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Scientists Say 'Loch Ness Monster' Could Be Giant Eel

Scientists Say 'Loch Ness Monster' Could Be Giant Eel

Well, that's a bit anticlimactic, isn't it?

Claire Reid

Claire Reid

Scientists have said that giant eels could be the real creatures behind sightings of the infamous Loch Ness monster.

Researchers from New Zealand carried out tests on the Scottish lake, in which they extracted DNA samples from its water. Perhaps unsurprisingly, results failed to show any mysterious creatures hiding in the murky depths.

An analysis of the samples ruled out the presence of large animals - so it's bad news for Nessie believers. Looks it was just a massive fish all along.

PA

Prof Neil Gemmell, a geneticist from New Zealand's University of Otago who lead the research, told the BBC: "People love a mystery, we've used science to add another chapter to Loch Ness' mystique.

"We can't find any evidence of a creature that's remotely related to that in our environmental-DNA sequence data. So, sorry, I don't think the plesiosaur idea holds up based on the data that we have obtained."

He added: "There's no shark DNA in Loch Ness based on our sampling. There is also no catfish DNA in Loch Ness based on our sampling. We can't find any evidence of sturgeon either.

"There is a very significant amount of eel DNA. Eels are very plentiful in Loch Ness, with eel DNA found at pretty much every location sampled - there are a lot of them. So - are they giant eels?

"Well, our data doesn't reveal their size, but the sheer quantity of the material says that we can't discount the possibility that there may be giant eels in Loch Ness.

Prof Neil Gemmell lead the research.
University of Otago

"Therefore we can't discount the possibility that what people see and believe is the Loch Ness monster might be a giant eel."

What a disappointment, eh?

The mystery of a giant, unidentified creature living within the 226m-deep lake has persisted for decades, with dozens of sightings - some impressive, some not so impressive - every year.

However, the spoilsports boffins at University of Otago seem to have closed the whole thing down after carrying out the tests.

While analysing the water, the team also found DNA belonging to dogs, sheep, deeps, cows, rabbits, birds and humans in the water.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: uk news, Weird