Beast Hunter – Sea Serpent of the North – S01E04

Sea Serpent of the North

For generations, fishermen have told tales of sea monsters. One of the world’s most legendary monsters is a sea serpent known as Cadborosaurus, or “Caddy,” which has been reported off the coast of British Columbia for more than a century. But to science, it doesn’t officially exist. Now Pat travels to Vancouver Island to track it down. He questions eyewitnesses, explores the myths of the coastal people who have occupied the area for more than 5,000 years and confers with top oceanographers.

Pat is on the trail of a sea serpent that supposedly lives off the coast of British Columbia. The locals tell of a creature that sounds similar to "Nessie" of Loch Ness fame. A serpent that glides along the water and then disappears leaving a large wake behind. But does such a thing exist? Could a Cadborosaurus actually live in the waters off Vancouver?

Pat talks with several eyewitnesses who tell a very similar story. They see a snake like animal moving along the surface of the water. It has three distinct humps and what looks to be a snake like head. The details are somewhat sketchy since it’s usually spotted quite a distance from the shore and doesn’t show much more than the humps of its back. All of the witnesses are firmly convinced it’s not a whale or dolphins or tires or any of the other standard aquatic life of the area. To them, it’s something completely new and different.

To get more information Pat hooks up with a fishing vessel and asks them about the animals they’ve seen. They’ve been trolling the waters for years so if something unusual is out there they would have a better idea of what it is. The men of the boat have seen some odd things and they while they haven’t seen "Caddy" they do believe there are plenty of unexplored animals deep in the ocean. We’ve barely explored what’s down there so it would be easy to avoid man and have an abundant food source.

The Native American culture also believes in the "Caddy" creature. They’ve been handing down the story for years. It’s even in their drawings and oral tradition. Pat is shown a rock carving where a serpent like creature is drawn. The tribe believes in the animal, but they don’t believe it’s a good omen. It’s appearance usually means trouble.

For the ultimate exploration, Pat heads down in a mini-sub into the depths. It would take a vessel like this to really explore the ocean, but the cost of building and actually using such subs is extremely expensive. Once you get down a few feet under the crushing power of the water renders most machinery useless.

While there is no real evidence to support the claim of "Caddy" could such a thing exist and be thriving? There is certainly plenty of space and food. It could easily nestle down deep and stay undiscovered. But could this also be a case of mistaken identity? Are people seeing dolphins? Are they just seeing junk floating on the water? Does someone want their own tourist attraction to bring in people and money?

It’s hard to say that a throwback aquatic dinosaur is swimming freely off the coast of Vancouver, but considering out limited understanding of the depths of the ocean it’s surprisingly possible.

I’m starting to like this show quite a bit. It presents a lot of interesting information and plenty of alternatives for what people are seeing. Something seen from a distance or from a certain point of view can entirely different than we expect. It’s also proving that science has discovered a lot, but there is still more to learn.

Other Articles of Interest:

• Has the Loch Ness Monster been caught on Sonar?
• Destination Truth – Vietnam’s Bigfoot – S05E01
• Expedition Unknown – The Japanese Atlantis – S02E09
• Beast Hunter – Man Ape of Sumatra (Orang Pendek) – S01E01
• Beast Hunter – Mongolian Death Worm – S01E05
• Beast Hunter – Nightmare of the Amazon – S01E02
• Haunted Highway – Bear Lake Beast and Vergas Hairy Man – S01E01
• Destination Truth Spirits Of Angkor Wat/Canadian Lake Monster S04E02
• Destination Truth – Naree Pon/Aiya Napa – S04E13
• Beast Hunter – Swamp Monster of the Congo – S01E03