CAMERA PROVES LOCH NESS SEA SERPENT IS JUST A WHALE (Jul, 1934)
Source: Popular Science ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Jul, 1934
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CAMERA PROVES LOCH NESS SEA SERPENT IS JUST A WHALE
By identifying the sea serpent of Loch Ness, Scotland, as a familiar species of whale, naturalists have just shown how easily the human eye may be fooled into thinking it sees an unfamiliar monster. Worldwide interest was drawn to Loch Ness, within recent months, by repeated eyewitness reports of a long-necked, aquatic apparition of huge size, resembling no known marine animal. Finally Dr. Robert K. Wilson, noted British surgeon, managed to get a snapshot of the fabulous creature, and the mystery vanished. The picture showed the curved fin of a killer whale projecting in typical fashion from the water strongly suggesting an elongated neck and head. According to Dr. Roy Chapman Andrews, noted explorer and zoologist, and others who agreed on this identification, the wrhale evidently had strayed up an inlet from the sea into the lake. This was the second sea monster mystery to be cleared up recently. Examination showed a strange marine creature, washed up dead on French shores near Cherbourg (P.S.M., May, ‘34, p. 38), to be a basking shark of a common species, made almost unrecognizable by the waves.
Well, I guess that mystery is solved for all time!
Comment by Don — March 24, 2008 @ 8:44 am
That’s an interesting explanation. I’m suprised I never heard of it before.
Comment by Myles — March 24, 2008 @ 11:09 am
This, the “surgeon’s photo,” was finally exposed as a hoax in 1994:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/lochness/legend3.html
I’m impressed, though. This PS article is contemporary.
Comment by Stephen Edwards — April 12, 2008 @ 11:43 am
if you look at the killer whales fin u can see that its much bigger
than the other picture and the whales fin was alot more
curved then the the loch ness picture
Comment by david — August 17, 2008 @ 12:06 am
it cent by dit dee find a whale ????
it’s a lake!!
it’s mast be a sea dragon
Comment by rick — November 17, 2008 @ 4:04 pm
it turns out that the photo was staged with a clay model and a toy submarine
Comment by mickey — December 5, 2008 @ 11:51 am
Have always believed it to be a whale. More likely something larger than a killer whale. If you have ever been lucky enough to watch whales in the wild you would see that they have look massive pectoral fin that they stick out of the water swimming sideways.
From a distance they also look like nessie…
example http://i265.photobucket.com/al.....aleFin.jpg
Comment by Sandy.W — January 5, 2009 @ 2:09 pm
If you see, the fin is much larger than the loch ness monster neck, and plus, did you see the loch ness monster go —> way? if so, than its not the whale, as u see, the fin is carved –> way, but the head is <— way. if it started swimming <—way, than the loch ness monster would go backwards. No mysterys solved man no mystery solved. Also why don’t scientist just say there is a loch ness monster? they proved that giant squid was real. If scientist just say their not real, then they probably DONT want them to be real.
Comment by Russell — January 7, 2009 @ 7:49 am
well i have yet to see vid footage of his head out that was clear. Just going by photos Ive seen and most have not been that great.
I don’t doubt that there is a Nessie like creature out there Russell. loads of stuff have survived, evolved over the years. Who knows whats deep in the forests of the world. Scientists will never say one way or another until there is solid proof. same thing happened when they found the giant squids, and mountain gorillas.
All the investigations into Nessie have yet to show anything concrete. I rem years ago when boats lined up across the lake and used sonar to check but didn’t find anything. cameras have been sent down as well, but I think the water is far to murky to pick much up
Maybe its a good thing…a little mystery keeps life interesting
)
Comment by Sandy.W — January 9, 2009 @ 4:39 am
eh I guess your right Sandy but I really believe that the Jersey devil is real >:) there is sooo many eye-witnesses and a victum(dog) too!
also the description of the Jersey Devil does make me think. how can such little wings lift such heavy wait? How can it live sooo long when it is a carnivore? (i get herbivores like sea turtles live long) That is the thing i doubt about the Jersey devil (maybe its just a mutated reptile with wings?) please answer back! ^_^ by the way, I still don’t believe the loch ness monster is the whale. the monster would be going backwards! >:(
Comment by Russell — January 9, 2009 @ 7:45 am
Pre-twentieth century descriptions of the Loch Ness Monster describe it more as a large fish.
Russel sea turtles do not live long because they are herbivores but because (as in the case of all turtles and tortoises) their cells don’t age like those of other animals. Carnivorous snapping turtles are known to live for well over a hundred years and more likely die from a run in with a automobile or motorboat than any other cuase. Sharks are the same way. Once a shark reaches a few feet in lenght its growth slows to just a few inches per year. Great whites over 40 foot are estimated to be over 100 years old and whale sharks over 60 foot are estimated to 150 years old or older. Some large deep water sharks may live to be over 300.
Comment by JMyint — January 9, 2009 @ 10:56 am
ehhhhhhhhhh lol ok i’m wrong in both ways than >.> but you got to admit that the loch ness monstah is not a whale!!! It doesnt go backwards… :O anyways who believes the jersey devil?
also I think the jersey devil would have a very large set of wings (to carry himself off the ground) either that or very light bones for those wings to carry himself up. the thing I dont think the jersey devil is true is because ..like ummm wats it called…..oh ya the wing and the mix-mutation like the hooves and horse head and stuf…:|
Comment by Russell — January 9, 2009 @ 5:07 pm
what the heck’s a jersey devil
Comment by Randy — January 12, 2009 @ 9:52 pm
a jersey devil is an animal with bat-like-wings horse head and dog face, hooves and front paws, tiny body and a tail…. but jersey devils getting off topic, i wonder what a loth ness monster really really is
Comment by Russell — January 13, 2009 @ 9:14 pm
The pic is not the surgeons!! it has been doctored to round the head off
Comment by alan — January 27, 2009 @ 9:05 am
whale fin too fat
and not curve
Comment by Russell — January 27, 2009 @ 9:29 am
Also ich glaube nicht das es das Monster gab bzw vieleicht immer noch gibt.
Aber ein Elefant kann es auch nicht sein denn ein Elefannt kann nicht so lange im Wasser überleben allso iis doch alles iemLich unwahrscheinlich.
Comment by Nini — February 22, 2009 @ 3:02 pm
huh? :O
Comment by Russell — February 22, 2009 @ 4:39 pm
Right, so now whales are freshwater animals are they??? Stupid story – there is no salt water in Loch Ness, plus the ‘nessie’ pic they are comparing it to is a know hoax. We are supposed to believe that there is no Loch Ness monster in there, just a collany of breeding whales that no-one ever spotted!
By the way, there isn’t enough food in Loch Ness for a single whale, let alone a whole family who somehow survive in freshwater in a Loch!! LMAO!!!!
Comment by Nonsense — February 25, 2009 @ 5:50 am
Never shall i beleive that the loch ness monster is JUST a whale.
The loch Ness monster is real and NOTHING can stop me from proving that what you say isn’t true!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
cause you is a liar!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
X(
Comment by SIR BOB THE BELEIVER — March 24, 2009 @ 5:30 pm
I agree with….SIR BOB THE BELEIVER o.o lol LOCH NESS MONSTER IS REAL
Comment by Russell — March 24, 2009 @ 5:59 pm
-thats obviously not a whale’s fin
-killer whales cant live in fresh water
-you can tell that the “loch ness” picture is an up close picture of something rather small, water doesn’t look like that from a distance
-if it WAS a killer whale’s fin surely you could see it’s head or tail also
Comment by lucas — July 4, 2009 @ 1:19 am
Whales swim backwards?
No..
Comment by Lolalkdjasldkasjdlkj — August 17, 2009 @ 6:46 pm
SIR BOB THE BELEIVER is proof that you shouldn’t eat lead paint. It’s spelled “Believer” by the way.
Comment by Firebrand38 — August 17, 2009 @ 7:35 pm
If it is the fin of the whale, it should be moving forward thus creating ripples at its back. But according to the theory of the zoologists and scientists, they are saying that whale had been swimming backwards as described in the picture !!!!
Comment by Mohammad Ali Shoaib — October 19, 2009 @ 5:52 am
Well, we should all know by now that that picture wasn’t a whale -but a hoax (Anyway, It is as possible for a monster to exist in the Loch as for a whale, I think…)
Honestly, I don’t know if Nessie did existed years ago (Like a surviving dinosaur or else), but currently there can’t be such a creature. I wish, seriously, I wish… But let’s be honest with ourselves, no matter how dark the water is, the current technologies and knowledge would have proved it.
P.S.: Sorry if there any linguistic mistake, English is not my mother tongue =)
Comment by Palia — November 4, 2009 @ 11:18 am