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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The sasquatch is not the only fictitious creature to roam the Canadian wilderness.

The North has its own mysterious and reclusive hairy trout, which has also been called the furry trout, fur-bearing trout, sable trout, or beaver trout.

This sideshow-wonder hairy trout has been featured in Takeshi Yamada's Museum of World Wonders in New York. As the story goes, the fish evolved fur to survive in the cold waters of the Canadian North. - image courtesy of Takeshi Yamada

The fish is featured in Takeshi Yamada's Museum of World Wonders in New York. Yamada, who calls himself a visual anthropologist, features several sideshow exhibits on his museum's website and specifically mentions the NWT in association with the hairy trout.

According to the website, the fish developed its coat of fur because it lives in such cold water, and is rarely seen because it sheds its fur during the summer and grows it again in the winter months. In the summer these fish are supposed to be recognizable for their pale markings on a dark greenish-brown background.

Wikipedia states in the 17th century a fun-loving Scottish immigrant to Canada described "furried fish" to his family in a letter. He was asked to provide a specimen of the fish and crafted one.

There could be a few reasons why some fish look like they have hair. Some fish have scales that look like hair while other fish have "cotton mould," white or grey masses. This will cause fur-like growth on the body. If the infection is too great the fish will die, the moss-like fungus will continue to grow and the dead fish may wash ashore with what appears to be white "fur" on its body.

Robin Weber of the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre said another creative source of such a fish could have been a person by the name of Harry Trout, who lent his name to the creature.

Greg Robertson of Robertson Taxidermy has heard of the legend of this creature. He has never been asked to work with anything like this. His business focuses on the serious side of taxidermy.

"I heard the story years ago," said Robertson. "There is one in town somewhere, but I can't remember where it is exactly."