Loch Ness Monster: Dispelling the myths

One of the most famous Cryptids in history, the Loch Ness Monster, has intrigued both the general public and experts alike for decades. Loch Ness is the largest freshwater lake in the UK, at over 24 miles long and containing more water than all the other lakes in the rest of the British Isles combined. It is an enigmatic place, made more so by the considerable number of sightings over the years of what people describe as a large creature in the Loch. These descriptions vary, from a long snake like animal with humps, to a long-necked dinosaur like creature resembling a Plesiosaur. The aim of this article is to try and dispel some of the most common misconceptions regarding the Loch Ness Monster. It is not intended however at dispelling the idea that an unknown creature exists in Loch Ness, that determination will be left up to you.

Myth: Nessie is a solitary animal, one of a kindIf the Loch Ness Monster exists, it cannot be alone. Any species requires a viable population in order to survive, a single animal could not have survived alone in the Loch for all this time, and sightings date back hundreds of years.

Myth: Nessie was trapped in the Loch since prehistoric timesDuring the last ice age, Scotland was totally covered by a giant glacier. No large animal could survive being frozen in ice for thousands of years, if the Loch Ness Monster exists it certainly didn't get there this way.

Myth: Nessie hides in a series of underground caverns beneath the LochNo maze of underground caverns have ever been found. In a recent BBC documentary about Loch Ness it was revealed that the type of rock which makes up the sides of the Loch is a type in which caves should not be able to form. It is highly unlikely that there is a large maze of caves under the Loch.

Myth: Nessie is a PlesiosaurThis is a common theory put forward to explain what type of creature the Loch Ness Monster could be. The main problem with this idea is that Plesiosaurs breath air. If there was one in Loch Ness it would have to come to the surface every few minutes to breath. The frequency of sightings does not support this, if it were surfacing as much as this then it would be very easy to see on a regular basis. There's also the small problem that Plesiosaurs apparantly became extinct millions of years ago, and if by some miracle some have survived to the present day there would need to be a sizable population of them. Such a population of large air-breathing sea creatures would not have gone unnoticed.

Myth: In 1934, a surgeon took the most convincing ever photograph of the monsterColonel Robert Wilson did indeed claim to have photographed the creature in 1934. His photograph was the most convincing ever of the monster, and remained so until quite recently. In 1993 however,it was revealed that the object in the water was actually a plastic head mounted on the top of a toy submarine. He certainly took the photograph, but what it shows is not the Loch Ness Monster.Will any of this stop people believing in the Loch Ness Monster ? Of course not, because whether or not it exists the legend of Nessie is world famous, and no matter what the skeptics say it won't stop the next visitor from glancing out over the Loch to see if they can catch a glimpse of that elusive creature.