The loch ness monster, is a large animal that some people believe live
in live Loch Ness, a lake in Northern Scotland. If such a creature exists,
it avoids people. But hundreds of people have reported seeing the animal,
which is nicknamed, Nessie. They describe it as measuring up to 30 feet
(9 metres) long. The creature supposedly has flippers, one or two humps,
and a long, slender neck. Some scientist believe that Nessie may be related
to a dinosaur like reptile or to a modern sea animal, such as the manatee
or seal.
The earliest known description of the strange creature in Loch Ness dates
from A.D. 565. Reported sightings increased during the 1930s, when a new
highway made the lake more accessible to travellers.
In 1960, a British aircraft engineer named Tim Dimsdale, made a short film
of a dark shape moving through Loch Ness. Aerial photography experts from
Britain's Royal Air Force reported that the film probably showed an "animate
object"-that is, a living thing. Since then, several scientific expeditions
have explored the waters of the lake. Investigations with sonar,
a device that uses sound to detect underwater objects, have found large
bodies moving in Loch Ness.
In 1972 and 1975, researchers from the Acedemy of Applied Science in Boston
took underwater photographs of what they claimed was the Loch Ness monster.
However, experts do not agree on exactly what the photographs show. The
Loch Ness monster has been given a scientific name Nessiteras rombopteryx
so
that it can be protedted by a British law that safeguards rare animals.