Donot swim in Loch Ness or the monster "Kelpie" will eat you. This wasn't a bedtime story made up to frighten children. The people of Scotland knew there was a monster in Loch ness. The Galice term for the monster was "Niseag" meaning "water horse." Today Nessiteras Rhombopteryx or affectionaltely know as "Nessie" is one of the most fascinating mysteries in history.
The first written account of a confortation with Nessie was in 565 A.D. St. Columbia was on a mission in Scotland's Great Glen. He was at Loch Ness and saw the locals recovering a body that had been killed by the monster. A man swam out to recover the boat and Nessie surfaced again ready to attack. St. Columbia recalled "A strange beast rose from the water something like a frog, only it was not a frog." St. Columbia said to the monster, " Go no further, nor touch that man. " That is only written account of Nessie harming a human being.
Since then there have been by some accounts more than 10,000 sightings. 3,500 were written in detail. There have been photographs, sonar pictures, sound recordings and motion pictures of Nessie sightings. Still skeptiscism abounds.
To understand how there could be doubts as to Nessie's exisitance you must first understand Loch Ness. Loch Ness lake is one of the largest lakes in Scotland. The lake is 25 miles long and 1 mile wide. The bottom of the Loch, which in some places is 700 to 975 feet deep, resembles a maze. Just below the surface visiblity is reduced to only a few feet in front of you. These factors combined makes it difficult to prove beyond a shadow of doubt that Nessie exists.
Most descriptions of Nessie had lead to the conclusion that she could be a Plesiosaur, dinosaur. The plesiosaur had a long snake like neck, a barrel shaped body, a small short head and a short tail.
Dinosaurs are extinct. Maybe not all dinosaurs. The prehistoric fish, coelacanth, once thought to be extinct about 70 million years ago was recently discovered in 1938 alive and well.
Why would a Plesiosaur be living in Loch Ness Lake? Scotland was once covered in ice. When the ice melted the saltwater was pushed away by the fresh water. As the land rose freshwater lakes were formed trapping saltwater marine life. Many died, others evovled creating a new species, the sea serpent. This species only managed to survive in the larger lakes where food is plentiful.
Most Nessie sightings occured in the 1930's when the road to Inverness was rebuilt. Until 1935 officals kept the trees and shurbs cut so you could view the lake from the road. This could be the reason most sightings occured then.
In 1933 HughGray took the first photograph of Nessie.
In the 1934 the most famous
photo of Nessie was taken by a London doctor. The "surgeon's picture" was taken by Colonel
RobertWilson, ironically enough this photo was later proven to be a hoax. The first land
sighting was in 1934, as well. Arthur Grant a vetinarian student was on his motorcycle and
claims he nearly ran over it. Some reports this is sighting that aroused suspicions
that Nessie could be a Plesiosaur.
In July of 1951 Lachlan Stuart took a photograph of what could be three of Nessie's
humps. In 1955 P.A.Macnab nabbed a photo of the elusive sea serpent.
In 1960 aeronautical engineer, Tim Dinsdale shot the 1st motion picture footage of Nessie. He gave up his career and dedicated 20 years to the study of the Loch Ness monster. He reported two more sightings but was unable to produce concrete evidence.
In 1969, Jessie Tait, photographed some unusual ripples in the lake. In 1970 the Academy of Applied Science launched it's indepth search for Nessiteras Rhombopteryx. Robert H. Rhines lead the team with the latest in sonar equipment. Peter Davies a member of Rhines' team recounted his frightening experience. "I don't mind telling you it was rather a strange feeling, rowing across that pitch black water knowing that there was a very large animal just 30 feet below. It was the sheer size of the echo trace that was frightening."
In 1972 Rhines returned with his sonar equipment and a sophisticated camera strobe light
system developed by Dr. Harold E. Edgerton of MIT. He got some great shots including
the famous flipper shot.
Rhines estimated Nessie to be 35 ft. long, albino white, and blind
due to the murkiness of the lake. Rhines returned to Loch Ness again in 1975.
This time he photographes what he believes to be the head of the monster.
The picture frames suggest this monster is 20 feet long, the neck is 1 1/2 ft. thick with a
mouth 9 inches long and 5 inches wide. It had horns about 6 inches long, set 10
inches apart.
In 1977 Tony 'Doc" Shiels photographed a creature with a long neck.
Some accounts
report this to lead to the plesiosaur suggestion. In Urquhart Bay, in 1982 Jennifer Bruce
photographed the mysterious beast.
Operation Deepscan took place in 1987. Twenty sonar boats made three contacts ranging in depth
from 77 to 178 meters.
The contacts could not be rellocated the following day.
Another sonar boat operation occured in 1992. This operation produced an accurate picture of the bottom, but no evidence of the existence of Nessie.
Ian Finlayson shot some video footage of the serpent in August 1996. The same year Frank Wilson took a picture of a creature he estimated to be 30-40 feet long. " A flipper appeared and then it was gone. It was one of those things you had to see to believe."
In 1997 Malcolm Robinson has devised a way to harmlessly trap and then track Nessie. Steven Spielburg is reportedly considering funding the project.
The most compelling evidence against the existence of a monster is presented by Henry Bauer in Engima of Loch Ness.Bauer states he recieved a letter from Lester Smith. Lester and two partners ran a publicity service in London during the 1930's. Hotel owners in Loch Ness paid his team 50 pounds to to come up with a publicity stunt. They decieded to revive the old Loch Ness monster legend. They began the rumor and arranged for a sighting.
This doesn't explain other sightings. Everyone knows we haven't discovered all of the mysterys of the deep. Sir Peter Scott respected naturalist and leader of Loch Ness Phenomena Burea reported 20-50 sea serpents in Loch Ness and that they are species related to the Plesiosaur. Don't forget sightings of other sea serpents in other large lakes. Such as Lake Van, Champlain, Okanagan, Utopia, Storsjon, Erie, and Lake Manitoba.
Is there a monster, sea serpent, or dinosaur in the Loch Ness lake ? We will probably never know for sure
unless Nessie swims up, shakes the President of the United States hand, live on CNN,
while every specialist and expert in the world is watching. Of course then I wouldn't have
a mysteries page.
