And the plesiosaurs, believed to be cold-blooded, would not long survive in the frigid waters of Loch Ness. Loch Ness was frozen solid during recent ice ages, however, so this creature would have had to have made its way up the River Ness from the sea in the past 10,000 years. The aquatic plesiosaurs were thought to have died off with the rest of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. The hoax temporarily deflated Loch Ness Monster mania, but stories of sightings continued.Ī famous 1934 photograph seemed to show a dinosaur-like creature with a long neck emerging out of the murky waters, leading some to speculate that “Nessie” was a solitary survivor of the long-extinct plesiosaurs. Plaster casts of the footprints were sent to the British Natural History Museum, which reported that the tracks were that of a hippopotamus, specifically one hippopotamus foot, probably stuffed. Scores of tourists descended on Loch Ness and sat in boats or decks chairs waiting for an appearance by the beast. In response, the Daily Mail carried the dramatic headline: “MONSTER OF LOCH NESS IS NOT LEGEND BUT A FACT.” Nessie Several British newspapers sent reporters to Scotland, including London’s Daily Mail, which hired big-game hunter Marmaduke Wetherell to capture the beast.Īfter a few days searching the loch, Wetherell reported finding footprints of a large four-legged animal. The story of the Loch Ness Monster became a media phenomenon, with London newspapers sending correspondents to Scotland and a circus offering a 20,000 pound reward for capture of the beast.Īfter the 1933 sighting, interest steadily grew, especially after another couple claimed to have seen the beast on land, crossing the shore road. On May 2, 1933, the Inverness Courier reported that a local couple claimed to have seen “an enormous animal rolling and plunging on the surface.”
In 1933, a new road was completed along Loch Ness’ shore, affording drivers a clear view of the loch. Columba intervened, invoking the name of God and commanding the creature to “go back with all speed.” The monster retreated and never harmed another man. Seeing a large beast about to attack another man, St. Columba was on his way to visit the king of the northern Picts near Inverness when he stopped at Loch Ness to confront a beast that had been killing people in the lake. In 565 A.D., according to the biographer, St. The earliest written reference to a monster in Loch Ness is a 7th-century biography of Saint Columba, the Irish missionary who introduced Christianity to Scotland.
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