PA/Wikipedia
Scientists have revealed the Loch Ness Monster could actually be a real creature in the form of a giant eel after a major DNA investigation of the Scottish lake.
After centuries of various people claiming theyd spotted the mysterious Nessie, researchers could now have found a biological explanation after taking hundreds of samples from the Highland Loch.
Professor Neil Gemmell led a team which established a detailed list if all the creatures living in the waters by identifying tiny genetic remnants left in the water.
PA Images
This is possible because all life living in the waters leave tiny fragments of DNA through their skin, scales, feathers, fur, faeces and urine, which in turn can identify them.
Professor Gemmell spoke at a conference today (Thursday 5) where he explained they came across one type of DNA over and over in the 226-metre deep lake.
As per Metro, he said:
We found large amounts of eel DNA in the Loch Ness, every single site we went to had eels.
The sheer volume was a bit of a surprise.
Is it possible theres a giant eel? Maybe. We dont know if the DNA is gigantic or just many small eels.
They normally grow to four to six metres in length, and people say theyre observing something much larger than that.
PA Images
From 250 water samples, the scientists gained 500 million DNA sequences, which they examined to determine the creatures leaving beneath the water.
Gemmell, who hails from the University of Otago in New Zealand, added:
There are eels, and there is a plausible way eels could grow bigger than normal.
Its plausible that there might be one or two that grow to extreme size – maybe 50 per cent or more, maybe bigger than that Our data doesnt reveal their size, but the sheer quantity of the material says that we cant discount the possibility that there may be giant eels in Loch Ness.
Therefore, we cant discount the possibility that what people see and believe is the Loch Ness Monster might be a giant eel.
