Two mysterious ‘humps’ are spotted prowling the shallows of Loch Ness – as Nessie hunter claims they ‘could not be anything but the monster’
Rumors of a strange creature living in the waters of Loch Ness have abounded in recent decades, but little evidence has been found to substantiate these claims.
One of the first sightings, believed to have sparked modern Nessie fever, occurred on May 2, 1933.
On this date the Inverness Courier carried a story about a local couple who claimed to have seen ‘an enormous animal rolling and plunging on the surface’.
Another famous sighting is a photograph taken in 1934 by Colonel Robert Kenneth Wilson.
It was later exposed as a hoax by one of the participants, Chris Spurling, who revealed on his deathbed that the photos had been staged.
Other sightings include James Gray’s 2001 photo when he and friend Peter Levings were fishing on the Loch, while namesake Hugh Gray’s blurry photo of what appears to be a large sea creature was published in the Daily Express in 1933.
Robert Kenneth Wilson, a London doctor, captured perhaps the most famous image of the Loch Ness Monster. The surgeon’s photo was published in the Daily Mail on April 21, 1934, but it was later revealed to be a fake.
The first reported sighting of the monster is said to have been made in 565 AD by the Irish missionary St. Columba, when he encountered a gigantic beast in the River Ness.
But no one has ever come up with a satisfactory explanation for the sightings – although ‘Nessie expert’ Steve Feltham, who has been watching the Loch for 24 years, said in 2019 that he thought it was actually a giant Welsh catfish, native to waters near the Baltic and Caspian Seas in Europe.
An online register lists a total of more than 1,000 Nessie sightings made by Mr Campbell, the man behind the official Loch Ness Monster Fan Club, and is available at www.lochnesssightings.com.
So what could explain these mysterious observations?
Many Nessie witnesses have reported large, crocodile-like scales sitting atop the creature’s spine, leading some to believe that an escaped amphibian could be the culprit.
Native fish sturgeons can also weigh hundreds of pounds and have ridged backs, giving them an almost reptilian appearance.
Some believe Nessie is a long-necked plesiosaur – like an elasmosaur – who somehow survived when all other dinosaurs were wiped out.
Others say the sightings are related to Scotch pines dying and flopping into the lake, before quickly becoming submerged and sinking.
While underwater, botanical chemicals begin to trap small air bubbles.
Eventually enough of these are collected to propel the block upwards, while deep pressure begins to change its shape, making it look like an animal is coming up for air.