In the Amphipacifica Journal of Systematic Biology Drs. Paul H. LeBlond and Edward L. Bousfield review the large aquatic reptile known as "Caddy" from the Pacific coast of North America. Bousfield and LeBlond believe the historical records about this creature contain sufficient evidence of "specimens in hand" to conclude "the animal is real and merits formal taxonomic description," and propose it be named and diagnosed with vertebrate class Reptilia as Cadborosaurus willsi, new genus, new species.

Many people have spotted a large marine cryptid from coastal areas of the northeast Pacific Ocean and sporadically these sightings have been reported by the news media. Bousfield and LeBlond describe it as "a large serpentine animal (adult body length 15-20 meters), clearly unlike any whale, pinniped, fish, or other existing vertebrate animal that makes only brief appearances at the sea surface, presenting a distinctive head, a long neck, and a trunk region that often forms into a number of vertical humps or loops. Its swimming speed is astonishing to those who try to approach it, invariably unsuccessfully."

Caddy would not be the first animal that was formerly thought extinct to be officially recognized as alive and well in the 20th century. Through the efforts of cryptozoologists (people who study lost or hidden animals) our planet has proved to still contain surprises -- especially in the deep seas and inaccessible jungles. For example, 1938 brought the discovery of a living Coelacanth, a lobed armored fish which populated the seas 64 million years ago and was thought to be extinct. Since then, more than a dozen Coelacanths have been caught or beached. In 1976 an unknown kind of shark was caught off the island of Oahu in the Hawaiian islands. The 14.5 foot shark was named Megamouth. And somewhat surprisingly the gorilla was entirely the stuff of native legend until the 19th century!

Sea Serpents have been reported and documented for centuries in the seas and lakes all around the globe, and cryptozoologists have used all of 20th century's best technology to try to officially document their continued existence. Although Scotland's Loch Ness creature is the best known, it is not necessarily the best documented. In fact, the most scientifically important evidence of "Nessie" are the 1972 and 1975 sonar readings and photographs taken by the underwater cameras and equipment of Dr. Robert Rines. On 21st Century Radio we have examined "Chessie" of the Chesapeake Bay (of which there is a video that has been analyzed by the Johns Hopkins University's Advanced Physics Laboratory); "Champ" of upstate New York's Lake Champlain; "Ogopogo" of Canada's Lake Okanagan, and several others.

The History of Caddy

The family of large aquatic reptiles that frequents the coast of British Columbia has been repeatedly sighted by credible witnesses, and the legends about them date back to Native American traditions. The locals affectionately call the creature "Caddy," short for Cadborosaurus, which takes its name from the Cadboro Bay where it is most often seen. In 1937 a slightly digested juvenile "Caddy" measuring about 10 feet was extracted from the stomach of a sperm whale and the photographs of it, published in Bousfield and LeBlond's book and scientific journal, may be the best evidence to date of a contemporary sea serpent.

Dr. Paul H. LeBlond is a distinguished Canadian marine scientist and professor with the Department of Oceanography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C. Dr. Edward L. Bousfield is a retired Research Associate at the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, and the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria, following a long career with the Zoology Division of the National Museum, Ottawa.

Drs. Bousfield and LeBlond have appeared several times as guests on 21st Century Radio when they reviewed their "Caddy" research. In their book, Cadborosaurus: Survivor from the Deep, published by Horsdal and Schubart, 1996 (phone: 604-360-2031), they detail Caddy's most striking features:

1. Its dimensions, ranging from five to 15 metres in length;
2. Its body form: snake-like, or serpentine, with extraordinary flexibility in the vertical plane;
3. The appearance of its head, variously described as resembling that of a sheep, horse, giraffe or camel;
4. The length of its neck, elongated, ranging from one to four metres;
5. The vertical humps or loops of the body, arranged in tandem series directly behind the neck;
6. The presence of a pair of anterior flippers; posterior flippers absent or nearly fused with the body;
7. The tail, dorsally toothed or spiky, and split horizontally or fluke-like at the top;
8. The very high swimming speed, clocked at up to 40 knots at the surface. (p. 71)

As they explain in their abstract to the Amphipacifica article, "Through lack of a permanent reference spec- imen, the species was previously unrecognized by science. In our view, the records do contain published evidence of 'specimens in hand', and are sufficiently voluminous and internally consistent to conclude that the animal is real, and merits formal taxonomic description.... In general features of head, two pairs of flippers, and short tail, the animal appears least unlike some plesiosaur of Mesozoic age. However, its large distinctive hind flippers are apparently webbed to the true tail to form a broad fluke-like propulsive caudal appendage. When swimming rapidly at the surface, the trunk region characteristically forms into two or more vertical humps or loops in tandem behind the neck. The authors recommend that the species be considered for the COSEWIC primary list of rare and endangered species of Canada."

There are over a dozen strandings and captures of Caddies detailed in the book Cadborosaurus, and Appendix II documents several of them, such as:

1937 July, Naden Harbour
10 foot long "Juvenile" found in sperm-whale stomach, documented in Fisheries Bulletin , Ottawa, Sept. 1937; Vancouver Province , 23 July 1937 (Kermode's quote); Vancouver Province , 16 Oct. 1937; Victoria Daily Times , 16 Oct. 1937; Victoria Daily Colonist , 31 Oct. 1937 (Photo).

1968 August, De Courcy Island, W. Hagelund
Baby Caddy caught, documented in W. Hagelund, 1987; Whalers No More , Harbour Publishing, Madeira Park, B.C.

1991 July, Johns Island (San Juan Islands), Phyllis Harsh
Small (less than two feet) baby Caddy returned to water, documented in Interview by Bousfield, 26 Aug. 1993.

According to a letter we just received from Dr. Bousfield (1996), Caddy has been sighted over seven times this year.

Cadborosaurus: Survivor from the Deep is a significant, reader-friendly piece of research. It traces the animal's history from the first sightings described in the West Coast native folklore and includes the media's response to Caddy's full blown reemergence in the 1940s. It reviews the jokes and hoaxes, Caddy's cousins, a complete list of Caddy sightings and plenty of helpful illustrations. Bousfield and LeBlond pay special attention to the 1937 photographs of the Naden Harbour carcass of the slightly digested Caddy removed from the stomach of a sperm whale. Curiously, the eyewitness descriptions of Caddy practically mirror the photographs of the Naden Harbour carcass.

Cadborosaurus: Survivor From The Deep should be a text in all high school and college biology courses and deserves a place in all public libraries. It is a well-researched foundation for further inquiry into one of this planet's most mysterious living creatures, and it is convincing evidence that more unknown life forms are yet to be discovered. As John Steinbeck said: "When sometime a true sea serpent, complete and undecayed, is found or caught, a shout of triumph will go through the world. 'There you see,' men will say, 'I knew they were there all the time. I just had the feeling that they were there.'"

For information on Amphipacifica Journal call 604-380-3787. Click here for ordering information about tapes of the radio appearances of Bousfield and LeBlond on 21st Century Radio.