Loch Ness Monster mystery may finally be SOLVED - as scientist claims he has a simple explanation for sightings of the mythical beast
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An expert who has spent 50 years probing the Nessie phenomenon has delivered his devastating verdict on the monster – that people are actually seeing swans. Naturalist Adrian Shine said people spotting 'long-necked' creatures on Loch Ness were actually misidentifying waterbirds in calm conditions.
![[Naturalist Adrian Shine said people spotting 'long-necked' creatures on Loch Ness were actually misidentifying waterbirds in calm conditions]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/19/09/93306881-0-image-a-52_1734601661407.jpg)
While mysterious humps or loops in the water were really just boat wakes, he said, which are the 'largest cause of monster sightings'. He added that the Nessie of popular imagination was simply the classic sea serpent depicted on old maps in a new inland setting.
![[Sketches by various witnesses of their respective Loch Ness Monster sightings, published by Nessie investigator Rupert Gould in 1934]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/19/09/93306887-0-image-a-53_1734601687997.jpg)
Mr Shine, a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and founder of the Loch Ness Project, says he is a 'sympathetic sceptic' when it comes to the monster. But he offered few comforts to those who believe Nessie is real. He said: 'Boat wakes are probably the number one cause of monsters sightings, and waterbirds are the long-necked ones.'.
![['Of course there are long-necked creatures on Loch Ness – we call them swans,' Mr Shine said]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/19/09/93306885-0-image-a-54_1734601704396.jpg)
He continued: 'Of course there are long-necked creatures on Loch Ness – we call them swans. An expert who has spent 50 years probing the Nessie phenomenon has delivered his devastating verdict on the monster – that people are actually seeing swans. Pictured: a composite image of different parts of a swan.
![[In his new book, A Natural History of Sea Serpents, Mr Shine probes how the sea serpent of nautical lore was reborn in Loch Ness]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/19/09/93306889-0-image-a-55_1734601751934.jpg)
Naturalist Adrian Shine said people spotting 'long-necked' creatures on Loch Ness were actually misidentifying waterbirds in calm conditions. Sketches by various witnesses of their respective Loch Ness Monster sightings, published by Nessie investigator Rupert Gould in 1934.
![[He said: 'You cannot talk about Nessies as a single phenomenon – it is derived directly from the sea serpents controversy']](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/19/09/93306891-0-image-a-56_1734601835925.jpg)
