Scotland: Loch Ness Begins Biggest Monster Hunt In 50 Years Here's All You Need To Know

(MENAFN- Live Mint) "The biggest search for the Loch Ness Monster in five decades takes place in the Scottish Highlands on Saturday. Mystery-hunters converged on a Scottish lake on 26 August to hunt for signs of the mythical Loch Ness Monster. Researchers and enthusiasts from around the world meet to try to track down the elusive Nessie.The Loch Ness Center said researchers would try to seek evidence of Nessie using thermal-imaging drones, infrared cameras, hydrophone to detect underwater sounds in the lake's murky waters. As per the searchers, the thermal scanners could prove crucial in identifying any strange anomalies in the murky depths while the hydrophone will allow the searchers to listen any unusual Nessie-like underwater calls.This two-day event is being billed as the biggest survey of the lake in 50 years.
\"It's always been our goal to record, study and analyse all manner of natural behaviour and phenomena that may be more challenging to explain,\" said Alan McKenna, of co-organisers Loch Ness Exploration told AFP.McKenna told BBC radio that the searchers were“looking for breaks in the surface and asking volunteers to record all manner of natural behavior on the loch. Not every ripple or wave is a beastie. Some of those can be explained, but there are a handful that cannot,” he said as quoted by AP.The freshwater loch is the UK's largest lake by volume stretching 23 miles which is 36 kilometres with a maximum depth of 788 feet which is 240 metres.Top points to know-The Loch Ness Center is located at the former Drumnadrochit Hotel, where the modern-day Nessie legend began.
-Earlier in 1933, manager Aldie Mackay had reported spotting a“water beast” in the mountain-fringed loch which is the largest body of freshwater by volume in the United Kingdom.-The story kicked off an enduring worldwide fascination with finding the elusive monster, spawning hoaxes and hundreds of eyewitness accounts.
-Many theories have been put forward over these year, some also said that the creature could be a prehistoric marine reptile, giant eels, a sturgeon or even an escaped cirelephant.-Meanwhile, reports of an aquatic monster lurking in Loch Ness also date back to ancient times, with stone carvings in the area depicting a mysteribeast 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, AFP has reported.-In May 1933, the local Inverness Courier newspaper had reported that a couple driving along a newly constructed lochside road seeing \"a tremendupheaval\" in the water. \"There, the creature disported itself, rolling and plunging for fully a minute, its body resembling that of a whale, and the water cascading and churning like a simmering cauldron,\" the report said.-In December 1933, British newspaper The Daily Mail had recruited a South African big game hunter, Marmaduke Wetherell, to locate the sea serpent. During that time, Wetherell had found large footprints that he believed belonged to \"a very powerful soft-footed animal about 20 feet long\".-However, the zoologists at London's Natural History Museum determined that the tracks were made with an umbrella stand or ashtray that had a hippopotaleg as a base.-Later in 1934, English physician Robert Wilson had captured what came to be known as the \"Surgeon's Photograph,\" seemingly depicting Nessie's head and elongated neck emerging from the water. The photo, published in the Daily Mail, was later revealed to be part of a hoax, catapulted the Loch Ness Monster into international fame.-There are now more than 1,100 officially recorded Nessie sightings, according to The Loch Ness Centre in Drumnadrochit, near Inverness. The monster brings in millions of pounds (dollars) in tourism revenue to the Scottish economy each year.(With inputs from AP, AFP)

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