SCOTLAND
\nMystery hunters converged on a Scottish lake on Saturday to look for signs of the mythical Loch Ness Monster. The Loch Ness Center said researchers would try to seek evidence of Nessie using thermal-imaging drones, infrared cameras and a hydrophone to detect underwater sounds in the lake\u2019s murky waters.
\nThe two-day event is being billed as the biggest survey of the lake in 50 years, and includes volunteers scanning the water from boats and the lakeshore, with others around the world joining in with webcams.
\nAlan McKenna of the Loch Ness Center said the aim was \u201cto inspire a new generation of Loch Ness enthusiasts.\u201d
\nMcKenna told BBC radio the searchers were \u201clooking for breaks in the surface and asking volunteers to record all manner of natural behavior on the loch.\u201d
\n\u201cNot every ripple or wave is a beastie. Some of those can be explained, but there are a handful that cannot,\u201d he said.
\nThe Loch Ness Center is located at the former Drumnadrochit Hotel, where the modern-day Nessie legend began. In 1933, manager Aldie Mackay reported spotting a \u201cwater beast\u201d in the mountain-fringed loch, the largest body of freshwater by volume in the United Kingdom and at up to 750 feet (230 meters) one of the deepest.
\nThe story kicked off an enduring worldwide fascination with finding the elusive monster, spawning hoaxes and hundreds of eyewitness accounts.
\nNumerous theories have been put forward over the years, including that the creature may have been a prehistoric marine reptile, giant eels, a sturgeon or even an escaped circus elephant.
\nMany believe the sightings are pranks or can be explained by floating logs or strong winds, but the legend is a boon for tourism in the picturesque Scottish Highlands region.
\nSuch skepticism did not deter volunteers like Craig Gallifrey.
\n\u201cI believe there is something in the loch,\u201d he said, though he is open-minded about what it is. \u201cI do think that there\u2019s got to be something that\u2019s fueling the speculation.\u201d
\nHe said that whatever the outcome of the weekend search, \u201cthe legend will continue.\u201d
\n\u201cI think it\u2019s just the imagination of something being in the largest body of water in the U.K. There\u2019s a lot more stories,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s still other things, although they\u2019ve not been proven.
\nThere\u2019s still something quite special about the loch.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SCOTLAND Mystery hunters converged on a Scottish lake on Saturday to look for signs of the mythical Loch Ness Monster. The Loch Ness Center said researchers would try to seek evidence of Nessie using thermal-imaging drones, infrared cameras and a hydrophone to detect underwater sounds in the lake\u2019s murky waters. The two-day event is being […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":352369,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-352344","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n