A new and sophisticated search is being planned for the elusive Loch Ness monster, the first major hunt for the fabled “Nessie” in 50 years.
Scotland’s Loch Ness Centre in Drumnadrochit, Scotland, is inviting “budding monster hunters” and volunteers to take part in the search, scheduled for Aug. 26-27. The hunt is being called the most comprehensive since a search in 1972.
Proof of Nessie’s existence has not been found. With the latest search, “it’s our hope to inspire a new generation of Loch Ness enthusiasts,” said Alan McKenna, of the volunteer research team Loch Ness Exploration, The Associated Press reported.
How will monster hunters hunt Nessie?
Nessie hunters will keep the 23-mile-long lake under surveillance from onshore locations. They’ll be assisted by others equipped with high-tech devices, including:
- Drones with infrared cameras to render thermal images of the water from the air.
- Hydrophones to record acoustic signals, including “Nessie-like calls” underwater.
For a fee, tourists can also take trips on the loch during the search.
How deep is Loch Ness?
Loch Ness is the largest lake by volume in Scotland. It’s a deep, cold freshwater lake in the Scottish Highlands, about 170 miles from Edinburgh, the capital. Its official depth is 754 feet, though a tour boat captain reported recording a depth of 889 feet in 2016.
The loch is about 23 miles long and less than 2 miles wide. Its water volume is about 1.8 cubic miles.
Climate change is affecting Loch Ness. Its water level fell to its lowest in 32 years in May, according to Scottish Environment Protection Agency.
Loch is a Scottish word for a lake that is narrow and deep and surrounded by hills or mountains.
How often has the Loch Ness monster been sighted?
The first sighting of the Loch Ness monster is believed to have been in 564. Since then, Nessie has been sighted 1,148 times, according to the official Loch Ness Monster Sightings Register.
A reported sighting in 1933 brought the creature to the world’s attention. Though interest has varied over the years, Nessie has remained in the public awareness and made Loch Ness itself world famous.
Theories on what Nessie could be include a giant eel or a plesiosaur, a long-necked marine dinosaur.
This artist’s rendition of an adult and juvenile plesiosaur was created after an American-Argentine research team recovered the well-preserved fossil skeleton of a juvenile plesiosaur on Vega Island on the Antarctic Peninsula in 2006.
SOURCE USA TODAY Network reporting and research; Associated Press; NOAA
