On Wednesday, Bigfoot's aqua-equivalent, the Loch Ness Monster, took his/her rightful spot on Twitter's list of mentions. Upon first glance this, may have led you to believe it either died or said something racist, but the reason is actually that some guy — a tourist, I guess — snapped an ambiguous pic last year while on vacation in Scotland with his brother.
Here's a zoomed in look. Um, just look at the pic. Don't let your opinion be swayed by the words going along with it:
And here's a more zoomed out view that should add perspective:
According to a backstory published by the tabloid The Daily Record, Steve Challice says he saw a "sort of ripple in the water" whilst taking photos of the lake's opposite shore. He believed he was looking at some type of fish, which probably would've worked as an explanation in just about any other body of water on Earth.
"I started taking a couple of shots and then this big fish came to the surface and then went back down again," Challice said. "It only appeared in one shot and to be honest that was something of a fluke. I watched for a while as you can see from the last picture but didn't see it again."
By Challice's estimate the creature was 30 feet away at the time. Also, he thinks it was about eight feet long.
As to why we're learning about this thing that happened in September now in whatever current month it is, Challice said it's because he hadn't had time to look at the pictures from the two-week trip until lockdown. He added that there were "hundreds" or images to go through from the trip.
Challice shared the picture online, which led to people tapping into their inner-cryptozoologist by speculating that it may be the fabled wish-it-were-real-but-probably-isn't creature.
Challice, who swears that the image is at the very least authentic, says he thinks it was probably a big fish or seal.
"Personally I know there has been some interest and some people are saying it's the monster but I don't believe that," he said.
He adds that he initially thought the thing was a catfish, and he says he only posted it so people could help him identify whatever it was.
"I have to say I don't believe in the Loch Ness Monster and frankly I think if anything is there then there is a logical explanation for most of the sightings," he added. "My guess would be that what I captured was a catfish or something like that. As seals get in from the sea then I expect that's what it is and that would explain why these sightings are so few and far between."
The Daily Record adds that Roland Watson, an author who champions a Loch Ness Monster blog, has been in contact with Steve since coming across the pictures on Facebook. Watson reportedly doubts the authenticity of the images, which adds a layer of drama to this whole thing.
"Up until now this year we only had distant webcam blobs due to the lockdown at Loch Ness, then this image turned up," Watson said. "If this is a genuine picture of a creature in Loch Ness, it would easily rank in the top three of all time. At this point, I am in an ongoing conversation with Steve as to the objections and concerns I have about this being a photoshop picture. So we will see where that takes us."
The Record goes on to quote an unnamed digital photography expert who thinks the picture was likely photoshopped due to the color saturation and the "indistinct lining" of the thing in the main photo.
Be your own judge.
Challice, however, is not backing down despite these accusations (though nicely put) that he's a liar. "There are pics on Google showing large monsters with lots of loops like a snake or something and my image is nothing like that," he said. "I genuinely think, to this day, it's just a big fish."
Looks like we may have to wait out a deathbed scenario here.
That could be awhile, so here's some reactions with the 2020 jokes kept in (this time) and anything with some weak Trump joke axed because, damn man, shit gets old:
