Lake Washington Loch Ness Monster?

Published 4:56 pm Monday, November 24, 2008

By Ruth Longoria

It looks like Lake Washington may have its own, smaller version of the Loch Ness Monster — a scary looking creature that might be fact or fiction.

If it’s still alive, it may be lurking in the lake — but there have been no new reported sightings of the large, toothy, green reptile law enforcement searched for last week in the waters of the lake, a representative of the Medina Police Department said Thursday.

Following up on two calls from worried residents who thought they might have seen the head of an alligator or crocodile lingering in the reeds, Medina Police and the Mercer Island Marine Patrol searched the land and water areas near Cozy Cove and Fairweather Bay.

But to no avail; they found neither head nor tail.

Although they believed the animal to most-likely be a missing — but not reported — or abandoned pet, Medina Police warned residents to stay away from the reptile, if it is seen again, as it could be dangerous — especially to children.

But police don’t seem too worried the creature will be spotted again.

Truth is, this sighting is just that — a sighting. There is no confirmation that there actually is a dentally-endowed reptile in the lake, Medina Police Officer Shannon Gibson said.

“At this point it’s just a wait-and-see,” Gibson said. “They wouldn’t be able to survive long in this water.”

That’s probably true. Reptiles are cold blooded creatures that require heat from their environment, according to the Planet-pets.com Web site.

And owning a reptile is gaining in popularity. In fact, across the nation, one in seven households that have pets have a reptile, according to the Web site.

One such reptile is the caiman, a cousin to alligators and crocodiles. Caimans are native to Mexico and Central America and are sold in pet stores.

Though it may be easy to find and purchase a caiman it’s not so easy to find an appropriate home for one once an owner tires of their unusual pet, or it becomes too large to contain in a home. Caimans can grow as large as eight-feet long. That’s part of the reason state legislators have tried — so far unsuccessfully — to ban the selling of exotic pets, such as caiman.

House Bill 1151, the Washington State Exotic Pets Bill, would prohibit future private ownership of large cats, wolves, bears, non-human primates, alligators and other potentially dangerous wild animals.

The bill has failed in the past four legislative sessions, but recently passed out of the House Judiciary Committee, with an amendment that owners could keep the pets they now own for the life of the animal. HB 1151 is expected to come up for a vote this week for final passage in the state House.

The bill was spearheaded by Rep. John Lovick, D-Mill Creek, who is concerned about people assuming they can make pets of wild animals.

“The fact of the matter is these dangerous animals will never be domesticated,” Lovick said.

There have been several caiman sightings and captures in area lakes and waterways. In 1986, a group of caiman were spotted in Green Lake. Two were caught. Soon after that, a 2 1/2-foot reptile also was sighted near the dock at Houghton Beach in Kirkland, but was not captured. And, in 1992, a three-foot caiman was snagged in Cottage Lake, near Redmond, by King County Animal Control crews.

If captured, the Lake Washington reptile could be placed at Woodland Park Zoo, officials there told a King County Journal reporter.

The zoo currently has a West African dwarf crocodile exhibit.

King County Journal reporter Chris Winters contributed to this report.