Creatures, Myths & Legends

Top scientist was sacked over Nessie sighting

By T.K. Randall
April 20, 2015 ·  12 comments

The eminent scientist claimed he'd seen an Elasmosaurus in Loch Ness. Image Credit: CC 2.0 Dave Conner An eminent zoologist and eel expert, Dr. Tucker was a respected scientist who climbed to the position of the museum's principal scientific officer within the space of only eight years.

In 1959 however his career suffered an unrelenting downward turn following his insistance that he had witnessed an unknown creature in the waters of Scotland's Loch Ness, a claim that would prove highly popular among the general public but extremely controversial among his peers at the museum.

At the time Dr. Tucker had concluded that the creature must have been an Elasmosaurus, a large plesiosaur with a long neck that was thought to have gone extinct over 80 million years ago.

"I am quite satisfied that we have in Loch Ness one of the most exciting and important findings of British zoology today," he wrote in a letter to New Scientist.His obsessive interest in the phenomenon however did not go down well with his fellow scientists who deemed the topic to be inappropriate for someone working at such a prestigious museum.

The controversy continued to escalate until in 1960 he was fired by director Dr. Morrison-Scott. Tucker fought back with a high-profile lawsuit that even went as far as the Court of Appeal, but in the end he failed to achieve victory over his employers and his plight faded in to obscurity.

What he had actually seen in the loch that day in 1959 however continues to remain a mystery.

Source: Market Business News | Comments (12)

Tags: Loch Ness Monster