Loch Ness Monster or Loch Ness Eel?

An international team of scientists is declaring that they have solved the mystery of the Loch Ness monster. Their discovery is no less terrifying than an aquatic monster roaming Scotland’s lake of the same name for thousands of years, with suggestions that the mythical monster is actually a giant eel.

The team of scientists, including Neil Gemmell, a geneticist from the University of Otago in New Zealand, made the discovery after the team sampled the waters of Loch Ness in search of eDNA, which is trace amounts of DNA from a creature’s skin, scales, hair and waste left behind in its environment.

Of the roughly 250 water samples taken from the lake over the course of two weeks, no sign of “monster DNA” was discovered to suggest the presence of humongous reptiles or aquatic dinosaurs, which have long been thought to offer explanations for the reported sightings of the monster. Instead, what was found during the assessment was the presence of DNA from just about every other species imaginable including fish, deer, pigs, birds, humans and bacteria.

In addition to all of that eDNA, researchers also discovered the presence of eel DNA in virtually all of the 250 water samples — a finding that suggests the possible presence of several eels or one enormous, overgrown eel. Such an explanation is potentially more startling than the actual existence of a monster — especially if the prospect of multiple eels or one giant eel is enough to have you hoping that the monster theory will inevitably pan out.

Source: Ad Meskens/CC BY-SA 3.0