It was a story destined for headlines: a lone beast lurking in the waters of a picturesque Scottish loch.
Was it a crocodile, a fish, or even a dinosaur? No one knew for sure, although many dismissed the Loch Ness Monster as an exceptionally large eel.
Now a scientist claims he has debunked the ‘eel hypothesis’ completely, with a new theory adding to the decades-old mystery.
While Nessie is commonly believed to have been around a meter long, a new analysis shows that there is only a one in 50,000 chance of finding an eel of this size.
“In this new work from the Popular Zoological Society, a much-needed level of scientific rigor and data is brought to a subject that is otherwise as slippery as an eel,” said author Floe Foxon.
Sturgeon Photograph: For 60 years, this celebrated photograph of a long-necked creature helped keep the legend of the Loch Ness Monster afloat.
WHAT IS STURGEON PHOTOGRAPHY?
In 1934, The Daily Mail published a photograph by Lieutenant Colonel Robert Kenneth Wilson of what appeared to be a Loch Ness Monster sighting.
For 60 years ago, this celebrated photograph of a long-necked creature helped keep the legend of the Loch Ness Monster afloat.
It became known as the ‘Sturgeon Photograph’ as Lieutenant Wilson was a Harley Street gynecologist.
However, this photograph was actually of a modified toy submarine.
It is now alleged that it was part of a plot to perpetuate the monster myth that began as a joke.
“Contrary to popular conception, the intersection between folklore and zoology is amenable to scientific analysis and has the potential to provide valuable information on anthrozoological phenomena.
‘This paper also makes the case for open access science and non-traditional publishing: the future of scientific publishing.’
As part of Foxon’s analysis, freshwater data was collected not only from Loch Ness, but also from a variety of other freshwater bodies across Europe.
This encompassed the size of 129 eels caught between 1970 and 1971, nearly 40 years after the infamous black-and-white photograph of Nessie was taken.
While the ‘Surgeon Photograph’ is widely known as a hoax, estimates suggest that the monster in this image was between 0.6 and 2.4 meters long.
Foxon acknowledges that it is not impossible that a meter-long eel could have existed in the lake.
For example, a 1.05 meter long eel was found in another lake by scientists from the Institute of Agrifood and Biosciences.
However, she claims it It would take a Scottish eel nearly 30 years to reach the point of one meter, provided it grew at an unrealistically constant rate.
And to reach twenty feet in length, an eel would need to grow rapidly for almost 200 years, an age close to that of the longest-lived fish: the Greenland shark.
The new research provides groundbreaking evidence that contrasts with the beliefs of previous studies, including one published by the University of Otago in New Zealand in 2019.
For generations, Ms Foxon has believed there is a slim chance that a three-foot eel may have existed in the lake at some point. As an example, she points to a 1.05-meter eel, found in another Scottish loch by scientists from the Institute of Agri-Food and Biosciences.
Ms Foxon’s study looked at the size of eels caught between 1970 and 1971, almost 40 years after the infamous black and white photograph of Nessie was taken (European eel pictured)
The scientist affirms that finding an eel of more than one meter is practically impossible
The latest study believes that Nessie may actually be a ‘wave freak’, the ‘occasional stray mammal’ or something else.
While geneticist Professor Neil Gemmell was unable to verify their size, he said the possibility of ‘giant eels in Loch Ness’ could not be ruled out.
Scottish freshwater loch southwest of Inverness
He also added that Greenland catfish and shark may be the cause of the previous Nessie sightings, but this raised uncertainty.
Although Mrs. Foxon acknowledges that Nessie may have been an eel, she stated that it “wasn’t very big”.
Instead, it is believed that Nessie may have been a ‘wave freak’, the ‘occasional stray mammal’ or something else.
“Although one (unverified) European eel reportedly lived to the great age of 155, that specimen did not grow to any noticeable size because eel growth is nonlinear and slows at later ages,” Foxon said.
“Furthermore, the ‘breaking’ behavior attributed to the unknown Loch Ness animals (swimming up and out of the water) is not characteristic behavior for eels during migration or otherwise, especially as such behavior would represent unnecessary energy expenditure in a cold environment with relatively little food.
Could be an eel, but not very big.
What IS the Loch Ness Monster?
Rumors of a strange creature living in the waters of Loch Ness have abounded for decades, but little evidence has been found to support these claims.
One of the first sightings, believed to have fueled modern Nessie fever, occurred on May 2, 1933.
On this date the Inverness Courier carried a story about a local couple who claim to have seen “a huge animal rolling and diving to 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 contestants, Chris Spurling, who, on his deathbed, revealed that the footage was staged.
Other sightings James Gray’s photo from 2001 when he and his friend Peter Levings were fishing on the loch, while Hugh Gray’s namesake 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 possibly the most famous image of the Loch Ness Monster. The surgeon’s photograph was published in the Daily Mail on April 21, 1934.
The first reported sighting of the monster is said to have been made in the year 565 by the Irish missionary Saint Columba when he encountered a giant beast in the River Ness.
But no one has found a satisfactory explanation for the sightings, although in 2019 ‘Nessie expert’ Steve Feltham, who has spent 24 years observing the lake, said he thought it was actually a giant Wels catfish, native to the waters near the Baltic and Caspian seas in Europe.
An online log lists more than 1,000 Nessie sightings in total, created 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 mentioned large, crocodile-like scutes sitting on the creature’s spine, leading some to believe that an escaped amphibian may be to blame.
Native fish sturgeons can also weigh several hundred pounds and have rough backs, making them appear almost reptilian.
Some believe that Nessie is a long-necked plesiosaur, like an elasmosaur, that somehow survived when all other dinosaurs were wiped out.
Others say the sightings are due to Scotch pines dying and falling into the loch, before quickly becoming soggy and sinking.
While submerged, the botanical chemicals begin to trap tiny air bubbles.
Eventually enough of these gather to propel the trunk upward as deep pressures begin to alter its shape, giving the appearance of an airborne animal.
