The rise and fall of nessie
In Flipside 29 David Hambling reviews the evidence for sea monsters. But what about that legendary freshwater creature reported to dwell in a certain Scottish loch, subject of new movie the Water Horse?
 The Loch Ness Monster – affectionately known as 'Nessie' – is the world's most famous and best-loved lake monster. It was described as long ago as the 7th century, when St Columba encountered the beast and drove it off by making the sign of the cross. Modern interest in the legend revived in 1933 when a couple saw a strange humped creature crossing the road by the loch.
The described it as having a large body a metre high and eight metres long, and a narrow neck about three metres long. Many other sightings followed, including some very close encounters. There were also a few blurry photographs of things that might be Nessie. Some of these have turned out to be hoaxes, others are still baffling.
 Many expeditions have set out to find the monster, some with a more or less scientific nature. These include a 1967 sonar study which tracked something at least six metres long moving underwater at ten knots. Other teams have used hydrophones, underwater photography and submarines. Many have found 'something' but contacts have been at best fleeting and far from definite.
The latest large investigation sponsored by the BBC in 2003 scanned the entire loch with six hundred sonar beams, and found nothing.
The general view has now moved from one of inquiry to scepticism. The lack of bodies or any trace of hard evidence after so many expeditions has suggested to many that the creature is imaginary and sightings result from floating logs, groups of otters or unusual waves called seiches.
A detailed study of the loch's ecosystem in 1993 showed there are at most enough fish in it to support ten predators weighing three hundred kilos each. Naturalists doubt whether this would be enough animals to maintain a breeding population for so many centuries, so the scientific view is that the monster is a myth.
Unless, as some cryptozoologists believe, Nessie is really something more supernatural than physical…
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