Bear Lake Monster and Normandy Nessie Terrorizing U.S. Waterways

In an odd coincidence, two different cryptids from two different bodies of water have recently made headlines. The Madeira Monster, or "Normandy Nessie", as its photographer has dubbed it, recently made headlines for making a splash in a canal on Madeira Beach in Florida. The Bear Lake Monster, on the other hand, has been making headlines since the 1800's. The Bear Lake Monster is said to inhabit Bear Lake on the Utah-Idaho border. While there's actual video footage of Normandy Nessie, the Bear Lake Monster is making headlines because of mockumentary-style footage on Animal Planet's 'Lost Tapes'. Strangely enough, Normandy Nessie and the Bear Lake Monster share one striking similarity, both having been described as having a manatee-like appearance.

The Bear Lake monster legend reportedly started with Native Americans, who told tales of a serpent-like creature inhabiting Bear Lake. The Native Americans were said to fear this creature, and would not swim nor bathe in Bear Lake because of it. This is reported in a very interesting article from 1868, where the Bear Lake Monster first got its frightening moniker. The article reports that settlers in the area had spied the Bear Lake Monster moving through the water faster than a horse could run, and that it appeared to be 40-plus feet in length (there were even reports that the Bear Lake Monster was not the only one of its kind, and that a group was spied moving as fast as a locomotive together through the lake).