Taking liberties with Francis Pharcellus Church’s famous editorial responding to a young girl’s question about the existence of Santa Claus, today we can state “Yes, Virginia, there is a LOCH NESS MONSTER!.”  Or, so it is attested by George Edwards, owner and captain of Nessie Hunter IV – a tour boat that operates on Loch Ness.

 

For the past 26 years, Edwards – like a modern-day Don Quixote attacking windmills – has searched for the legendary monster, to no avail.  Until recently, that is, when he spotted “Nessie” and took what has been described as the “best-ever” picture of the beast.

 

The first reported sighting of the monster was in 565 A.D.  Since that time, there have been thousands of eyewitness accounts.  But, actual photographic evidence is slim.  The first image, dubbed the “Surgeon’s Photograph” and alleged to have been taken by Robert Kenneth Wilson – a London gynecologist, has long been considered a fake.

 

Edwards’ photo, at the top of this article, appears genuine.  Steve Feltham, who has dedicated the past 21 years to the hunt and study of the Loch Ness Monster was unequivocal in his assessment, saying “It is the best photograph I think I have ever seen.”  He added, “I think the images are fantastic – that’s the animal I have been looking for all this time.”  Summing up the feeling of many “Nessie” true believers, Feltham stated “I would say it doesn’t prove what Nessie is, but it does prove what Nessie isn’t, a sturgeon.”

 

The giant sturgeon theory is an explanation posited by many who have reviewed the accounts of those who have witnessed the monster.  The new photo may renew efforts to find “Nessie” and bolster arguments of some experts who believe that the beast represents a line of long-surviving plesiosaurs, a type of carnivorous aquatic reptile from millions of years ago.

 

Far from solving the mystery, this surprising new evidence only takes us back to the original question:  what is the Loch Ness Monster?