County, Washington (state), Washington, in the United States, and the largest island in Washington stat ...

a carcass was found with a head resembling a horse. A. D. Welander of Fisheries thought it was a basking shark.

Purported live capture

*1968: In August, W. Hagelund claims to have caught a baby Caddy near De Courcy Island only to return it to the water. *1991: In July, on Johns Island (

San Juan Islands The San Juan Islands is an archipelago in the Pacific Northwest of the United States between the U.S. state of Washington and Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The San Juan Islands are part of Washington state, and form the core of ...

), Phyllis Harsh claims to have caught a small, baby Caddy and returned it to the water.

References

{{reflist * Bousfield, E. L., & P. H. LeBlond (1995). "An account of ''Cadborosaurus willsi'', new genus, new species, a large aquatic reptile from the Pacific coast of North America". ''Amphipacifica'' Vol 1 Suppl. 1: pp. 1–25, 19 figs. * Jupp, Ursula. (1988, reprinted 1993). ''Cadboro: A Ship, A Bay, A Sea-Monster''. Jay Editions.

External links

2009 MSNBC Article
Canadian folklore Coast of British Columbia Culture of British Columbia Canadian legendary creatures Aquatic cryptids Globsters Sea serpents