2023-08-25 10:04:00
On August 26 and 27, 2023, an unprecedented operation to search for the Loch Ness monster will take place on Loch Ness. The main hope for drones with infrared cameras installed on them is that if Nessie really exists, then, like any other living being, it should radiate heat. A hydrophone will also be used – it can pick up all the underwater noise. Well, hundreds of volunteers from all over the world will watch the search from the shore.
“This is an organized surveillance of Loch Ness, and it’s great,” Steve Feltham shared his joy with the German news agency dpa. A 60-year-old man has been looking for this monster for half his life. As a child, he spent holidays on the lake, periodically came here as an adult, and eventually sold his house in the south of England, quit his job and devoted himself entirely to Nessie. He lives in a trailer by the lake, does not part with his binoculars, and even got into the Guinness Book of Records as the person who has been looking for this mysterious creature the longest. “I’m the world champion of not finding Nessie,” he joked in an interview with dpa. But there is hope: “The more eyes on the water, the better,” concludes Feltham, looking forward to meeting his dream.
Legendary Monster
This large-scale research operation is organized by the Scottish Loch Ness Interactive Center in the town of Drumnadrochit, located on the western shore of the lake, and the Loch Ness Exploration volunteer research group. Everyone intends to finally debunk the myth or confirm the existence of a huge creature that lives in Loch Ness and got its name from the name of the reservoir.
Surprisingly, the first mention of Nessie dates back to 565 AD. According to legend, the Irish monk and missionary Saint Columbus from Iona met the water monster. One of the apocrypha tells how a monk saved a man who was attacked by this creature. “Columba signed himself with the sign of the cross and called on the name of God, commanding the wild beast:” Not a meter further! Don’t touch him! Get away immediately!” And hearing the words of the saint, the animal ran away in fear, as if it had been pulled out of there with the help of ropes, although it was very close to the person.
Nessie may be a descendant of a dinosaur. Most imagine this mysterious creature as such. Photo: Silvia Kusidlo/dpa/picture alliance
They also say that a thousand years ago, three men could become a victim of Nessie. Otherwise, it behaves exceptionally peacefully – diligently avoids showing itself to anyone. If it exists.
But what if some incredible animal really has been living in close proximity with people for many years? And maybe it is smart enough to hide from the hunters this time in the bowels of the lake, the depth of which reaches 230 meters? Researchers are close to a clue. But today, only one thing can be said with certainty – reports that someone saw Nessie with their own eyes and attacked the trail of a 20-meter humpbacked monster appeared in the last century with enviable frequency.
Looking for a sensation
The history of Nessie in the media began 90 years ago. One April evening in 1933, Oldie McKay, manager of the Drumnadrochit Hotel, where Loch Ness Center is today, burst into the bar with a sensational message – she had just seen something black, wet and terrible on the shore. The Scottish regional newspaper Inverness Courier gratefully picked up the story of the mysterious creature, and it spread like wildfire. Numerous reporters came from London, and one of the circuses even offered a reward of 20 thousand pounds for the capture of the monster. The reaction of the impressionable public was not long in coming – the story of one motorcyclist was passed from mouth to mouth, allegedly right in front of which the monster crossed the road, moving with the help of fins and carrying a sheep in its mouth. As soon as it reached the lake, it disappeared under water. And around the world since then, Nessie mania has begun.
Who seeks will find?
On April 19, 1934, the tabloid Daily Mail published the first photograph of Nessie. The picture, allegedly taken by a famous London doctor, has gone down in history as the “surgeon’s photograph”. It depicts a small head on a long neck – something very similar to a primitive plesiosaur. Double sensation! On the one hand, evidence of the existence of the Loch Ness Monster has been found. On the other hand, no one doubted the authenticity of the picture.
In fact, everything was not as it seemed at first sight. This almost detective story was hyped by the Daily Mail newspaper. She hired big game hunter Marmaduke Weatherell to find the monster no matter what. And he did it: he instructed his stepson Christian Spurling – an experienced model maker – to design a “monster”. It really came from a toy submarine with a long plastic neck attached to it with a small head. The doctor who allegedly took the photo that made the noise gladly took part in the scam – and the picture taken by a “random” passerby was very convincing. Only 60 years later, the circumstances of this fraud came to light.
The search never stopped
However, this “exposure of the century” did not stop the further search for Nessie. Again and again, new photographs appeared, the authenticity of which was checked in the laboratories of the British Defense Museum and the American Aerospace Agency NASA, which practically ruled out the possibility of manipulation.
The last high-profile “return of Nessie” was in 2002. Then the same British newspaper Daily Mail published a series of photographs with a characteristic long neck sticking out above the water. They were made by 63-year-old pensioner Roy Johnston: “The first thought that visited me was an elephant. What I saw looked like a trunk.” However, the pensioner immediately came to his senses, they say, where can bathing elephants come from in Scotland? Then he decided that it was Nessie …
In 1972, the reservoir was carefully surveyed under the leadership of the Bureau of Investigation of Loch Ness – they tried to prove the existence of this historical creature. But, alas, to no avail.
Steve Feltham – “world champion for not finding Nessie”Photo: Benedikt von Imhoff/dpa/picture alliance
In 1987, an attempt was made to solve the mystery using sonar boats. During Operation Deep Scan, 24 ships passed in a line across the entire width of the lake, scanning the bottom of the lake. Several times the instruments reacted strongly to large objects, but Nessie was not among them. In 2019, an international team of scientists attempted to catalog all species found in Loch Ness by extracting DNA from water samples. They came to the conclusion that no particularly large species of animals or mammals live in the lake, the creatures they saw could most likely be giant eels.
Nessie: a seal, a deer or just a fantasy?
There are many suggestions about what kind of creature could actually be perceived as Nessie. The Greenland shark was discussed, and the catfish, and even the primitive lizard. Skeptics’ options are seals, jumping fish, waterfowl, swimming deer, logs, or reflections in the water. But despite all the explanations and research, enthusiastic fans cannot resist searching for the legendary monster even in the 21st century. “We are the custodians of this unique history and we strive not only to provide an unforgettable experience for visitors, but also to uncover the secrets that lurk in the waters of the famous lake,” Paul Nixon, managing director of the Loch Ness Center, told the press.
If you really manage to find Nessie, then you don’t have to worry about the well-being of this creature – back in 1934, the Scottish Parliament put it on the list of wildlife protection. At the same time, the Guinness brewery appointed a prize for the preservation of the monster for future generations in the amount of 500 thousand pounds.
And yet, the August full-scale action to search for the Loch Ness Monster is perceived by many as a marketing ploy, because Nessie attracts millions of tourists to Scotland. And, apparently, in spite of everything, the Loch Ness monster will forever remain the mystery of this lake.
For those unable to participate in the search in person, the Loch Ness Center has activated on its webcam siteso that the whole world can watch as the mystery of the Loch Ness Monster is revealed.
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