Lake Murray is the largest lake in Papua New Guinea, located in the Western Province it covers approximately 267 square miles and in the wet season can increase to many times that size. The lake provides a constant source of nourishment to the local people and the freshwater sawfish which can be caught in the shallows are used to feed the crocodiles at the lakes world renowned crocodile research station. Lake Murray is also the reported home of a large unknown creature said to have hunted the lakes shores for centuries.

Murray, as the beast has come to be called, is described by eyewitnesses as being as long as a dump truck, bipedal, approximately 6 feet in width, with two, short forelimbs, legs the size of palm tree trunks, a long neck and a slender tail. The creatures head has been compared to that of a large eyed bovine with teeth as long as a man’s fingers. Its back is said to have large triangular scoops and its skin has been likened to that of the more common crocodile.

One of the first documented written accounts of this creature came as recently as December 11, 1999 when a small group of native villagers, while paddling across the lake in a fishing canoe, reported seeing a dinosaur like reptile wading in shallow ponds near Boboa Island. During the following day, two missionaries, a Seventh Day Adventist pastor and a church elder, claimed to have seen a similar animal in the same region.

In June of 2000, reports came out of Irian Jaya, the Indonesian section of New Guinea, of a missionary that traveled to Lake Murray region armed with paleontology books in order to confirm these reports. According to his accounts, island natives grew agitated when they saw the images of a dinosaur which they believed to be the monster of the lake. Unfortunately the report stops there and does not include the identities of the dinosaurs which caused reactions in the natives.

Based upon eyewitness descriptions and testimony some investigators have suggested that the real identity of Murray may be a relative of a saurian group known as Theropods, this group, which included the tyrannosaurs rex, is described as swift, bipedal carnivores presumed to have gone extinct millions of years ago during the Cretaceous Period. Sightings in this remote region remain few and far between and to date no scientific expedition into the existence of Murray has been conducted.

The Evidence
There is currently no physical evidence to support the existence of this beast living in Lake Murray.

The Sightings
On December 11, 1999 a small group of native villagers, while paddling across the lake in a fishing canoe, reported seeing a dinosaur like reptile wading in shallow ponds near Boboa Island.

On December 12, 1999 two missionaries, a Seventh Day Adventist pastor and a church elder, claimed to have seen a similar creature reported by the natives the day before.

The Stats – (Where applicable)

• Classification: Lake Monster
• Size: As long as a dump truck
• Weight: Unknown
• Diet: Carnivorous
• Location: Lake Murray, Papua New Guinea
• Movement: Bipedal walking
• Environment: Freshwater lake shores