Say it isn't so...Nessy gone?

"Loch Ness Monster sightings decline. Time to panic?"

2013 was the first year in 90 years in which there were no sightings of the Loch Ness Monster, prompting some to worry that the venerable cryptid has packed up and left.

by

Benjamin Radford

February 10th, 2014

The Christian Science Monitor

A veteran custodian of Loch Ness monster sightings is concerned that Nessie has not been seen in well over a year, and may be gone, according to a news report. This is the first time in nearly 90 years that such a lengthy lag in sightings has occurred.

Gary Campbell, who lives in Inverness in the United Kingdom has been keeping records of Loch Ness monster sightings for the past 17 years and has put together a list of sightings that goes back some 1,500 years, according to the BBC News. 

"It's very upsetting news and we don't know where she's gone," BBC News quoted Campbell as saying. "The number of sightings has been reducing since the turn of the century but this is the first time in almost 90 years that Nessie wasn't seen at all." (Apparently three reports of possible Nessie sightings in 2013 were discredited after closer scrutiny, The Inverness Courier reported.)

This is not the first time Nessie has been a no show; in fact, there are no reports of the beast until less than a century ago. The Loch Ness monster first achieved notoriety in 1933 after a story was published in a local newspaper describing not a monstrous head or hump but instead a splashing in the water that appeared to be caused "by two ducks fighting." A famous photograph showing a mysterious head and neck brought Nessie international fame, but was revealed to be hoax decades later.

Some claim that the Loch Ness monster was first reported in A.D. 565, when St. Columba turned away a giant beast threatening a man in the Ness River, which flows into the lake. However it is only one of many Catholic Church legends about righteous saints vanquishing Satan in the form of serpents and dragons.

There are many myths lurking in the cold Scottish highlands, including legends of "water horses" — creatures associated with rivers and lakes that resemble normal horses, but are actually both magical and deadly: Should anyone try to mount a water horse, it will accept the rider, then gallop to a nearby lake or river, drown its rider, then eat his flesh, one myth goes. Though some of these legends and stories may have inspired some of the claims about the Loch Ness monster, Nessie is, of course, not a magical horse, but instead believed to be a very real, living and breathing aquatic creature resembling a long-necked dinosaur.

Skeptics would suggest there is likely no monster in the lake at all. But this news about the lack of sightings poses a big problem for those who believe in the creature's existence. The fact that no Nessie report has been registered in 18 months means that, even if it existed, it is likely no longer there.

Though people often speak of Nessie as a solitary (often female) animal, if it exists there must be more than one in the lake — at least dozens if not hundreds. This changes the equation and deepens the mystery, because with so many of them allegedly living in the lake they should be seen much more often. It defies logic to believe a group of unknown monsters lives in the lake — which has many local residents and tens of thousands of monster-seeking tourists all around it — and not a single one surfaces to be seen. Think of it this way: If over a year went by without a single sighing of a giraffe, rhino or horse, the most logical — and the most tragic — explanation would be that they had all died out. Extinction is the only reason that large animals simply vanish like that.

This is especially true for the Nessie creatures, which are, after all, confined to a lake that is only a little over 20 miles long and about a mile wide (32 by 1.6 kilometers) for much of its length. Unlike birds (which can migrate hundreds or thousands of miles) or terrestrial animals (which may roam for a few hundred miles), the Nessie creatures are presumably locked in the lake. There are no underground waterway exits to the ocean or anywhere else. In short, there is nowhere else to go if they are not being seen in the lake.

But fear not, monster lovers and Inverness Tourism Board: If history is any indication, eventually there will be more sightings of Nessie, whether they exist or not. There are enough things in the lake that can be mistaken for a monster, including large fish, strange waves, and even the occasional hoax, to keep the sightings going and the tourist dollars coming.

"Cadborosaurus"...and another fuzzy photo

A still of "Cadborosaurus" from a video shot in 2009 looks like it was shot by an old Kodak 8mm movie camera. This is typical, isn't it, with mysterious" creatures? And the usual caveat..."...it was shot under rainy circumstances in a bouncy ship..." And so, it it will be a television special like Al Capone's vault and pyramid treasures--a flop. Beware of poor images and testimonials.

"Loch Ness Monster-Like Animal Filmed in Alaska?"

The alleged sea serpent has a long neck, a horse-like head, large eyes and back bumps that stick out of the water.

by

Jennifer Viegas

July 18th, 2011

Discovery News

A video from 2009 shows something mysterious moving across the surface of the sea that resembles an Alaskan version of the Loch Ness monster.

Some are claiming that the animal is a "Cadborosaurus," a type of reptile or lizard that got its name from Cadboro Bay, in British Columbia. They say that what's in the video is a sea serpent that dwells in the North Pacific and possibly other regions.

Accounts generally describe it as having a long neck, a horse-like head, large eyes, and back bumps that stick out of the water.

The footage, shot by Alaskan fishermen in 2009, will make its public debut on "Hillstranded," a new Discovery Channel special that will air Tuesday evening at 10 p.m. E/P.

"I am quite impressed with the video," Paul LeBlond, former head of the Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences at the University of British Columbia, told Discovery News. "Although it was shot under rainy circumstances in a bouncy ship, it's very genuine."

LeBlond, co-author of the book "Cadborosaurus: Survivor from the Deep," said the animal is "the least unlike a plesiosaur," referring to carnivorous marine reptiles thought to have gone extinct at the end of the Cretaceous Period.

Sightings of "Cadborosaurus" have been reported for ages. In 1937, a supposed body of the animal was found in the stomach of a whale captured by the Naden Harbour whaling station in the Queen Charlotte Islands, a British Columbia archipelago. Samples of the animal were brought to the Provincial Museum in Victoria, where curator Francis Kermode concluded they belonged to a fetal baleen whale.

The animal's remains, however, later disappeared. James Wakelun, a worker at the whaling station, last year said that he had seen the creature's body and "it wasn't an unborn whale."

Still, some throw caution to the sighting.

"People are working off of sketchy lay observations," said Jim Covel, senior manager of guest experience at California's Monterey Bay Aquarium. "We do, however, still find new species in the oceans, perhaps allowing some to entertain ideas like this, filling in the gaps with their imaginations. But it really underscores how more scientific exploration is needed."

Like other cryptids -- animals who some think exist, but which have not yet been recognized by scientific consensus -- "Cadborosaurus" has existed only in grainy photographs and eyewitness accounts.

The 2009 video, therefore, "adds to its authentication," LeBlond said.

While many have speculated that "Cadborosaurus" is actually a frill shark, a large eel, or some kind of fish, LeBlond countered that it cannot be a fish due to the way it moves.

"It must be a mammal or a reptile, since it oscillates up and down in a vertical plain, which eliminates sideways-oscillating fish," he said.

A possible new believer in "Cadborosaurus" is Andy Hillstrand of "Deadliest Catch" television show fame. He told Discovery News that he might have seen another one of the enigmatic animals while filming "Hillstranded," a new Discovery Channel special debuting tonight that features the 2009 footage.

Hillstrand and his brother Johnathan traveled to sites in Alaska where Cadborosaurus has been spotted. Referring to one location, he said, "We saw a big, long white thing moving in the water. We chased it for about 20 minutes."

"Spray came out of its head," he continued. "It was definitely not a shark. A giant eel may be possible, but eels don't have humps that all move in unison. I've never seen anything like it before."

Hillstrand speculates that whales, following salmon, might be pushing the animals closer to shore and into the view of humans.

While he understands the controversy and skepticism over such sightings and claims, Hillstrand believes the many fishermen who have reported seeing the animal "are not a bunch of fruitcakes. These are people who are familiar with the local marine life."

In order for a cryptid to gain scientific credibility, more physical evidence must be obtained. LeBlond said, "We cannot go out in the ocean poking everywhere, but we are always on the lookout for new accounts."

Hillstrand, on the other hand, isn't ruling out another "Cadborosaurus"-related trip.

"We live in Alaska, so we might investigate 'Cadborosaurus' again in future," he said. "We are always up for an adventure."

Cadborosaurus: Survivor from the Deep

by

Paul H. Leblond

ISBN-10: 0920663338
ISBN-13: 978-0920663332