The Loch Ness Monster, Hoax or Real?
Today I'll be talking about an age-old urban legend, The Loch Ness Monster. This Legend is about a creature that lurks in the Loch Ness Lake in Scotland. It is said to have a huge, elongated neck sort of like a giraffe, and one or more humps on its back which are usually visible above the water. It is estimated to be about the size of an elephant and has only been seen by very few people which is why it is referred to as an urban legend. Over the years the monster has been started to be known by the shorter nickname, "Nessie"
This legend dates back many years and there are multiple sightings over the past few decades. The first recorded sighting dates back to the year 565 AD and was by an Irish monk named Saint Columba. He was staying in the land of the Picts with his companions during which he encountered people burying a man near the river Ness. When he enquired they told him that the man was attacked in the water by a large beast which brutally attacked and took him underwater. They had attempted to rescue him but to no avail. After hearing this, Columba sent one of his followers to the river to confirm if such a beast actually did exist. Surprisingly, the follower did come face to face with the beast in the river and instinctively raised a cross and started chanting a holy prayer after which the monster seemed to be pulled away and the follower survived. Of course, since this was more than a thousand years ago there is no evidence as such of this beast existing but it shows us how long ago sightings of such a monster have been coming up from.
Now, there are various more sightings like the one above ranging over the past hundreds of years but one of the most important ones is surely the "Surgeons Photograph" from 1934. This photograph was said to be taken by Robert Kenneth Wilson, a gynecologist from London. it was published in the Daily Mail on 21 April 1934. Since Robert didn't want his name to be linked to the photograph it came to acquire the name of the "Surgeons Photograph". Robert said that he was looking out at the lake when he suddenly saw the beast after which he quickly got his camera and clicked multiple photos. Out of the many photos, only 2 came out properly enough to be considered as evidence of the existence of a beast. The first one shows an elongated head stretching out followed by a large hump protruding from the water while the second photo lacked behind in popularity due to it being very blurry. This is considered to be the most popular photo of the monster and for many years was said to be the sole piece of evidence proving the existence of the Loch Ness Monster. Due to its popularity, there was heavy scrutiny on its credibility as well. Many researchers looked into it and there was even a documentary that found discrepancies leading to there being an ongoing debate on the credibility of the photograph and whether it is legitimate or not.
Other than these sightings and claims one interesting piece of information that I found out about recently is that a DNA survey was conducted of the lake in 2018 to search for unusual species. While this survey didn't show any type of unusual DNA in the lake or the DNA of other creatures such as large sharks, otters,etc., there was a very high amount of eel DNA found. Based on this, The leader of the study, Prof Neil Gemmell of the University of Otago, said that This leads to there being a possibility of the existence of eels of extreme size in the lake.
All of these things are of course not conclusive evidence of there being a real monster in the lake but I believe that this is a legend which is quite possible. This is because the Ocean and water bodies are vast and unexplored. We as humans have barely seen a fraction of it and have no idea what type of creatures could be alive and how long they've been residing in some less accessible areas. For all we know this so-called monster could be a species living in hiding for millions of years by staying at a depth of water wherein it was never harmed or affected by what happened above the ground. This would prove why it isn't spotted often as it may only come to the surface for emergency occasions. Incredibly, the loch ness monster bears a striking resemblance to the supposedly extinct plesiosaur which could be a possible explanation for its origins. Sadly, we'll never really know the truth about the Loch Ness monster unless it suddenly decides to show up at the lake's surface to get a few pictures clicked. Until then I guess all we can do is take it as a fun urban legend about an amazing beast.
Thanks a lot for taking out the time to read my post and I hope you enjoyed it! for any future post suggestions or comments please feel free to contact me on any of our social media pages or leave a comment below!
This legend dates back many years and there are multiple sightings over the past few decades. The first recorded sighting dates back to the year 565 AD and was by an Irish monk named Saint Columba. He was staying in the land of the Picts with his companions during which he encountered people burying a man near the river Ness. When he enquired they told him that the man was attacked in the water by a large beast which brutally attacked and took him underwater. They had attempted to rescue him but to no avail. After hearing this, Columba sent one of his followers to the river to confirm if such a beast actually did exist. Surprisingly, the follower did come face to face with the beast in the river and instinctively raised a cross and started chanting a holy prayer after which the monster seemed to be pulled away and the follower survived. Of course, since this was more than a thousand years ago there is no evidence as such of this beast existing but it shows us how long ago sightings of such a monster have been coming up from.
Now, there are various more sightings like the one above ranging over the past hundreds of years but one of the most important ones is surely the "Surgeons Photograph" from 1934. This photograph was said to be taken by Robert Kenneth Wilson, a gynecologist from London. it was published in the Daily Mail on 21 April 1934. Since Robert didn't want his name to be linked to the photograph it came to acquire the name of the "Surgeons Photograph". Robert said that he was looking out at the lake when he suddenly saw the beast after which he quickly got his camera and clicked multiple photos. Out of the many photos, only 2 came out properly enough to be considered as evidence of the existence of a beast. The first one shows an elongated head stretching out followed by a large hump protruding from the water while the second photo lacked behind in popularity due to it being very blurry. This is considered to be the most popular photo of the monster and for many years was said to be the sole piece of evidence proving the existence of the Loch Ness Monster. Due to its popularity, there was heavy scrutiny on its credibility as well. Many researchers looked into it and there was even a documentary that found discrepancies leading to there being an ongoing debate on the credibility of the photograph and whether it is legitimate or not.
Other than these sightings and claims one interesting piece of information that I found out about recently is that a DNA survey was conducted of the lake in 2018 to search for unusual species. While this survey didn't show any type of unusual DNA in the lake or the DNA of other creatures such as large sharks, otters,etc., there was a very high amount of eel DNA found. Based on this, The leader of the study, Prof Neil Gemmell of the University of Otago, said that This leads to there being a possibility of the existence of eels of extreme size in the lake.
All of these things are of course not conclusive evidence of there being a real monster in the lake but I believe that this is a legend which is quite possible. This is because the Ocean and water bodies are vast and unexplored. We as humans have barely seen a fraction of it and have no idea what type of creatures could be alive and how long they've been residing in some less accessible areas. For all we know this so-called monster could be a species living in hiding for millions of years by staying at a depth of water wherein it was never harmed or affected by what happened above the ground. This would prove why it isn't spotted often as it may only come to the surface for emergency occasions. Incredibly, the loch ness monster bears a striking resemblance to the supposedly extinct plesiosaur which could be a possible explanation for its origins. Sadly, we'll never really know the truth about the Loch Ness monster unless it suddenly decides to show up at the lake's surface to get a few pictures clicked. Until then I guess all we can do is take it as a fun urban legend about an amazing beast.
Thanks a lot for taking out the time to read my post and I hope you enjoyed it! for any future post suggestions or comments please feel free to contact me on any of our social media pages or leave a comment below!
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