The Loch Ness Monster An Unsolved Mystery By Marilla
Bickerstaff-Westbrook
Slide 2
S ince the M ediaeval D ark A ges, people have been fascinated
by an unsolved mystery lurking in the murky waters of Scotlands
largest & deepest lake, the Loch Ness.. Fast forward to the
1930s. Since then, there have been some 1000 sightings of a beast,
called Nessie, that supposedly lives in the Loch. But is the
evidence backed up by Scientific Research? Do other theories
explain the sightings of Nessie? This is the journey I am taking
you on today. ? Nessie?
Slide 3
Loch Ness is located in the Scottish highlands. It is the
largest freshwater lake in the UK and is some 250 metres deep. The
Loch is known for its deep black and chilling waters. Where?
Scotland Locations of Nessie sightings around the Loch Loch Ness
Detail
Slide 4
In 1934, British surgeon Dr Robert Wilson took this famous
photograph of Nessie while driving along the shores of Loch Ness.
It showed a fuzzy image of a peaceful monster with a small head
& long neck. For 60 years it was the strongest evidence for
Nessie. Description Now lets get to the Creature itself.
Slide 5
However in 1975 the photo was proven to be a fake. On his
deathbed, a man revealed he had been involved in a hoax. In fact
the photograph was of a toy submarine glued to a sea-serpent
head.
Slide 6
The Search for Nessie Continues.. Sightings of the monster
continued to occur. In the 1950s, a local doctor, Constance Whyte
began collecting eyewitness accounts and sketches & published
them in a book.
Slide 7
Sonar Investigations Dr Whyte's book inspired a new generation
of serious Nessie hunters. Between 1958 & 1968, four separate
expeditions were launched: - by the BBC, - by 3 respected British
universities. The expeditions were equipped with sonar to search
the Loch. The outcome? Inconclusive. In each search, investigators
detected large, moving underwater objects they could not
explain.
Slide 8
In 2014, images were captured by two amateur hunters as they
used an iPhone satellite map app. The image appears to show a
disturbance in the Loch Ness, 30 metres in length, complete with
two flippers. iphone Images of Nessie? However, the image in the
water could be a boat that has been blurred out.
Slide 9
Since the Loch Ness Monster was "discovered" in 1933, a popular
theory has been that Nessie is a plesiosaur: a marine reptile
thought to have become one extinct 65 million years ago.
1.Plesiosaur Theory Theories
Slide 10
However, Nessie is unlikely to be a plesiosaur, for the
following reasons: 1.Plesiosaurs had lungs and needed to surface
regularly to breathe air. Surely this would have been noticed?
2.Loch Ness is only 10,000 years old but plesiosaurs became extinct
65 million years ago. 3. Plesiosaurs were cold-blooded & needed
to swim in warm waters. However, the average temperature in Loch
Ness is about 10C. 4.The Loch Ness ecosystem could not support the
needs of such an enormous animal.
Slide 11
2. Otter Theory When a family of otters frolic in the water,
viewers on the distant shore may see the otters as the humps of a
giant monster. ? ? ?
Slide 12
3. Scots Pine Theory A Scottish engineer published a theory in
New Scientist that monster sightings may be decaying tree logs.
Monster Humps and flippers might just be fragmented pieces of wood.
So the Loch Ness monster might be just a "log Ness" monster... Logs
?
Slide 13
4. Seismic Activity Theory In 2001, a geologist proposed that
seismic activity under the Loch may underlie monster sightings
around Loch Ness, since the Lake lies along a fault line.
Slide 14
Conclusions: Does Nessie exist ? Is she a figment of our
imaginations? ?
Slide 15
However, it is impossible to prove a negative theory with
absolute certainty. So there will continue to be a tiny chance that
the Loch Ness is home to a large creature. No physical trace of the
Loch Ness Monster has ever been found. ?
Slide 16
Bibliography Binns, R. 1984. The Loch Ness Mystery Solved. W.
H. Allen & Co, London. Martin, D. & Boyd, A. 1999. Nessie
the Surgeons Photo Exposed. Martin & Boyd, East Barnet.
Witchell, N. 1974. The Loch Ness Story. Terence Dalton, Lavenham.
Whyte, C. 1957. More Than a Legend, The Story of the Loch Ness
Monster. Hamish Hamilton, London.
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/tetrapod-zoology/2013/07/10/photos-of-the-loch-ness-monster-revisited/
http://dinosaurs.about.com/od/dinosaurcontroversies/a/Is-The-Loch-Ness-Monster-A-Marine-Reptile.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loch_Ness_Monster
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/11/newsid_3166000/3166741.stm
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2001/10/26/398298.htm
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2001/11/23/398322.htm
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-22125981
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2553915/Is-Nessie-DEAD-Loch-Ness-Monster-disappeared-time-90-
years.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/04/loch-ness-monster-seismic-activity_n_3542214.html
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/loch-ness-monster-nessie-scotland-research-serpent-456927
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/loch-ness-monster-new-sonar-3485106
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/loch-ness-monster-spotted-satellite-3428130#ixzz37K8zMhCu
http://www.nessie.co.uk/htm/the_evidence/cine1.html
http://www.news.com.au/world/did-a-satellite-finally-photograph-the-loch-ness-monster/story-fndir2ev-
1226890423902
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/legend-loch-ness.html