Spring has sprung on Lake Champlain!

                                                 

                  The first sounds of spring 2022 from the Northern Leopard Frog (Lithobates pipiens) occurred on April 1, 2022.

Spring has sprung on Lake Champlain, well almost! Mud up to your ankles, the usual "Mud Season" has been in effect for the last couple of weeks in the Champlain Valley. Robin's hopping across the front lawn and much to my surprise the faint chirping sound of frogs emerging from their winter slumber. What does this mean as far as Champ research? Due to my theory of the Champ animals being an ectothermic species yet to be classified by science, there seems to be a constant pattern over the years of Champ sightings occurring from April-October. July, August, and September are the prime season for these animals to be most active. 

What is an Ectotherm?

 Reptiles and Amphibians are ectothermic, they have to regulate their body temperature by moving between warmer and cooler environments. Because metabolic activity and energy levels are dependent on temperature, amphibians and reptiles are relatively slow and inactive when they are cold and more active when they are warm. Terrestrial activity tends to be highest during rainy weather, allowing amphibians to remain moist while they forage or migrate across the landscape. Terrestrial amphibians avoid desiccation during periods of hot, dry weather by seeking shelter undercover, underground, or in other moist micro-environments. By not expending metabolic energy to maintain a particular body temperature, ectotherms have much lower energy requirements and require much less food than similarly sized endotherms (warm-blooded animals).

Sunbathing Reports 

1980-Frank Horton of Port Henry, New York, had a unique sighting of a Champ animal laying on the beach in broad daylight. "My friend and I were coming down Whitney street, which overlooks the beach. It was a sunny fall afternoon. I saw this black thing up on the beach. I turned to him and said, "Do you see what I see?" He said, "I absolutely see what you're seeing." We drove quickly down the edge of the beach, and when we approached, we got a better view. "It was a huge animal. Black in color, about 20 ft long, long neck, and a small head. When we got down there, she turned her head slowly and looked right at us. I couldn't believe it. There was Champ. She slowly pushed off in the sand right off into the water. I noticed on her sides there were white marks very close to what you see of scars on a manatee, like either she had been scarred from a boat or scraped her sides coming out of a tight place.”

 

With this sighting on the beach occurring on a sunny early afternoon when the sun is at its peak, it leads to a supportive factor to the ectothermic theory.

Water Temperatures

People have often theorized that sightings do not mainly occur during the winter months due to there being fewer people on the Lake. Still, with my theory of these animals being an ectothermic species, there seems to be a time frame that these animals are most active, and when most sightings occur, I refer to this as "Champ Season." During my field studies on Lake Champlain, I have taken temperature readings at prime sighting locations. It has supported the idea of these animals being ectothermic therefore being active or torpid during certain times of the year. 

Average Lake Champlain Water Temperatures in Fahrenheit F °

Apr 38.2 , May 47.0 , June 59.8 , July 67.8 , Aug 70.8 , Sept 66.2 , Oct 55.2 F, Nov 47.4 , Dec 41.0 , Jan 32.2 , Feb 32.4 , March 34.6.

Winter Survival 

Considering the harsh New England winters on Lake Champlain, when the lake freezes completely over, I have been asked how the Champ animals would survive in such frigid conditions. Sightings of the Champ animals decrease from October and entirely by December until the Lake reaches 50º F when sightings start to occur.

Dee Carroll had a sighting of Champ quite late in the season. "We were driving along in the mid-'80s, the first weekend in December, and I was looking out the window of the car and said to my husband, 'What's that post-like thing out there? And turned my head back, and here were concentric circles on the water moving out, and the post was gone. Now, posts don't just disappear. They float or stick up or do something. They don't just go down."

Winters on Lake Champlain vary year by year with temperature changes. Some years, the Lake can be frozen until the end of April or till the end of March. In the case of the Carroll sighting in December, perhaps the Lake temperature was warmer than usual for that time of year. On April 15th, 1993, a very peculiar sighting occurred. Irvin Laing and Bill Wykes, from Port Henry Pier, observed a creature break through the ice and then proceeded to slide on top of the ice. The creature was around 3 1/2 ft high and 12 to 16 feet long; it was blunt on one end and pale green in color. The sighting occurred around 3 p.m.

My personal belief of these animals have reptilian and amphibious traits due to observation and the extensive amount of compiled eyewitness reports and water temperature data indicates Ectothermic behavior. Since we cannot look back at ancient reptiles or amphibians or a possible specialized hybrid that is not in our current fossil record, we have to look at winter survival of modern-day reptiles and amphibians in the Champlain region. 

With the idea of a Mammalian species, these animals would have to come up to the surface to breathe oxygen regularly, and unless ice pockets were abundant underneath the ice that could supply enough oxygen for a population of these animals, this possibility is unlikely. Another theory that some have suggested is that there could be caves with open areas where these animals can stay in seclusion during the winter and breathe plenty of oxygen. I am open to many theories of what these animals may be. Still, going by hundreds of compiled eyewitness reports in combination with my data that I have obtained, it seems that these animals are most likely breathing and receiving oxygen in the following ways. Using known Amphibians as an example, Aquatic frogs such as the Leopard frog (Rana pipiens) and American bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) typically hibernate underwater. A common misconception is that they spend the winter the way aquatic turtles do, dug into the mud at the bottom of a pond or stream. Hibernating frogs would suffocate if they dug into the mud for an extended period of time. A hibernating turtle's metabolism slows down so drastically that it can get by on the mud's meager oxygen supply. Hibernating aquatic frogs, however, must be near oxygen-rich water and spend a good portion of the winter just lying on top of the mud or only partially buried. 

They may even slowly swim around from time to time. Ice crystals form in such places as the body cavity and bladder and under the skin, but a high concentration of glucose in the frog's vital organs prevents freezing. A partially frozen frog will stop breathing, and its heart will stop beating. It will appear quite dead. But when the hibernaculum warms up above freezing, the frog's frozen portions will thaw, and its heart and lungs resume activity. 

Other aquatic species may stay relatively active all winter long (as long as a pond doesn't freeze completely solid). Because of the unusual thermodynamics of water, ponds, and lakes are coldest at the surface and warmest on the bottom. The surface of the pond or Lake, if frozen over, will be 32 degrees Fahrenheit, but the majority of the Lake will be 38-39 degrees and the bottom at 40 degrees. The aquatic stages of the red-spotted newt (larvae and adults) may stay active even under ice. They can ingest and slowly digest food. Other aquatic amphibians like the pickerel frog and northern red salamander are active at running, ice-free springs throughout the winter.

In the case of a Reptile, using the Common Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina) as an example, Snapping Turtles enter a state of brumation. In cold temperatures, turtles can lower their heart rate and metabolism, thereby conserving energy and warmth. Aquatic turtles will brumate in deeper parts of ponds where the water will not freeze. Under the ice, turtles slow their metabolisms, diffuse all required oxygen through their skin and other mucus membranes, or hold their breath if in an anoxic (without oxygen) environment. 

While researching turtle behavior under the ice, I unearthed an article by Jacqueline Litzgus, a Professor in the Department of Biology at Laurentian University, where she discusses her research and behavior of aquatic turtles during the winter months. “My research group has monitored several species of freshwater turtles during their hibernation,” said Litgus. “We attach tiny devices to the turtles’ shells that measure temperature and allow us to follow them under the ice.”We’ve found that all species choose to hibernate in wetland locations that hover just above freezing, that they move around under the ice, hibernate in groups and return to the same places winter after winter.” Could the Champ animals be doing the same?

During my fieldwork on Lake Champlain during the cold and frigid months, I have cataloged water temperatures, performed Hydrophone recordings, and used my underwater camera system to see if I could catch a glimpse of a Champ animal in this hibernation-like state under the ice. I have not had any success with obtaining Hydrophone recordings of Echolocation or vocalizations, nor have I captured a visual of a Champ animal under the ice, which is a possible indication that these animals are actually in a partial torpor-like state.

A Common Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina) on the ice, is an example of an ectotherm braving the frigid temperatures. This is certainly a very rare and unusual occurrence. 

It would be remarkable to determine where these animals reside during these extreme conditions. Could these animals also be venturing into the marshlands before the Lake starts to freeze while their body is in full mobility, then venturing into deep ponds in the marsh, much like turtles where they reside till the spring thaw? Are they in specific areas of the Lake in a torpor-like state until the Lake temperature reaches around 50 ° F. when sightings start to occur? Is it possible that they congregate around springs where the water could be warmer and where supplemental oxygen is continuously available? My research on the frozen waters of the lake and marsh systems in search of answers is always an ongoing venture.

Listening with a Hydrophone system, using an underwater camera as a visual, and taking water temperature readings underneath the ice. 

Starting this week I will be setting up Game Cameras in the nearby marsh as well as major river systems. Perhaps, we will get the first glimpse of a Champ animal coming out of torpor for the 2022 season.