A few days ago I read an article about a woman, Elizabeth von Muggenthaler, who came to our good ol' Lake Champlain for some unsolved mysteries. Muggenthaler is a bioacoustician who studies animal communication and cognition. She can record echolocation sounds underwater and figure out what the animal that makes those sounds actually is. Species like whales and dolphins use echolocation underwater and the funny thing about this is that they happen to be the only aquatic animals that use echolocation. Whales and dolphins do not live in lake Champlain so what did she find?
According to the article "Making Sound Waves" in Seven Days, Muggenthaler knows that the noises did not come from a beaver, an otter, a deer, a moose, a sturgeon, a turtle, or a zebra mussle. And it's definitely not a man-made sound. She told the newspaper that she can't exactley say that it is our mysterious Champ, but that it is something we have yet to see or find. According to the echolocation that Muggenthaler recorded, she can determine that the creature is about 15-feet long, it can swim at insane speeds, and it's got a very advanced brain (this is obvious since it has dodged humans for years now, even after multiple sightings). Muggenthaler and her crew will be studying the lake for the next three years, hoping to solve the mysteries beneath the waters surface. So far they've heard and recorded three different sounds that are definitely not coming from the same animal. Their next task is to locate the actual animals.
So, will we all be alive when the mythical Champ is revealed? Or is this just another lie to add to our stories? I've been interested in the Champ theories since I was a little girl and my grandfather would take me to the beach to see the monster. Of course I never did have my own sighting, but I have faith in science and in everyone that took a picture of their own rare sightings. Muggenthaler is also someone I'd like to take seriously since she almost refused to take the job in the lake because she didn't want to "participate in a monster quest". That is a good, real scientist right there. Let's hope she uncovers Champ!
For the full article and more details go to: http://www.7dvt.com/2009making-sound-waves
According to the article "Making Sound Waves" in Seven Days, Muggenthaler knows that the noises did not come from a beaver, an otter, a deer, a moose, a sturgeon, a turtle, or a zebra mussle. And it's definitely not a man-made sound. She told the newspaper that she can't exactley say that it is our mysterious Champ, but that it is something we have yet to see or find. According to the echolocation that Muggenthaler recorded, she can determine that the creature is about 15-feet long, it can swim at insane speeds, and it's got a very advanced brain (this is obvious since it has dodged humans for years now, even after multiple sightings). Muggenthaler and her crew will be studying the lake for the next three years, hoping to solve the mysteries beneath the waters surface. So far they've heard and recorded three different sounds that are definitely not coming from the same animal. Their next task is to locate the actual animals.
So, will we all be alive when the mythical Champ is revealed? Or is this just another lie to add to our stories? I've been interested in the Champ theories since I was a little girl and my grandfather would take me to the beach to see the monster. Of course I never did have my own sighting, but I have faith in science and in everyone that took a picture of their own rare sightings. Muggenthaler is also someone I'd like to take seriously since she almost refused to take the job in the lake because she didn't want to "participate in a monster quest". That is a good, real scientist right there. Let's hope she uncovers Champ!
For the full article and more details go to: http://www.7dvt.com/2009making-sound-waves
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