Monster hunters around the world are revving up for the biggest search for the Loch Ness monster in 50 years.
The Quest Weekend, organized by the Loch Ness Centre in Drumnadrochit, Scotland, will take place on August 26 and 27 with the help of drones, infrared imaging and underwater sound detection.
According to the Loch Ness Center, these tools will enable us to “search the waters in a way that has never been done before.”
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The two-day track-a-thon is the biggest of its kind since the Loch Ness Investigation Bureau studied the area in 1972.
“It’s our hope to inspire a new generation of Loch Ness enthusiasts and by joining this large-scale surface watch, you’ll have a real opportunity to personally contribute towards this fascinating mystery that has captivated so many people from around the world,” Alan McKenna, of Loch Ness Exploration, told BBC News.
Reports of the Loch Ness Monster, aka Nessie, date back to the sixth century AD, in the biography of St. Columba. In 1933, the legend really began to gain momentum after a couple reported seeing a large creature, which they compared to a “dragon or prehistoric monster” crossing the street in front of them and disappearing into the lake.
Since then, a (largely futile) search for the cryptid has driven swathes of tourists to the lake. However, evidence for the existence of this creature remains sparse, limited to some blurry photos and sketchy recordings.
Until recently, one of the leading scientific explanations for these sightings was that “Nessie” might be some kind of giant eel. This was on the back of previous DNA studies that found high levels of eel DNA in the Loch’s murky waters.
However, in January 2023, a preprint study put a dampener on this theory by calculating that the chances of finding a large eel in Loch Ness are around 1 in 50,000 for a 3.2-foot specimen, with the probability of finding a creature larger than 19.6 feet being essentially zero.
Other hypotheses include that the monster is some kind of prehistoric marine reptile, or perhaps even swimming circus elephants.
While in-person spots at this weekend’s event are sold out, cryptid hunters can still sign up to view the live webcam footage to keep an eye out for anything unusual on the water’s surface. Each morning McKenna will brief volunteers on what to look out for and how to record their findings, followed by a debrief to go through the day’s findings.
You can sign up here.