Creature in lake with Buddhist monk (5)
I believe the answer is:
llama
'creature' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'lake with buddhist monk' is the wordplay.
'lake' becomes 'L' (geographical abbreviation).
'with' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'buddhist monk' becomes 'lama' (as in the Dalai Lama).
'l'+'lama'='LLAMA'
'in' is the link.
(Other definitions for llama that I've seen before include "Peruvian beast of burden" , "South American cud-chewing mammal" , "Domesticated South American beast" , "One bearing burden" , "This could carry your stuff" .)