Did The Body Of The Loch Ness Monster Just Wash Ashore? Is Nessie Dead?
What appears to be skeletal dinosaur remains have washed up on the shores of Loch Ness, causing local residents to wonder if something happened to the monster that’s supposed to haunt the lake.
A dog walker found the grisly remains on the shores of Loch Ness on June 29 and called Help2Rehome Scotland, an animal adoption organization, which posted photos of Nessie’s remains on Facebook, reports the Daily Record.
“Has Nessy been found? Or is someone playing a fascinating prank?
Police were called and officers cordoned off the area with caution tape while the investigation into the supposed dinosaur bones began.
Is the Loch Ness Monster dead? Mystery remains found on shoreline leave Nessie fans stunned https://t.co/ahdJ3ATHor pic.twitter.com/JaF9OWUxgk
— ScotlandNow (@ScotlandNow) June 30, 2016
For decades, Loch Ness Monster aficionados have hunted for concrete evidence to prove the existence of Nessie, an aquatic creature long thought to inhabit Scotland’s most popular lake. Many believed her to be a plesiosaurus, a long necked dinosaur that somehow survived to modern day from the Cretaceous period by hiding from view, possibly in an underground cave.
As the photos circulated online, Nessie hunters celebrated the washed-up dinosaur remains as evidence that finally proved the existence of the mysterious Loch Ness Monster.
Social media exploded as Nessie aficionados debated the validity of the dinosaur remains with some saying it was a giraffe carcass and others arguing it was all just a monster prank.
The mystery didn’t last long. As it turned out, the grisly remains were really nothing more than a television prop for a new series being filmed in the area. Nessie’s carcass will appear in the upcoming television drama Loch Ness, and film crews were busy shooting scenes earlier this week.
The body of the Loch Ness Monster will appear in the show as a prank by schoolchildren to convince people Nessie really does exist.
This is the second time this year Nessie aficionados thought they had found evidence of the monster’s existence only to find out they had been tricked by the entertainment industry.
In April, researchers armed with a high-tech underwater robot discovered what they thought was the Loch Ness Monster only to find their discovery was actually a 50-year-old movie prop.
Forget brexit – Nessie is dead? What a horrible thought… Iove loch Ness monster! https://t.co/HREDikH9px Great uncle Matt saw it once. ?
— STUART SEMPLE (@stuartsemple) July 1, 2016
Built for the 1970 film The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, the model was 30-feet long with a long neck and two humps that served as floatation. When director Billy Wilder ordered the humps removed, the model sank into the Loch where it waited for 47 years to be found.
The underwater robot did, however, go on to disprove the existence of Nessie’s underwater cave; the lair known as “Nessie’s Trench.”
For now, all Nessie believers can do is wait for further proof to be found of the monster’s existence, and that’s something the Official Loch Ness Monster Sightings Register administrator says will happen soon.
Gary Campbell, who has been searching for Nessie for 20 years, said he’s accepted the highest number of Loch Ness Monster sightings in 13 years, according to the Daily Record.
“Anything that is later proved to a hoax or can be subsequently explained is removed from the register.”
Official Loch Ness Monster Sightings Register turns 20 years old https://t.co/ChORtYZC7d pic.twitter.com/KnRYkJigrx
— ScotlandNow (@ScotlandNow) May 13, 2016
Campbell says the wide spread use of cell phone cameras means it’s only a matter of time before concrete evidence is found of Nessie’s existence, reports the Daily Record.
“It has been a good start to the year already. I think that this proves that Nessie’s not gone anywhere. We were a bit worried in 2013 when no-one saw her but it looks like she was just keeping her head down at the time.”
The two most credible Loch Ness Monster sightings came from Richard White in 1997 who photographed something coming out of the lake and Bobbie Pollock who took video of an object swimming in the water.
What do you think? Was the latest Nessie evidence more than just a publicity stunt?
[Photo by Keystone/Getty Images]