Scientists believe Loch Ness Monster most likely is a giant eel
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The creatures behind repeated sightings of the fabled Loch Ness Monster may be giant eels, according to scientists.
Researchers from New Zealand have tried to catalogue all living species in the loch by extracting DNA from water samples.
The work was carried out by geneticist Professor Neil Gemmell from the University of Otago in New Zealand.
The aim of the research was not to find Nessie, but to improve knowledge of what plants and animals live in Loch Ness.
Following analysis, the scientists have ruled out the presence of large animals said to be behind reports of a monster.
No evidence of a prehistoric marine reptile called a plesiosaur or a large fish such as a sturgeon were found.
Catfish and suggestions that a wandering Greenland shark were behind the sightings were also discounted.
Professor Gemmell said: “Well, our data doesn’t reveal their size, but the sheer quantity of the material says that we can’t discount the possibility that there may be giant eels in Loch Ness.
“Therefore we can’t discount the possibility that what people see and believe is the Loch Ness Monster might be a giant eel.
The legend of the Loch Ness Monster dates back around 1,500 years, with the first apparent sighting of an unrecognisable “water beast” in the River Ness recorded in 565.
A file photo of an image of Nessie is projected on a water screen during a promotion event for the US film director Jay Russell’s movie ‘The Water Horse’, in the Bay of Tokyo, Japan, in January 2008. It tells the story of a young boy discovering a mysterious egg that hatches of a creature which will become the Loch Ness Monster. EPA/FRANCK ROBICHON
