After years of people dismissing the Loch Ness monster as nothing more than a myth, scientists have made a discovery which suggests the creature could actually be real.
This will of course be excellent news for all those who have spent their lives trying to convince the world the monster really is lurking in the depths of waters in the Scottish Highlands.
I have a feeling there’s going to be a lot of exclamations of ‘I told you so!’ as a result of this revelation, as well as an increase in hunting missions.
Loch Ness monster hunter Steve Feltham will certainly be intrigued:
The discovery came as a result of a major scientific study of Loch Ness in which researchers travelled the length of the loch and took water samples from three different depths.
According to the Mirror, the scientists collected DNA left behind in the skin, scales, feathers, fur and faeces of creatures at the loch and sent samples to labs in New Zealand, Australia, Denmark, and France to be analysed.
Although the full details of what they found are yet to be released, Professor Neil Gemmell of the University of Otago, New Zealand, described the results as ‘surprising’.
GettyGemmell, who is an expert in genomics, ecology, population, conservation and evolutionary biology, hinted one of the four popular theories about the mysterious creature might be correct.
There has been a lot of speculation about Nessie over the years, but popular theories include the monster being a long-necked plesiosauria which survived the period when dinosaurs became extinct, or it not being a monster at all, and actually being a sturgeon or giant catfish living in the loch.
Some excitement is emerging from the press around #lochnesshunters. It is a year since we went to Loch Ness to sample its waters, and while our analyses have taken longer than expected we will finish soon. Announcement of results at Loch Ness likely in early September 2019. https://t.co/Z82yvdDTpm
— Neil Gemmell (@ProfGemmell) June 3, 2019
Speaking of the findings, the professor said:
Is there anything deeply mysterious? Hmm. It depends what you believe. Is there anything startling? There are a few things that are a bit surprising.
What we’ll have achieved is what we set out to do, which is document the biodiversity of Loch Ness in some level of detail.
We’ve tested each one of the main monster hypotheses and three of them we can probably say aren’t right and one of them might be.
Admittedly, a ‘surprising’ finding might just be the discovery of an unexpected fish living in the loch or something along those lines, but Gemmell specifically said one of the ‘monster’ hypotheses could be correct, so I think the Nessie believers have reason to get their hopes up.
The professor added he hopes full details of the study will be released this year, so it won’t be long before these ‘surprising’ findings are revealed!
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.