This is the most famous Loch Ness Monster photo in existence. Taken in 1934, it wasn’t officially shown to be a hoax for another sixty years. Turns out, someone purchased a toy submarine and added a putty head to create this image. Much evidence has been put forth to suggest that there is not a prehistoric creature in the ancient lake, but the idea persists. In particular, the notion that the Loch Ness Monster is some sort of a plesiosaur (a marine beast from Mesozoic Era, 252-66 million years ago) has held a lot of traction by the pro-Nessie folks. A few months ago, a team of international scientists spearheaded by the University of Otago, New Zealand, put a new damper on the story. After taking 250 water samples from the lake, they looked at the DNA. No big dinosaur or suchlike evidence emerged. No shark or sturgeon, either. However, eels did come up in a high proportion of the DNA samples. Maybe Nessie was a giant eel?
Source(s): BBC, “Loch Ness Monster may be a giant eel, say scientists,” 5 Sept, 2019. NBC News, Yuliya Talmazan, Sept 5, 2019, “New study suggests Loch Ness Monster may be a giant eel.
