OGOPOGO
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is a legendary serpent-like creature believed, but never proved, to inhabit the depths of OKANAGAN LK. The legend derives from First Nations people who called it N'xa'xa'etkw, demon of the lake, and representations occur in ROCK ART. The name Ogopogo, a palindrome from a music-hall song, was first used at a business luncheon in VERNON on 23 Aug 1926. Entertainment at the lunch was furnished by a local troupe who, according to one of its members, sang the light-hearted song including the lines: "I'm looking for the Ogopogo/ The bunny-hugging Ogopogo/ His mother was a mutton, his father was a whale/ I'm going to put a little bit of salt on his tail." The monster is rumoured to nest in underwater caves near Rattlesnake Island opposite PEACHLAND. Even though it has never been proven to exist, "sightings" occur with regularity and the provincial government has declared Ogopogo a protected species.
Reading: Arlene Gaal, Ogopogo, the Million-Dollar Lake Monster, 1986.