The Loch Ness monster could be more accurately named the Loch Ness Catfish, according to one man who has devoted the last two decades to searching for the mysterious and much sought-after creature in Scotland.
Steve Feltham, 52, moved to Loch Ness 24 years ago to pursue “Nessie,” the mysterious creature rumored to live
in the loch, Sky News reported. But after fruitlessly searching, Feltham told SN he believes many of the sightings may have just been a catfish.
"Looking at all the evidence, speaking to eyewitnesses, the most likely solution is a Wels catfish," Feltham said, referring to a cat fish that grows to 13 feet long and can weigh more than 800 pounds.
The stories of a mysterious creature living in Loch Ness have intrigued the world, bolstered by photographs of mysterious objects in the water. One famous photograph that showed a brontosaurus-type creature in the waters was revealed to be a hoax 10 years after it went public.
Feltham, who said he hasn’t definitively solved the mystery and will probably continue
to look, told The London Times, “I have to be honest. I just don’t think that Nessie is a prehistoric monster. What a lot of people have reported seeing would fit in with the description of the catfish with its long curved back."
The idea that a monster lived in the depths of the Loch Ness has been traced to sixth-century writings
of a monk, Fox News said. The mystery draws thousands of visitors to the Scottish loch, and even pulled in BBC, which spent dollars to scientifically research the subject in 2003. But even 600 sonar beams and satellite tracking found no evidence of a hidden monster.
"I certainly don’t regret the last 24 years," Feltham told Sky News, "I'm in my utopia living here on the shores of the loch. "I'm not saying the mystery's solved. I'm still looking for a better explanation than that [Wels catfish]. This is an explainable phenomena. There is something to be explained in Loch Ness."
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