Nessie goes salt-water on us.

[Big Les]

I have a feeling this poor scientist has been suckered by the glow of the limelight and the prospect of some easy publicity for her research, and has then been railroaded by the media. However, on the face of it, she appears to give credence to the idea of Nessie, and between them they make spurious links between it and a completely different (sea)monster myth from another part of the Highlands.

This is basically the Scottish equivalent of a cat-stuck-up-tree story, but it still gives a boost to the never-ending nonsense about Nessie. Feel free to tear this apart if you're having a slow morning;

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/highlands_and_islands/7074696.stm

 

[Soapy Sam]

The BBC article doesn't make clear if she's suggesting that Nessie might have been a sighting of a shark, or that the Orkney carcase was a plesiosaur/ nessie.

There's nothing to stop seals entering Loch Ness via the canal- or river Ness, I suppose, though it's way too shallow for a basking shark. I've met someone who claims to have seen a grey seal in both Loch Lochy and Loch Ness, though I'm not 100% sure he wasn't pulling my chain.

 

[Alice Shortcake]

If she's suggesting that Nessie may be a shark she's merely following in the footsteps of one D. Murray Rose, the author of a letter published in The Scotsman on 20th October 1933. According to Rose, "Throughout the ages sharks may have got into Loch Ness". He was also responsible for the myth, still promulated by believers in Nessie, that sightings of the monster date back centuries and were mentioned in books published in 1520, 1771 and 1885.

 

[AtomicMysteryMonster]

The BBC article doesn't make clear if she's suggesting that Nessie might have been a sighting of a shark, or that the Orkney carcase was a plesiosaur/ nessie.

It was found to be a basking shark after scientists studied some vertebra (You can read the Cliff Notes version of the story here). If she wants to look at those again and confirms it as a basking shark once and for all, more power to her.

Humorously enough, some Loch Ness monster apologists try to spin the fact that well-equipped sonar expeditions have come up with negative results for anything large living in the loch by claiming that the monsters were possibly out at sea at the time, citing reports of "similar creatures", presumably by people at sea near Scotland. What they're forgetting is that basking sharks are known to swim in lines while feeding, which ould be mistaken for a lengthy sea monster and that they can be found near Scotland...

There's nothing to stop seals entering Loch Ness via the canal- or river Ness, I suppose, though it's way too shallow for a basking shark. I've met someone who claims to have seen a grey seal in both Loch Lochy and Loch Ness, though I'm not 100% sure he wasn't pulling my chain.

I think you'll be very interested in this. Other sections on that website offer a wealth of photographs showing how ordinary animals and objects (boats, rocks, etc.) can be mistaken for an aquatic "monster."

 

[AtomicMysteryMonster]

The BBC article doesn't make clear if she's suggesting that Nessie might have been a sighting of a shark, or that the Orkney carcase was a plesiosaur/ nessie.

It was found to be a basking shark after scientists studied some vertebra (You can read the Cliff Notes version of the story here). If she wants to look at those again and confirms it as a basking shark once and for all, more power to her.

Humorously enough, some Loch Ness monster apologists try to spin the fact that well-equipped sonar expeditions have come up with negative results for anything large living in the loch by claiming that the monsters were possibly out at sea at the time, citing reports of "similar creatures", presumably by people at sea near Scotland. What they're forgetting is that basking sharks are known to swim in lines while feeding, which ould be mistaken for a lengthy sea monster and that they can be found near Scotland...

There's nothing to stop seals entering Loch Ness via the canal- or river Ness, I suppose, though it's way too shallow for a basking shark. I've met someone who claims to have seen a grey seal in both Loch Lochy and Loch Ness, though I'm not 100% sure he wasn't pulling my chain.

I think you'll be very interested in this (Don't forget the easy-to-miss link to the second page at the bottom). Other sections on that website offer a wealth of photographs showing how ordinary animals and objects (boats, rocks, etc.) can be mistaken for an aquatic "monster."

 

[Big Les]

If she's suggesting that Nessie may be a shark she's merely following in the footsteps of one D. Murray Rose, the author of a letter published in The Scotsman on 20th October 1933. According to Rose, "Throughout the ages sharks may have got into Loch Ness". He was also responsible for the myth, still promulated by believers in Nessie, that sightings of the monster date back centuries and were mentioned in books published in 1520, 1771 and 1885.

Following in the footsteps of, and falling into the same logical trap as - sightings don't mean that a "real world" explanation need be found for them. Although why not investigate those possibilities, I suppose.