~ Alkali Lake Monster
~ Baby dragon
~ Bunyip
~ Canadian Cliff dragon
~ Champ
~ Colossal Claude and Marvin the Monster
~ Horseshoe Falls Mist Dragon
~ Kiao and Shan
~ Loch Ness Monster
~ Megophias
~ Memphre

There have been hundreds of Sea Serpent sightings reported around the world, but the few listed here were picked for their closer relations to dragons; either in appearance, powers, or actions.

Baby dragon:
A baby dragon, suspended in a jar thought to be filled with formaldehyde, was re-discovered in the garage of David Hart (thisislondon.com, 2004) who said, "My father, George, who is dead now, left it at my house when he moved away from London about 20 years ago.
"I was not there when he put it in my garage so I never really looked at it. It was just in the corner with a load of other junk and I found it when I was having a clear-out.
"I had never looked at it so when I saw the dragon it was a huge shock. I remember the crate it was in from when I was a kid because it was in my dad's workshop.
"He just used to say the crate was fragile because it had a glass container in it. But I never saw what was in it.
"I didn't know until recently and when I first saw it I didn't know what to make of it. Such things don't exist do they? It is very odd-looking."

The dragon is thought to be a hoax by German scientists in the 1800's, during a time when there was intense rivalry between the British and themselves. Perhaps hoping to put a dent in their rivals, they fashioned this realistic white baby dragon out of India rubber or wax. The dragon itself stands at 30 cm, though when laid out flat it reaches to a metre, from snout to tail.
Such hoaxes are not uncommon throughout history. In 1648, a nine-headed hydra forged from a snake and weasel had managed to trick people for years until the Swedish naturalist Linnaeus discovered the truth (Legg, 1998). Mermaids made from fish, monkeys or wood also used to pass for the bodies of mermaids that had washed up on shore, and this attracted large crowds who came to see the "corpse" (Mason, 2001).
The dragon was originally headed for the Natural History Museum, but seeing the trick, it wasn't accepted. It was later intercepted by a porter, Hart's grandfather. Closer study of the baby dragon is underway today (thisislondon.com, 2004).
It has long since been known by the Indians living around Alkali Lake, Nebraska, that a sea serpent lairs in the waters (theshadowlands.net, 2002). However, it wasn't until 1923 that a recorded sighting of the Alkali Lake Monster was published in the Omaha World-Herald, after having been sighted by J.A. Johnson (who later went on to claim he knew 40 other people who'd seen the sea serpent) and two friends.
The creature was roughly 12 m (40 ft) in length, and was seen from 18 m (20 yd) away, while camping near the lake. The Alkali Lake Monster was described as similar in appearance to a alligator, albeit with a heavier build, and a dull greyish-brown in colour, with a "horn-like object between it's eyes and nostrils". When the serpent noticed it'd been seen, it thrashed it's tail in annoyance (a gesture dragons are well renowned for), and retreated beneath the waves again (theshadowlands.net, 2002).

Bunyip:
On the 15th November, 1868, Mr Calvert from south-western New South Wales (Australia) reported sighting an animal that bore a striking resemblance to that of a Bunyip (Barnard, 2001).
Mr Calvert was returning home when he saw an unusually large ripple in a river. Taking his horse deeper into the river he saw a large brown animal and tried unsuccessfully to drive the creature into shallow water.

Mr Calvert told a local newspaper, "I pushed my horse ahead of it into the deeper water, half up my saddle flap and soon found it was a large dark brown or sable coloured animal.
"As you may suppose I became deeply interested in the hunt. I tried to drive the thing down stream to a shallow part but after a struggle of about half an hour to try and tramp it down with my horse's feet, I had to give up the contest, as I often got both forefeet of my horse on the back of the animal, which only resulted in my horse being thrown off his legs and getting a ducking. At last it became so unpleasant to myself- as I was not very dry during all this- and the poor nag showed signs of distress, that I gave it up as a very bad job."
Many people dismissed the idea of a Bunyip, while Mr Calvert believes that if it were not a Bunyip then it had to be an unnaturally large otter (Barnard, 2001). On the creature being vicious, he said, "it is all nonsense about it being a savage sort of brute, as it never left a mark on my horse and it was nearly all the time under his feet."

Canadian Cliff dragon:
The Rocky Mountains of Alberta and British Columbia are perhaps considered to be one of the best places for dragons to live in. One hiker who sighted a green dragon in the mountains said "there are places in Banff and Jasper that nobody has ever been to, and there are many elk and deer and possibly even bears for it to feed on. Plenty of lakes, and the mountains themselves have many hidden caves and the like (thecryptmag.com, 2004)."
This same hiker described seeing a dragon, deep green in colour, with a long head and large eye ridges. The dragon had two large horns protruding from the back of it's head with a smaller pair beneath. These horns, as well as a smaller horn at the tip of the dragon's nose, shone a dull grey. The dragon looked quadruped, and had dark green dorsal ridges running from the back of it's head to the mid-way point along it's tail. The dragon was estimated to be roughly 4.6 m (15 ft) at the shoulder, though more accurate measurements were not obtained. The hiker said this same dragon was "the most beautiful creature I had ever seen."
The dragon's front legs looked slightly shorter than it's hind legs, and it was seen gripping the edge cliff with determination. Had the dragon not moved it's head or fanned it's wings, it probably would have gone unnoticed. When the dragon realised it had been seen, it tilted it's head to the side in a bird-like fashion, spread it's wings and after flapping them several times, gracefully glided away around the side of the mountain (thecryptmag.com, 2004).

Champ:
The sea serpent of Lake Champlain (bordering Vermont and New York) is called Champ, and has been the basis for 300 documented sightings. The first was mistakenly reported to have been by French explorer Samuel de Champlain in 1609, however the location of this sighting was inaccurately documented by a reporter as Lake Champlain, when in reality the sighting itself is speculated to have actually occurred off the coast of the St. Lawrence estuary, and thus was not the first sighting of Champ actually in the lake, or even a sighting of Champ at all (the first record of Champ in it's lake home was supposedly witnessed in 1819 by New York settlers [theshadowlands.net, 2002]).
According to de Champlain, Champ was a "20 foot (6 m) serpent thick as a barrel and a head like a horse". Champ is also a 'horned serpent', according to the local Iroquois (Suckling, 1998). Champ was called Tatoskok by another local Indian tribe, the Abanaki, who had known of Champ's presence long before the Europeans, and who had frequently left offerings to the serpent in times past (Para-normal, 2004).
Sightings of Champ were plentiful, and in 1883, Nathan Mooney (the Sheriff of Clinton County), had an encounter with the serpent, who he described as "an enormous snake or water serpent 25 to 30 feet in length (theshadowlands.net, 2002)."
On July 1984, Champ was seen by over 80 passengers aboard the pleasure steamer The Spirit of Ethan Allen, when Champ surfaced nearby (Suckling, 1998). According to the records, Champ showed three to five humps, synonomous with sea serpents, each standing 30cm (1 ft) above the water. The serpent's skin was brown-green and slimy, while Champ's whole body length was estimated to be roughly 9 m (30 ft). Until frightened by a speedboat, Champ followed the steamer for some time.
"Champ fever" has been running rampant around the lake over the years, and hit a high in the mid 1800s, when P.T. Barnum offered $50,000 for the capture of Champ- dead or alive (Para-normal, 2004). Of course, the money remained uncollected, and even today people have offered sums of money, ranging from $500 to $2 million, for proof that the sea serpent actually exists.

Colossal Claude and Marvin the Monster:
Sightings of Oregon's local sea serpent, Colossal Claude, began in 1934 when the serpent was seen happily swimming around the mouth of the Columbia River, to be later sighted frequently by fishermen, ship crew, and random people passing through the area (theshadowlands.net, 2002). L.A. Larson, arguably the first to see Claude (and whose initial sighting heralded a string of many more), described the sea serpent as roughly 2.5 m (8 ft) in length, with a big round body, and a "mean looking tail and an evil, snaky look to it's head". His sighting was confirmed by others who were there to witness the spectacle.
Other accounts of Colossal Claude (this one by skipper Charles E. Graham in 1937) describe a long, hairy, tan coloured serpent, with the head of a horse, and 12 m (40 ft) in length. Another account by Captain Chris Anderson claims the serpent has a bent snout and a face like a camel's, with shaggy grey fur- signs that there are either more than one serpent in question, or that the viewer's shock, eye sight, and time of day/ weather conditions interfered, and would account for the inconsistencies.
Another sighting of Colossal Claude, some years later by captain Chris Anderson of the schooner Arpo, stated that, "his head was like a camel's. His fur was coarse and gray. He had glassy eyes and a bent snout that he used to push a 20-pound halibut off our lines and into his mouth (theshadowlands.net, 2002)."
Marvin the Monster, another serpent of the Columbia River, made his debut at a later date in 1963. Marvin was first sighted by Shell Oil Company divers, and since then has been taped, photographed, and even appeared on television.
Videotapes of Marvin reveal a 5 m (17 ft) long creature that has barnacled ridges along it's back, and swims with corkscrew movements. There are many theories as to what Marvin the Monster is, and these possible explanations (all of which so far have proved unlikely), include an olley fish, a salpida, a jelly fish, and a prehistoric sea creature.
Other sea serpents or monsters have been sighted in the area, and these have been described as having glimmering scales, while others are said to have thick fur. However, one common trait that among these serpents is their face, which is consistently said to resemble that of a camel or horse (theshadowlands.net, 2002).
On the whole, Champ has shown itself to be quite harmless, except in 1930 when it chased a a fishing boat. Perhaps fearing that this "attack" may provoke angry locals, a law was passed three years later by the New York State Assembly forbidding harm to the Lake Champlain Monster (Suckling, 1998).

Horseshoe Falls Mist Dragon:
At Niagara Falls, on the 17th of February, 1998, mist was seen rising from the Horseshoe Falls in the exact shape of a dragon (thecryptmag.com, 2002). An onlooker claimed to have felt an overwhelming sense of protection when they saw the very large dragon rising up. It was described as having wings and was blue-grey in colour. The feeling of protection, and a sense of happiness, remained with the witness for a week.
Whether anyone else witnessed the spectacle or not is unknown, as details of this sighting are sketchy at best (thecryptmag.com, 2002).

Kiao and Shan:
The sea serpents of the east are commonplace in oriental folklore, and are very closely linked to dragons, which are bestowed with the ability to shapeshift (Suckling, 1998). Until recently, ambergris or 'dragon spittle' (which was sold for high prices), was believed to come from sea serpents. Their breath was also said to rise in columns or spires, which we now know is actually whales spouting. In China and Japan the Kiao are said to sprout wings and take to the air when they reach a certain age- much like the Eastern dragon, for whom it takes 4 000 years to change into their final winged form. When they rise up, the Kiao are believed to emit a beautiful sound much like 'singing stones'.
The Kiao resemble both a dragon and serpent, with a small head, fine neck and a width of about 4.6 m (15 ft) at their thickest point. Solitary by nature, these serpents live in lakes. On the other hand, the Shan live at sea, and they are described as serpentine but with ears, horns and a red mane.
These sea serpents, along with many other oriental serpents, were sighted by Europeans in the 19th century, who reported their encounters. The Straits Times Overland Journal published some of these accounts which led to a large debate. One report, dated in September 1876 tells of a sea serpent that was sighted in the Straits of Malacca by the crew aboard the SS Nestor.
The sea serpent rose from the waters around 180 m (200 yd) from the boat, and followed before diving and resurfacing on the other side, staying visible for roughly half an hour. Captain John Webster described the experience as, "it had a square head and a dragon black and white striped tail, and an immense body, which was quite fifty feet (15 m) broad when the monster raised it. The head was about twelve feet (3.7 m) broad, and appeared to be, at the extreme, about six feet (1.8 m) above the water.... The long dragon tail with black and white scales afterwards rose in an undulating motion, in which at one time the head, at another the body, and eventually the tail, formed each in it's turn a prominent object above the water (Suckling, 1998)."

Loch Ness Monster:
The Loch Ness Monster, or "Nessie", owes much of her popularity to the decision to build a road along the north shore of the loch in 1933; a small handful of sightings, coupled with the increased number of visitors to the loch and it's new accessibility, allowed for the media to create a big fuss over Nessie (Suckling, 1998). A local water bailiff, Alex Campbell (who was a strong believer in Nessie), believed that a "water kelpie" or "fearsome looking monster" had in fact been living in the loch for generations before, however sightings of Nessie had never previously been circulated outside Scotland (Campbell, 1997).

Although there have been at least 10, 000 known reported sightings (by reported we mean that the witness simply told someone, ie. a friend, family member or so forth) of Nessie, less than a third of these have been recorded. Almost 3, 000 reports have been recorded in written form (Mackal, 1976).
According to 251 eyewitness observations gathered by Roy P. Mackal in The Monsters of Loch Ness, most sightings of Nessie occur at 4:00 pm, with the highest number between the months of July and peaking in August. However, this should not reflect strongly on Nessie's daily behaviour, because human agendas would clearly get in the way- for example, less people would watch the loch during night or midday, and most people would watch the loch during summer (July and August).
Also according to these accounts, the Loch Ness Monster has a neck of 1.5 m (5 ft), of which a frill-like "structure" or mane has often been described around the head and neck area. Four observers have described protrusions on the head, possibly something resembling horns. In other accounts, Nessie's head has been described as flat, with the mouth interior red, and opening and closing periodically- the great variables in description would suggest that there are actually more than one kind of Loch Ness Monster in the lake (there is certainly more than one individual), or that perhaps witnesses are confusing other (possibly unknown) marine life with Nessie.
Nessie's body has been described as having "ridges" or "humps" that show above the water, and the overall length is roughly 7.5 m (25 ft), with varying lengths between adults and juveniles.
The Loch Ness Monster/s have also been attributed to having limbs, usually flipper-like, and they have sometimes been seen on land. Colours range from blackish-brown to light brown or yellowish, sometimes with green reported. The underside is always lighter in colour, and the sea serpents are often seen darting about in sudden speed bursts around the water, which is not uncommon for fish-predating movement patterns (Mackal, 1976).
It would be quite impossible to list all the sightings of the Loch Ness Monster here, even the purely legitimate ones, however the earliest recorded sighting of the Loch Ness Monster was by St Columba, written around 665 AD. St Columba was said to have helped bury a man who'd been bitten to death by the monster, and then with a word, prevented the Loch Ness Monster from later biting another swimmer (Campbell, 1997). While this report has been theorised as purely a religious story by author Steuart Campbell (and then dismissed), based purely on the fact that there have been no other recorded bitings from the Loch Ness Monster, we should keep in mind two things: firstly, there are always exceptions to a species of animal, for example in dogs and cats, where there are very nice or highly aggressive individuals. Secondly, most other sightings of Nessie have been from people on land, observing the water, or by people in a boat. (However, Campbell's claim is actually false, as in 1527 the Loch Ness Monster was claimed to have killed three men in Hector Boece's History of Scotland [Suckling, 1998]).

Other accounts are far more direct in approach, such as R.K. Wilson, a London surgeon who photographed the Loch Ness Monster in 1934 from roughly 230 m (250 yards) from shore, as he'd noticed a disturbance in the water. R.K. Wilson said he'd noticed the head of an animal rise up out of the water. In October 1933 the Inverness Courier listed the sighting of Nessie by William MacGruer, who said that he'd seen a creature emerge from the bush and dive into the water: it was definitely serpentine in appearance, but was heralded with "fairly long legs" (Suckling, 1998)- something which is relatively consistent with Nessie land sightings, however it's unsure if this phenomenon is the same sea serpent living in the loch. Most other Loch Ness Monster sightings simply describe an animal breaking the water, with a long neck, tail and "humps".



Megophias:
During a voyage to collect marine species in the Atlantic in 1860, Peter Karl van Esling, director of The Hague Zoo, later reported a sea dragon that had swum not far from his ship. It was thought to be a serpent, until sailors claimed the presence of legs and claws (Cabral, 2000).
The sea dragon was named 'Megophias' by van Esling and his men, and van Esling described it as; "a gigantic reptile, bright blue and silver in colour. He swam gracefully around the ship before the sailors' eyes, and submerged himself without a splash. His eyes were enormous, with vertical pupils and an intelligent expression. They seemed luminous, but this effect could be due to the reflection from the setting sun." The dragon's length was estimated at roughly 7 metres in length (approx. 23 ft), and the presence of bright blue and green fins extending down it's back was noted (Cabral, 2000). "We baptised him Megophias."

Memphre:
Sightings of a sea serpent in Lake Memphremagog, on the Vermont-Quebec, have been reported for years, dating back to the 1800's (theshadowlands.net, 2002). The sea serpent has been dubbed Memphre, and while the serpent's surface wake is most commonly seen, actual reports describe the creature as having a dragon head, long neck, and an elongated body. A local resident, Barbara Malloy, has reported sighting the serpent or dragon on two occasions, and is just one of many people to have seen the creature swimming in it's lake home.
She described Memphre as being jet black, though colours have ranged from brown, black or green. The estimated size of Memphre ranges anywhere between 1.8 m (6 ft) and 15m (50 ft) (theshadowlands.net, 2004). Due to the large inconsistencies, it's plausible that Memphre is not alone in his lake home, and shares it with young, and therefore, at least one other partner sea serpent. Or, many "sightings" of the sea dragon are in fact large fish or even inanimate objects, as is suggested in the second of Malloy's sightings when she described a hump bobbing up and down in the water (theshadowlands.net, 2004).