The Loch Ness Monster is one of Scotland's oldest and most enduring myths. It inspires books, TV shows and films, and sustains a major tourism industry around its home. The story of the monster can be traced back 1, years when Irish missionary St Columba is said to have encountered a beast in the River Ness in AD. Later, in the s, The Inverness Courier reported the first modern sighting of Nessie.
In , the newspaper's Fort Augustus correspondent, Alec Campbell, reported a sighting by Aldie Mackay of what she believed to be Nessie. Mr Campbell's report described a whale-like creature and the loch's water "cascading and churning". The editor at the time, Evan Barron, suggested the beast be described as a "monster", kick starting the modern myth of the Loch Ness Monster.
In , highly respected British surgeon, Colonel Robert Wilson, claimed he took a photograph of the monster while driving along the northern shore of Loch Ness. Known as the "Surgeon's Photograph", 60 years later it was confirmed as a hoax hatched in revenge after a newspaper ridiculed journalist Marmaduke Wetherell for finding "Nessie footprints" on the shore.
The "monster" caught on camera was apparently a toy submarine bought from Woolworths, with a head fashioned from wood putty. The hoaxers then gave the photo to Wilson, a friend who enjoyed a good practical joke.
Explanations for the monster offered in the past include it being swimming circus elephants. In his research of Nessie, Glasgow-based palaeontologist Neil Clark found fairs and circuses were a common occurrence in the Inverness area, particularly from the early s. He said elephants may have been allowed to swim in the loch while the travelling carnivals stopped to give the animals a rest. Another theory is that large fallen branches floating in the loch are the cause of monster sightings.
Steve Feltham, who is recognised by the Guinness Book of Records for the longest continuous monster hunting vigil of Loch Ness, is not convinced the scientists have yet identified the creature behind the sightings.
Mr Feltham, who made childhood visits to the Highlands and moved from Dorset almost 30 years ago to look for Nessie, said the research had not ruled out other animals such as seals being mistaken for the monster.
The presence of eels in the the loch was no big surprise, he added. He added: "A year-old boy could tell you there are eels in Loch Ness. I caught eels in the loch when I was a year-old boy. Gary Campbell, keeper of a register of Nessie sightings, receives on average 10 reports a year of something unexplained being spotted in the loch's waters. He welcomed the latest research and hoped more scientists will examine what lives in Loch Ness. The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit.
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Storytelling is the cultural practice of sharing stories with others. There are many forms of storytelling—oral, digital, and written—and the medium used is often reflective of the people telling the stories. Each group has specific tales they tell and many serve a purpose such as entertainment, cultural preservation, or instilling moral values.
The modern legend of the Loch Ness Monster is born when a sighting makes local news on May 2, After the April sighting was reported in the newspaper on May 2, interest steadily grew, especially after another couple claimed to have seen the animal on land.
Amateur investigators have for decades kept an almost constant vigil, and in the s several British universities launched sonar expeditions to the lake. Nothing conclusive was found, but in each expedition the sonar operators detected some type of large, moving underwater objects. In , another expedition combined sonar and underwater photography in Loch Ness.
A photo resulted that, after enhancement, appeared to show what vaguely resembled the giant flipper of an aquatic animal. Further sonar expeditions in the s and s resulted in more inconclusive readings. Revelations in that the famous photo was a complete hoax has only slightly dampened the enthusiasm of tourists and investigators for the legendary beast of Loch Ness.
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