Monster Monday: Loch Ness Search Discovers Monster!
April 25, 2016
Researchers involved in an underwater survey of Loch Ness, a deep lake in northern Scotland, announced last week they had discovered the remains of a monster. Excited cryptozoology enthusiasts have long hoped that physical evidence of Nessie, a legendary animal that some people believe lives in the lake, may be found one day to prove the creature’s existence. However, the discovery was “not the one many people might have expected” according to local Loch Ness expert Adrian Shine, who led the search.
The earliest known description of a strange creature in Loch Ness dates from A.D. 565. Reported sightings increased during the 1930′s, when a new highway made the lake more accessible to travelers. According to the most common descriptions, the Loch Ness monster has flippers; one or two humps; a thick, tapering tail; and a long, slender neck. Some believe the Loch Ness creature may be related to a dinosaurlike reptile. But no scientific evidence has been found to support any of these claims, and most biologists believe Nessie does not exist.
Several scientific expeditions have explored the waters of Loch Ness, including one sponsored by World Book in the 1960’s (see photos below). Yet none of these expeditions have produced any clear evidence for Nessie’s existence. This most recent survey of Loch Ness is utilizing an underwater robotic research vehicle known as a submersible operated by a Norwegian company called Kongsberg Maritime, to search the deep lake with cameras. One day, the cameras detected the remains of an object, clearly showing a long neck and two humps, lying on the bottom of Loch Ness at a depth of about 600 feet (183 meters).
Unfortunately, this survey has not produced the most dramatic discovery in the history of cryptozoology. Experts quickly realized that the object they detected are the remains of a model of the Loch Ness monster that was used as a prop for a motion picture. The model was made for the film The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970), directed by Austrian-born American Billy Wilder and starring British actor Christopher Lee. The story involves fictional detective Sherlock Holmes solving a case at Loch Ness, where he has an encounter with the legendary monster, only to reveal that Nessie is a hoax. Once filming was completed, the Loch Ness monster models used in the film were disposed of by sinking them in the lake.