Nessie hunter spots mysterious black humps emerging from Loch Ness
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 a huge animal roll onto the surface and crash’.
Another famous claimed sighting is a photograph taken in 1934 by Colonel Robert Kenneth Wilson.
It was later exposed as a hoax by one of the contestants, Chris Spurling, who revealed on his deathbed that the photos were 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 featured in the Daily Express in 1933 published.
Robert Kenneth Wilson, a London doctor, captured perhaps the most famous photo of the Loch Ness Monster. The surgeon’s photo, which turned out to be a hoax, was published in the Daily Mail on April 21, 1934
The first reported sighting of the monster is said to have been made in AD565 by the Irish missionary St. Columba when he encountered a giant beast in the River Ness.
But no one has ever come up with a satisfactory explanation for the sightings – although in 2019 ‘Nessie expert’ Steve Feltham, who has watched the Loch for 24 years, said he thought it was actually a giant Welsh Catfish, originating from waters near the Baltic Sea and Caspian Sea in Europe.
An online registry lists over 1,000 total 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 sightings?
Many Nessie witnesses have reported large, crocodile-like scales sitting atop the creature’s spine, leading some to believe an escaped amphibian is to blame.
Native fish sturgeons can also weigh several hundred pounds and have ribbed backs, giving them an almost reptilian appearance.
Some believe that Nessie is a long-necked plesiosaur — like an elasmosaurus — that somehow survived when all other dinosaurs were wiped out.
Others say the sightings are due to Scots pines dying off and falling into the lake, before quickly submerging and sinking.
Under water, botanical chemicals begin to trap tiny air bubbles.
Eventually, enough of them are collected to propel the tree trunk upward, as deep pressure begins to change its shape, making it look like an animal is coming for air.