Lake Pellegrini, located in the steppe, in northern Patagonia is a reservoir, manmade, built in 1910-1915 to hold the flood surges on the Neuquén River and reduce the impact of floods in the Rio Negro Valley, that is located downstream.
The lake is 10 km to the northeast of the city of Cinco Saltos in the province of Río Negro, and roughly 25 km from the city of Neuquén (38°42'08.1"S 67°59'21.7"W).
There are two cryptozoology publications that cite a German scientist, Hans Krieg, as stating that there was a dinosaur in this lake.
1.In "Mysterious Creatures," George Eberhart states that "A dinosaur-like animal was reported in the 1930s, Hans Krieg." (source)
2.The Fortean Times also mentions Krieg and adds: "Referring to Lago Pellegrini, Krieg notes: "This beautiful lake was much talked about a few years ago this was a time of strange rumours in Argentina; from the south of the country, from the Andes lake Nahuel Huapi or from Lake Pellegrini and from the north, from the vast swamp lands at Laguna Iberá in Corrientes province, came exciting stories: a saurian, a living relic with grotesque looks, had been observed Some saw it flying , others swimming ; in any case it was an extremely strange creature . It appeared as in a dream and excited the people
[...]
I have mentioned one example of this dinosaur madness, which appears regularly, in connection with Lake Pellegrini in northern Patagonia, " he writes. " Here is a second one. In this case , we are not dealing with a mysterious gigantic lizard which surfaced from the depths and snorted , but with a stupid and awkward flying saurian , which was kind enough to appear in great masses on Lake Nahuel Huapi . One even fell under the mighty gun of a heroic What an enormously valuable object for science! What a pity the happy hunter, although he was convinced of his historic deed , cut only the head off and put it in his saddle bag. Twice as regrettable when we learn that he threw away this evidence after three days because he found the stench unbearable. He was certainly one of those tragic people who suffer grievously from the disbelief of their fellow men when, in old age - despite the scepticism of scientists, as they say - they tell their story to newspaper reporters . However, this hoax might have been a duck.At Nahuel Huapi and elsewhere one can encounter a duck called pato vapor (Tachyres patachonicus , King), one of the strangest among the few waterfowl of the lake. It is assumed that only a few It is assumed that only a few dozen individuals exist on the lake."
(source).
It seems to me that Krieg actually refuted it was a flying reptile, and stated it was a duck.
The lake was created in a natural depression (Cuenca de Vidal) and is roughly oval (24 km long, 12 km wide), with an area of 440 km2 Its average depth is only 9 m (28 ft.) and its maximum depth is 18 m (56 ft.) It stands in the arid steppe, roughly 250 m above sea level. This area has provided many fossils of dinosaurs from the final part of the Cretaceous Period some 65 million years ago, at the time they became extinct.
The image shows the Neuquén River (bottom), and the basin (top), a dam cuts the river (Dique Ingeniero Ballester) which sends water into the main irrigation channel for the Rio Negro Valley (Canal Principal in the map), a channel links the basin and the river, and is used to send flood water into the lake. Below is a Google maps view (online) looking eastwards. Notice the irrigated areas, and the dry steppe.
Hans Krieg (1888–1970) had studied medicine at the University of Tübingen and zoology at the University of Munich. He earned both a Ph.D. and an M.D. He visited Patagonia in the early 1920s. Later he was appointed director of the zoological collections of the State of Bavaria and adjunct professor of zoology at the University of Munich. During the 1920s and 30s he took part in several scientific expeditions to South America. He was a member of the Nazi party from 1937 to 1945.
The pato vapor looks just like a duck, how could it have been mistaken for a flying reptile?
Patagonian Monsters - Cryptozoology, Myths & legends in Patagonia Copyright 2009-2025 by Austin Whittall ©
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