Prince William's visit to Nature Metrics, a company specializing in environmental DNA analysis, sparked speculation about the possibility of finally uncovering the truth behind the Loch Ness Monster. However, the company's researchers poured cold water on the hopes of Nessie enthusiasts, suggesting that the monster may simply be a very large eel.
The existence of Scotland's legendary Loch Ness Monster has been a subject of heated debate for nearly a century. Affectionately known as Nessie , the large marine creature is said to reside in the freshwater loch south of Inverness. Now, the mystery may have finally been solved – by none other than Prince William .The Prince of Wales paid a visit to Earthshot Prize finalist, Nature Metrics , at their Surrey headquarters today.
During his visit, he was introduced to the Nature Intelligence Platform, a groundbreaking tool capable of identifying individual species from minute samples of soil, sediment, water, or air. During a demonstration of the technology, Prince William posed the million-dollar question: 'Does this mean you could find the Loch Ness Monster?' Unfortunately, the researcher on hand doused any hopes of Nessie's existence. 'It might just be a very big eel,' she responded. Prince William's visit to Nature Metrics coincided with the company showcasing its eDNA Surveying Tool. Nature Metrics explains on its website that 'All living things leave traces of their DNA in the environment (eDNA). We use this to identify individual species from small samples of soil, sediment, water and air.' This sparked the Prince to inquire about the possibility of using the technology to locate the elusive Loch Ness Monster. The researcher, however, revealed that 'people have tried.' She added that a team from New Zealand had taken approximately 500 eDNA samples from Loch Ness, hoping to find evidence of the legendary creature. 'They said they found eels, and it might just be a very big eel, but that felt like it was clutching at straws a bit!' she explained. She added that all they needed to find was 'one bit of unidentified reptile DNA and they could have had a story.'The researcher also mentioned that Nature Metrics has been approached by individuals seeking to use their technology to find other mythical creatures, including the Yeti and Bigfoot. This revelation comes shortly after naturalist Adrian Shine stated that individuals who reported spotting 'long-necked' creatures in Loch Ness were likely misidentifying waterbirds in calm conditions. Shine, a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and founder of the Loch Ness Project, argues that boat wakes are the 'largest cause of monster sightings,' often mistaken for mysterious humps or loops in the water. He has also suggested that the Nessie of popular imagination is simply a sea serpent depicted on old maps, reimagined in a fresh inland setting. Despite his 'sympathetic scepticism' towards the Loch Ness Monster, Shine offered little comfort to believers. He stated that 'boat wakes are probably the number one cause of monster sightings, and waterbirds are the long-necked ones.' He added that 'Of course there are long-necked creatures on Loch Ness – we call them swans. In calm conditions you can lose your ability to judge distance, and if you can't judge distance, you can't judge size.' The rumors surrounding a strange creature inhabiting the waters of Loch Ness have persisted for decades, but concrete evidence supporting these claims remains elusive. One of the earliest documented sightings, believed to have ignited modern Nessie fever, occurred on May 2, 1933. The Inverness Courier reported on a local couple claiming to have witnessed 'an enormous animal rolling and plunging on the surface.' Another famous alleged sighting is a photograph taken in 1934 by Colonel Robert Kenneth Wilson. However, this photograph was later exposed as a hoax by one of its participants, Chris Spurling, who confessed to staging the images on his deathbed. Other notable sightings include James Gray's picture from 2001, captured while fishing on the Loch with his friend Peter Levings, and Hugh Gray's blurred photo of a large sea creature, published in the Daily Express in 1933. Robert Kenneth Wilson, a London physician, captured arguably the most famous image of the Loch Ness Monster. The surgeon's photograph, published in the Daily Mail on April 21, 1934, was subsequently revealed to be a fabrication.
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