A man visiting British Columbia's Lake Okanagan claims he has video footage of what could only be Canada's fabled sea creature Ogopogo.

The possible sighting of the long-rumored sea beast caused quite a stir online. The alleged Ogopogo video went viral with over 500,000 hits on YouTube and a featured spot on ABC's Good Morning America Thursday, forcing Richard Huls to defend his footage.

Huls shot the video of what he believes is the elusive Loch Ness-like beast while on a trip to a local winery on a hill above the BC lake. The 30-second clip shows two long ripples in a seemingly deserted area of the water.

It was not going with the waves, Huls told the Vancouver Sun. It was not a wave, obviously, just a darker color. The size and the fact that they were not parallel with the waves made me think it had to be something else.

It proves something is down there, Huls added. Whether it's Ogopogo or not is a different story, but there is something at least down there.

Ogopogo sightings have been reported since the 19th century by Canada's First Nations people. Initially called Naitaka, the locals would not cross the area of the lake where they believed the sea monster resided without making an offering.

The name Ogopogo originates from a 1924 English music hall song called The Ogo-Pogo: The Funny Fox-Trot, by Cumberland Clark and Mark Strong.

According to Mary Moon, author of Ogopogo: the Okanagan Mystery (1977), in 1924, a local named Bill Brimblecomb sang a song parodying the popular British music-hall tune at a Rotary Club luncheon in Vernon, a city in the northern Okanagan Valley. H.F. Beattie adapted the lyrics, which included the following:

I'm looking for the Ogopogo,

His mother was a mutton,

His father was a whale.

I'm going to put a little bit of salt on his tail.

Ogopogo has reportedly been cited over a thousand times throughout modern history in Lake Okanagan. A 1926 sighting from Okanagan Mission beach was reportedly witnessed by thirty cars of people who all claimed to have seen the same thing.

Some of the earliest footage of the supposed beast came in 1968 when Art Folden filmed what he claimed was Ogopogo. A computer analysis of the footage later concluded that it was, in fact, a solid, three-dimensional object.

The lake was searched several times in history, with no evidence of any 40- to 50-foot-long sea serpent. Many believe that the sightings are simply otters or large pieces of driftwood as the area around Lake Okanagan is home to a large timber industry.

Either way, the legend of Ogopogo is pervasive in Canada. The legendary beast has been featured in countless television programs, books, and even a movie. A statue of the serpent-like creature stands watch on the edge of Lake Okanagan and is a popular tourist attraction in the town of Kelowna.

What do you think of the latest footage? Is it a wave? A log? Or is it the legendary Ogopogo?

Video Canada