The Creature Chronicle "The Lock Ness Monster" The Loch Ness Monster, or “Nessie” as the locals call the elusive cryptid, is one of the big three of cryptozoology, along with Bigfoot and the Yeti. Nessie’s origins seem to date back to the 6th century. Saint Columbia, upon seeing a large creature swim toward a man in the river Ness, made a sign of the cross and commanded, “Go no further. Do not touch the man, go back at once.” The creature immediately fled the area leaving the man safe. The creature came to the world’s attention on July 22, 1933 when two eyewitnesses reported seeing a strange animal about move across a road surrounding the loch. They described the creature as about 4 feet high and 25 feet long with a long narrow neck. Since 1933 there have been more than 3,000 documented sightings of the creature. The creature has been described as having two humps, a tail and a snake-like head. The creature lives in Loch Ness which is around 22 ½ miles long and between 1 ½ miles wide with a depth of 754 feet. Eyewitness sightings and numerous movies and videos of the creature abound, but to date no physical evidence such as bones, skin or tissue has been collected. There have been numerous attempts to use sonar to prove the existence of Nessie. In 1954, the boat Rival 3 saw a large image 480 feet below their boat; that kept pace with the boat for a mile and a half before the signal was lost and between 1967-1968 The Loch Ness Phenomena Investigation Bureau set up a sonar transducer under the depths of Loch Ness. The device acted as an acoustic net across the width of Loch Ness and revealed the passing of several moving objects 20 feet in length. Operation Deep Scan has been the largest and most intense sonar search for the existence of the Loch Ness Monster. The trials started in October of 1986 using ten boats fitted with sonar units. Bad weather and heavy winds hampered the effort and plans were shut down until the following year. In October of 1987, the largest sonar sweep started with over 250 newspapers and television crews watching and waiting for their findings. Nineteen boats started the sweep of the loch and three strong sonar contacts were made that day. The leader of the project Adrian Shrine stated that in his opinion all three targets were unlike those which could be expected in the loch such as eels or salmon. Exactly what is the Loch Ness Monster? The most popular theory is that it could be a surviving Plesiosaur (a supposedly extinct long-necked reptile). The Plesiosaur, however, is believed to have gone extinct 65.5 million years ago and Loch Ness is only 10,000 years old. Some other explanations offered is it could be a long-necked seal or possibly a large amphibian such as the long-necked newt. Most skeptics would say that the Loch Ness Monster is nothing more than mere legend. They believe that these sightings easily explained by waves in the loch or floating logs or just plain hoaxes. Whatever Nessie is, fact or fiction, one thing is for sure, the Loch Ness Monster will always hold a special place in my memory, a memory of youth, a memory of wonder and yes, perhaps, the possibility of a legend becoming fact. If you or someone you know has seen something that you cannot explain, contact Brian at (724)777-4803 or Fred at (304)723-8212. Email us at: the_creature_chronicles@yahoo or at The Creature Chronicles, P.O. Box 3031, Weirton, West Virginia 26062
Posted on: Wed, 02 Oct 2013 19:41:31 +0000
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