Post by Joanna on Jul 18, 2015 18:53:11 GMT -5
Is the Loch Ness Monster a Catfish?
It could be a hoax. It could be a sturgeon or maybe an eel. Or it could also be as what the most dedicated hunter believes – a catfish. Steve Feltham, 52, who has spent a little more than half his life trying to find the Loch Ness monster, is a Guinness World Record holder for the longest continuous Nessie search. He is positive that Nessie is a giant catfish. "I have to be honest. I just don't think that Nessie is a prehistoric monster," says Feltham.
He speculations the Wels catfish (above) is the best candidate for the long searched-for beast. Fetlham however clarifies his comment and admits it really isn't the final explanation, but it "ticks most of the boxes with sightings." People have pictured the Loch Ness monster in their minds in different versions, but a popular characteristic would be that it's fairly huge. Although it is rare, the Wels catfish can grow up to approximately13 feet in length, weigh as much as 880 pounds, and live 60 years, more or less.
Feltham believes the catfish, native to both central and eastern Europe, might have been introduced by the Victorians to the deep freshwater lake for the purpose of sport fishing. While there are no records of Wels catfish released into the Scottish Highlands lake, Feltham believes there is a possibility they were. If this is true and they were released in the late Victorian era, they would have reached maturity in the 1930s, when the Loch Ness monster craze started.
However, Nessie was first reported in the 6th century, when the Irish monk, St. Columba, claimed to have banished the water beast into the River Ness. In 2003, researchers funded by the BBC, using sonar and satellite, concluded there was likely nothing in the lake the size of the Loch Ness Monster.
But as positive as Felton is that Nessie is a giant catfish, he still hopes the monster will turn out to be something "far more exciting than a catfish."
In 1991, Feltham gave up his house, job and girlfriend in exchange for a caravan by the Loch Ness shore to search for Nessie. He insists he will not give up the search.
Source: Jill Arce, Tech Times, July 18, 2015.
