Has the Loch Ness Monster gone extinct?

by Sean McLachlan on

Things aren’t going well in Scotland. Last year was the worst year on record for sightings of the Loch Ness Monster. A documentary studied the possibility that Nessie has gone extinct, and even the Official Loch Ness Monster Fan Club is worried.

Only one “dependable” sighting, by a local man back in June, shows there might be life in the old critter yet, but if that’s a false alarm, where does that leave us? Locals around Loch Ness are worried last year’s poor showing may affect tourist numbers. In the United States, liberals are saying Nessie died of shame from being called a “monster” instead of the more politically correct term “evidence-challenged endangered species”. Conservatives claim Nessie was the first victim of the death panels set up by Obama’s America-hating, terrorist-loving national health care.

The number of sightings has been going down for a few years, so the creature or creatures may very well be dying out. Is it gone for good? Unless AOL coughs up a few million to equip me with sonar equipment and a submarine, I really can’t say.

Whatever happened to Nessie, take heart. There are plenty of lake monsters to go around. There’s a Nessie-like creature in Minnesota, one in Lake Champlain, and others scattered around the world. There’s even another Scottish beastie in Loch Morar, which was the subject of a recent investigation by blogger Tom Gates. He took the amazing photo shown here. Believe it or not it’s actually a fake, made with a little Nessie model and some basil, and should serve as a warning to serious cryptozoologists that common household items can be used to construct a photo that can fool even the experts.

I, for one, don’t think Nessie will ever die. Despite having walked on the Moon and plumbed the depths of the ocean, we as a species love a mystery, and will always need creatures like Nessie, Bigfoot, the Mothman, and Raw Head and Bloody Bones until we ourselves go extinct.%Gallery-13474%

Warning to hikers: alien big cat spotted in Scotland

by Sean McLachlan on

If you thought the only monster in Scotland was the one in Loch Ness, you thought wrong. Mysterious giant cats are stalking the land, and while many people consider them as big a hoax as Nessie, one has recently been sighted and filmed. The video, taken by an off-duty Ministry of Defense dog handler, shows what appears to be a black feline measuring, if you judge by some nearby railway tracks, to be about four feet long. It’s certainly way too big to be a normal cat and doesn’t look at all like a dog. In fact it looks for all the world like a jaguar, although jaguars don’t exist in the wild in Scotland or anywhere else in the British Isles.

Sightings of wild cats are fairly common in the British Isles and have been dubbed by the easy to remember moniker Alien Big Cat (that’s ABC). Many look like pumas or jaguars. The Big Cat Research group has gathered data on more than 5,000 sightings and has lots of photos on their website, some laughable, some downright eerie.

You might just fob this off as a bit of harmless mystery, or some pussy on steroids, but one Scottish woman was attacked by an alien big cat and required numerous stitches. After that incident local police warned people not to approach or feed any giant cats they come across. So if you’re planning a hike in Scotland, be careful. Oh wait, I’M planning a hike in Scotland. Uh oh.

Want to go on a monster hunt?

by Kraig Becker on

Every country and culture has its monster stories. You can wander the globe and hear tales of all kinds of things that go bump in the night. From giant snakes in the Amazon to legendary ape men in the Himalaya, there are enough rumors of strange creatures to keep cryptozoologists out in the field, chasing shadows, for years to come.

If you’d like to go on a monster hunt of your own, Forbes Traveler has put together a list of the top destinations on the planet that are rumored to be the home of one type of monster or another. But as the article mentions, only the bravest, most adventurous travelers need apply, as who knows what awaits you out in these remote corners of the Earth.

Some of the locations that earn a spot on the list include Loch Ness, Scotland, where the legendary Loch Ness Monster is rumored to lurk beneath the icy waters of the lake that reaches more than 50 feet in depth in many areas. Not a fan of aquatic monster hunts? Then head to the Redwood Forests of Calfornia in search of Sasquatch, also known as Bigtoot, the famous giant ape, which has many sightings dating as far back to the mid-1800’s. Looking for something a bit less mundane when you go on a monster hunts? Then how about going to West Virginia to look for the Mothman, a strange creature that looks like a man with bug eyes and giant wings.

So, who wants to organize a monster hunt? After we get done looking for Sasquatch, we can head to Roswell, New Mexico too. We’ll make a road trip out of it!

Bigfoot sightings or a bear with mange

by Jamie Rhein on

At the beginning of October, Catherine wrote about the Loch Ness Monster. People aren’t seeing the Loch Ness as often these days. But what about other creatures? A few days ago, I found out that there’s still some speculation about Bigfoot, particularly since there has been a recent sighting in Pennsylvania. Some people say that the furry creature that was spotted in the Allegheny Mountains isn’t Bigfoot at all, but a mangy bear. Others swear that this stooped over figure is definitely that mysterious beast.

Rick Jacobs, the fellow who captured the image with his camera said he’d never seen anything like it. When he contacted the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization, the group thought he may have a winner. The Pennsylvania Game Commission said, “Mange.” Could Bigfoot have mange?

This photo by Olivander is of the statue of Bigfoot on Highway 54 near Mt. St. Helen’s. This part of Oregon has much Bigfoot lore.

Loch Ness Monster Might Be … An Elephant?

by Karen Walrond on

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.