SCRIPT: Lurking Lake Monsters [April 30, 2019]
Have you heard of any stories on lake monsters before?
Voice 1: Lake monsters appear in myths and local stories all over the world, and places like Loch Ness Lake in Scotland have built a tourist industry around them. The Loch Ness Monster is the most famous lake monster. There are photographs of it with its head and neck sticking out of the water, and many are still arguing over whether these photographs are real or fake.
Voice 2: People who have seen a lake monster almost always describe the creature as having a long neck, large body, and a long tapering tail. This description matches that of an order of reptiles called plesiosaurs that existed during the age of the dinosaurs.
Voice 1: Many believers of lake monsters say that it is quite possible for a plesiosaur to have gotten trapped in a body of water during the Jurassic period when the land mass shifted, closing in the water to form a lake, and these trapped creatures became famous lake monsters.
Voice 2: Witnesses who have seen Nessie described it as a creature with shiny blackish-gray skin, spanning around six metres long. Nessie's head is often described to resemble the shape of a horse. The lake monster is named after the deep, freshwater Loch Ness lake where some believe the lake monster lives.
Voice 1: The Lake Tianchi Monster is a massive creature that is believed to live in Heavenly Lake located in the Jilin province of China and Ryanggang province of North Korea. The creature has been famous in the region since ancient times, with descriptions in ancient literature.
Voice 2: The first recorded sighting was in 1903. It was reported that a large creature attacked three people, and was shot six times. The monster then retreated back under the water. There have been multiple sightings of the Lake Tianchi Monster since. Some have described it as a creature with a dog-shaped body with the size of a buffalo. Others have claimed the monster has a square head with a single horn, and a long hairy neck.
Voice 1: The Bear Lake Monster lives in Bear Lake, on the border between the states of Utah and Idaho in North America. Witnesses who have seen the creature claim it is at least 12 metres long. Some believe the monster waits for its victims by the shore and then pulls them into the water. It is also known to attack unlucky swimmers in the lake. It is reported to be greenish in colour and its head resembles that of an alligator. The most recent sighting of the Bear Lake Monster was in 2007.
Voice 2: Last but not least, the North Shore Monster is believed to live in Great Salt Lake in the US state of Utah. In 1877, there were reports that a group of men was walking along the lake's shore when they saw a huge creature with a crocodile-like body and the head of a horse in the waters. The creature made a fearsome bellowing noise and charged at the men, who promptly ran up a nearby hillside and hid in the bushes until the next day.
END