I think we’ve all heard about the Loch Ness Monster, also known as Nessie. A serpent-like sea monster said to lurk in the waters of Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands of Scotland. People flock from all over the world to try and get a glimpse of the alleged “sea monster”. This tourism provides over $80 million to Scotland’s economy annually. So why are people so invested in this legend, and is it real?
The first sighting of the Loch Ness Monster dates back to 564 CE, when St. Columbus supposedly reported seeing the creature. There are stone carvings made by a Celtic group called the Picts depicting what appears to be the notorious Loch Ness Monster. These were the earliest recorded sightings of Nessie, and they did not stop there. There are about 21 recorded sightings of the monster between the years of 1500 and 1800. In 1933 a couple reported seeing a giant creature similar to a dragon disappear into the water after they crossed paths. There have been a total of over 1100 recorded sightings of Nessie over the years. Many people have claimed to have seen the Loch Ness Monster, but there is no real proof whether or not what they saw was reality.
One piece of “evidence” of Nessie’s existence is the famous Surgeon’s Photograph. When you look up “Loch Ness Monster”, it’s most likely the first picture you’ll see. When people hear “Loch Ness Monster”, it’s usually the image they see in their head. This photograph originated in 1934, when a doctor named Robert Kenneth Wilson produced a picture of the supposed lake monster. The photo shows what appears to be a long, serpentine head poking out over the waves. The image was published in the Daily Mail on April 21. Back then the public didn’t know much about special effects on photos and believed that the photo was evidence of Nessie’s existence. There were still critics, however, who tried to find proof the photograph was a fake. Sixty years later, in 1994, a man named Christopher Spurling admitted that the Surgeon’s photograph was a hoax, and confessed his involvement in its creation. Marmaduke Wetherell, Spurling’s stepfather, was a hunter who had been hired by the Daily Mail to find the fabled Loch Ness Monster. He discovered large footprints leading into the water from the shore, but researchers found they were really hippopotamus prints, which were commonly used as umbrella stands at the time. Wetherell, put to shame at his error, crafted a plan for revenge. He and his stepson created a monster head out of wood and plastic, and attached it to a submarine. This is the real “Nessie” in the photograph. Knowing doctor Robert Kenneth Wilson would easily be trusted because of his profession, they handed it over to him to give to the press. Although it has now been proven that the photo is a fake, many still believe the monster exists. So it’s time to turn to science.
There are many different theories on what Nessie might be, if not a sea monster. A popular one is that a plesiosaur from the Triassic Period survived in Loch Ness’s immense depth- 310 m, the largest Loch in the world. There are many reasons as to why this theory does not make sense. For one thing, plesiosaurs need saltwater to survive.The Loch is made of fresh water. In order for this species to survive, multiple plesiosaurs would be needed to reproduce. And although it is the largest Loch in the world, it is still not large enough to sustain multiple creatures like the plesiosaur. There is no possible way for a herd of plesiosaurs to survive in the Loch. Plesiosaurs were also tropical creatures, and the Loch is far too cold for them to live in. Many sonar expeditions have taken place in an effort to locate a giant creature like the plesiosaur, but have failed. Recently, a geneticist by the name of Neil Gemmell led a research team to sample the lake’s environmental DNA. The tests took place during the years of 2018 and 2019. He and his team took samples of the lake water to investigate the different life forms living in the Loch. They discovered DNA for over 300 species- including dogs and human beings. However they found no evidence of gigantic reptiles or plesiosaurs. All of this put together proves that Nessie cannot be a plesiosaur. Something they did find was a significant amount of eel DNA. “The sheer volume of it was a bit of a surprise.” Gemmell reported. Studies show there are over 800 eels in Loch Ness, and so a new theory has been made: Nessie may very well be a large species of eel.
There is further proof that there cannot be a large monster in the lake. Loch Ness was completely covered in ice during recent ice ages. How is a prehistoric monster supposed to live in a lake when said lake is a glacier? This means that Nessie would have had to migrate to Loch Ness fairly recently, within the past 10,000-20,000 years. The river connecting the Atlantic to Loch Ness is far too shallow for a creature like the plesiosaur, and the waters would be even colder because of the melting ice. A journey like that would be extremely difficult for the plesiosaur, and highly unlikely.
The legend of the Loch Ness Monster is a popular one, and everyone has a different take on what it is, if it exists at all. Most “proof” of the monster’s existence have been exposed as hoaxes and fakes. While it is fun to imagine that something huge is lurking in those waters in Scotland, reality is there is most likely nothing spectacular there to see. If anything, Nessie is probably just an overgrown eel.
Photo Credits:Photo by Zoltan Tasi on Unsplash
Sophia Marlega-Trinity-DMSF Class of 2028