# They still don't know if the Loch Ness Monster is real? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 18, 2003, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-still-dont-know-if-the-loch-ness-monster-is-real/195938 "2003-08-18T10:05:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stafford_cripps/32/7167_2.png) [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2023, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-still-dont-know-if-the-loch-ness-monster-is-real/195938/61 "2023-08-25T19:32:35Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > there’s quite a bottleneck at 57.432299, -4.301450 (google maps). [Here’s a drones view of that section.](https://www.google.com/maps/@57.4330076,-4.3021141,3a,75y,162.45h,34.84t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipNqJVkQCn7EWUfEQy-uTaSBcpV1bTmO8oZYTZ7E!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipNqJVkQCn7EWUfEQy-uTaSBcpV1bTmO8oZYTZ7E%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-0-ya145.54507-ro-0-fo100!7i4096!8i2048?entry=ttu) The river is effectively blocked to large underwater monster traffic by a weir that separates the river from the canal just to the south west of that bit - you can just see it if you swing the drone view round. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2023, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-still-dont-know-if-the-loch-ness-monster-is-real/195938/62 "2023-08-25T19:42:03Z")
I would like to congratulate you for creating a unique combination of words, never before used in the English language! I just googled “large underwater monster traffic”…and, you betcha…there are zero hits. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stafford_cripps/32/7167_2.png) [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2023, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-still-dont-know-if-the-loch-ness-monster-is-real/195938/63 "2023-08-25T20:10:34Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > I would like to congratulate you for creating a unique combination of words, never before used in the English language! Thank you. I am humbled. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2023, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-still-dont-know-if-the-loch-ness-monster-is-real/195938/64 "2023-08-26T06:14:52Z")
The thing about cryptids is that their characteristics and capabilities are unknown. If they were known, they’d be, well, just animals. So you can’t say whether that weir blocks underwater monster traffic. Maybe they can crawl on land. Maybe they can elongate like elastigirl and pass through tiny cracks in the weir ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stafford_cripps/32/7167_2.png) [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2023, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-still-dont-know-if-the-loch-ness-monster-is-real/195938/65 "2023-08-26T07:50:41Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > Maybe they can crawl on land Ah but they wouldn’t be underwater then 🐉 ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2023, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-still-dont-know-if-the-loch-ness-monster-is-real/195938/66 "2023-08-26T16:01:16Z")
> [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](#): > > Lots of locks, the western channel is a canal, not a branch of the river. > [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](#): > > The River Oich flows into Loch Ness, and again the neighbouring ladder of locks is a separate canal. Thanks, but my point was not to define what bodies of water technically are. I was addressing Measure\_for\_Measure’s point that there are points of ingress and egress for any possible monsters. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2023, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-still-dont-know-if-the-loch-ness-monster-is-real/195938/67 "2023-08-26T16:27:17Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > Thanks, but my point was not to define what bodies of water technically are. I was addressing Measure\_for\_Measure’s point that there are points of ingress and egress for any possible monsters. - Have they checked the closets of local children? ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2023, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-still-dont-know-if-the-loch-ness-monster-is-real/195938/68 "2023-08-26T17:10:10Z")
Thing is, the more tech they throw at it and the more searches they do, the more anomolies they’ll find. Seeing as it is impossible to prove the non-existence of Nessie you end up with a never-ending search. Good news for the tourist board, fun for the tourists and lucrative for purveyors of sonar equipment. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2023, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-still-dont-know-if-the-loch-ness-monster-is-real/195938/69 "2023-08-26T19:33:47Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Have they checked the closets of local children? Yep, nothing. Now under the bed however… ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2023, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-still-dont-know-if-the-loch-ness-monster-is-real/195938/70 "2023-08-26T19:50:28Z")
The Loch Ness Monster still owes me three fiddy. So he has been avoiding me for years. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2023, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-still-dont-know-if-the-loch-ness-monster-is-real/195938/71 "2023-08-26T23:08:49Z")
If X then Y, but not when it hurts my position: [that’s just logic](https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/logicalfallacies/Special-Pleading) Ok, so at the very least transit to and from the ocean was probably conducted incognito. Nessie reports extend back over a thousand years (though early pictures resemble bears in many ways). Jucas\_Jackson’s link shows a lot of aquatic engineering: I wonder whether the River Ness was more navigatable in the past. Then there’s the issue of coastal flooding and even the occasional hurricane, which commonly blow sea creatures inland. Pilot whales have been spotted in [Moray Firth](https://us.whales.org/2017/08/14/unexpected-guests-pilot-whales-in-the-moray-firth/), but presumably few made it to the (57.432299, -4.301450) bottleneck. The latest Loch Ness scan contained no otter DNA, though they have been observed there. They are [protected species in Scotland](https://www.nature.scot/plants-animals-and-fungi/mammals/land-mammals/otter), so their range may be more restricted now than it was before the 1950s-70s, when it was wiped out in England and Wales. They are more prevalent on the coast, though smaller numbers inhabit inland areas. Freshwater otters are largely nocturnal. Though they are mostly aquatic, they can travel for miles on land when it suits them. Cars pose a threat to their numbers. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2023, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-still-dont-know-if-the-loch-ness-monster-is-real/195938/72 "2023-08-27T05:05:57Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > The Loch Ness Monster still owes me three fiddy. So he has been avoiding me for years. Hoping to get paid in greenbacks? ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2023, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-still-dont-know-if-the-loch-ness-monster-is-real/195938/73 "2023-08-27T17:55:36Z")
Doh. > **[Nessie hunters hear sounds but fail to record them](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-66633215)** > > The mystery of the Loch Ness Monster lives on despite a weekend of amateur sleuthing. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-still-dont-know-if-the-loch-ness-monster-is-real/195938/74 "2023-08-28T07:05:29Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/tdXKRXcrWyY/maxresdefault.jpg "The Loch Ness Monster's Song by Edwin Morgan") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdXKRXcrWyY) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stafford_cripps/32/7167_2.png) [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-still-dont-know-if-the-loch-ness-monster-is-real/195938/75 "2023-08-28T16:37:46Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > I wonder whether the River Ness was more navigatable in the past. Then there’s the issue of coastal flooding and even the occasional hurricane, which commonly blow sea creatures inland. Pilot whales have been spotted in [Moray Firth](https://us.whales.org/2017/08/14/unexpected-guests-pilot-whales-in-the-moray-firth/), but presumably few made it to the (57.432299, -4.301450) bottleneck. I’m not sure about navigability, I think until recent centuries the river would have been more braided, therefore wider and shallower. On the other hand, around 8000 years ago the tidal part of the river would have come further inland because there had not been much isostatic recovery after the last ice cap melted. Not just pilot whales, you get humpback and Minke whales in the Moray Firth, a resident group of large bottlenose dolphins, and the occasional orca. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-still-dont-know-if-the-loch-ness-monster-is-real/195938/76 "2023-08-28T16:43:22Z")
> **[Loch Ness Monster search ends without evidence of existence – DW – 08/28/2023](https://www.dw.com/en/loch-ness-monster-search-ends-without-evidence-of-existence/a-66643887)** > > The biggest Loch Ness Monster hunt in over half a century has resulted in several reports of possible sightings but nothing conclusive. The evaluation of the data would take a lot of time, the organizers said. Disappointing. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-still-dont-know-if-the-loch-ness-monster-is-real/195938/77 "2023-08-28T16:44:30Z")
The monster is 50% hoax, 50% mistaken sightings and 0% real. > [@Princhester](#): > > The thing about cryptids is that their characteristics and capabilities are unknown. If they were known, they’d be, well, just animals. Mostly, but several recently extinct animals with unconfirmed sightings are also cryptids. In fact, I dearly hope that the Thylacine is really still living in Tasmania. I give that a 10% chance, as opposed to 0 for Nessie. The Ivory Bill Woodpecker is another. ---
**Author:** ![TwoCarrotSnowman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/twocarrotsnowman/32/15879_2.png) [@TwoCarrotSnowman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwoCarrotSnowman)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2023, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-still-dont-know-if-the-loch-ness-monster-is-real/195938/78 "2023-09-14T21:23:05Z")
This 80s documentary ought to clear this up. There’s a whole family of them! [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/xaCzbqdFS24/hqdefault.jpg "The Family-Ness Theme Song (HQ)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaCzbqdFS24) ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-still-dont-know-if-the-loch-ness-monster-is-real/195938/79 "2025-03-31T19:20:35Z")
Good news !!! An underwater camera set up 55 years ago to try and photograph the Loch Ness Monster has been found ! Bad news .. There’s no trace of nessie thereon. > **[Camera set up to catch Loch Ness Monster unearthed](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx20g82y1k8o)** > > No sign of the famous monster was found on the camera that had been in Loch Ness for 55 years. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-still-dont-know-if-the-loch-ness-monster-is-real/195938/80 "2025-03-31T21:21:49Z")
The only proper response when someone says that “This will clear it up once and for all” is to laugh and walk away. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-still-dont-know-if-the-loch-ness-monster-is-real/195938.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-still-dont-know-if-the-loch-ness-monster-is-real/195938.md?page=5)