All the theories surrounding the Loch Ness Monster from a giant eel to a whale
It's been a full 90 years since the first person reportedly took a photo of the Loch Ness Monster - but the mystery remains unresolved.
The monster - nicknamed Nessie - was reportedly first spotted by a monk in the seventh century, who banished the beast into Loch Ness. Years later, a local newspaper carried the first report of a monster spotted in the lake by a water bailiff.
Ever since then, people all over the world have travelled to northern Scotland to try and catch a glimpse at the mythical creature. A number of theories surrounding its existence have developed in more recent years, including the heartbreaking claim that Nessie doesn't exist at all.
Nessie was reportedly first spotted by a monk in the seventh century (AP)'Just a large eel'
Scientists suggested that the monster may simply be a giant eel, after carrying out DNA analysis of the living organisms inside the lake.
The New Zealand researchers said there was a "very significant" amount of eel DNA in Loch Ness, and very little shark or catfish DNA. They hinted the mystery of Nessie might've been sparked by someone seeing what they thought was a monster - but was in fact just a big eel.
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Professor Neil Gemmell, a geneticist from New Zealand's University of Otago. said: "People love a mystery, we've used science to add another chapter to Loch Ness' mystique.
"We can't find any evidence of a creature that's remotely related to that in our environmental-DNA sequence data. So, sorry, I don't think the plesiosaur idea holds up based on the data that we have obtained."
"Eels are very plentiful in Loch Ness, with eel DNA found at pretty much every location sampled - there are a lot of them. Therefore we can't discount the possibility that what people see and believe is the Loch Ness Monster might be a giant eel."
Photo shows an 1896 depiction of a Plesiosaurus, the dinosaur species that Nessie is most often likened to (Credit: Pen News)Nessie having a whale of a time
A marine biologist suggested the Loch Ness Monster might be an excited male whale swimming near the surface of the water.
Researcher Michael Sweet said: "Back in [the] day, travellers/explorers would draw what they saw. “This is where many sea monster stories come from ie. tentacled and alienesque appendages emerging from the water - giving belief to something more sinister lurking beneath....however, in many cases it was just whale d***s.
"Whales often mate in groups so while one male is busy with the female the other male just pops his d*** out of the water while swimming around waiting his turn. Everyone’s gotta have a bit of fun, right?"
Nessie on holiday
There's also been a theory that the Loch Ness Monster isn't actually based in Loch Ness at all.
Most recently, a snake-like sea creature that shares a striking resemblance to Nessie was spotted in North Carolina, US. The huge beast was captured with its head out the water off of Atlantic Beach, before its body surfaced and it dipped back underwater.
Last year, Sue Keogh thought she had 'solved' the Loch Ness monster mystery and that she knew exactly what the beast was.
Sue, 60, watched a documentary about Nessie and it jogged something in her memory, and soon she realised that she had seen the same thing before - in her home town of Penrith, Australia.
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Sue saw the elongated neck and short snout and instantly recognised it as a shadow puppet shape her father used to make, and now she's certain that Nessie is an elaborate hoax.
Loch Ness Imagination
Some of the world’s two most famous Nessie hunters warned people not to get carried away - claiming the monster doesn't actually exist and the sightings were no more than a figment of people's imaginations.
Both Steve Feltham and Adrian Shine say they have reached the disappointing conclusion that Nessie never was a prehistoric monster living in the loch.
They claimed the recent sightings, like the more than a thousand others down the years, have a much less exciting explanation.
Mr Shine previously told the Mirror: “My view has evolved somewhat. The fact is that well over a thousand honest and sober people have seen monsters in Loch Ness. Yet over 80 years of expeditions have failed to fine them.
"Either we’re fairly bad at what we do or there’s another reason for that. I think it’s fair to say we’d all like there to be a Loch Ness monster. But equally there are people who will see what they want to see."
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