04-04-2025
In 1970, an Underwater Camera Searched for the Loch Ness Monster. It Just Surfaced—With Haunting Photos.
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A camera trap deployed by a Loch Ness researcher in 1970 was recently recovered by an autonomous robot.
Not only was it still intact—it still had film that could be developed, and the photos show a glimpse of the murky depths of the loch.
Robots like the one that found the camera are often tested in Loch Ness before going out into the open ocean.
The Loch Ness Monster is right up there with Bigfoot and Mothman when it comes to famous cryptids. While there has never been any proof that Nessie exists, something dredged up from the depths of the lake may tell us more about what goes on in the dark waters she is imagined to inhabit.
Hardcore Nessie enthusiasts are always watching for a sign that the existence of their beloved lake monster isn't a hoax. In 1970, University of Chicago biologist Roy Mackal of the Loch Ness Investigation Bureau deployed six cameras meant to catch any footage of Nessie in action. More than half a century later, an Autosub robot (otherwise known as Boaty McBoatface) from the UK's National Oceanography Centre (NOC) took a deep dive and got something stuck in its propeller—part of the equipment anchoring one of Mackal's cameras at a depth of 180 meters (almost 600 feet).
The camera was identified by Loch Ness researcher Adrian Shine, founder of the Loch Ness Project. His organization has been tirelessly searching for signs of a monster (or some sort of less mythical beast) since the mid-1970s. The Instamatic camera was actually part of a trap, and its built-in flash cube allowed it to take four photos when activated by a bait line. Shine was impressed by how—despite being submerged for 55 years—the camera had stayed remarkably dry in its casing, even revealing viable film when opened. While they didn't capture Nessie, the photos that surfaced after the film was developed give those of us on land a glimpse of the murky depths of Loch Ness.
The camera—which (along with the photos it took) is now on display in the Loch Ness Centre in Drumnadrochit, home to the Loch Ness Project—was not found in the deepest part of the lake. At a maximum depth of 230 meters (755 feet), the water could still potentially be hiding things. Many investigations have tried to find out what, if anything, might have fueled rumors that led to the notorious photo of the 'monster' and other attempts to prove Nessie's existence. A 2019 attempt at extracting the DNA of all living species in those waters, for instance, found no evidence of a prehistoric, plesiosaur-esque marine reptile. No evidence of a Greenland shark (a species that can live up to 500 years) showed up either. The suspicion that Nessie could have actually been an overgrown catfish or sturgeon was also ruled out.
What a research team from New Zealand did find was DNA from European eels. While these creatures are nowhere near the enormity of the fabled Nessie, there was no way of knowing the size of those in Loch Ness. It is possible that some of them could have grown to be behemoths in the absence of much competition for food. If Nessie really is an outsized eel, that could explain the long neck—though a previous study did assert that the popular theory wasn't the answer.
But the potential for monsters isn't the only reason to keep exploring. The NOC, which has been making advances in developing autonomous vehicles for 30 years, keeps testing the craft in Loch Ness regardless of whether or not something that could pass for Nessie shows up. The latest Autosubs, which had a trial run, are used for long-distance autonomous operations and mapping the ocean floor—so far, only 26% of the ocean floor has been mapped. The deepest regions of our oceans (and other large bodies of water) are alien places where unknown creatures might just be waiting to be discovered.
So long as the legend of Nessie lives on, even if there is no cryptid, investigators will keep sending robots underwater to see what—if anything—might be lurking in the loch.
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