A group of scientists from all over the world will assemble in Scotland next month in the latest attempt to prove the existence of the world famous Loch Ness Monster.
According to a report over at Reuters, the global team of experts, which is headed by New Zealand professor Neil Gemmell, will travel to the notorious Loch intent on harvesting something known as environmental DNA – aka eDNA – which they believe will finally unlock the puzzle of the famed cryptid that allegedly resides at the bottom of the icy waters.
The eDNA process will hopefully allow the scientists to capture DNA from the environment the creature lives in, including “skin, scales, feathers, fur, feces, and urine.” Once the DNA is sequenced, it can be compared to hundreds of thousands of other organisms in the hope to locate the true identity of the so-called Loch Ness Monster.
As legend has it, an Irish Monk named Saint Columba banished the creature to the bottom of the River Ness (not the Loch) in the 6th century, following reports that locals had been mauled by some kind of strange sea monster. It would take several centuries for any other reports to surface, but despite sitting at the bottom of the Loch for around 1500 years, no evidence has ever been unearthed to prove the validity of the legend.
In 1934, a surgeon by the name of Robert Kenneth Wilson took a now iconic photograph that was believed to show Nessie emerging from the water for a look around. Although many were skeptical, it seemed that there was, in fact, something living in the depths after all. The photo – which is right up there with the Bigfoot footage of 1967 – was eventually proved to be a fake 60 years later.
Although the ultimate goal is to prove Nessie’s existence, Gemmell concedes that there are other reasons for the eDNA search: “While the prospect of looking for evidence of the Loch Ness monster is the hook to this project, there is an extraordinary amount of new knowledge that we will gain from the work about organisms that inhabit Loch Ness.”
The teams’ findings are expected to be presented in January 2019.
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