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Within Scotland there is a large deep lake called Loch Ness. For ages people around the lake have told stories of seeing a strange creature or sea serpent within the Loch's dark waters. Some people have even been able to get pictures although they are blurry. Scientists are even probing the Loch's depths in hope of finding proof of it's existence.
The Loch Ness Monster is supposedly living in Scotland's Loch (Lake) Ness. "Nessie" as she is called first is the best known cryptozoological creature in the world.
Carvings of this unidentified animal, made by the ancient inhabitants of the Scottish Highlands some 1,500 years ago, are the earliest evidence that Loch Ness harbors a strange aquatic creature. This looks a lot like the stone carvings of the Chupacabra.
The earliest recorded sighting of the Loch Ness Monster was in the biography of St. Columba by Adamnan in the year 565 AD. The monster apparently attacked and killed a man who was swimming in the River Ness.
The monster didn't make headlines again until August 27, 1930 when 3 fishermen reported seeing a disturbance in the water. The men watched as a creature 20 feet long approached their boat throwing water in the air. As it passes them, its wake caused their boat to rock violently.
The men were convinced that the disturbance was caused by a living creature. Following the story, the newspaper received several letters from people claiming also to have seen a strange creature in the Loch.
In 1962 The Loch Ness Investigation Bureau was formed to act as a research organization and clearing house for information about the creature. In the beginning it only conducted research for a few week in the year, but by 1964 they established a more permanent presence around the Loch. Eventually the Bureau established camera stations with both still and cinema cameras with telephoto lenses. They had vans which served as mobile camera stations, and underwater listening devises. Searches were conducted using hot-air-balloons and infrared night time cameras, sonar scanners and submarines.
A great deal of information was discovered about the Loch, but they have yet to produce any concrete evidence of a monster.
Loch Ness is located in the North of Scotland and is one of a series of interlinked lochs which run along the Great Glen. The Great Glen is a distinctive incision which runs across the country and represents a large geological fault zone. The interlinking was completed in the 19th century following the completion of the Caledonian Canal.
The Great Glen is more than 700 ft (213 m) deep and ice free. It is fed by the Oich and other streams and drained by the Ness to the Moray Firth. It forms part of the Caledonian Canal. By volume, Loch Ness is the largest freshwater lake in Great Britain.
Since Dec., 1933, when newspapers published accounts of a 'monster,' 40 to 50 ft (12-15 m) long, said to have been seen in the loch, there have been alleged sightings.
As a result of the publicity, Loch Ness has become a major tourist attraction.
Several scientific studies have been conducted, including thorough sonar surveys of the loch, and these have not revealed any presence of such a "monster".
Many people believe that the size and great depth of the loch, together with potential underwater caves, gives the monster many places to hide.
Most of the Nessie witnesses describe something with two humps, a tail, and a snakelike head. A V-shaped was often mentioned, as well as a gaping red mouth and horns or antennae on the top of the creature's head. Nessie's movements have been studied, and the films and photos analyzed to determine what Nessie might be, if she exists.
There are numerous theories as to Nessie's identity, including a snake-like primitive whale known as a zeuglodon, a type of long-necked aquatic seal, giant eels, walruses, floating mats of plants, giant molluscs, otters, a "paraphysical" entity, mirages, and diving birds, but many lake monster researchers seem to favor the plesiosaur theory. The case has occasionally been supported by indistinct photographic evidence - thought - in 1994 - a famous 1934 photograph was revealed to be a hoax.
A new Loch Ness mystery has unfolded with the discovery of a huge underwater cavern which sections of the media have dubbed 'Nessie's Lair'. Auxiliary coastguard and Drumnadrochit businessman George Edwards made this spectacular find when he was on a coastguard training exercise on the Loch. He picked up an abnormal signal on his sonar. The depth of the Loch is around 750 ft, and as he made a circular manoeuvre with his boat he got a reading of 812 ft on his sonar equipment. George, who over the years has seen many strange shapes on the Loch, has been a tour boat operator for 12 years. His findings have been quoted by experts as 'the most significant in years', but it has only come to light now as he was fearful of being accused of promoting self-interest. Being a firm Nessie believer, George says there must be more than one creature in the Loch and this cavern could lead to a network of caves. He feels the time has come to investigate the underwater caves and has been contacted by a North Sea oil company offering equipment and experts to seek out 'Nessie's Lair'.
These are sonar readings George took on his travels in his boat showing the contours of the Loch. The picture on the left shows the steep sides of Loch Ness and the right picture shows a very flat bottom.
This sonar picture highlights the cavern now called 'Edwards' Deep'.
For several months the above 2 pictures were examined in secret in zoological centres in Britain, America, Canada and Europe. It was planned to release them in early December at a scientific symposium in Edinburgh to be attended by zoologists from all over the world under the chairmanship of the famous British naturalist and painter Sir Peter Scott. News of the pictures leaked out at the end of November, before the study of them was complete and caused such excitement that the sponsors of the symposium, who included the prestigious Royal Society, felt it would be impossible to conduct a proper scientific discussion in such an atmosphere. Consequently the symposium, at which the whole Loch Ness controversy would have been debated at length and hopefully resolved, had to be cancelled. In its place a meeting was held in the Grand Committee Room at the Houses of Parliament at the instigation of David James, the MP who had led the Investigation Bureau. Before a large audience of members of both houses of Government, scientists and journalists, the Academy team presented the results of their research, including the new underwater photographs, together with supporting statements from eminent zoologists who had been examining the material. Dr. George Zug, the Curator of Reptiles and Amphibians at the renowned Smithsonian Institution in Washington said in his personal statement : "I believe these data indicate the presence of large animals in Loch Ness, but are insufficient to indentify them".
