When I was a kid,
I was COMPLETELY fascinated by the Loch Ness Monster. The thought that a real-live brontosaurus might still be
swimming around in an inky Scottish lake consumed me. And if I’m honest, there’s a part of the legend that moves
me, still.
So, talk about my bubble bursting: National Geographic’s website is featuring a possible explanation
to what the photographer behind that famous 1934 photograph of Loch Ness might have actually seen — and it’s
disappointing, to say the least. According to paleontologist Neil Clark, the photographer may have seen … an
elephant.
Clark, who’s also a painter, graphically shows how an elephant swimming in Loch Ness might have
reasonably been mistaken for a monster. As for why a pachyderm might have found his way to take a dip in the
chilly waters, Clark told CBS news: "The reason why we see elephants in Loch Ness is that circuses used to
go along the road to Inverness and have a little rest at the side of the loch and allow the animals to go and have a
little swim around."
Whatever, man. I still say Nessie’s down there.
Somewhere.