A Loch Ness Monster expert believes the creature is rarely seen because it lives deep beneath Loch Ness and only comes to the surface occasionally.
Gary Campbell, who established the Official Loch Ness Monster Sighting Register, has been investigating reports since an unexplained encounter at the Scottish loch in 1996.
He told the Press and Journal: “Whatever it is, there must be more than one, and I think they live deep down in Loch Ness and are occasionally forced to the surface for some reason and go straight back down again, and that’s why there’re so few sightings.”
Mr Campbell said most reports from the water could be explained, but claimed there were still “at least four or five” sightings of “something unexplained” each year.
Several apparent Loch Ness Monster sightings have later been shown to have more ordinary explanations. In one case, photographs showing what appeared to be a black object near Urquhart Castle were identified as paddleboarders.
Mr Campbell said members of the public contacted the register after the images were published. One of the paddleboarders supplied a GoPro photograph showing himself and a friend on the board at the same time, prompting the image to be removed from the register.
Another potential sighting was reported by Julie Fraser, from north-east England, who was using Google Earth while researching a planned holiday to Loch Ness. She said three objects in the water resembled a “pod of whales” and wondered whether she had found “a little family of Nessies”.
However, Steve Feltham, who lives on Loch Ness and spends much of his time searching for the creature, concluded that the objects were canoes.
Appearing on NewsNation, he said: “That photograph, lovely as it is, there is nothing that I’ve ever seen that looks more like three Canadian canoes.”
He added: “If you look closely at each canoe, you can see a little protuberance and a splash of water. That’s the paddle action. There’s two people in each canoe.”
Mr Feltham said he remained convinced Nessie was still waiting to be found, despite believing the image was a false alarm.
“I’ve dedicated my life to this mystery, trying to find the answers,” he said. “And I suppose part of what I do is also disproving the things that are false alarms.”
