everything is possible in this world.. I am a descendant of Borneo natives (River Tribe). The river settlement where I grew up did not have hippos, but there were always sightings of hippos, only they had long necks. My tribe still maintains a primitive life in the wild. most do not go to school and still practice belief in the spirit of nature. When I got the chance to go to school and get to know the outside world, only then did I understand the legends and apparitions from my tribe. according to the western world and animal science this animal should have become extinct millions of years ago. but for the natives here, believe it or not, there are still accidental sightings of these creatures. I'm sorry if my English is not fluent. I just finished school and was appointed as a Conservationist of fauna and flora in the place where I grew up. Forgive me again. Peaceful greetings from me (Dayak Tribe People). 🙏
@@rahawa774 Thank you also for all, in my place the water creature(hippo) is named as (tambuAkar) a body like a rhinoceros, big like an elephant and have a long neck.. only it has fur like an otter.. you can search for information about tambuakar to be more clear, even though it is denied by the world of science , but the surprising thing is that it's not my continent where there are sightings, but there are also other continents.. as well as the hairy giant, the red-haired one who likes to steal durian fruit and collect river turtle eggs.. the only difference is that where I live, the hairy giant is considered to be the protector of the forest and respected by our community. This is because if a child gets lost in the forest while looking for valuable tree roots, this creature will send the lost child home the next day. After the child is found, they will tell the kindness of the giant 'orangutan' for helping them at night by hugging the child from the cold, feeding them fruits and so on.. the child's parents will put fruits, and turtle eggs where the child found as a token of thanks. Even modern scholars will not believe it, but the fact is this is what always happens in my village.. The natives are often shy, they will avoid arguing about it, for them that is what actually happens even if they are considered primitive by the outside world..
In 2024 156 red & 25 orange gators are frequently seen on the top of the West shore of the river going through Ottawa, lead by a weasel-gator called Turd-0
In Seattle, USA, locals had long claimed that an alligator lived in Green Lake in the center of the city but city officals long denied that. Finally, after years of ducks, fish, water birds, dogs and cats(and maybe even small children)disappearing, the city officals were forced to set traps and before long captured not one but THREE alligators in the lake. So much for the lake being "too small", the water "too cold", not enough food(not counting all the animals that disappeared of course), just another example of the "experts" not knowing what's going on right under their noses.
@@moblack5883😂 That's how it always happens. They are cute when Babies...BUT...when they start growing & growing, people Ditch them in the surrounding waters !😡 There are always crappy owners out there. 😢
When I was in 9th grade English class, we had “mugwumps” as a word on a vocabulary test. We were taught that the mugwumps was a 19th century term for a politically indecisive person, a “fence sitter.” Of course that was about 65 years ago so I could be wrong…
People get them as babies when they're adorable and can fit in a glass tank. Then they get too big and not so cute and get released into the wild. But that only explains sightings post-colinization. First nations tribes didn't have exotic pet dealers coming up from Florida.
You can have the ones I get behind my house (about 30 miles west of Houston). They usually come out of the water to sun themselves about 50-60 feet from the house. They’re a hoot to watch, though I’m very glad we have a chain link fence between them and us. I wouldn’t trust my dogs anywhere they happen to be.
@maccam-yc2ry Hunter-Gatherer tribes would have no use for exotic pets that die in a matter of months. Tribes from the climates where those exotic animals live would have no reason or capability to take them to Canada to trade. That's how I know what happened hundreds or thousands of years ago.
@@fastinradfordable I'm smart enough to know there were no planes or railroads connecting Canada to the sub-tropics. Should I also explain how I know they weren't texting each other?
@@MakerInMotionMy family is Anishinabe Algonquin from Ottawa. There are stories that go back millennia of trade for alligator with southern tribes. They were not kept as pets but as status symbols.
By no means am I saying all sightings are this but I'm sure some would be...... being a long time fisherman I knew what I was seeing but my heart raced the first time I saw a Sturgeon..... I was on land fishing below a waterfall that emptied into a bowl like bay and had very fast moving water and some sheltered spots. I was casting with 6 pound test in hopes of landing a walleye when what I'd judge to be a 6 foot long Sturgeon came by. My jaw hit the floor. The water right in front of me was a slow spot so I got a pretty good look at it....very clear water It was twice the size of the biggest trophy pike I had seen come out of that lake and almost six times the length of the average walleye. Being a crazy fisherman I kept casting and the creature past me two more times....I didn't expect to hook it but I kept myself aware of how far I was from the boat so I could take twenty steps and jump in so it could take me for a ride should we connect.... a short ride of course with just six pound line. Someone unfamiliar with these prehistoric creatures would surely think they had seen a monster and likely never swim in the lake again. This lake emptied into a river that later joined the Ottawa River....
Its nifty that this came out just a few days after the discovery alligators in a frozen solid pond but still alive in Texas. So apparently gators don't mind ice and will just sleep through the water freezing with their noses sticking out of the ice... Maybe y'all should hire a cajun't or floridian to hunt that thing down.
That and the fact many of our beaver here up north not only have huts on lakes and ponds but on large rivers and such they will go below water and dig huge holes deep into the banks below freezing /frost lines, and have colonies in the sides of these bank Dens, alligators/snakes , frogs. turtles easily crawl into them and could survive in a 55 degree and up ,den till warmer weather and many have pocket holes for fresh air aside them going dormant till it warms up
It wasn't really a discovery, zoologists have known this about alligators for a very long time. They live all the way up into North Carolina, and yes, North Carolina experiences regular freezes. I think the only reason it made news was because Texas freezes way less frequently.
Alligators can only stay like that for a few days, a week tops. Anything longer is detrimental and they may never recover. I lived in Ocoee, Florida for a few years and seen it first hand.
I can chalk up the more recent sightings to escaped pets. The reports of far older and more northernly accounts are far more intriguing. The reason why is that with the exceptions to some cold harty turtle species and numerous fish, the only cold blooded vertebrates to live in such conditions are amphibians. Ancient amphibians came in many sizes and shapes including some which bore a striking resemblance to crocodiles. They were in fact usurped by crocodilians in warmer climates and supposedly died out during the Mesozoic, after steadily retreating to the poles. On top of that their exist some very large salamanders in China, Japan, and intriguingly the central USA (hellbender). I can't help but hope that a cold tolerant salamander lived under the glaciers in subterranean rivers that flowed between the ice during the ice age and only went extinct after the glacial retreat, maybe even as late as the 19th century. Unlikely I know but it still gets me excited!
Although alligators don't technically hibernate they can go into a state during cold weather called brumation. In this state they go to the bottom of the water source they inhabit and rise to the surface once a day to breathe. It's possible for them to survive if the water is constantly flowing and doesn't freeze solid. Gators are quite resilient.
Greetings, Mr. Peters, and thank you so much for producing some of the very best and most interesting content on RUclips. I love learning more about North America, and especially about the histories and cultures of the First Nations. I also love learning and speculating about cryptids; especially the denizens of the watery deeps! Having studied the subject for decades, I am of the tentative opinion that not all of the great marine reptiles of prehistoric times are, in fact, extinct. I realize that people who fondly refer to themselves as "realists", scoff at such a proposition, but I would counter that in order for an opinion to be valid, it must conform with actual observed reality. The belief in the total extinction of the great marine reptiles is only that: a belief. We (humans) cannot possibly say with actual certainty that we have combed every liter of water on this vast planet and made certain that no plesiosaurs or mososaurs etc. are present anywhere on earth. If one mentions this to a skeptic he will snort in derision and say that "if the prehistoric giant reptiles were alive, then we would SEE them." I counter that people DO in fact see them! Or at least that people do see something that looks very much like them, and with far too great a frequency to be entirely blamable on mis-identification. Take Ogopogo, my personal favorite aquatic cryptid: Here we have a well-documented animal that resembles a mosasaur (albeit a thin, gracile specimen) more than it resembles anything else. We also have strong scientific evidence that suggests that at least some mososaurs were warm-blooded, (as are some sea turtles). This suggests to me that we may be dealing with at least one species of mososaur-like animal that seems to prefer the colder waters of the upper northern hemisphere. We see it showing up as far north as Alaska, in Lake Illiamna, and as far south as at least San Francisco Bay. -I personally think that the so-called "sea serpents" sighted in said bay may be identical with the creature known as Cadborosaurus, and that this may also be the creature found in Lake Okanagan. Naturally this is only a supposition. These may be different species, of course, but SOMETHING is responsible for all the sightings of the creatures I've named. I like the skinny-mososaur hypothesis best. There are almost certainly several species of archaic marine reptiles still among us, since the morphology of creatures such as Champ (probably a plesiosaur?) is so different from creatures like the so-called "sea crocodiles" sometimes witnessed around the Irish and British Isles. All I am saying is that we still have much to discover in the waters of the world, and I find that fact endlessly fascinating. I especially love it when strange beasts, such as reptiles, defy everything that modern science thinks it knows about climate and zoology, and seem to appear in places of frigid cold, or when preposterously huge animals turn up suddenly in relatively small bodies of water, such as in the Irish lakes! Obviously we are dealing with populations of creatures that are on the move, and for whom (short) land-barriers are not always a problem. I fervently hope that at least one of them will be officially "discovered" during my lifetime, just so as to prove to the smug naysayers of the world that they still don't know everything. Remember, everything that we think we know is only that: what we think... today. Apologies for this biblical-length comment! If anybody has read this far, I thank you. I'll try to keep it shorter next time. All the best, -N
I agree, the number of near-identical reports made by sane, credible people, coupled with their eerie resemblances to native legend, make it difficult to dismiss the lake/sea monster idea. You would have gotten along well with Gary. He had a special interest in aquatic monsters.
Given what we know about turtles making it through the winter in areas of the northern hemisphere that regularly experience snow & sub-zero, freezing conditions… it wouldn’t surprise me. The channel Garden State Tortoise (very informative if you’re into reptiles, btw) is based in southern New Jersey, which does get pretty shitty winters, and they keep all their native North American turtles outside, all year. Because that’s what they’re used to in nature. Same with box turtles, and more terrestrial tortoises, such as desert tortoises that get snowed on in winter. They instinctively know what to do… as do the native frogs, newts, and other reptiles & amphibians. The turtles (and I’m assuming alligators) sleep on the bottom of lakes or ponds, or some still body of water, far under the ice, and dramatically lower their heart rate to a near-stop. This enables them to take a huge breath before they dive, and then that sustains them for weeks in a sleeping state. They do periodically awaken for breaths, based on fluctuations in the water temperature. So when it warms slightly, they’ll perk up, take a breath, and go back to sleep on the bottom. This is why we see alligators in the winter in Texas, Louisiana, etc. in colder weather.
Excellent Scientific reply Erik. It definitely sums up what these animals do when Winter and the freezing temperatures arrive. I would imagine that, like when Koi ponds freeze over in the Winter, there would still be pockets of Oxygen near the ice covering to enable breathing in case open water wasn't found.🦎
I am from the Outaouai region growing up 300 feet from the river in Gatineau Quebec. I have been fishing the Ottawa River or Rivière des Outaouais for the last 55 years. I have seen monster Muskies 4 to 5 feet long. When a big Musky is at the surface its mouth jst below the water line it could be seen as something othe than a fish. Specialy big Gar pike withe their lomg toothy mouth.
Another excellent and interesting article Hammerson, thank you for sharing this brilliant video with everyone. I’m currently listening to Mysteries Of Canada Volume 4 on audiobook and like the 3 previous volumes it’s excellent. Having also thoroughly enjoyed Legends Of The Nahanni Valley I have just purchased and received an excellent condition edition of Pierre Berton’s The Mysterious North, I found the excerpts you referenced fascinating and had to find a copy for myself. Thank you for continuing to share these incredibly interesting accounts with everyone. Best wishes to you and your family from England 🏴🇨🇦
Alligators have been spotted multiple times over the past few years in Michigan too, which isn’t terribly surprising since they can survive being frozen as long as their nostrils are out of the ice.
@@rustymustard7798 no idea, here in Arkansas we have a lot of hot springs but to my knowledge Michigan and Ontario (where Ottawa is and I’m from) don’t, at least none I’m aware of.
@@marchfifth1754True, but if there are places with geothermal or even warm water from factory/power plant outlets it can provide a survivable microclimate. If there are no geothermal sources or factory cooling water discharge then no, they won't survive. I just don't know if there are any. I've worked with gators and other crocodilians for half my life and know that they are tough resilient survivors. If they can find 50 degree plus water in the winter they'll make it, even without a food source.
In New York here, and probably throughout the United States and Canada we have Hydro Stations with outlets into large lakes. A famous one here was Russell station through Rochester Gas and Electric. The water going through the station and into Lake Ontario was near 70 Degrees Fahrenheit all year round. This was a small station, and I'm sure larger cities have huge ones for their "multiple" Megawatts of power distribution. I'm thinking, in a scientific matter of speaking, that animals being as smart as they are, and driven by instinct, regardless of what tropical species (I could stretch Bull Sharks in here too) would find these "warm water outlets" (which would also be a rich food source) during the Winter months to "wait out" the cold and when the warm returns, make their ways through the tributaries and return to their "Crytid" haunts, then return again each Winter to wait out spring. (If not possible, still a great plot to an "Alligator In Our Lake" movie! ) (Lets not forget the outlet's "irradiated" water and possible species mutations!) WOW! 😃🐉
There definitely is something big in the Ottawa river. I saw a wake caused by something under the water. It was fighting the current, and the river was flowing hard and brown after the rain.
As others have mentioned, gators will brumate, which is sort of like hibernate, but being cold blooded, they just reguulate their body temperature, and let their nose hang in the air so the water freezes around them, and they're still able to breath. I know they have gators in Oklahoma, and they can have some pretty bad winters there. They are occasionally found in more northern states, but that's usually just a single one that someone had let go into a pond. Gators and crocodiles are survivers. I would slightly surprised if a breeding pair was set lose up there, and they started their own congregation. But only _slightly_ surprised.
In New York here, and probably throughout the United States and Canada we have Hydro Stations with outlets into large lakes. A famous one here was Russell station through Rochester Gas and Electric. The water going through the station and into Lake Ontario was near 70 Degrees Fahrenheit all year round. This was a small station, and I'm sure larger cities have huge ones for their "multiple" Megawatts of power distribution. I'm thinking, in a scientific matter of speaking, that animals being as smart as they are, and driven by instinct, regardless of what tropical species (I could stretch Bull Sharks in here too) would find these "warm water outlets" (which would also be a rich food source) during the Winter months to "wait out" the cold and when the warm returns, make their ways through the tributaries and return to their "Crytid" haunts, then return again each Winter to wait out spring. (If not possible, still a great plot to an "Alligator In Our Lake" movie! ) (Lets not forget the outlet's "irradiated" water and possible species mutations!) WOW!
My grandfather and some of his co-workers claimed to have seen one here in Hawkesbury also along the Ottawa river but in a large creek just a short distance from the river. They figured that it had been brought in as a pet by some of the wealthy people in the area, and attributed it being able to survive by the warm water from the paper plant located close by.
Oddly enough that could be true. As here in Australia we had a colony of Barramundi a large tropical fish that 8s mighty tasty that lived in the cooling pond of a coal fired power station down in Victoria. Which was a 1500 km from there natural range
Fascinating! Out of all the crocodilians the alligators are the most cold tolerant species and most docile also the much smaller Chinese alligators dig extensive burrows. Regarding crocodilians cryptids there are quite a number of unknown cryptid species in Africa, New Guinea, Indonesia, Australia, and South America. Certainly more rarer for crocodilian cryptids or out of place crocodilians reported in cooler climates in North America, very interesting, great video! Also there are even reports of land dwelling crocs one in south America called the urufere from Brazil and Guyana, one in Australia reported from 1870 in Dubbo Australia. No currently reports know but it’s very likely the small dwarf semi Arboreal land dwelling terrestrial crocodiles Called mekosuchus still persist in New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, And remote South Pacific islands.
I remember when a pet alligator or crocodile (I can't remember which) was released into the Niagara River (near Chippawa) and terrorized the local waterfowl for the rest of the year. Was around 1997 or 1998, I think. The story ended up fading and going stale, so I assumed that it froze to death when the seasons changed.
I'm old, and have lived on the Ottawa River all my life. I belong to a large family of avid hunters and fishermen. I can remember small alligators brought into local stores to be bought as pets (who thought *that* was a good idea?) when I was a child. Anywhere a species invades, with human assistance or not, they have an opportunity to establish themselves. Alligators can survive freezing temperatures for short periods, by poking their snouts through thin ice, then letting the water freeze around them...*BUT* they cannot survive long periods of freezing in thick ice. Where I live, we have over three months of consistent, below freezing weather every year. We skate, play hockey, ice fish in heated shacks (many people driving out to these shacks in their trucks, which remain parked on the ice), and snowmobile on the river ice, which requires at least 20 to 30 cm (about 12 inches) of *clear blue ice* for safety. There are places where humans cause warm water to enter the river consistently, but an alligator would grow large quickly in such a rich environment, and given that they are cold-blooded and breath air, it would be difficult not to notice them. There are many things we don't understand in nature, and I hold the legends of First Nations in the highest regard, but no one I know, myself included, has ever seen an alligator in the Ottawa River.
I never heard of the Mugwump though I come from the Okanagan Valley with the more famous Ogopogo. It’s just as real as the Mugwump and the alligators from the Ottawa river. They wouldn’t last a summer there let alone a winter. Unless they’re pets of Bigfoot aka Sasquatch.
I'm betting sturgeon for all cases that weren't escaped pets, but it's worth noting that gators in Texas have been known to survive their ponds freezing over. They enter brumation with their snouts poking out of the water so they can still breath when the ice solidifies.
The name of the river flowing through Carleton Place, is the Canadian "Mississippi". I'm thinking some old school prankster pulled this off, to have a laugh, and start a tourist attraction.
No, I don't think it could be a crocodilian. If a real animal is necessary, I'd say maybe a kind of giant salamander, or maybe even something like Koolasuchus.
❤ Many Thanks for Your Hard Work and Dedication by Keeping this Information and the Lore of Canada Alive!!❤ Namasté 🙏🕊️🕊️🕊️ Andréa and Critters. ...XxX...
Also, I don't know if you are familiar with our terrifying amphibious super predators that live in the frigid north. They eat whales, seals, fish and come out of the water to eat people. An alligator would make a great hors d'oeuvre for a polar bear.
Did you see the news last week about the gators frozen in a Texas pond that where still alive and doing just fine with its nose poking out from the ice. Crazy stuff
@@HammersonPetersyep, gators can actually hibernate similar to turtles and frogs. Im not sure why they don't do it regularly but I found out a while ago when I was checking out a story about gators in Chicago.
Deinosuchus along with many smaller relatives lived in North America and considering how resilient and durable their modern cousins are I wouldn’t be shocked if a isolated population survived and died off not to recently
Ottawa citizens got an alligator as a pet decided they did not want it and put it in the Ottawa River or like in the video from Luna Park. Alligators and crocodiles use the sun to regulate their body temperature they would die in a Canadian winter.
It's known that they can survive freezing temperatures and the fact that they were described as being black adds some possibility of it being true as black absorbs more heat which would be an advantage in the more northern regions.
That's a lot of accidents to happen on the Ottawa River concerning Alligators. Both Alligators, & Crocks can slow their metabolism right down to near death stasis. Perhaps they could survive the Canadian winter in the Ottawa River and further North. Do they have the antifreeze in their blood necessary to survive, would be the determining factor.
If they somehow made it there, I still would not see them surviving long at all. Someone released one in a river near where I live. We have mild winters with no snow, and the gator died shortly after being released while in the river. I don't think they ever found the person who dumped it. But the poor gator paid the ultimate price.
My Nana on occasion would call me her little "mug wump".... and now I know lol Edit: I'm remembering now.... we vacationed in gulf coast Florida.... I seem to remember her having fun referring to the gators as mugwumps.... I think I tuned it out just thinking she was being gratuitously silly...until I just came across this connection between the mugwump and the alligator and why she went on about the mugwumps in the swamps and ditches on Sanibel and Captiva Islands.....
I have lived my 45 years along different stretches of the Ottawa River fishing, canoeing, kayaking, swimming and snorkeling. There are no alligators! We do have some huge and voracious musky. We also have sturgeon even larger and gar which look like baby alligators. The >2' of ice we get makes survival impossible for any crocodillian.
Well i just learned that the outaouais river is the ottawa river in english. I just always assumed the river was nammed after the outaouais region its bordering
Hang on team i live in Australia and we have two types of crocodiles. The Johnston River crocodile which is a harmless fresh water croc - still scare the shit out of you though. And there is the saltwater crocodiles. Who are bloody dangerous had a few frights myself. Now on east coast salties have ranged as far south as Brisbane in the past and roughly the same 9n the west coast. But they do struggle in lower temperatures. I cannot see how any large aquatic reptile would last in Canada as we all know it is basically a frozen hell hole. Although the hunting is pretty good
It has been said that there is a denizen of the trees that lives in and around Ottawa. Some say that this creature is fond of peanuts and will shake its bushy tail in a threatening manner while seated on your bird feeder.
Although alligators are usually in the tropics, they can live in Northern climates. Same as frogs and turtles they slow their metabolism down during hibernation when they literally bury in to the mud bottoms of rivers and streams.
There’s a stark difference between living in a “northern climate” and surviving through a Canadian winter, especially in Ottawa. An alligator would no doubt be able to survive here from late spring to early fall, because Ottawa regularly hits between +20 to +40 during that time, but the moment the temperature drop here, it’s dead. The ice over the calmer parts of the Ottawa river averages almost 2 feet thick in some places. An alligator need to leave its nose exposed to breath in the Everglades during a freeze, but that might be a few centimetres of ice, not two feet. At most, it’s maybe -10 on a bad day there, not -40 like here in Ottawa. For any reptile, outside of turtles,to survive here outside of a heated enclosure during that time, would be national news or common knowledge by the people living here. Speaking from my own perspective of a 29 year old being here my whole life? Not a chance in hell.
Place called Lake O'Connor in Southern Ontario, the lake feeds into two swamps by way of a slow moving river. In that river, I saw something that appeared large and reptilian or maybe amphibious. (I have since come to understand how big muskie can get to be, but still the color seems wrong, what i saw was alot darker brownie blackish) break the water surface with its head, almost like it was getting a look above the surface or maybe catching a breath. All I know is that I don't know what I saw, maybe snappers get bigger than I thought or a sturgeon close to the surface? Happy to receive any thoughts or suggestions if yall know something I don't.
Yea, Soo Nova Scotia is VERY much like Florida, we have a semi warm climate in the winter, and plenty of wetlands that are unexplored, it is feasible the alligators and crocodiles could survive here on the east coast of Canada, as we are the second farthest south as you can get in the country, next to southern Ontario 😆
my dad went fishing in temiscaming lake in the 70s , he had 3 3" hook welded together, used a powerful line,bait it with a wallye ,something very big caught the line and instantly broke it. it just snapped. there are monster fish in our lakes. chibougameau lake has maskinonge fish the size of sharks. sq went to recover a child there in scuba. cops came back up and refuse to go back ,claimed there were monster there.
Them gators would die by the time fall would come around. The waters were colder, but if it did last the fall. Once November and December rolled around, it surely would die.
I didn't know Mugwump was a real thing? Up here, it means your home is straddling two municipalities--mug in one, wump in the other...........what my dad used to say, too
I live in Canada but not out west They said something about it looking more blackish and Like a cross between an alligator and a fish what about an alligator gar They can grow pretty big Although I don't think they walk on land at all Short They could make short work of a human if they were bigger enough which some of them are as big as They could make short work of a human if they were big enough which some of them are as big as big as a man If you want to see 1 being caught in real life Look up river monsters alligator gar
The mugwump is not a alligator , i know this due to seeing it myself at night with a man icefishing. Also i collected dozens of sightings of the ottawa river monster since sixties and investigated muskrat lake monster. Neither case is aligator. Sharks to gator like things been seen in there however most are giant fish to serpent kind, few of the lochness monster sorts mixed in. None nearly sightings remote resemble a gator. No matter what others claim mugwump is or was real and was a seal, as well muskrat lake monster mostly seal ,few giant sturgeon in the system is the answer for those two no doubt.
They are really really hardy, and the river WOULD give them some protection from the cold, but really? The native lore and drawing are comparable to legends of dragons in Europe and Asia and occur in many cultures. Open minded, but probably not a thing.
Global climate crisis loses some of its impact with the reference to much warmer earlier temperatures! Crocodillions have existed since before the dinosaurs. Perhaps this shows just how adaptive they really are. Particularly if they do live in the sewers of New York.
Yes,the great northern alligator lives in the sewers below Toronto.Temperatures are above freezing and the sewers are extensive. They are a fond diet of Timberwolves.
As a lifelong resident of cold as fu*k brutal Winnipeg, Canada...I will be super pissed if we get damn gators and crocks! I thought a lack of bugs and creepy criteria like snakes and gators was the one single perk for living in this shitty place. Apparently they can adapt to live here...which inevitably will happen. Goddammit
Interesting! When it freezes in Florida, and other southern states, gators enter brumation (like a low-key hibernation). They float with their noses just above the water so they can breathe when it ices over.
@@HammersonPeters 10 days ago a Gator Sanctuary in southeast Texas called "gator country" reported to 9news the recent cold snap has forced the gators into " a deep state of hibernation beneath the frozen pond" if you look up 'frozen alligators found in Texas still alive' here on youtube the news report is there. You can see their little snoots sticking up out of the ice! It's unreal...Crocs however it seems need warmer temps to thrive. Love your work by the way
@@BigpapamoneymanMVPtypebeat My bro, we don't even step on the ice if its less than 6 inches, and it gets deeper than that. Ain't no chance those niggas surviving in any great lake or deep river.
You under-estimate the Canadian winter. Lake Timiskaming is roughly 500 miles north of Toronto, and is firmly in Boreal Tundra. From the beginning of December until the end of March, the temperature **never** rises above 0 C, and can reach as low as -40 C with the average temperature in this period being -15C There is 200-600mm of precipitation (snow) during this time too. Most of the locations they say are too cold to support year-round gators.
Very interesting question.. what’s more is i found an article published in August 2010 titled “How Canada’s Arctic once hosted alligators and turtles’. The location of the fossils is Ellesmere Island.
@@marchfifth1754 yeah, tell that to the climate activists who think the world is warming; of course, that excuse is nothing more than another reason for control of society!
Hu there Okanogan from the Kootenays.when I was a kid we lived downtown by the Columbia River and I found a baby gater when we had a flood.I managed to keep it alive for about a week.As we had a pet store at the time we figure some parent may have flushed the poor thing.
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everything is possible in this world.. I am a descendant of Borneo natives (River Tribe). The river settlement where I grew up did not have hippos, but there were always sightings of hippos, only they had long necks. My tribe still maintains a primitive life in the wild. most do not go to school and still practice belief in the spirit of nature. When I got the chance to go to school and get to know the outside world, only then did I understand the legends and apparitions from my tribe. according to the western world and animal science this animal should have become extinct millions of years ago. but for the natives here, believe it or not, there are still accidental sightings of these creatures. I'm sorry if my English is not fluent. I just finished school and was appointed as a Conservationist of fauna and flora in the place where I grew up. Forgive me again. Peaceful greetings from me (Dayak Tribe People). 🙏
Brother thank you so much
Your English is excellent! Thank you for sharing the story of the hippo apparitions.
@@rahawa774 Thank you also for all, in my place the water creature(hippo) is named as (tambuAkar) a body like a rhinoceros, big like an elephant and have a long neck.. only it has fur like an otter.. you can search for information about tambuakar to be more clear, even though it is denied by the world of science , but the surprising thing is that it's not my continent where there are sightings, but there are also other continents.. as well as the hairy giant, the red-haired one who likes to steal durian fruit and collect river turtle eggs.. the only difference is that where I live, the hairy giant is considered to be the protector of the forest and respected by our community. This is because if a child gets lost in the forest while looking for valuable tree roots, this creature will send the lost child home the next day. After the child is found, they will tell the kindness of the giant 'orangutan' for helping them at night by hugging the child from the cold, feeding them fruits and so on.. the child's parents will put fruits, and turtle eggs where the child found as a token of thanks. Even modern scholars will not believe it, but the fact is this is what always happens in my village.. The natives are often shy, they will avoid arguing about it, for them that is what actually happens even if they are considered primitive by the outside world..
@@jaygrain2512 most welcome brother 🙏
Not everything is possible.
I thought Alligators in Ottawa was just a misunderstood joke about swampy politicians.
It's probably both
No, THOSE creatures live in septic pits.
Don’t quit your day job
There are Alligator Gar in the ottawa river, ugly bastard of a fish and aggressive as all hell
😂
"Broke free of its muzzle and snapped at one of its compatriots, who had committed some reptilian offense" haha that gave me a good laugh
In 2024 156 red & 25 orange gators are frequently seen on the top of the West shore of the river going through Ottawa, lead by a weasel-gator called Turd-0
In Seattle, USA, locals had long claimed that an alligator lived in Green Lake in the center of the city but city officals long denied that. Finally, after years of ducks, fish, water birds, dogs and cats(and maybe even small children)disappearing, the city officals were forced to set traps and before long captured not one but THREE alligators in the lake. So much for the lake being "too small", the water "too cold", not enough food(not counting all the animals that disappeared of course), just another example of the "experts" not knowing what's going on right under their noses.
Sounds like a citizen released their pets in there.
@@moblack5883😂 That's how it always happens. They are cute when Babies...BUT...when they start growing & growing, people Ditch them in the surrounding waters !😡 There are always crappy owners out there. 😢
Those were camen not alligators similar but smaller most likely someone released their pets in the city lake
lefties come out from under their rocks too and 2wice a month when Trump is out and about!
The simplest explanation is probably monster sturgeon fish
When I was in 9th grade English class, we had “mugwumps” as a word on a vocabulary test. We were taught that the mugwumps was a 19th century term for a politically indecisive person, a “fence sitter.” Of course that was about 65 years ago so I could be wrong…
People get them as babies when they're adorable and can fit in a glass tank. Then they get too big and not so cute and get released into the wild. But that only explains sightings post-colinization. First nations tribes didn't have exotic pet dealers coming up from Florida.
You can have the ones I get behind my house (about 30 miles west of Houston). They usually come out of the water to sun themselves about 50-60 feet from the house. They’re a hoot to watch, though I’m very glad we have a chain link fence between them and us.
I wouldn’t trust my dogs anywhere they happen to be.
@maccam-yc2ry Hunter-Gatherer tribes would have no use for exotic pets that die in a matter of months. Tribes from the climates where those exotic animals live would have no reason or capability to take them to Canada to trade. That's how I know what happened hundreds or thousands of years ago.
@@MakerInMotionso you’re an expert on what every hunter gatherer interaction ever to exist was capable of?
@@fastinradfordable I'm smart enough to know there were no planes or railroads connecting Canada to the sub-tropics. Should I also explain how I know they weren't texting each other?
@@MakerInMotionMy family is Anishinabe Algonquin from Ottawa. There are stories that go back millennia of trade for alligator with southern tribes. They were not kept as pets but as status symbols.
By no means am I saying all sightings are this but I'm sure some would be...... being a long time fisherman I knew what I was seeing but my heart raced the first time I saw a Sturgeon..... I was on land fishing below a waterfall that emptied into a bowl like bay and had very fast moving water and some sheltered spots. I was casting with 6 pound test in hopes of landing a walleye when what I'd judge to be a 6 foot long Sturgeon came by. My jaw hit the floor. The water right in front of me was a slow spot so I got a pretty good look at it....very clear water It was twice the size of the biggest trophy pike I had seen come out of that lake and almost six times the length of the average walleye. Being a crazy fisherman I kept casting and the creature past me two more times....I didn't expect to hook it but I kept myself aware of how far I was from the boat so I could take twenty steps and jump in so it could take me for a ride should we connect.... a short ride of course with just six pound line. Someone unfamiliar with these prehistoric creatures would surely think they had seen a monster and likely never swim in the lake again. This lake emptied into a river that later joined the Ottawa River....
Its nifty that this came out just a few days after the discovery alligators in a frozen solid pond but still alive in Texas. So apparently gators don't mind ice and will just sleep through the water freezing with their noses sticking out of the ice... Maybe y'all should hire a cajun't or floridian to hunt that thing down.
Interesting!
As a Floridian, I can assure you that we are allergic to cold weather. - lol.
That and the fact many of our beaver here up north not only have huts on lakes and ponds but on large rivers and such they will go below water and dig huge holes deep into the banks below freezing /frost lines, and have colonies in the sides of these bank Dens, alligators/snakes , frogs. turtles easily crawl into them and could survive in a 55 degree and up ,den till warmer weather and many have pocket holes for fresh air aside them going dormant till it warms up
It wasn't really a discovery, zoologists have known this about alligators for a very long time.
They live all the way up into North Carolina, and yes, North Carolina experiences regular freezes.
I think the only reason it made news was because Texas freezes way less frequently.
Alligators can only stay like that for a few days, a week tops. Anything longer is detrimental and they may never recover. I lived in Ocoee, Florida for a few years and seen it first hand.
I can chalk up the more recent sightings to escaped pets. The reports of far older and more northernly accounts are far more intriguing. The reason why is that with the exceptions to some cold harty turtle species and numerous fish, the only cold blooded vertebrates to live in such conditions are amphibians. Ancient amphibians came in many sizes and shapes including some which bore a striking resemblance to crocodiles. They were in fact usurped by crocodilians in warmer climates and supposedly died out during the Mesozoic, after steadily retreating to the poles. On top of that their exist some very large salamanders in China, Japan, and intriguingly the central USA (hellbender).
I can't help but hope that a cold tolerant salamander lived under the glaciers in subterranean rivers that flowed between the ice during the ice age and only went extinct after the glacial retreat, maybe even as late as the 19th century. Unlikely I know but it still gets me excited!
Although alligators don't technically hibernate they can go into a state during cold weather called brumation. In this state they go to the bottom of the water source they inhabit and rise to the surface once a day to breathe. It's possible for them to survive if the water is constantly flowing and doesn't freeze solid. Gators are quite resilient.
Greetings, Mr. Peters, and thank you so much for producing some of the very best and most interesting content on RUclips. I love learning more about North America, and especially about the histories and cultures of the First Nations. I also love learning and speculating about cryptids; especially the denizens of the watery deeps!
Having studied the subject for decades, I am of the tentative opinion that not all of the great marine reptiles of prehistoric times are, in fact, extinct. I realize that people who fondly refer to themselves as "realists", scoff at such a proposition, but I would counter that in order for an opinion to be valid, it must conform with actual observed reality. The belief in the total extinction of the great marine reptiles is only that: a belief. We (humans) cannot possibly say with actual certainty that we have combed every liter of water on this vast planet and made certain that no plesiosaurs or mososaurs etc. are present anywhere on earth. If one mentions this to a skeptic he will snort in derision and say that "if the prehistoric giant reptiles were alive, then we would SEE them." I counter that people DO in fact see them! Or at least that people do see something that looks very much like them, and with far too great a frequency to be entirely blamable on mis-identification.
Take Ogopogo, my personal favorite aquatic cryptid: Here we have a well-documented animal that resembles a mosasaur (albeit a thin, gracile specimen) more than it resembles anything else. We also have strong scientific evidence that suggests that at least some mososaurs were warm-blooded, (as are some sea turtles). This suggests to me that we may be dealing with at least one species of mososaur-like animal that seems to prefer the colder waters of the upper northern hemisphere. We see it showing up as far north as Alaska, in Lake Illiamna, and as far south as at least San Francisco Bay. -I personally think that the so-called "sea serpents" sighted in said bay may be identical with the creature known as Cadborosaurus, and that this may also be the creature found in Lake Okanagan.
Naturally this is only a supposition. These may be different species, of course, but SOMETHING is responsible for all the sightings of the creatures I've named. I like the skinny-mososaur hypothesis best. There are almost certainly several species of archaic marine reptiles still among us, since the morphology of creatures such as Champ (probably a plesiosaur?) is so different from creatures like the so-called "sea crocodiles" sometimes witnessed around the Irish and British Isles. All I am saying is that we still have much to discover in the waters of the world, and I find that fact endlessly fascinating.
I especially love it when strange beasts, such as reptiles, defy everything that modern science thinks it knows about climate and zoology, and seem to appear in places of frigid cold, or when preposterously huge animals turn up suddenly in relatively small bodies of water, such as in the Irish lakes! Obviously we are dealing with populations of creatures that are on the move, and for whom (short) land-barriers are not always a problem.
I fervently hope that at least one of them will be officially "discovered" during my lifetime, just so as to prove to the smug naysayers of the world that they still don't know everything. Remember, everything that we think we know is only that: what we think... today.
Apologies for this biblical-length comment! If anybody has read this far, I thank you. I'll try to keep it shorter next time.
All the best, -N
I agree, the number of near-identical reports made by sane, credible people, coupled with their eerie resemblances to native legend, make it difficult to dismiss the lake/sea monster idea. You would have gotten along well with Gary. He had a special interest in aquatic monsters.
It’s so, so good to see you back, Hammerson. I love your channel and love the fascinating stories. Thank you!
Rest In Peace Mr.Gary Mangiacopra
Amen 🙏.
Given what we know about turtles making it through the winter in areas of the northern hemisphere that regularly experience snow & sub-zero, freezing conditions… it wouldn’t surprise me.
The channel Garden State Tortoise (very informative if you’re into reptiles, btw) is based in southern New Jersey, which does get pretty shitty winters, and they keep all their native North American turtles outside, all year. Because that’s what they’re used to in nature. Same with box turtles, and more terrestrial tortoises, such as desert tortoises that get snowed on in winter. They instinctively know what to do… as do the native frogs, newts, and other reptiles & amphibians. The turtles (and I’m assuming alligators) sleep on the bottom of lakes or ponds, or some still body of water, far under the ice, and dramatically lower their heart rate to a near-stop. This enables them to take a huge breath before they dive, and then that sustains them for weeks in a sleeping state. They do periodically awaken for breaths, based on fluctuations in the water temperature. So when it warms slightly, they’ll perk up, take a breath, and go back to sleep on the bottom. This is why we see alligators in the winter in Texas, Louisiana, etc. in colder weather.
Excellent Scientific reply Erik. It definitely sums up what
these animals do when Winter and the freezing temperatures arrive.
I would imagine that, like when Koi ponds freeze over in the Winter, there
would still be pockets of Oxygen near the ice covering to enable breathing
in case open water wasn't found.🦎
I think these are what we call Politicians.
Oh joy! More Mug-Wump! Also, I thought Pal-rai-yuk was more like an otter.
There is lots on parliament hill.
You are keeping “Forteana” alive. Thank you for your hard work from a fellow Canuck.
Holy crap, I’ve lived in CP most of my adult life. First time I heard this story! Crazy! 😂
I am from the Outaouai region growing up 300 feet from the river in Gatineau Quebec. I have been fishing the Ottawa River or Rivière des Outaouais for the last 55 years. I have seen monster Muskies 4 to 5 feet long. When a big Musky is at the surface its mouth jst below the water line it could be seen as something othe than a fish. Specialy big Gar pike withe their lomg toothy mouth.
I assume these dudes saw Gar Pike and tripped out.
Just googled gar pike. I'd trip out if I saw one as well! I'm from Ontario.
Another excellent and interesting article Hammerson, thank you for sharing this brilliant video with everyone.
I’m currently listening to Mysteries Of Canada Volume 4 on audiobook and like the 3 previous volumes it’s excellent.
Having also thoroughly enjoyed Legends Of The Nahanni Valley I have just purchased and received an excellent condition edition of Pierre Berton’s The Mysterious North, I found the excerpts you referenced fascinating and had to find a copy for myself.
Thank you for continuing to share these incredibly interesting accounts with everyone. Best wishes to you and your family from England 🏴🇨🇦
Thanks so much for your patronage, and for the kind words! I'm glad you've enjoyed / are enjoying the books!
Alligators have been spotted multiple times over the past few years in Michigan too, which isn’t terribly surprising since they can survive being frozen as long as their nostrils are out of the ice.
How many sources of heat like hot springs are nearby these areas?
@@rustymustard7798 no idea, here in Arkansas we have a lot of hot springs but to my knowledge Michigan and Ontario (where Ottawa is and I’m from) don’t, at least none I’m aware of.
They can't survive that long and the thickness of the ice plays a big role. They would never survive the Michigan winter.
@@marchfifth1754True, but if there are places with geothermal or even warm water from factory/power plant outlets it can provide a survivable microclimate. If there are no geothermal sources or factory cooling water discharge then no, they won't survive. I just don't know if there are any. I've worked with gators and other crocodilians for half my life and know that they are tough resilient survivors. If they can find 50 degree plus water in the winter they'll make it, even without a food source.
In New York here, and probably throughout the United States and Canada
we have Hydro Stations with outlets into large lakes. A famous one here was Russell station through Rochester Gas and Electric. The water going through the station and into Lake Ontario was near 70 Degrees Fahrenheit all year round. This was a small station, and I'm sure larger cities have huge ones for their "multiple" Megawatts of power distribution. I'm thinking, in a scientific matter of speaking, that animals being as smart as they are, and driven by instinct, regardless of what tropical species (I could stretch Bull Sharks in here too) would find these "warm water outlets" (which would also be a rich food source) during the Winter months to "wait out" the cold and when the warm returns, make their ways through the tributaries and return to their "Crytid" haunts, then return again each Winter to wait out spring. (If not possible, still a great plot to an "Alligator In Our Lake" movie! ) (Lets not forget the outlet's "irradiated" water and possible species mutations!) WOW! 😃🐉
There definitely is something big in the Ottawa river. I saw a wake caused by something under the water. It was fighting the current, and the river was flowing hard and brown after the rain.
Muskrat lake/Cobden is just down the way from me, cool!
Ready to go swimming?
They can live in the cold they just keep there snout above the ice but I'm hard pressed to believe it
As others have mentioned, gators will brumate, which is sort of like hibernate, but being cold blooded, they just reguulate their body temperature, and let their nose hang in the air so the water freezes around them, and they're still able to breath. I know they have gators in Oklahoma, and they can have some pretty bad winters there. They are occasionally found in more northern states, but that's usually just a single one that someone had let go into a pond. Gators and crocodiles are survivers. I would slightly surprised if a breeding pair was set lose up there, and they started their own congregation. But only _slightly_ surprised.
In New York here, and probably throughout the United States and Canada
we have Hydro Stations with outlets into large lakes. A famous one here was Russell station through Rochester Gas and Electric. The water going through the station and into Lake Ontario was near 70 Degrees Fahrenheit all year round. This was a small station, and I'm sure larger cities have huge ones for their "multiple" Megawatts of power distribution. I'm thinking, in a scientific matter of speaking, that animals being as smart as they are, and driven by instinct, regardless of what tropical species (I could stretch Bull Sharks in here too) would find these "warm water outlets" (which would also be a rich food source) during the Winter months to "wait out" the cold and when the warm returns, make their ways through the tributaries and return to their "Crytid" haunts, then return again each Winter to wait out spring. (If not possible, still a great plot to an "Alligator In Our Lake" movie! ) (Lets not forget the outlet's "irradiated" water and possible species mutations!) WOW!
I grew up around the Ottawa River. Guaranteed the “alligator” was a sturgeon.
I live near ottawa about 45 min west and I agree
So the alligator they have preserved in a bottle is a sturgeon huh? Very good lol
My grandfather and some of his co-workers claimed to have seen one here in Hawkesbury also along the Ottawa river but in a large creek just a short distance from the river. They figured that it had been brought in as a pet by some of the wealthy people in the area, and attributed it being able to survive by the warm water from the paper plant located close by.
Oddly enough that could be true. As here in Australia we had a colony of Barramundi a large tropical fish that 8s mighty tasty that lived in the cooling pond of a coal fired power station down in Victoria. Which was a 1500 km from there natural range
Fascinating! Out of all the crocodilians the alligators are the most cold tolerant species and most docile also the much smaller Chinese alligators dig extensive burrows.
Regarding crocodilians cryptids there are quite a number of unknown cryptid species in Africa, New Guinea, Indonesia, Australia, and South America. Certainly more rarer for crocodilian cryptids or out of place crocodilians reported in cooler climates in North America, very interesting, great video!
Also there are even reports of land dwelling crocs one in south America called the urufere from Brazil and Guyana, one in Australia reported from 1870 in Dubbo Australia. No currently reports know but it’s very likely the small dwarf semi
Arboreal land dwelling terrestrial crocodiles
Called mekosuchus still persist in
New Guinea, the Solomon Islands,
And remote South Pacific islands.
They went to the wrong CA… they were aiming for sunny California but ended up in cold Canada.
Maps and Compasses are Not Easy to Hold with Claws?!
But a GPS might be much Easier?!!
I remember when a pet alligator or crocodile (I can't remember which) was released into the Niagara River (near Chippawa) and terrorized the local waterfowl for the rest of the year. Was around 1997 or 1998, I think. The story ended up fading and going stale, so I assumed that it froze to death when the seasons changed.
Not as far as Canada, but I hear there was a good sized one in Lake Placid, NY a while ago.
I think I saw a documentary on that once. 🤭
The Guide to Fresh Water Fishes of Ontario states that there’s piranha in the Great Lakes. A few have been caught in long point Ontario before.
I'm old, and have lived on the Ottawa River all my life. I belong to a large family of avid hunters and fishermen. I can remember small alligators brought into local stores to be bought as pets (who thought *that* was a good idea?) when I was a child. Anywhere a species invades, with human assistance or not, they have an opportunity to establish themselves. Alligators can survive freezing temperatures for short periods, by poking their snouts through thin ice, then letting the water freeze around them...*BUT* they cannot survive long periods of freezing in thick ice. Where I live, we have over three months of consistent, below freezing weather every year. We skate, play hockey, ice fish in heated shacks (many people driving out to these shacks in their trucks, which remain parked on the ice), and snowmobile on the river ice, which requires at least 20 to 30 cm (about 12 inches) of *clear blue ice* for safety. There are places where humans cause warm water to enter the river consistently, but an alligator would grow large quickly in such a rich environment, and given that they are cold-blooded and breath air, it would be difficult not to notice them.
There are many things we don't understand in nature, and I hold the legends of First Nations in the highest regard, but no one I know, myself included, has ever seen an alligator in the Ottawa River.
I never heard of the Mugwump though I come from the Okanagan Valley with the more famous Ogopogo. It’s just as real as the Mugwump and the alligators from the Ottawa river. They wouldn’t last a summer there let alone a winter. Unless they’re pets of Bigfoot aka Sasquatch.
The family of ogopogos are very real.anyone who doubts that is uninformed and ignorant.arlene gaal
Sunnyokanagan( dotco stories of ogopogo 11:38
Great stories!
Really enjoy your videos Hamm.
I'm betting sturgeon for all cases that weren't escaped pets, but it's worth noting that gators in Texas have been known to survive their ponds freezing over. They enter brumation with their snouts poking out of the water so they can still breath when the ice solidifies.
The environments wouldn't seem accommodating.
But, nothing bout nature surprises me anymore ... lol
Are these current photos of Carleton Place? Looks nice.
It’s a super cute little town with a classic Canadian Main Street.
The name of the river flowing through Carleton Place, is the Canadian "Mississippi". I'm thinking some old school prankster pulled this off, to have a laugh, and start a tourist attraction.
No, I don't think it could be a crocodilian. If a real animal is necessary, I'd say maybe a kind of giant salamander, or maybe even something like Koolasuchus.
❤ Many Thanks for Your Hard Work and Dedication by Keeping this Information and the Lore of Canada Alive!!❤
Namasté 🙏🕊️🕊️🕊️
Andréa and Critters. ...XxX...
Also, I don't know if you are familiar with our terrifying amphibious super predators that live in the frigid north. They eat whales, seals, fish and come out of the water to eat people. An alligator would make a great hors d'oeuvre for a polar bear.
Poor gators. Way too cold for them
And way too close to Ottawa.
Did you see the news last week about the gators frozen in a Texas pond that where still alive and doing just fine with its nose poking out from the ice. Crazy stuff
@@plotholedetective4166 No, I had no idea until your comment. Makes you wonder...
@@plotholedetective4166 I sure did, then the temp went back up to 60F that same day. It never freezes for long in Texas’ gator swamps
@@HammersonPetersyep, gators can actually hibernate similar to turtles and frogs. Im not sure why they don't do it regularly but I found out a while ago when I was checking out a story about gators in Chicago.
Deinosuchus along with many smaller relatives lived in North America and considering how resilient and durable their modern cousins are I wouldn’t be shocked if a isolated population survived and died off not to recently
Ottawa citizens got an alligator as a pet decided they did not want it and put it in the Ottawa River or like in the video from Luna Park. Alligators and crocodiles use the sun to regulate their body temperature they would die in a Canadian winter.
I live on Ottawa river. Lots gar pike and sturgeons!!
I was thinking giant salamander would fit; we at least still have their smaller descendants around.
It's known that they can survive freezing temperatures and the fact that they were described as being black adds some possibility of it being true as black absorbs more heat which would be an advantage in the more northern regions.
That's a lot of accidents to happen on the Ottawa River concerning Alligators. Both Alligators, & Crocks can slow their metabolism right down to near death stasis. Perhaps they could survive the Canadian winter in the Ottawa River and further North. Do they have the antifreeze in their blood necessary to survive, would be the determining factor.
If they somehow made it there, I still would not see them surviving long at all. Someone released one in a river near where I live. We have mild winters with no snow, and the gator died shortly after being released while in the river. I don't think they ever found the person who dumped it. But the poor gator paid the ultimate price.
My Nana on occasion would call me her little "mug wump".... and now I know lol
Edit: I'm remembering now.... we vacationed in gulf coast Florida.... I seem to remember her having fun referring to the gators as mugwumps.... I think I tuned it out just thinking she was being gratuitously silly...until I just came across this connection between the mugwump and the alligator and why she went on about the mugwumps in the swamps and ditches on Sanibel and Captiva Islands.....
Canuck swamp puppies? I could actually see it.
I have lived my 45 years along different stretches of the Ottawa River fishing, canoeing, kayaking, swimming and snorkeling. There are no alligators! We do have some huge and voracious musky. We also have sturgeon even larger and gar which look like baby alligators. The >2' of ice we get makes survival impossible for any crocodillian.
I heard they like white water rafting in Ottawa, makes no sense this claim
I got bit by a cougar in Chicoutimi and i liked it. Her name was Mireille
Well i just learned that the outaouais river is the ottawa river in english. I just always assumed the river was nammed after the outaouais region its bordering
It’s also possible these reports could be relic populations of persisting species of another distinct alligator species perhaps.
They used to call me mug-wump in high school when I would make the noise
Hang on team i live in Australia and we have two types of crocodiles. The Johnston River crocodile which is a harmless fresh water croc - still scare the shit out of you though. And there is the saltwater crocodiles. Who are bloody dangerous had a few frights myself. Now on east coast salties have ranged as far south as Brisbane in the past and roughly the same 9n the west coast. But they do struggle in lower temperatures. I cannot see how any large aquatic reptile would last in Canada as we all know it is basically a frozen hell hole. Although the hunting is pretty good
The only animals that come to mind that are being described in this video are Deinosuchus, Borealosuchus and small Mosasaurs.
It has been said that there is a denizen of the trees that lives in and around Ottawa. Some say that this creature is fond of peanuts and will shake its bushy tail in a threatening manner while seated on your bird feeder.
Although alligators are usually in the tropics, they can live in Northern climates. Same as frogs and turtles they slow their metabolism down during hibernation when they literally bury in to the mud bottoms of rivers and streams.
There’s a stark difference between living in a “northern climate” and surviving through a Canadian winter, especially in Ottawa. An alligator would no doubt be able to survive here from late spring to early fall, because Ottawa regularly hits between +20 to +40 during that time, but the moment the temperature drop here, it’s dead. The ice over the calmer parts of the Ottawa river averages almost 2 feet thick in some places. An alligator need to leave its nose exposed to breath in the Everglades during a freeze, but that might be a few centimetres of ice, not two feet. At most, it’s maybe -10 on a bad day there, not -40 like here in Ottawa. For any reptile, outside of turtles,to survive here outside of a heated enclosure during that time, would be national news or common knowledge by the people living here. Speaking from my own perspective of a 29 year old being here my whole life? Not a chance in hell.
If there is, it was a heck that dump it there!
i think most of these sightings are people seeing sturgeon. the ottawa river & muskrat lake are loaded with them.
Place called Lake O'Connor in Southern Ontario, the lake feeds into two swamps by way of a slow moving river. In that river, I saw something that appeared large and reptilian or maybe amphibious. (I have since come to understand how big muskie can get to be, but still the color seems wrong, what i saw was alot darker brownie blackish) break the water surface with its head, almost like it was getting a look above the surface or maybe catching a breath. All I know is that I don't know what I saw, maybe snappers get bigger than I thought or a sturgeon close to the surface? Happy to receive any thoughts or suggestions if yall know something I don't.
There are plenty of snakes in Ottawa, might be a few reptiles in the river I suppose.
This I wanna know, as Canadian Flavored Florida needs a few dozen😅
Yea, Soo Nova Scotia is VERY much like Florida, we have a semi warm climate in the winter, and plenty of wetlands that are unexplored, it is feasible the alligators and crocodiles could survive here on the east coast of Canada, as we are the second farthest south as you can get in the country, next to southern Ontario 😆
my dad went fishing in temiscaming lake in the 70s , he had 3 3" hook welded together, used a powerful line,bait it with a wallye ,something very big caught the line and instantly broke it. it just snapped. there are monster fish in our lakes. chibougameau lake has maskinonge fish the size of sharks. sq went to recover a child there in scuba. cops came back up and refuse to go back ,claimed there were monster there.
for your info musk rat rive is not 60 m downriver but upriver from Ottawa
smooth skin sounds more like a salamander. are there any other reptiles that live there like turtles?
Them gators would die by the time fall would come around. The waters were colder, but if it did last the fall. Once November and December rolled around, it surely would die.
Some one released their pet .
I didn't know Mugwump was a real thing? Up here, it means your home is straddling two municipalities--mug in one, wump in the other...........what my dad used to say, too
I live in Canada but not out west They said something about it looking more blackish and Like a cross between an alligator and a fish what about an alligator gar They can grow pretty big Although I don't think they walk on land at all Short They could make short work of a human if they were bigger enough which some of them are as big as They could make short work of a human if they were big enough which some of them are as big as big as a man If you want to see 1 being caught in real life Look up river monsters alligator gar
Maybe the Alligators in the Ottawa region got confused when trying to go to the Mississippi River and ended up at the Mississippi River in Ontario
Alligator Gar ( fish)
I didn't know we had swamp puppys around here
The mugwump is not a alligator , i know this due to seeing it myself at night with a man icefishing. Also i collected dozens of sightings of the ottawa river monster since sixties and investigated muskrat lake monster. Neither case is aligator. Sharks to gator like things been seen in there however most are giant fish to serpent kind, few of the lochness monster sorts mixed in. None nearly sightings remote resemble a gator. No matter what others claim mugwump is or was real and was a seal, as well muskrat lake monster mostly seal ,few giant sturgeon in the system is the answer for those two no doubt.
Sounds to me like there could be japanese salamanders in the lakes of British Columbia
Pirana was caught in the Ottawa Rideau canal
snapping turtles, salamanders, mud turtles, frogs and toads all survive Northwestern Ontario winters. Why not alligator like animals as well.
Idk maybe on a hot summer maybe they got lost or swam to high up but you definitely won’t find them crocs anywhere else in Canada
I don't know about alligators , but there is Crookediles in the house of commons ?
They are really really hardy, and the river WOULD give them some protection from the cold, but really?
The native lore and drawing are comparable to legends of dragons in Europe and Asia and occur in many cultures.
Open minded, but probably not a thing.
Good to know before I go river exploring here in Ottawa 🫠😉🧐lol
Lake temiskaming and muskrat are upstream of ottawa.
Global climate crisis loses some of its impact with the reference to much warmer earlier temperatures! Crocodillions have existed since before the dinosaurs. Perhaps this shows just how adaptive they really are. Particularly if they do live in the sewers of New York.
There was one found in the jock river that noone claimed soo....
Some yank say a muskie or a sturgeon and thought it was an alligator LMAO
YES.
I'm pretty sure...one of them Mug-whomps..
...took a dump in my hot tub during the last full moon.
Yes,the great northern alligator lives in the sewers below Toronto.Temperatures are above freezing and the sewers are extensive. They are a fond diet of Timberwolves.
As a lifelong resident of cold as fu*k brutal Winnipeg, Canada...I will be super pissed if we get damn gators and crocks! I thought a lack of bugs and creepy criteria like snakes and gators was the one single perk for living in this shitty place.
Apparently they can adapt to live here...which inevitably will happen. Goddammit
Interesting! When it freezes in Florida, and other southern states, gators enter brumation (like a low-key hibernation). They float with their noses just above the water so they can breathe when it ices over.
Very interesting!
@@HammersonPeters 10 days ago a Gator Sanctuary in southeast Texas called "gator country" reported to 9news the recent cold snap has forced the gators into " a deep state of hibernation beneath the frozen pond" if you look up 'frozen alligators found in Texas still alive' here on youtube the news report is there. You can see their little snoots sticking up out of the ice! It's unreal...Crocs however it seems need warmer temps to thrive. Love your work by the way
Try that when Ice gets over 4 inches thick and can freeze while ponds / swamps straight to ground if it’s not deeper then around a meter
@@BigpapamoneymanMVPtypebeat My bro, we don't even step on the ice if its less than 6 inches, and it gets deeper than that. Ain't no chance those niggas surviving in any great lake or deep river.
You under-estimate the Canadian winter. Lake Timiskaming is roughly 500 miles north of Toronto, and is firmly in Boreal Tundra.
From the beginning of December until the end of March, the temperature **never** rises above 0 C, and can reach as low as -40 C with the average temperature in this period being -15C
There is 200-600mm of precipitation (snow) during this time too.
Most of the locations they say are too cold to support year-round gators.
True stories of buried treasures sounds right up my alley. Sweet.
Very interesting question.. what’s more is i found an article published in August 2010 titled “How Canada’s Arctic once hosted alligators and turtles’. The location of the fossils is Ellesmere Island.
Well this isn't interesting at all because we know the arctic wasn't always cold.
@@marchfifth1754 yeah, tell that to the climate activists who think the world is warming; of course, that excuse is nothing more than another reason for control of society!
👋!!
Cheers from Okanagan valley British Columbia 🇨🇦
🍻
Hu there Okanogan from the Kootenays.when I was a kid we lived downtown by the Columbia River and I found a baby gater when we had a flood.I managed to keep it alive for about a week.As we had a pet store at the time we figure some parent may have flushed the poor thing.
Crocodiles 😊