A "sea serpent with a head like a polar bear" was an island's very own Loch Ness Monster.

The legend of Vancouver's Cadborosaurus paints a striking resemblance to the one that allegedly lurks deep in a Scottish lake. Depending on your source, descriptions of the aquatic beast vary, but there is one constant, and that is that it is allegedly massive and hard to miss. That said reported sightings of the giant snake like creature over the years remain far and few between.

Affectionately nicknamed Caddy by journalist Archie Mills, it's full name is a composite of where it's said to dwell, Cadboro Bay, and "saurus" which means lizard or reptile.

F.W. Kemp, an official at the provincial library in Victoria, was one of first to claim he caught sight of Caddy in August 1932.

However, he decided to withhold his account until two other prominent locals also claimed to have seen the creature, leading to widespread belief in its existence in 1933.

Interestingly, this was the same year when the world was gripped by Loch Ness Monster mania.

Kemp recounted to The Province that he was enjoying a picnic on Chatham Island with his family when he “observed a large wash coming down the gulf from the north. I paid no attention at first, thinking it was just a tide-rip.

“Then I was amazed to observe huge coils come out of the top of the water like a snake. Judging by logs lying in the water nearby the total length of these coils must have been at least 80 feet, and they were five feet thick, I should think.

“They seemed a bluish green colour but shone in the sun like aluminum. The rear part of the creature was serrated with protuberances like dorsal fins. The extreme end thrashed about in the water like a propeller.”

Observers are often captivated by the creature's head, which has been likened to that of a horse, giraffe, or camel. It boasts vertical humps along its body and is known for its impressive swimming speed.

The one constant in witness accounts is the creature's long, serpentine body, topped with an elongated neck.

In February 1937, Fred Wilson was angling in Snug Cove with his wife when they encountered the sea monster near Bowen Island.

He recounted: "It was reddish-brown, about 18 feet in length with a head like a polar bear."

"There was a long, bony structure above the eyes, but there appeared to be no hair on the body. It was feeding near the shore, and when its head and tail were submerged it looked much like a cedar log."

The Bowen Island beast was notably smaller than the famed Cadboro Bay sea monster.

American fishermen in Port Angeles have dubbed the sea monster Bosco, or Old Hiaschuckoluk, reporting multiple sightings during their salmon and herring fishing trips. One fisherman even claimed that as he was hauling in a salmon, the creature snatched it up and darted away with the fishing line, dragging the fisherman and his boat along.

Throughout the 1930s, '40s, and '50s, there were regular sightings of the Cadborosaurus. Then, on May 30, 1963, a holidaymaker snapped what appeared to be a picture of a sea monster with a long neck akin to a camel's and several humps in the water near Mill Bay on Vancouver Island.

However, the very next day, The Canadian Press discovered the so-called sea monster was nothing but a man-made Cadborosaurus for a local fishing derby.

Unfortunately no actual photographs of the mythical creature have never surfaced.