The biggest search for the Loch Ness Monster in five decades got underway in the Scottish Highlands on Saturday (Aug 26), as researchers and enthusiasts from around the world braved pelting rain to try to track down the elusive Nessie.
The expedition deployed drones with thermal scanners, boats with infrared cameras and an underwater hydrophone to try to unravel a mystery that has captivated the world for generations.
“There’s not a corner of the globe you can go to where people haven’t heard of Nessie, but it is still one of our biggest questions – what is the Loch Ness Monster,” said Paul Nixon, general manager of the Loch Ness Centre told AFP.
“I don’t know what it is. All I know is that there is a big something in Loch Ness. I have seen sonar scans of objects the size of transit vans underneath the water moving.”
Tatiana Yeboah, 21, a tourist from France, whose visit coincided with the search, said it had been a lifelong dream to visit Loch Ness.
“It could be myth, it could be real – I like to believe it is something halfway in between,” Yeboah said.
Yeboah said she would keep her eyes firmly on the loch during her visit, just to make sure she didn’t miss anything.
The searchers believe the thermal scanners could prove crucial in identifying any strange anomalies in the murky depths.
HUNDRED OF SIGHTINGS
The hydrophone will allow the searchers to listen for unusual Nessie-like underwater calls.
Stretching 36km and with a maximum depth of 240m, the freshwater loch is the UK’s largest lake by volume.
Reports of an aquatic monster lurking in Loch Ness date back to ancient times, with stone carvings in the area depicting a mysterious beast with flippers.
The earliest written record of the creature dates back to AD 565 in a biography of the Irish monk, Saint Columba.
According to the text, the monster attacked a swimmer and was about to strike again when Columba commanded it to retreat.
Source: CNA
