Whale skull found in Moosehead Lake (Maine) (via Chad Arment)

Five Foot Long Skull Found in Lake
Caroline Connolly - August 24th 2011

Rockwood - The pace of life at Moosehead Lake just sort of bobs along, offering views that are, at the very least, consistent.

"You see fish, you know, you see old bottles from the Kineo," said Lynn Stade.

But on a recent trip, Stade and his family swam right into a mystery waiting for them on the lake's floor.

"I thought, oh my god, it looks like a prehistoric monster."

Or what used to be one.

Stretching five feet and smelling nothing like the catch of the day should, it was hauled back by Stade's family to a nearby home in Rockwood.

"To me it's either a whale that survived in the lake all these years. It's a phenomenon. I don't know what it is," said Stade.

That's why they called local newspaper owner, Busta Koppenhaver, to help them get some answers.

"Left a message that said next time you come up bring your camera. I thought we were talking about a two headed chicken, or a humongous sized bees nest, I wasn't sure."

But Koppenhaver thought it was worth of a full page spread asking readers to guess what it is.

"A lot of locals insist that it's a moose's skull. I see no resemblance of a moose there. I've seen moose skulls before. They have teeth, for one thing."

And researchers at the University of Maine agreed, telling us that based on pictures, they believe it's the skull of a Minke Whale that was most likely dumped in the lake.

"I don't see foul play," said Koppenhaver.

He would like to believe that the skull's story runs much deeper than that.

"It would be fun to think that it is a prehistoric creature that lived in the lake. It would be fun to think that it was ET."

And however shallow his theories, it's clear that this family's summer trip has created a ripple effect amidst the calm and quiet of Moosehead Lake.

http://www.wabi.tv/news/22955/five-foot-long-skull-found-in-lake