Does the Loch Ness monster exist? The most famous pictures of the Loch Ness monster In which city does the Loch Ness monster live

Does Nessie exist? The search for this plesiosaur either subsides or begins with new force. This - mythical creature, allegedly living in a huge lake in Scotland. He is also affectionately called "Nessie". “You will never see Nessie in this weather,” the taxi driver tells me with a confident shake of his head. We are driving along a narrow road along the Scottish Loch Ness. It's too hot for him right now. He will sit in the depths, where it is cooler.

Maybe so, but I still gaze long and hard into the still waters of the lake. Others say that it is on such days that the smooth surface of the water begins to move and a creature (he or she) - huge, with a curved back like an upturned boat - rises briefly, and again dives into the depths: this is Nessie, the world's most famous underwater monster. On this moment more than a thousand witnesses claim to have seen it - or at least the waves it left behind as it plunged into the dark depths...

But Nessie is just one of many water monsters. From the misty shores of Scandinavia to the dense forests of the Congo and the North American prairies, almost every culture has its own Loch Ness monster. And in many cases, the prototypes of the legendary monsters are real fossils of marine reptiles that lived in the seas from two hundred and fifty to sixty-five million years ago.
Several times Nessie, presumably, managed to be photographed or detected by sonar, she most of all resembles a plesiosaur - a marine reptile with a long neck, which became extinct at the same time as land dinosaurs about sixty-five million years ago.

Scotland began to attract the attention of the public, especially people involved in unusual natural phenomena, as early as the sixth century AD. Having brought up in the minds of its citizens a wondrous legend about an unprecedented beast that lives at the bottom of the lake, the country has secured a huge flow of researchers and ordinary tourists who want to touch or at least look at this miracle of nature. Until now, it is not known for certain whether the monster actually exists.

The abbot of the Scottish monastery of Iona told the world about the terrible murder of a man. If you believe his "life", then the unfortunate man was killed by a marvelous river monster Nisag (as the Celts call their monster). Abbot Columba noticed that his students were interested in the incident, and decided to go down the river in a boat to see if the killer was Nisag. The boat sailed away from the shore, and a few moments later a beast swam out in front of the students, which brought them into a stupor and made everyone who sees it horrified.

For the beast to disappear into the abyss of water, Columba read a prayer and thereby saved everyone. Then the unprecedented creation was remembered in 1932. This is the official documentation. “A creature that looks like a crocodile, with a very small head and a long neck,” a certain Miss MacDonald described Nessie in this way, thereby starting an unofficial cycle of observations of the lake. After the publication of this material, more and more eyewitnesses almost instantly appeared, who described the creature in almost the same way as Miss MacDonald. .

Scientists approached this issue from a different angle, and in 1975 a group of enthusiasts, using sonar and photographic devices, explored the bottom. As a result of the latter, scientists received a picture in which there is something that looks like the fin of a huge fish. And already in 2003, the researchers of the international roughness BBC with the help of sound sonar explored the bottom of the lake (600 instruments), but did not find anything. Research in 2016 also found nothing. Of course, the scientific world is full of mysteries, but many believe that all the data was simply classified, and in fact, Nessie, an amazing monster with a small head and a huge body, exists.

The first mention of this monster dates back to the era of the Roman legionnaires. On paper, the case of a meeting with a creature is described as early as the 6th century AD. In his writings, the Irish monk described a strange creature that attacked the locals. After that, people for several centuries met with a monster. That animal, whose head looks like a horse, lured lonely travelers into the abyss, then a giant salamander overturned a ship with people in the lake ...

Nessie's popularity peaked at last century. In the 30s, the newspaper published a story of eyewitnesses who allegedly saw in the waters of the lake a huge black something with two humps and a small head. For several years, the editorial office was simply bombarded with messages about meetings with Nessie. In 1933 alone, dozens of tourists and locals allegedly saw it. It is noteworthy that none of them encountered the creature “face to face”, no one saw it up close.

The essence of the testimony can be reduced to the following: someone from the shore observed movement on the lake, saw a head or humps, heard loud splashes. And one married couple even saw how a sluggish animal of gigantic size crawled from the nearest undergrowth to the water (this was almost the only meeting with Nessie on the shore, no one else noticed that he was leaving the lake).

In 33, the very first famous photograph strange animal. The quality of the picture left much to be desired: everything was “smeared” and fuzzy. In the water was a large figure in the form latin letter"S". The picture was recognized by experts as genuine. However, it is impossible to say with certainty whether the captured object is alive, or whether it is just a big snag.

In 1934, the idea of capturing Nessie literally captured the naturalists. The parliament was then even asked for subsidies for research, but the request was rejected. And in the 60s, a certain Mr. Dinsdale filmed the movement of an unusually large object on the surface of the lake. For comparison, he also took a footprint on the water from his boat - these were two completely different tracks. In subsequent years, this video was considered the only material evidence of the existence of the Loch Ness monster. But already in the 20s, a group of experts found that a certain boat still left waves on the water (possibly different in size from the Dinsdale ship).

Thus, it can be concluded that the currently there is not a single photo-video or audio material that clearly demonstrates the existence of Nessie. All images are blurry, fuzzy, or unreliable (take, for example, the very first picture of the creature - it just shows a black hook made of water, which may be a simple snag).

Scientists give several arguments according to which the Loch Ness monster simply cannot exist:

The bottom of the lake was scanned several times. According to supporters of the existence of Nessie, there may be a huge crevice at the bottom of the lake, and maybe even a whole network of caves, where the creature is hiding to this day. But this year (2016), with the help of the most modern equipment, experts fully studied the relief of the reservoir and refuted the existence of caves or crevices - the bottom of the lake is flat. The waters themselves were also studied repeatedly, but nothing was found. That is, Nessie has absolutely nowhere to hide;
The reservoir is of glacial origin and for a long time was completely covered with ice. Not found yet Living being of sufficient size, able to survive without oxygen for several years;
The lake does not have the necessary biomass to feed such a large animal as the Loch Ness monster (regardless of whether it is herbivorous or carnivorous). Nessie, according to eyewitnesses, reaches a length of more than 15 meters. At the same time, it should weigh more than 20 tons, and food in the lake would be enough only for someone weighing no more than 2000 kg. Thus, the unfortunate monster would simply starve to death;
By the way, not a single fragment of the creature's body was found - no teeth, no remains, no scales, no claws;
Loch Ness is one of my favorite tourist spots: there are a dozen hotels and campsites on its shore, besides, the reservoir is navigable. For such a huge period of time, at least someone should have captured a rare curiosity (after all, the monster needs to emerge to take in air). And animals in general are not attracted by places busy with people. (with the exception of small animals that eat up food thrown out by a person, but Nessie is unlikely to be able to get out onto land to feast on an apple core forgotten by a careless tourist);
An interesting fact is that in the 30s of the last century a circus group was actively touring in Scotland. It included several elephants who love to bathe. When an elephant swims, only its trunk, head and rear end(neck with a head and two humps of Nessie captured in her first picture, respectively);
The first mention of the lake curiosity dates back to the end of the last millennium. The monster could very well be ancient marine dinosaur. That's just according to the calculations of scientists, such people lived especially on average up to a maximum of 300 years. And Nessie has already exceeded 2000 (provided that the animal in the waters of the lake was the same, although, as already indicated above, even one creature cannot feed there, not to mention a possible group);

Despite all the above points, there are still quite a lot of supporters of the existence of the Loch Ness monster in the world. But really, any technique is capable of malfunctioning, any experts are mistaken ...

And at the bottom of the reservoir there may be caves and crevices. Perhaps even leading to the ocean. And Nessie managed to get out of the hungry and cold captivity of the lake. It is likely that the monster might not have lived permanently in Scotland, but only swam there for some purpose.

The video is about Nessie.

Story

According to legend, the first to tell the world about mysterious creature in a distant Scottish lake, there were Roman legionnaires, sword in hand, mastering the Celtic expanses at the dawn of the Christian era. Local residents immortalized in stone all representatives of the Scottish fauna - from deer to mice. The only stone sculpture that the Romans could not identify was a strange image of a gigantic long-necked seal. The first written mention of a mysterious creature that lives in the waters of Loch Ness dates back to 565 AD. In the biography of Saint Columba, Abbot Jonah spoke of the saint's triumph over the "water beast" in the River Ness. The abbot of Columbus was then engaged in the conversion of the pagan Picts and Scots in his new monastery at west coast Scotland. One day he went to Loch Ness and saw that locals bury one of their people. He was maimed and killed while swimming in the lake. He was killed by Nisag (the Gaelic name for the monster). Local residents, armed with hooks to drive away the monster, dragged the body of the deceased to the shore. One of the saint's disciples frivolously threw himself into the water and swam across the narrow strait to bring the boat. When he sailed from the shore, "a strange-looking beast rose from the water, like a giant frog, only it was not a frog." Columba drove the monster away with a prayer. The geographic atlas for 1325 refers to " big fish with a snake neck and head" in Loch Ness. The next mention refers to 1527, when an angry dragon crushed oaks on the shore and maimed people. Then he seemed to calm down for a long time, but suddenly in 1880, with complete calm and clear sky on the lake turned over and went to the bottom along with people a small sailboat. They immediately remembered the monster, since there were people who saw it. This is the beginning of the legend of the Loch Ness monster. In the spring of 1933, the Inverness Courier newspaper published the first detailed account of the Mackay couple, who first encountered Nessie. In the same year, a road began to be built along the northern shore of the lake. Many people, cars appear on the deserted shores, the surroundings are resounding with explosions and the roar of engines. It is not known what owned the dragon more: irritation or curiosity, but it was at this time that he was seen especially often. A certain E. Mounter organized a network of observation posts around the lake. For 5 weeks the monster appeared 15 times. In 1943, military pilot B. Farrell reported to his superiors that, flying over the lake at an altitude of 250 yards, he clearly saw Nessie. But in those years, the British were not up to dragons. In 1951, a local forester and his friend saw the monster. On next year Mrs. Greta Finely and her son watched Nessie in the water near the shore. In 1957, Mrs. Constance White, who lived for many years on the shore of the lake, published the book "It's more than a legend" in which 117 eyewitness accounts of Nessie were collected. In all stories, the appearance of the animal was described in approximately the same way: a thick massive body, a long neck, a small head.

"Surgeon's Photograph"

Gradually, according to these descriptions, the image of some prehistoric creature that lives in the depths of the reservoir began to emerge in the public imagination. A year later, this image became a reality thanks to the so-called “surgeon photo” (Surgeon photo). Its author, London physician R. Kenneth Wilson, claimed to have filmed the monster by accident while traveling around the area birdwatching. It was determined that it was a fake made by Wilson and three accomplices. Two of Wilson's accomplices voluntarily confessed to their deed, and the first confession (in 1975) remained without public attention, since faith in the honesty of Dr. Wilson, who seemed to have no motive for deceit, was unshakable.

Shooting Dinsdale

The course of the boat, filmed by Dinsdale himself for comparison, numerous computer research, additional verification by Kodak specialists, and the very initial conclusion of JARIC serve as convincing evidence that there was no question of a trace left by the boat. - Professor Henry Bauer, Virginia Polytechnic, USA.

Sound scanning

Disappointed in the effectiveness of visual research, scientists turned to alternative search methods, in particular sound scanning. The first session of this kind was held in the mid-1950s, and work in this area has continued uninterrupted ever since. Thus, scientists learned a lot about Loch Ness, in particular, calculated total biomass in the lake - key factor, which is directly related to the possibility of the existence of a large creature here.

In addition, the study by sound revealed the existence of a strange effect in the lake (known as seich), which is capable of causing optical illusion. It's about about the sudden appearance of powerful short-term flows of water provoked by drastic changes atmospheric pressure. Such currents can drag large objects with them, which, moving against the wind, can create the illusion of moving forward "of their own free will."

But the same sonar scan revealed other, inexplicable facts. It was recognized that in the lake at great depths there are giant objects that can independently rise, fall and maneuver in the waters. The answer to the question of what these objects may be has not yet been received.

Nessiteras rhombopteryx

Film by Gordon Holmes

Pros and cons

The main argument of skeptics is that indisputable fact that the amount of biomass in the lake is not enough to support the life of a creature of the size that is attributed to the Loch Ness monster. Despite its huge size and abundance of water (brought here by seven rivers), Loch Ness has sparse flora and fauna. In the course of research conducted by the Loch Ness Project, dozens of species of living creatures have been identified. However, sound scanning showed that there is only 20 tons of biomass in the lake, which is enough to support the life of one living creature weighing no more than 2 tons. Calculations based on the study of plesiosaur fossils show that a 15-meter pangolin would weigh 25 tons. Adriant Shine believes that the search should not be one creature, but "a colony that would number from 15 to 30 individuals." In this case, all of them, in order to feed themselves, should be no more than 1.5 meters in length.

Professor Bauer, one of the main proponents of the reality of "Nessie", was not convinced by this argument.

Shooting Dinsdale convincingly proves that the lake - at least in the 60s - really lived a giant living creature. Moreover, I am convinced that it exists here - or existed - in singular. Something else remains unclear. All indications are that this creature needs oxygen to sustain life. But on the surface, it almost never appears. If we summarize the testimony of eyewitnesses who described a massive body with a hump, fins and a long neck, then the appearance of a modern plesiosaur looms. But the creatures that live in Loch Ness do not come to the surface and spend part of their lives at the bottom. This suggests that we are already dealing with a descendant of the plesiosaur, which has developed over time the ability to remain without air for a very long time." - Professor Henry Bauer, Virginia Polytechnic.

Proponents of the reality of "Nessie" refer to old legends, according to which there is a network of caves and tunnels at the bottom of the lake, which allow the monster to swim into the sea and return back. However, studies of the bottom and coasts indicate that the existence of such tunnels is unlikely here.

Versions

Most supporters of the existence of the monster considered it a relic plesiosaur, but in 70 years of observation, not a single animal corpse could be found. Doubts are also caused by the reports of the VI century about the observation of the animal. In addition, plesiosaurs were inhabitants of warm tropical seas, and the possibility of their existence in the cold waters of Loch Ness is highly doubtful. Hypotheses were also expressed about cryptids - animals unknown to science (a huge fish, a long-necked seal, a giant mollusk). Other versions of the origin of Nessie have been proposed that do not require the hypothesis of relic or unknown creatures to science.

Version 1

The scientist came to the conclusion that most of the reports about Nessie refer to subsequent years. It was at this time that traveling circuses stopped in the lake district on the way to Iverness. Clark believes that the first sightings and photographs of Nessie were taken from bathing and swimming elephants. When an elephant swims, it exposes its trunk to the surface. Also, two “humps” are visible on the surface of the water - the crown of the head and the top of the back of the elephant. The picture is very similar to the descriptions and photos of Nessie. And only then, as Clark believes, the manager of the circus group, Bertram Mills (obviously realizing that he was behind the observations of the monster) and proposed a large cash reward(₤20 thousand, or ₤1 million in modern money) to the one who catches Nessie for him. However, this version does not explain all cases of observation.

Version 2

According to the Italian seismologist Luigi Piccardi, a huge tectonic fault called the Great Glen runs along the bottom of the lake. Huge waves on the surface of the lake, as well as huge bubbles rising from its bottom, according to the Italian, are nothing more than the results of tectonic activity at the bottom of the lake. All this, according to Piccardi, can be accompanied by ejections of flames, characteristic sounds resembling a muffled roar, and also cause mild earthquakes, which are mistaken for a monster.

Version 3

One alternative explanation for this phenomenon is that the owners of hotels and other establishments located near the lake used ancient legend about the monster in order to attract tourists. To this end, "eyewitness accounts" and photographs were published in local newspapers, allegedly confirming their claims, and even dummies of Nessie were made.

Notes

Eyewitness Stories Encountered with the Loch Ness Monster

The Inverness Courier published an article in 1933 about the Mackay couple who saw the Loch Ness monster. In the same year, construction of a road began on the north bank. Appeared on the shore a large number of cars and people. It was at this time that Nessie began to be noticed especially often, apparently he was attracted or, conversely, disturbed by the noise.

Observation posts were established around the lake, as a result, the Loch Ness Monster was seen 15 times in 5 weeks. These publications caused a lot of noise and attracted everyone's attention.

In 1957, a local resident, White, published a book called "It's More Than a Legend" that contained 117 stories of people who encountered the monster. In all stories, Nessie's appearance is about the same: a huge body, a long neck and a small head.

In 1964, a relatively clear picture of the monster was taken, photographed by surgeon Kenneth Wilson, but in 1994 it was proved that the photo was a fake, and later the doctor's accomplices admitted this.

Back in 1964, Tim Dinsdale filmed the lake from above, and the footage shows a huge creature moving across the lake. Independent Experts the reconnaissance aeronautics center were able to establish the authenticity of the shooting. The shooting captures the movement of an animated object, the speed of which is 16 kilometers per hour.

For many years, this film has been the main evidence that Loch Ness is inhabited by unusual creature, but in 2005, these same experts changed their minds and stated that the foam trail on the water was not left by the Loch Ness monster, but by a boat that had sailed earlier.

Scientific research of the lake

Stories like this are hard to believe without support. scientific evidence. Back in the mid-50s, a sound scan of the lake was carried out, as a result of which 2 strange things were discovered.

On the lake, optical illusion can occur due to the formation of strong short-term flows of water, which occur due to changes in atmospheric pressure. These currents can move large objects that float against the wind and it seems that this is a living creature.

But at the same time was found strange fact- at the depth of the lake there are giant objects that can themselves rise, maneuver and sink to the bottom. It is still not clear what these objects are.

It seemed that all doubts were dispelled by the Air Force in 2003, who completely examined the lake and found nothing strange. But in 2007, amateur Gordon Holmes placed microphones in the water to study the signals coming from the depths. When he noticed movement in the water, he immediately turned on the video camera and captured how a huge dark object was swimming under the water. The body was under water, and the head sometimes rose to the surface, leaving a trail of foam behind it.

A few days later, these shootings appeared in various television programs. After researching the film, its authenticity was confirmed. The footage shows the creature, about 15 meters long, moving at a speed of 10 kilometers per hour. But this footage is also not true proof of the monster's existence. It is believed that it could be a huge worm or a log, or just a light illusion.

What can skeptics say?

Skeptics believe that there is not enough biomass in the lake for a creature with a body length of 15 meters to live and feed in it. During the sound scanning, it was determined that there are 20 tons of biomass in the lake, this amount is enough for the life of a living creature weighing no more than 2 tons. And when studying the fossil remains of the plesiosaur, it was found that these lizards weighed 25 tons.

Adriant Shine states that not one creature lives in the lake, but a colony of 15-30 individuals. The length of these individuals should be no more than 1.5 meters, then they can feed themselves.

And for Professor Bauer, such a theory seemed unconvincing, he is sure that thanks to the shooting of Dinsdale it is clear that back in the 60s there really was a huge creature in the lake, and it was in a single copy. It remains unclear that oxygen is needed for the life of this monster, but it appears extremely rarely on the surface. If we take into account the testimony of eyewitnesses, then this appearance coincides with appearance plesiosaur. But these creatures do not come to the surface, but spend a lot of time under water, which means that the descendants of the plesiosaur simply learned to live without air for a long time.

Local residents confirm the hypotheses about the real existence of the Loch Ness monster.

Different versions of the Loch Ness monster

There are 4 versions of unusual resident Loch Ness lakes:

Most people believe that a preserved plesiosaur lives at the bottom of this ancient lake, which has managed to adapt to stay at the bottom for a long time thanks to oxygen reserves.
Many eyewitnesses who saw the monster encountered him in 1930. And at this time, traveling circuses stopped on the shores of the lake. There were elephants in such circuses, and elephants love to swim, while they immerse their bodies in water and lift their trunks up. It was them that the locals noticed, because at dusk it is difficult to understand what exactly is floating in the lake.

Italian scientist Luigi Piccardi believes that there is a tectonic fault at the bottom of the lake, it is because of it that huge bubbles and waves arise. The scientist believes that because of the fault, flames can be thrown out, which are accompanied by sounds similar to a muffled roar.
This hoax could be created by hotel owners to attract tourists and increase prices for their services.

Does a monster live in Loch Ness? Of course, there are a lot of incomprehensible and unclear things here, but I would like to think that there are corners on our planet that have not been explored by people, where dinosaurs may have even survived.

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The legend of the existence of the Loch Ness monster still excites the imagination of ordinary people and curiosity among scientists. So far, the controversy has not subsided. Let's try to figure out what are the arguments for and against the existence of this mysterious animal that lives in old Scotland.

In the previous article, we analyzed in detail when and how the legend of the Loch Ness monster was born? And what Interesting Facts known about this legend.

Evidence "for" the existence of the Loch Ness Monster

Only a few photographs withstand serious criticism and can serve as arguments in favor of the existence of a strange monster.

Photograph by Tim Dinsdale

His photo shows a large long creature, hidden under water and leaving a characteristic foam trail when moving. It was made by an aeronaut engineer filming the lake from the air. Later, experts found that the picture is real, the speed of the floating creature is about 16 km / h.

Gordon Holmes video

In 2007, one amateur was doing research with echolocation and video. Upon receiving the signal, Gordon turned on the video and filmed a short video about the Loch Ness Monster. The video shows a large and dark object underwater. The body is completely hidden, but the head is sometimes shown above the water, leaving a wave trail on the surface. Scientists have found that the length of the creature is about 15 meters, and it swims at a speed of 10 km / h.

Evidence "against" the existence of the Loch Ness monster

There are many studies of the lake where the supposedly monster lives. They do not ambiguously say that there is no monster in fact.

Movie doll

In 2016, studies of the lake bottom were carried out, scientists tried to find out if there were underwater caves near the lake. During research, an underwater robot discovered a fake monster made in the late 70s for a movie about Sherlock Holmes. The model sank on set and was never recovered.

It turns out that all the most reliable pictures and videos could capture not a real animal, but just a mock-up, because it was made in full size and with jewelry accuracy. In addition, there are strong changeable currents in the lake, which could periodically raise a fake monster.

logs

A lot of massive logs rest at the bottom of the lake. Wood is a floating material, but after absorbing a lot of water, it becomes heavier and sinks to the bottom. There, it is completely covered with silt, as a result of a kind of “sealing” during decomposition, gases do not leave the log, but accumulate in the thickness of the tree. Over time, there are more of them, and the log becomes lighter. Therefore, they float to the surface, after swimming a little, then again sink to the bottom.

Biomass quantity

Biomass refers to all living creatures including plants. It has been established that the number of all fish, mammals and plants is not enough to feed an animal weighing more than 2 tons. But according to the images, the creature is massive, presumably weighing about 5 tons. In addition, at least 30-40 representatives of the ancient species are needed to continue the genus.

glacial period

If the creature is a representative of the ancient plesiosaurs, then it could not survive glacial period hundreds of thousands of years ago. Even now, Britain is too cold for a cold-blooded animal to exist. We also recall that the water in the lake is cloudy, which means that it is even colder at the bottom than at the surface.

Law of Probability

According to simple logic, an animal weighing several tons and in need of oxygen could not exist for a century and never fall into the camera lens. And if you imagine that there is not one creature, but whole population, then you should see them daily. In addition, full-scale studies of the entire lake bottom were carried out several times. And the result is just a few blurry, fuzzy pictures and recordings of something "like a monster."

Does the Loch Ness monster exist?

On the question of whether the ancient monster actually exists, many amateurs and experts disagree, but most agree on one version. According to her, strange animals only remotely resembling plesiosaurs once existed, since dinosaurs could not survive the ice age. The early British tribes just talked about them. But to XIX century all representatives died out, therefore modern research no longer produce any results.

See another one documentary about the Loch Ness monster from National Geographic

Scientists have finally come close to unraveling the nature of the legendary monster from Loch Ness. DNA analysis of 250 samples of water and biogenic sediments shows for the first time which representatives of the fauna live in the lake and which do not. No traces of a primitive reptile have been found in these waters, and there are also no sharks or sturgeons in the lake. But numerous traces of acne DNA are visible. According to researchers, Nessie may be a giant eel.

Nessie has been surfacing for over 1,500 years. It was then that the first information about the observations of some mysterious creatures in the Scottish Loch Ness. For the most part, this monster was described as a snake or creatures with a long neck. The same can be said about the few highly controversial photographs of this water monster.

The favorite among many hypotheses for decades was the plesiosaur - a primitive reptile. Further in a kind of popularity rating appeared big fish, such as sturgeon, catfish or the Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus).

However, despite an intensive search using underwater cameras, sonars and other modern means, no traces of any unusual or primitive creature were found in the lake.

At the current stage of the search for Nessie, modern genetics was used. Neil Gemmel of the University of Otag and his team collected 250 water and sediment samples from various locations in Loch Ness. The obtained DNA analyzes were compared with the nucleotide sequence of known organisms, whose genomes are stored in large genetic databases.

The results showed that Loch Ness contained the DNA of eleven fish species, three amphibians (Amphibia), 22 bird species and 19 mammal species. There are no genetic traces of the presence of a plesiosaur or any other primitive reptile at all.

“We can’t find any evidence of the existence of a creature that is even remotely related to them,” Gemmel says. “I think that our data do not support the plesiosaur hypothesis. Based on our DNA analysis, there are no sharks in Loch Ness. We also found no trace of sturgeon or catfish DNA."

Nevertheless, Nessie is not a figment of idle fantasy. Researchers in the analysis of DNA found an unusual feature: Loch Ness is teeming with eels. Their DNA was found at almost every point where samples were taken. This indicates that the lake may have a population of unusually large eels. The scientific name of the eel is Anguilla, derived from the Latin word anguis, which means "snake".

"While we can't determine their size from our data, the sheer amount of genetic material suggests that we can't rule out the possibility that there are giant eels in Loch Ness," says Gemmel.

It's not a sensation. Back in the 1930s, scientists speculated that Nessie might be a giant eel. The elongated body, thin "neck" and partly winding swimming path of the water monster were quite suitable for such a fish. Some divers have seen eels in the lake that were as thick as a human thigh. Other divers have encountered a creature four meters long.

Biologists do not know whether there is an exaggeration in their stories or not, but there is a possibility that large eels are indeed found in Loch Ness. Mutation and the isolation of Loch Ness, where a population of giant eels could well grow, contribute quite well to this.

Interestingly, DNA analysis revealed the presence of temporary "visitors" to Loch Ness. In addition to a host of bacteria, fish, and other waterfowl, a surprising amount of land animal DNA signatures have been found. "We found a significant amount of human DNA, as well as dogs, sheep and large cattle", Gemmel admits. Along with this, the genetic material of wild representatives of the fauna was found: deer, badgers, foxes, rabbits and many species of birds.