Hurray! You found the MacBay Monster cryptid cache at Riley Park!
History of the Loch Ness Monster (MacBay Monster's cousin):
The Loch Ness Monster (affectionately known as "Nessie") is a legendary creature that is believed to live in Loch Ness, a large lake in Scotland. The first historical account of the creature was in an ancient text from the sixth-century. The first purported photographs of the monster were taken in the 1930s, launching the Loch Ness Monster into international stardom, even though they were later revealed to be hoaxes. Big-game hunter, Marmaduke Wetherell, was hired to try to track down the monster in 1933. He claimed to find fresh footprints of a 20-foot creature. He made plaster casts and sent them off to the Natural History Museum of London. Zoologists debunked the footprints as being from a stuffed hippopotamus foot, which someone had pressed into the mud around the lake as another hoax.
Modern day:
Despite significant research, including water DNA samples and sonar scans of the bottom of the lake, no concrete evidence of the Loch Ness Monster has ever been found. That doesn't stop millions of tourists from flocking to the Scottish highlands each year, in the hopes of spotting the legendary water beast. There have been over 1,100 recorded sightings of "Nessie" since an official registrar began.
Fun facts about the Loch Ness Monster:
- Most of the Loch Ness Monster sightings are later believed to be optical illusions caused by waves, floating logs, and normal creatures on the water - like ducks, otters, and swimming deer.
- According to Scottish myth, Nessie is not the only water creature in the area. Water-horses and kelpies are also common in folklore from that region of the world.
- In the 1930s, a British circus offered a significant reward for the capture of the Loch Ness Monster.
Want more Loch Ness Monster?
