The Loch Ness Monster An Unsolved Mystery By Marilla Bickerstaff-Westbrook

S ince the M ediaeval D ark A ges, people have been fascinated by an unsolved mystery lurking in the murky waters of Scotland’s largest & deepest lake, the Loch Ness….. Fast forward to the 1930s. Since then, there have been some 1000 ‘sightings’ of a ‘beast’, called Nessie, that supposedly lives in the Loch. But is the evidence backed up by Scientific Research? Do other theories explain the ‘sightings’ of Nessie? This is the journey I am taking you on today. ? Nessie?

Loch Ness is located in the Scottish highlands. It is the largest freshwater lake in the UK and is some 250 metres deep. The Loch is known for its deep black and chilling waters. Where? Scotland Locations of Nessie sightings around the Loch Loch Ness Detail

In 1934, British surgeon Dr Robert Wilson took this famous photograph of Nessie while driving along the shores of Loch Ness. It showed a fuzzy image of a peaceful monster with a small head & long neck. For 60 years it was the strongest evidence for Nessie. Description Now let’s get to the Creature itself.

However in 1975 the photo was proven to be a fake. On his deathbed, a man revealed he had been involved in a hoax. In fact the photograph was of a toy submarine glued to a sea-serpent head.

The Search for Nessie Continues….. Sightings of the ‘monster’ continued to occur. In the 1950s, a local doctor, Constance Whyte began collecting eyewitness accounts and sketches & published them in a book.

Sonar Investigations Dr Whyte's book inspired a new generation of serious Nessie hunters. Between 1958 & 1968, four separate expeditions were launched: - by the BBC, - by 3 respected British universities. The expeditions were equipped with sonar to search the Loch. The outcome? Inconclusive. In each search, investigators detected large, moving underwater objects they could not explain.

In 2014, images were captured by two amateur hunters as they used an iPhone satellite map app. The image appears to show a disturbance in the Loch Ness, 30 metres in length, complete with two ‘flippers’. iphone Images of Nessie? However, the image in the water could be a boat that has been blurred out.

Since the Loch Ness Monster was "discovered" in 1933, a popular theory has been that Nessie is a plesiosaur: a marine reptile thought to have become one extinct 65 million years ago. 1.Plesiosaur Theory Theories

However, Nessie is unlikely to be a plesiosaur, for the following reasons: 1.Plesiosaurs had lungs and needed to surface regularly to breathe air. Surely this would have been noticed? 2.Loch Ness is only 10,000 years old but plesiosaurs became extinct 65 million years ago. 3. Plesiosaurs were cold-blooded & needed to swim in warm waters. However, the average temperature in Loch Ness is about 10°C. 4.The Loch Ness ecosystem could not support the needs of such an enormous animal.

2. Otter Theory When a family of otters frolic in the water, viewers on the distant shore may see the otters as the humps of a giant monster. ? ? ?

3. Scots Pine Theory A Scottish engineer published a theory in New Scientist that ‘monster’ sightings may be decaying tree logs. Monster ‘Humps’ and ‘flippers’ might just be fragmented pieces of wood. …… So the Loch Ness monster might be just a "log Ness" monster... Logs ?

4. Seismic Activity Theory In 2001, a geologist proposed that seismic activity under the Loch may underlie monster sightings around Loch Ness, since the Lake lies along a fault line.

Conclusions: Does Nessie exist ? Is she a figment of our imaginations? ?

However, it is impossible to prove a negative theory with absolute certainty. So there will continue to be a tiny chance that the Loch Ness is home to a large creature. No physical trace of the Loch Ness Monster has ever been found. ?

Bibliography Binns, R The Loch Ness Mystery Solved. W. H. Allen & Co, London. Martin, D. & Boyd, A Nessie – the Surgeon’s Photo Exposed. Martin & Boyd, East Barnet. Witchell, N The Loch Ness Story. Terence Dalton, Lavenham. Whyte, C More Than a Legend, The Story of the Loch Ness Monster. Hamish Hamilton, London years.html