Tahoe Tessie is a mysterious aquatic cryptid that is believed to live in Lake Tahoe which is found on the border of California and Nevada in the United States. Tahoe Tessie is described as a creature that is very similar to other lake monsters such as Bessie of Lake Erie and The Flathead Lake Monster.
| Cryptid Name: | Tahoe Tessie |
| Location: | Lake Tahoe, Sierra Nevada Mountains (California and Nevada, USA) |
| Category: | Aquatic Cryptid |
| Description: | Large, serpentine or dinosaur-like creature with humps on its back, similar to the Loch Ness Monster. |
| Size: | Varied; Up to 30 feet / 10 meters or more. |
| Behavior/Characteristics: | Elusive; Said to surface occasionally. |
| Diet: | Unknown; it’s often speculated that it might be a carnivorous predator. |
| Habitat/Environment: | Lake Tahoe, a deep freshwater lake with clear waters, surrounded by forests and mountains. |
| Evidence: | There is no scientific evidence supporting the existence of Tahoe Tessie. |
| Sightings and Encounters: | Reports of sightings have been made over the years, but most are anecdotal and lack concrete evidence. |
| Skepticism/Explanations: | Many scientists and skeptics believe that reported sightings are likely the result of misidentifications of other objects or animals, such as logs, waves, or large fish. It’s considered more of a local legend than a confirmed creature. |
What Does Tahoe Tessie Look Like?
Tahoe Tessie is described as having a long serpentine or dinosaur-like body.
Eyewitnesses say that it is quite a large creature with some reporting that they have seen humps on its back.
It is dark in color with some eyewitnesses reporting seeing mottled coloring. One notable feature of Tahoe Tessie is its long elongated neck that is said to rise above the water’s surface.
Tahoe Tessie Sightings
Tahoe Tessie sightings date back over a few centuries when local indigenous tribes warned settlers about the mysterious creature that lived in the lake. Since then there have been many sightings and in the mid-1970s it was said that an oceanographer by the name of Jacques Cousteau dived to the bottom of the lake and after surfacing claimed that, “The world isn’t ready for what is down there!” It was later found that Caouseau had never dived at the lake and that the story was fake.
However, there have been other stories that have been verified by a few witnesses. Here are a few of them (details taken from “Hidden Animals: A Field Guide to Batsquatch, Chupacabra, and Other Elusive Creatures” by Michael Newton):
| Date | Witness | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| June 1982 | Kris Beebe and Jerry Jones | Police officers Kris Beebe and Jerry Jones saw a big creature swimming about 25 feet from their boat. |
| June 1984 | Patsy McKay and Diane Stavarakas | Patsy McKay and Diana Stavarakas saw a large hump-backed animal surfacing above the water several times. They guessed the creature was about 17 feet long. |
| April 1985 | Virgil Anderson and Mike Conway | Virgil Anderson and Mike Conway filmed a creature with a fin on its back near Zephyr Cove. |
| 1988 | John Kirk | The founder of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club reported seeing “a number of strange waves that could not be explained as naturally occurring phenomena.” |
| 1991 | Andrew Navarro | Andrew Navarro and a friend saw a huge animal from a party boat. “The first thing I saw was water shooting out of the lake, like when a whale blows water out of its blow hole. Then I saw the surface of the water being disturbed by something underneath. This was followed by a hump of a brown creature which came out of the water. It moved around in a circle for a while and then it was gone. The movement of the creature was up and down, not side to side like a snake.” |
| April 2005 | Beth Douglas and Ron Talmage | Beth Douglas and Ron Talmage saw a large animal moving on the surface of the water with three to five humps appearing above the water. |
| October 2007 | Multiple witnesses at Tahoe City’s Commons Beach | A group of people watched as a dark-humped object swam just off Commons Beach. |
Possible Explanations for Tahoe Tessie
While many people believe that Tahoe Tessie is a real animal there are many who also believe that many of the sightings are misidentifications of things like logs, water debris, or fish that can create illusions of humped creatures in the water. Things like unique wave patterns created by wind or boat traffic may also create unusual movement in the water.
Lake Tahoe is also home to many different and diverse species of fish which could also account for some of the sightings.
As with other lake monsters, there are many who speculate that Tahoe Tessie could be a surviving prehistoric animal such as a plesiosaur. They say that it is not impossible that a small population of these animals managed to survive and adapt to the deep and remote lakes in isolated areas. However, with little proof to support this theory, it remains just speculation, for now…
Similar Cryptids
- The Flathead Lake Monster – Montana
- Hawkesbury River Monster – Australia
- Coosa River Monster – Alabama/Georgia
- Brosno Dragon – Russia
- Bessie of Lake Erie – United States
Resources
- In The Domain Of The Lake Monsters – John Kirk
- Hidden Animals: A field guide to Batsquatch, Chupacabra, and other elusive creatures – Michael Newton
