"Bownessie", the English Loch Ness monster

The Telegraph and a variety of other news sources have reported the sighting of a mysterious object in Lake Windemere, consistent with the legendary creature of that lake.

The photograph, which shows an object with three humps breaching the surface of the lake, is said to be the best evidence yet of what some claim is a monster... It was taken on a camera phone by Tom Pickles, 24, while kayaking on the lake as part of a team building exercise with his IT company, CapGemini, last Friday.

Mr Pickles said he saw an animal the size of three cars speed past him on the lake and watched it for about 20 seconds. He said: “It was petrifying and we paddled back to the shore straight away. At first I thought it was a dog and then saw it was much bigger and moving really quickly at about 10mph. “Each hump was moving in a rippling motion and it was swimming fast. Its skin was like a seal’s but it’s shape was completely abnormal – it’s not like any animal I’ve ever seen before."

This is believed to be the eighth sighting of a long humpbacked creature – known by local residents as "Bownessie" – in the past last five years.

More details at the link, but more interesting is that a search for more information on "Bownessie" led me to a "List of reported lake monsters."  There must be almost a hundred there, from Canada and the U.S., Africa, Asia, Europe, Australia.  And so many unusual names: Ogopogo, Cressie, Mussie, Mokele-mbembe, Muc-sheilch, Lagarfljots Worm, Brosno Dragon.  Lots of links for cryptid enthusiasts to explore.