A recent study of Loch Ness found no evidence of a prehistoric monster, but did detect large amounts of eel DNA. Geneticist Neil Gemmell suggests Nessie could be an eel that has grown to an extraordinary size. Previous attempts to find the monster have been unsuccessful, including a 2003 search with 600 sonar beams and the famous 1934 photo, which was debunked as a toy submarine.
Ever since the Inverness Courier reported a “strange sight in Loch Ness” in 1933, people have wondered if there really is a monster swimming in those Scottish waters. Some have gone to great lengths to prove, or disprove, the existence of the monster affectionately known as “Nessie,” but no proof has ever materialized. In 2019, a study of the lake’s biodiversity found no evidence of DNA from a prehistoric plesiosaur or any other monster. However, the 250 water samples taken at various locations and depths indicated the presence of 3,000 distinct species, including birds, fish and amphibians, but no reptiles, lizards or vipers. However, Neil Gemmell, a geneticist at the University of Otago in New Zealand, couldn’t rule out that Nessie could be an eel that had grown to an extraordinary size.
Cue the scary music:
“There are large amounts of eel DNA in Loch Ness. We don’t know if the DNA from the eel we’re detecting is gigantic, from one giant eel, or just from lots of little eels,” Gemmell said. There is tremendous size variation between eel species, ranging from 2 inches (5 cm) to 13 feet (4 m).
In the years since the first report, there have been many high-profile attempts to find the Loch Ness Monster. For example, in 2003, the BBC paid for an elaborate search with 600 sonar beams. Nothing was found.
The famous 1934 photo purporting to be Nessie was later debunked. The image of the long-necked monster is believed to have been a toy submarine with a snake-like head and neck attached.
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