The Peak Canal Monster

During a leisurely stroll along Peak Forest canal yesterday (11/10/2010), I noticed a curious object moving about in the turbid water. It was clearly some kind of animal and measured about 1 foot long though its full extent wasn’t visible. A few moments before I came upon this creature my attention was drawn to something very small splashing about in the water. It was a mole swimming across the width of the canal. It looked odd, almost bird-like, with its little snout poking above the water and its broad front claws rapidly paddling away. It’s the first time I’ve seen a mole in water and it swam very well. It scrambled up the side and hid in a nook in the canal wall as though it was fleeing something.

Not very clear video still of the mole crossing the canal.

At first glance the thing resembled some oversized mole but perhaps it is the earlier sighting which put that thought in my mind. A pinkish "snout" protruded above the water as it moved sluggishly in the canal's dead-slow current. The body was barrel-shaped and the short fur was a stoat-like reddish-brown and off-white on the underside. Limbs weren't visible due to the murkiness of the water. Is this the first sighting of the Peak Canal "Monster"? Is it an oddity that may outfox cryptozoologists, perhaps a mole-terrorising brute that lurks the waterway?

Two photos of the anomalous creature.

Feel free to suggest the monster's identity.

This was the location of the thing 53°22'27.59"N 2° 2'54.19"W. The coordinates can be pasted into Google Earth.