Lochness latest posts. Loch Ness monster - a surviving plesiosaur or a hoax

Every year there is a huge amount of evidence that animals unknown in nature appear in different parts of the world, but these creatures have not been studied and have no scientific confirmation. These include the mysterious monster that lives in Loch Ness.

What is the Loch Ness monster?

According to legend, in Scotland, in Loch Ness, a monster lives, which is a huge black snake. From time to time, different fragments of his body appear on the surface of the lake. They tried to catch Nessie many times, but it is clear that the results are zero. They also explored the bottom of the lake to find where such a huge creature could hide. At the same time, pictures were taken using special automatic equipment, in which a large animal was seen, and they turned out to be genuine.

Where does the Loch Ness monster live?

Scotland is known for its beautiful nature, green meadows and huge reservoirs. Many are interested in where the Loch Ness Monster lives, and so, according to legends, it lives in a huge deep and freshwater lake, which is located 37 km from the city of Inverness. It is located in a geological fault and has a length of 37 km, but the maximum depth reaches 230 m. The water in the reservoir is muddy, because it contains a lot of peat. Loch Ness and the Loch Ness Monster are a local attraction that attracts a huge number of tourists.

What does the Loch Ness monster look like?

Numerous testimonies describing the appearance of an unknown animal have one thing in common - its external signs. The Loch Ness monster Nessie is described as a dinosaur with a huge long neck. He has a massive body, and instead of legs there are several flippers that he needs for fast swimming. Its length is approximately 15 m, but the weight is 25 tons. The Lochness monster has several theories of origin:

There is a version that this creature is an unknown species of seals, fish or shellfish.
In 2005, N. Clark put forward a version that Nessie is a bathing layer, in which part of the back and a raised trunk are visible above the water.
L. Piccardi believes that the monster is a consequence that arise as a result of the action of gases that appear due to seismic activity.
Skeptics will assure that there is no Nessie, and people just saw the trunks of the Scottish pine, which, being in the water, then rise, then fall down.

Does the Loch Ness monster exist?

Paleontologists claim that among the numerous videos and photos of evidence, you can find specimens that really have a right to exist. Scientists continue to discover new species of huge marine animals, so the monster of Loch Ness may be such a discovery.

One of the most realistic versions regarding the place of residence of the creature is the underground arteries of the reservoir.
Esotericists believe that the Loch Ness monster is an otherworldly entity that passes through astral tunnels.
Another version, which some scientists adhere to, indicates that Nessie is a surviving plesiosaur, based on the similarity in appearance.

Evidence for the Loch Ness Monster

Over the years, a huge amount of evidence has accumulated from ordinary people who claim to have seen strange things on Loch Ness. Many of them are the result of wild imagination, but some have interested the public.

In 1933, the press described the story of the Mackay couple, who confirmed that the Loch Ness monster existed. In the same year, a road began to be built near the reservoir, and it began to appear to people more and more often, apparently reacting to noise. Established observation points recorded the monster 15 times in 5 weeks.
In 1957, the book "This is more than a legend" was published, which describes 117 stories of people who saw an unknown animal.
In 1964, Tim Dinsdale filmed the lake from above, and he was able to capture a creature of enormous size. Experts confirmed the authenticity of the shooting, and the Loch Ness monster was moving at a speed of 16 km / h. In 2005, the operators themselves said that it was just a trail left by a passing boat.

Legend of the Loch Ness Monster

For the first time, the existence of an unknown creature was talked about in ancient times, when Christianity began to emerge. According to legend, the Roman legionnaires were the first to tell the world about the monster from Lochness. In those days, all representatives of the fauna of Scotland were immortalized by the locals on stone. Among the drawings was one unidentified animal - a huge seal with a long neck. There are other legends in which its unusual inhabitant also appears.

Loch Ness monster - interesting facts

A lot of different information is associated with a mystical creature, which has arisen due to the popularity of this topic. Interesting facts about the Loch Ness Monster have been verified by scientists.

Loch Ness about 110 thousand years ago was completely covered with thick ice sheet, and so science does not know animals that could survive in such conditions. Some scientists believe that the lake has underground tunnels in the sea and Nessie could have been saved thanks to this.
The researchers determined that there is a seiche effect in the reservoir - these are underwater currents invisible to the human eye, which are able to change pressure, wind and seismic phenomena. They can drag large objects with them, and people think they are moving on their own.

Address: UK, Scotland, Highland area
Square: 56 km²
Maximum depth: 230 m
Coordinates: 57°18"00.0"N 4°27"00.0"W

Almost every person first of all associates Loch Ness with a huge monster that lives (or does not live) in its depths.

Naturally, this is not surprising, because the first legends and eyewitness stories about this most mysterious reservoir in the world and the prehistoric monster living in it date back to the year 565. In addition to the mystery surrounding the lake, Loch Ness is also the largest storage reservoir in the whole of the UK. fresh water. The area of Loch Ness Lake is just over 65 square kilometers, and its depth exceeds 230 meters..

Loch Ness, even if we discard for a while all the myths and legends about the monster, photos and stories of people who saw a living dinosaur, which, of course, deserve attention and which should definitely be stopped a little lower, is unique in itself. The thing is that most of the lakes are reservoirs that formed in a certain period and eventually turn into swamps, the exceptions are Loch Ness and Baikal lakes.

Loch Ness is not "closed", which is the type of most lakes in the world. This reservoir, the water surface of which shimmers like a diamond in the sun, is located almost 40 kilometers from the Scottish town of Inverness, is constantly replenished by the waters of the Moriston River. In addition, the lake gives rise to the Ness River, therefore, for more than 300 million years, a reservoir surrounded on all sides by mountains and picturesque forests, remains in its original form.

By and large, the lake is part of the canal, which is called the Caledonian and which connects two sea coasts Scotland. It is this feature of the lake that allows numerous researchers to put forward a version that the legendary Loch Ness monster has the ability to migrate and is not constantly located in a huge reservoir. There are even versions that not one, but several prehistoric animals come to Loch Ness at once to reproduce offspring in it. However, all opinions should be considered in more detail, because some of them really deserve attention and are accepted by modern experts as undeniable.

According to geologists, Loch Ness appeared at the time ice age, as a result of the displacement of rocks: its length is currently about 37 kilometers, and its width is more than one and a half. Scottish body of water, along with its medieval castles is one of the most visited places in Scotland: according to statistics, every year more than half a million people from all over the world come to the lake.

View of Urquhart Castle with the lake in the background

Most of them are attracted by "Nessie", this is how the lake monster is affectionately called, but there are those who do not believe in legends and visit the lake with only one purpose - to enjoy magnificent landscapes and virgin nature. By the way, it is these tourists who do not try to see manifestations of dinosaur activity on the mirror of the lake, and often become witnesses of its appearance.

Loch Ness monster - myths, legends and facts

As already mentioned at the very beginning of the material, it is the monster of Loch Ness that attracts a huge number of travelers and numerous research groups, which, by the way, include the most authoritative paleontologists, geologists and ichthyologists. The first written mention of the Loch Ness monster dates back to the year 565. True, in those distant times, the appearance of a monster was attributed to the manifestation of evil forces. People from a small village sent a fisherman on a boat on his last journey, on whom the "fiend" attacked. St. Columbus approached the funeral procession (of course, not the one who discovered America) and asked the people: “Why do you bury such young man? He was told that while the fisherman was in the boat, a monster jumped out of the water and killed a man. The boat with the body of the deceased has already set sail from the shore.

Saint Columbus, who was convinced that a demon had committed the murder, asked one of his devoted disciples to return the boat to inspect the corpse. The young guy, without hesitation, rushed to Loch Ness and swam after the boat, immediately the disgusting muzzle of the monster appeared out of the water and wanted to bite the daredevil in half with sharp teeth. Saint Columbus offered up a prayer to God and ordered the creature to return back to the abyss. The words spoken to the saints had an effect: the monster hid in the muddy waters.

This legend, by the way, is found in the chronicles of Abbot Jon, who most devoted his life to describing the exploits of St. Columbus. Naturally, it is not possible to verify the authenticity of this legend in our time, but the very fact that the monster of Loch Ness was mentioned so long ago undoubtedly deserves attention. This is the first written description of "Nessie", but there is even earlier! The ancient Romans BC, in search of land suitable for development, found a magnificent lake. On the stones they depicted many animals that live in this area, by the way, they were not too lazy to draw even a mouse. There is only one drawing that does not fit into the "general picture" - this is an image of a huge monster with a long neck, which reminds modern paleontologists ... a plesiosaur.

From 565 until the beginning of the 19th century, there is no more mention of the monster from Loch Ness.. After a road was built near the largest lake in Scotland, the prehistoric monster began to appear with enviable regularity. He was constantly seen by the workers, locals and tourists who come to admire untouched nature Scotland. Surprisingly, from 1933 to the present day, the monster has been seen more than 5,000 times! In 1937, there was even a rumor that the baby “Nessie” constantly floats to the surface in the lake.

After the road was built and eyewitness accounts of the appearance of the Loch Ness monster began to constantly flicker on the front pages of newspapers, the Scottish government in 1934 even officially considered the issue of capturing Nessie. True, there were more skeptics in parliament at that time, and they decided to dismiss this issue as insignificant and not worthy of attention.

Already in 1943, information appeared that an English pilot flying a fighter over Loch Ness saw a prehistoric monster "slowly cutting through the still surface of the lake." Naturally, in those days, although they paid attention to this fact, there was simply no one to do research at the height of the Second World War.

If you now ask a person who has never even been to Scotland the question: “What does the Loch Ness monster look like?”, - the description will turn out to be approximately the same: “a huge torso, large flippers, an unnaturally long neck and a“ button head ””. Where did this description come from? The answer to this question is given by one well-known paleontologist, who, by the way, is skeptical about the existence of a living plesiosaur. He claims that such a description of the monster spread around the world with a book written by Constance White called "It's more than a legend!". The writer, who received a good fee for publishing the book, simply collected in it the stories of 117 people who allegedly saw and even took a photo of the monster of Loch Ness. In this book, for the most part, Nessie is described as a fat lizard with flippers, a long neck and a small head with sharp teeth.

So does the Loch Ness monster exist? Or is this another legend that has appeared to attract a huge number of tourists to Scotland? At the moment, none of the authoritative experts dare to give an answer to this question. True, there is an aerial shot that allegedly proves the existence of a living creature of enormous size in Loch Ness: it was taken by Tim Dinsdale.

A huge number of examinations proved that this was not a fake, and at the time of shooting, a “living creature” was indeed floating on the lake at a speed of just over 16 kilometers per hour. All other photos were found to be fake or have not yet been subjected to a thorough analysis.

Loch Ness is a draw for tourists and scientists these days

Modern scientists continue numerous studies of Loch Ness, however, muddy water, due to the huge amount of peat suspension in it, interferes with high-quality video filming underwater world. But ultrasound studies gave a stunning result: according to him, in the lake on great depth Huge objects really move, which either fall, or rise, or sharply change their direction. Of course, this cannot be proof of the existence of the Loch Ness monster. After all, these "objects" can be logs that have sunk and move at depth due to many currents.

Since 2007, the number of tourists who dream of seeing Nessie in person has increased several times at once. The thing is that this year a popular science film was released, and it showed the shooting of Tim Dinsdale and the new witness Gordon Holmes! Holmes managed to once again film a living monster, the length of which, according to the conclusion of the examination, reached 15 meters.

This shooting was also recognized as genuine, and the monster behaved more actively on it: it dived, sharply turned its small head, and sometimes calmly swam at a speed of about 10 kilometers per hour.

The world's most popular Internet search engine, Google, added fuel to the fire. To be extremely precise, then one of its services, on which you can view almost any point on our planet from a satellite. It turned out that the satellite captured in the lake ... the same "Nessie"! The prehistoric monster, with a multiple increase, appeared in all its glory: flippers, a huge torso and a long neck.

Today, as mentioned above, half a million tourists come to Loch Ness every year, and this is not counting research groups. Naturally, all these people bring huge income to the country, so if the myth of the Loch Ness monster is debunked, tourism profits will plummet. Probably, it is for this reason, as skeptics often like to say, from time to time that “another indisputable evidence” of the presence of a monster in the lake appears. They give their arguments, which, by the way, are quite difficult to challenge. Even if a plesiosaur would live in the lake, it would not be alone. And a whole group of prehistoric lizards, for sure, would have already been discovered. In addition, Loch Ness is not able to feed even one reptile, not to mention the whole family.

Loch Ness monster, or Nessie is an amazing water creature that, according to legends and eyewitness observations, lives in a large deep lake Lochness located in Scotland.

The mystery of the Loch Ness monster has been worrying the world for hundreds of years

The name "Loch Ness Monster" was coined by Evan Barron, the paper's local editor. If you believe the most common theory, then this monster is the marine reptile Plesiosaur, which existed in the era of dinosaurs and has survived to this day. Most scientists believe that a single creature cannot live at the bottom of the lake, a whole family must live there, otherwise it will die over time. Some argue that the Loch Ness monster is only a figment of people's imagination.

Lake Lochness- it's huge deep depression in the earth's crust, located in the highlands of Scotland and surrounded by steep cliffs 610 meters high. Since ancient times, this lake has been considered gloomy and mysterious. It is located in an unattractive and hard-to-reach place for a person.

Picturesque Loch Ness paradise for Nessie

Loch Ness was formed at the end of the ice age, ten thousand years ago. Its depth is 300 meters, the length is more than 38.5 kilometers, and the water in it is pitch black. The bottom of the lake has an area of about 57 square kilometers. This lake is one of three big lakes that feed the Great Valley. A huge rift in the Valley separates northern scotland from another part of the British Isle. Loch Ness is Britain's largest source of fresh water and the third largest in Europe.

The legend of the mysterious Loch Ness monster Nessie
The history of the Loch Ness monster Nessie dates back to the birth of Christianity. According to legend, the Roman legionnaires were the first to tell the world about the mysterious creature that lives in the Scottish lake. It was they who at the beginning of the Christian era, with a sword in their hands, mastered the Celtic expanses. All representatives of the Scottish fauna from the mouse to the deer were immortalized by the locals on stone. The only image that the Romans failed to recognize was a strange representation of a seal with a long neck and enormous size.

There are many legends about Nessie. But there is also documentary evidence of eyewitnesses

For the first time, a written mention of a mysterious monster that lives in the Scottish lake Lochness was made in the 6th century AD. The abbot of the Iona monastery in Scotland, in the biography of St. Columba, spoke of the saint's triumph over the "water beast" in the River Ness. At that time, the abbot of Columbus, in his new monastery, located at west coast Scotland, engaged in the appeal to the faith of the pagan Scots and Picts. As the life says, one day Columba went to the lake and saw the funeral. It was the locals who buried one of their people, maimed and killed while swimming in the lake. It was believed that Nisag, the Celtic name for the mysterious monster, killed him. Armed with hooks to scare away the creature, the locals dragged the body of the deceased to the shore. To bring the boat in, one of the saint's pupils jumped into the water without hesitation. When he sailed from the shore of the lake towards the narrow strait, “a strange-looking beast rose out of the water, like a giant frog, only it was not a frog.” With the help of a prayer, Columba drove away the mysterious monster.

After that, the Loch Ness monster calmed down for a long time, but unexpectedly in 1880, with a clear sky and complete calm, a small sailboat capsized on the lake, after which, together with people, it went to the bottom. There were eyewitnesses who allegedly saw the Loch Ness monster.

Such was the beginning of the legend of the Loch Ness monster. In those days of this mysterious monster represented as an evil water or hellish creature with a horse's head, a water serpent. These creatures, according to legend, lived in the coastal waters and lakes of Scotland and Scandinavia.

Ancient Scottish folklore is replete with tales of fearsome horse-like water monsters attacking people near the shore, called kelpies. The locals living today near Lochness Lake still remember how they were forbidden to swim in this lake because of the kelpies in their childhood.

Ten years later, after the remains of a mysterious marine reptile were discovered in England in 1719, Nessie began to attribute the image of the Plesiosaurus.

Origin theories for the Loch Ness monster

An unknown Loch Ness monster is a dinosaur that became extinct millions of years ago - a plesiosaur. This is the most common version of the origin of the mysterious monster Nessie. According to supporters of this theory, the plesiosaurus fell into the trap after the land rose as a result of tectonic movement, and part of the prehistoric sea formed into a lake. However, the probability that one individual can live at least a few centuries is rather small. In this regard, the population of the mysterious monster must number several dozen individuals in order to be able to reproduce. In addition, such a population needed a large amount of food for subsistence, Loch Ness is small for such purposes, and it is unlikely that it can feed so many plesiosaurs.

The mysterious Loch Ness monster is a species of giant fish, long-necked seal or mollusk unknown to science.

The Loch Ness monster Nessie is a bathing elephant. This hypothesis was put forward in 2005 by Neil Clark, a British doctor and curator of the Glasgow University Museum. For two years, Clark studied materials related to the mysterious monster. His research showed that the number of encounters with the monster increased dramatically when tent circuses stopped near the lake. Part of the back and the high trunk of a floating elephant were perceived by the locals as the Loch Ness monster.

The mysterious monster Nessie is nothing more than visions that occur under the influence of a hallucinogenic gas. This theory belongs to a seismologist from Italy, Luigi Piccardi. The scientist specializes in looking for connections between mythical creatures and geological phenomena. According to him, it is not by chance that Loch Ness is located on a huge crack in the earth's crust that crosses British Isles. This fault contributes to the formation of small but frequent earthquakes. characteristic feature of these tremors is the release of gases from the bowels of the earth that can cause hallucinations in people. However, the theory cannot explain why all eyewitnesses describe the mysterious monsters in the same way.

It is possible that the Loch Ness monster Nessie is an example of a fairly long-term and very competent marketing campaign. Thousands of tourists visit the Loch Ness area every year, which in turn brings in a lot of money. local authorities. It is possible that all the information about the Loch Ness creature is falsified materials that are being made so that the hype does not disappear and people continue to come.

There are other theories that are more like science fiction.

Scientific description of the Loch Ness monster

The monster has a neck of three meters in length, which rises to a height of two meters above the water. Its body is six and a half meters, and its tail is three meters. While the Loch Ness Monster swims, its neck is tilted 30 degrees. The exact number of humps is unknown, as opinions differ on their number. Half of the witnesses claim that the creature has three humps, of which the middle hump is the largest and is a meter high. According to a quarter of witnesses, the back of the animal is smooth. Skin color also does not have an exact description. According to various opinions, the skin varies from brown to light gray, like an elephant. From observations, it can be noted that a mysterious creature rises to the surface of the water most often in the morning.

It is also assumed that the Nessie monster feeds exclusively on aquatic vegetation and fish, and therefore it does not need to go ashore often. Vision mysterious monster poorly developed, but this disadvantage is compensated by a well-developed sense of smell. The monster's respiratory organ is the gills. That is why the version that the monster comes to land is practically excluded.

According to the descriptions of eyewitnesses and the assumptions of scientific archaeologists, the Loch Ness monster can be attributed to a detachment of reptiles that existed from the Triassic to the Cretaceous era. This is approximately 199.6 - 65.5 million years ago. Such animals felt pretty good in the water and were perfectly adapted to living in such conditions. However, the mysterious monster, like all mammals, had to come to the surface to replenish oxygen.

Testimonies of real eyewitnesses who observed the Loch Ness monster

In the spring of 1933, correspondent Alex Campbell published an article in the Inverness Courier newspaper, “A sensational phenomenon on Loch Ness. What could it be?”, in which he described in detail the story of John McKay and his wife. The article was about how the McKays, while walking along the lake, noticed a strange animal, which they called a monster. Readers were excited by this case, and Alex Campbell began a systematic observation of the lake. He saw the monster 18 times. Most clearly, Campbell managed to see the Loch Ness monster in 1934, when the neck, head and hump of the mysterious creature were two hundred meters from the shore. In the same year for north coast lakes began to create a road. For a better view of the largest freshwater reservoir in Britain, bushes and trees were cut down. A large number of people and cars appeared on the deserted shores, and the roar of engines pierced the neighborhood. After that, the creature was noticed especially often, perhaps this was due to his curiosity, and maybe irritation. Mr. E. Mounter organized a network of observation posts around Loch Ness. Within five weeks, the monster was seen 15 times.

Two months after the incident with the McKay couple, the Loch Ness monster was spotted by a road construction team. According to them, the monster surfaced behind the stern of a passing ship in the middle of the lake. According to the descriptions, the strange monster has a rather massive and large body and a huge head.

In August of the same year, three eyewitnesses were confused by the presence of waves on a usually quiet lake. After that, several humps arranged in a row began to rise to the surface of the water and again go under the water. Their movement was undulating and was like a caterpillar.

The question of the existence of the Loch Ness monster was put on the agenda of the Scottish Parliament. It was proposed to catch the animal. However, this idea was rejected, and more and more scientists began to repeat about the lack of evidence for the existence of such a mysterious animal.

In 1943, military pilot B. Farrell reported to the leadership that during the flight at an altitude of 230 meters above the lake, he clearly saw Nessie. But the British in those years were not up to monsters.

At the end of July in 1935, the Spencer couple in the early morning while driving a car along the road between the villages of Foyers Dores were surprised when they saw a mysterious creature across the road, heading towards the lake. According to Mr. Spencer and his wife, the creature waddled rapidly towards the water, its neck was thin and long, and its body was heavy and shapeless.

This case suggests that the Loch Ness monster lives not only in water, but also comes out on land. This is also evidenced by 7 recorded cases when the monster was seen on land.

One of the local residents once heard a crack in the forest thicket on the shore, after which she saw a creature crawling into the water. According to her, it was a huge carcass that moved like a caterpillar. His skin was shiny like an elephant's, and he had two round-shaped feet in front of him. It entered the water clumsily, waddling from one foot to the other.

In 1951, the Loch Ness monster was observed by a local forester with a friend, and the next year after that, local residents saw a mysterious creature in the water near the shore.

Having lived most of her life on the lakeshore, Mrs. Constance White published a book in 1957 called "It's more than a legend." In it, she collected about 120 eyewitness accounts of the Loch Ness monster. The appearance of the monster in all the stories was described in much the same way: a long neck, a massive thick body and a small head.

Over the next fifty years, more than three thousand eyewitnesses quite seriously claimed to have seen the Loch Ness monster. It is unlikely that so many people could be wrong.

Photo evidence of the Loch Ness Monster

Some time after the McKay story, photographers began to appear at the lake. The first photograph of the Loch Ness monster appeared in 1933. It was made by Hugh Gray, who, returning home from the church along the lake, witnessed "some massive object" floating to the surface. Four frames that Gray took were corrupted, but on the fifth one, some mysterious creature was clearly visible. The authenticity of the negative was officially confirmed by Kodak.

In 1937, Robert Wilson, a London surgeon, also managed to capture the monster on film, the picture from which was published in all the newspapers of the world. His photograph amazed everyone: a small head on a thin neck, resembling a snake's head, rose above the surface of the water. The picture also showed the monster's fin.

A reward was assigned for the capture of the monster, after which the researchers began to push the search for the mysterious monster with a material incentive, and not just scientific interest.

Throughout the summer, Frank Searle, who is a demobilized soldier, spent twenty hours a day by the lake with a camera in his hands. He conducted continuous monitoring of the lake from an uninhabited shore and a rubber boat. And on December 21, 1972, the Loch Ness monster finally showed up two hundred and thirty meters from the boat. On its supple neck, the monster lifted its head and for twenty seconds examined Searle's rubber boat with intense interest. After that, the monster, having plunged into the water, swam under the boat, and surfaced on the other side of it. The observer had another thirty seconds to photograph the animal.

In the summer of 2009, a British resident claimed to have seen the mysterious creature while browsing through satellite photographs on the internet. The photo really shows something that vaguely resembles a large marine animal with a tail and two paws. Professor Adrian Schein even called the photographs "really intriguing" and noted that they deserve further study. However, as was later reported, the picture shows only a boat that regularly tours the lake.

A scientific approach to finding the Loch Ness monster

Scientists who are interested in unusual phenomenon, plowed the lake up and down, using sonar, radar and echo sounders. The researchers believed that if the monster was scared away, it would come to the surface. To this end, they carried out explosions on the lake. Even a small submarine was lowered into the lake. However, the rather low light permeability of the dark waters of the lake hampered her work.

A little later, special underwater searchlights equipped with cameras and microphones were installed in the lake. The idea behind this was the following. If the microphones pick up the noise of an animal moving under water, then the searchlights are instantly turned on, in the light of which the passing monster is captured by cameras.

In this way, in 1972, the first photographs were taken, which did not cause delight, since a rather fuzzy and indefinite body was recorded on the film.

Scientists have analyzed given fact, came to the conclusion that the Loch Ness monster moves in the water, making a minimum of noise, and therefore, the microphone could not turn on the recording device in time. Therefore, the filming plan was changed. Every 75 seconds, automatic photographs began to be taken, while fixing everything that fell into the frame. It was in this way that sensational pictures of the monster's head and body were obtained. These two photographs became the basis for convening a symposium on the Loch Ness phenomenon. The photographs were presented to specialists and the public on December 10, 1975, which clearly showed that the body of the monster was puffy, its head had two horn-like thickenings on a long neck, and the back right fin was diamond-shaped.

Scottish folklore is filled with centuries of legends about monsters that live in dark depths lake Lochness. However, even now, research using modern sophisticated technology is not able to determine whether Nessie and similar creatures are fiction or reality.

Despite this, eyewitness reports do not stop coming from all over the world, and over the years the mystery of the Loch Ness monster has grown incredible amount details. A lot of documentary evidence, underwater video footage, echo sounder recordings, photographs of varying reliability have been presented over the decades. However, at the same time, there are a huge number of fakes. Research will continue further, and perhaps the mystery of the strange creature will soon be solved.

Very interesting scientific documentary about the Loch Ness Monster, filmed by Philippe Cousteau, is posted below - watch this fascinating and informative video about Nessie from Loch Ness.

Story

According to legend, the first to tell the world about a mysterious creature in a distant Scottish lake were Roman legionnaires, who, with a sword in their hands, mastered 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, which 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. Columbus' abbot was then busy converting pagan Picts and Scots at his new monastery off the west coast of Scotland. One day he went to Loch Ness and saw that the locals were burying 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 a clear sky, a small sailboat turned over on the lake and went to the bottom along with people. 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 published the first detailed story the Mackay couple, who came face to face with 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. The following year, Mrs. Greta Finely and her son observed Nessie in the water close to 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 appearance the animal was described in much 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 studies, additional verification by Kodak specialists, and the very initial conclusion of JARIC serve as convincing evidence that there could be no question of a trail 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, they calculated the total amount of biomass in the lake - a key factor that is directly related to the possibility of a large creature living 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. We are talking about the sudden occurrence of powerful short-term flows of water, provoked by sharp changes in 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 remains the 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 enormous 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 the 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.

Supporters of the Nessie reality refer to ancient legends, according to which there is a network of caves and tunnels at the bottom of the lake that 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, according to Clarke, the manager of the circus group, Bertram Mills (obviously realizing that he was behind the observations of the monster) offered a large cash reward (₤20 thousand, or ₤1 million in modern money) to the one who would catch 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

What is the name of the Loch Ness monster?

The ancient Celts called the monster that lives in the Scottish lake by the rude name of Nisag. And now his affectionate name is Nessie. This name is short for Loch Ness.

Loch Ness monster. Photo by Robert Wilson, 1934. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

Loch Ness monster seen over 400 years ago

The first written mention of a mysterious creature that lives in the waters of Loch Ness dates back to the 6th century AD. The biography of St. Columba speaks of his meeting with the "water beast".

In the life of Columba it is written that one day the saint went to Loch Ness and saw the funeral of a local resident who was killed by a certain lake monster

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, Nisag rose from the water. Columba drove the monster away with a prayer.

Nessie is considered a giant sturgeon or dinosaur

Some researchers claim that Nessie is a huge sturgeon. Others insist that the monster is a plesiosaur. However, scientists consider both of these versions untenable. The fact is that the sturgeon cannot grow to such giant size, and a prehistoric reptile in a Scottish lake would starve to death very soon. There is only about 20 tons of biomass in Loch Ness, which is extremely small for a 15-meter lizard that weighed more than 25 tons.

Depiction of a plesiosaur by Heinrich Harder. Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

Loch Ness has been covered in ice for thousands of years

Loch Ness, like all of Scotland, was covered by a solid ice sheet during the last ice age, which began about 110 thousand years ago and ended around 9700-9600 BC. e.

Science does not know large animals that can survive in such conditions. However, some experts suggest that the lake has access to the sea through the system underground tunnels, which could be used by the monster.

Bathing elephants may have been mistaken for the Loch Ness Monster

In 2005 British paleontologist Neil Clark compared photographs of the Loch Ness monster with the tour schedule of traveling circuses on the way to Inverness. And he came to the conclusion that the locals did not see prehistoric dinosaurs, but bathing elephants.

A swimming elephant can indeed be mistaken for a monster. Only the trunk, crown and upper back of the animal are visible on the surface. This is how eyewitnesses described Nessie - a long-necked something with two humps.

The Scots wanted to protect Nessie from the British

In 1933, the British planned to find and kill the Loch Ness Monster, and put its carcass on public display at the Natural History Museum in the British capital. However, Nessie has already become the subject of Scottish national pride. Therefore, the mere thought that a stuffed animal could be exhibited in London infuriated the inhabitants of the region. Therefore, the Scots demanded that laws be passed that would protect the monster. However, this did not come to pass.

Is the Loch Ness monster just an optical illusion?

Researchers have identified the existence of a seiche effect in Loch Ness. These are underwater currents invisible to the eye, which can be caused by changes in atmospheric pressure, wind, and seismic phenomena.

Currents carry large objects with them. Observers may have the illusion that objects are floating on their own.