Discovery Passage Monster ?

Campbell River Creature

Campbell River or Wiwek̓a̱m is a city in British Columbia on the east coast of Vancouver Island at the south end of Discovery Passage, Discovery Passage is a strait that forms part of the Inside Passage between Vancouver Island and the Discovery Islands of British Columbia. The strait is considered the most important natural passage for vessels' entering or leaving the Salish Sea from the north.

In the winter of 1962, and again in 1963, many locals noticed something strange swimming in the waters of Discovery Passage. First seen by Mr and Mrs. Maclean, it was soon reported  by many others who also had seen something out of the ordinary. In his account Mr  Maclean described it as being “16 to 18 feet long, and is a dirty ivory colour, with streaks of red shooting through it. A short distance behind its turtle-like head is a huge hump.” He went on to say, “The neck seemed to be six or eight inches though, and it was compressible. By that I mean that it lengthened or shortened as the creature thrust its head out or drew it back.” The Maclean’s report launched a flurry of sightings and debate in the local papers about the existence of a Campbell River Sea Monster.

A second sighting of the mysterious "sea monster" within a month was reported by Mrs. J. C. Durrant of Shelter Point. She  said the creature she saw was about 25 feet long and looked like a dragon and made a hissing noise.Three weeks later  another sighting of a similar unknown beast of the sea was reported in the same area by  a Campbell River resident, who claimed it was first seen by the  Indigenous tribes of the area  200 years ago.The Baldwins also reported seeing the creature but were unable to get a photo .A blurry photo said to be taken from Quada Island did however appear in the local newspaper,along with several sketches people submitted.

After much local media attention a contest was run to name the creature , and it was christened “Klamahtosaurus” in honour of the Indigenous name for the Campbell River Spit, at the time commonly spelt Klamahto.There have been no recent reports of sightings.

James CosgroveThe marine biologist says that B.C.’s west coast is home to the Giant Pacific Octopus, which is the largest species in the octopus family.He says the largest one he's ever seen weighed 156 pounds and was 22 feet across. It’s listed in the Guinness Book of World Records. He said that may have been what people saw.Dive operator and photographer Roger McDonell of OceanFix.ca Dive Centre says the waters around Campbell River are some of the best cold water diving locations in the world, and are perfect for viewing the creature."You'll find octopus just about everywhere. There are some specific sites that we know we can go on a regular basis and find them," said McDonnel. "They're particularly a nocturnal creature so (any time) we can go for a night dive there's a better chance of seeing octopus."

However the sightings do not sound like an octopus but something much stranger so what did people see in the 1960’s in the area?