BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - What started as a monster that stole livestock has since stolen the hearts of residents around Lake Champlain.
On Saturday, the ECHO Leahy Center celebrates a very special birthday.
Champ is somewhere between 60 million and 66 million years old.
“Champ is just iconic and such a cultural foundation here in Vermont,” said Nina Ridhibhinyo, the director of programs and exhibits at ECHO.
She says Champ lore dates back to Native American stories that tell of lake monsters that resemble giant serpents.
Since then, she says Champ has been undergoing evolution, being vilified by farmers in the early 1800s for allegedly stealing livestock, then hunted for a bounty put on his head by P.T. Barnum in the 1880s, and then famously captured in a photo in 1977.
Since then, the legend has only grown.
“So you start to see this convergence between the Lake Champlain monster and the Loch Ness monster in terms of physical description. And when you start to have photography and these images coming together,” said Ridhibhinyo.
And she says, with those new photos came new widespread attention, and new meaning, creating a new culture around the monster.
“Inspiration for kids and tourists and adult residents and a conservation symbol,” said Ridhibhinyo.
Not only does Champ occupy the imagination but the rest of the mind as well, becoming the perfect teaching tool for science centers like ECHO.
“I mean I think that’s what amazing about Champ is that Champ is such an interesting piece of science inquiry and you can go through these thought experiments of, if there was this giant reptilian or amphibious or even mammalian lake monster living in Lake Champlain, what would it really mean for them to survive here?” said Ridhibhinyo.
Above all, Champ is more than just a cryptid that will continue to be hunted in the eyes of the ECHO Leahy Center and that’s all the reason they need to celebrate.
“Champ is a beloved mascot and educational experience here at ECHO,” said Ridhibhinyo.
ECHO considers Champ to be a keystone species meaning that if you protect Champ, you are protecting the entire ecosystem of Lake Champlain.
Champ is also protected under Vermont law, so if you ever happen to find him, remember to let him be.
Champ’s birthday celebration starts at 10 a.m. Saturday. Click here for more information.
Watch the video below to see Kevin’s interview with Billy Ernst, the man behind Champ’s birthday celebration.
Copyright 2020 WCAX. All rights reserved.
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August 07, 2020 at 07:30PM
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ECHO Leahy Center to celebrate Champ's birthday - WCAX
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