For over 140 years the fabled beast that lurks through Loch Ness in Scotland has fascinated those who believe the sea serpent to be more than a simple myth. There have been hundreds of Loch Ness Monster sightings, with the last one to hit major media outlets being in November 2014, and there have been dozens of explorations and hunts into finding the creepy, though passive monster, affectionately referred to as Nessie. After all this time, Steve Feltham, a frequent Nessie researcher, thinks he’s finally cracked the case. Is the Loch Ness Monster a mythical being? Is the Loch Ness Monster a relative of the dinosaurs trapped in the massive waterway for centuries? No. According to Steve Feltham, Nessie is nothing more than a cat fish.
The Wels catfish has been spotted along the shores of Loch Ness over the years – and as far as Spain – and few people have been educated as to just how big they can get. Statistics show that the Wels catfish can grow anywhere up to 600 pounds and nine feet in length. The monstrous size of the catfish can be an easy explanation for above average splashes in the lake, small boats being knocked over, and can you imagine a group of them swimming in tandem? They’d probably look a lot different in the fog coming off the lake or in the hours right before sundown. Feltham, age 52, agrees that the catfish don’t have the elongated neck or humps, the biggest attribute of the monster, but he says he’s found catfish and other wildlife in the lake that are near the size of a car.
He tells CNN, “We get sonar contacts with things that are far bigger than any fish that should live in this body of water. Catfish get big and they are pretty scary looking. They’re big enough that a giant one might be able to eat a baby, but I don’t think they are man-eaters.” This would explain why the rumored sea serpent has never attacked a human, too! I’m going to remain hopeful that Nessie is a cryptid, a descendant of a dinosaur or simply a hoax. I’d hate to see a beast with such prolific history be dumbed down to a simple catfish! At least Steve’s theory is a lot more scientific than some of the others I’ve seen throughout the years!
