A while back I had a post about the theory that the Loch Ness Monsters are surviving plesiosaurs. This post will be similar, but will be about the theory that the Loch Monsters are some sort of giant eel. Over the years, there have been a number of people who think this may be the case, notably, Loch Ness researcher Roy Mackal.
MACKAL'S THEORY
One of the best known Nessie researchers ever, Mackal, was born in 1925. Mackal worked as a biologist in Chicago and began investigating the Loch Ness Monsters in the 1960s, and did so until his death in 2013.
In 1976, Mackal wrote a book called The Monsters of Loch Ness. Towards the end of the book, he discusses two of his theories as to what the monsters could be. One was some type of amphibian, and the other was a giant eel, which is what we are looking at in this post.
Mackal looked at a table he had made of features described in monster sightings. He tried to match them up with known animals to see if any of those he compared the sightings to could explain what was being seen in the loch. When Mackal looked at the results, he saw that a "thick bodied eel" matched more of the characteristics than the other animals.
The largest eels known to science are moray eels, which can reach a length of twelve feet. Could a type of eel, 30 feet long, be living undiscovered in Loch Ness?
COULD GIANT EELS LIVE IN THE LOCH?
The average temperature of water in Loch Ness is about 42 degrees Fahrenheit. Eels are cold-blooded animals. Could they survive in that water?
If the Loch Ness Monsters are giant eels (lets say, 30 feet long), would there be enough food in the Loch for them to survive? The answer to that may actually be yes. Eels can actually go quite a long time (a few weeks or more) without eating. If a small population of giant eels lives in Loch Ness, each eel could be fine while not eating for a while. There would probably always be enough food for them.
But, do eels match characteristics of most descriptions of the Loch Ness Monsters like Mackal said they did? They could possibly create the humps reported, but couldn't show the long neck.
Maybe the Loch Ness Monsters are some sort of giant eel. Or, maybe, they're not. In the future I'll have more posts discussing what they could be.
 |
| Could the Nessies be a type of gigantic eel? |
MACKAL'S THEORY
One of the best known Nessie researchers ever, Mackal, was born in 1925. Mackal worked as a biologist in Chicago and began investigating the Loch Ness Monsters in the 1960s, and did so until his death in 2013.
In 1976, Mackal wrote a book called The Monsters of Loch Ness. Towards the end of the book, he discusses two of his theories as to what the monsters could be. One was some type of amphibian, and the other was a giant eel, which is what we are looking at in this post.
Mackal looked at a table he had made of features described in monster sightings. He tried to match them up with known animals to see if any of those he compared the sightings to could explain what was being seen in the loch. When Mackal looked at the results, he saw that a "thick bodied eel" matched more of the characteristics than the other animals.
The largest eels known to science are moray eels, which can reach a length of twelve feet. Could a type of eel, 30 feet long, be living undiscovered in Loch Ness?
 |
| Moray eel |
COULD GIANT EELS LIVE IN THE LOCH?
The average temperature of water in Loch Ness is about 42 degrees Fahrenheit. Eels are cold-blooded animals. Could they survive in that water?
If the Loch Ness Monsters are giant eels (lets say, 30 feet long), would there be enough food in the Loch for them to survive? The answer to that may actually be yes. Eels can actually go quite a long time (a few weeks or more) without eating. If a small population of giant eels lives in Loch Ness, each eel could be fine while not eating for a while. There would probably always be enough food for them.
But, do eels match characteristics of most descriptions of the Loch Ness Monsters like Mackal said they did? They could possibly create the humps reported, but couldn't show the long neck.
Maybe the Loch Ness Monsters are some sort of giant eel. Or, maybe, they're not. In the future I'll have more posts discussing what they could be.
Comments
Post a Comment