Creatures, Myths & Legends

Veteran Nessie hunter offers his best explanation for the monster

By T.K. Randall
January 18, 2026 ·  24 comments

Image: AI-generated (Midjourney) There are few cryptozoological enigmas as well known as Nessie - the nickname for a large aquatic dinosaur-like creature said to lurk in the gloomy depths of Scotland's most voluminous loch.

Despite sightings dating back centuries, the precise identity of the creature (or creatures) in the loch has never been determined, resulting in a mystery that endures to the present day.

One man who has spent most of his life looking for answers is Adrian Shine - a naturalist who moved from England to the Scottish Highlands in 1973 due to the lure of the Loch Ness Monster mystery.

In 1987, he headed up a major sonar exploration of the loch which saw multiple boats scan the water for signs of any large or inexplicable shapes lurking beneath the surface.

Sadly, his team didn't find anything, but the mystery still remained.Today, after a lifetime of searching, Shine maintains that many sightings of the Loch Ness Monster can perhaps be best explained by way of an optical illusion caused by boat wakes.

"When a vessel is coming towards you, it is obvious what the wake is - you see it spreading out from the sides of the vessel approaching you, or indeed going away from you," he said.

"But if it's going across your front, it's quite different - you see the individual wave train, the individual wavelengths, as solid black humps."

"They will be short and many for a vessel moving slowly, and they will be longer and fewer as the vessel gathers speed."

"The wave lines can be almost continuous, and it is a fascinating illusion."

"It is very compelling."

Source: Lad Bible | Comments (24)

Tags: Loch Ness Monster