Orkney beast 'similar to Nessie'

Hey folks, just an interesting article that appeared on the BBC news website yesterday so thought I'd share it with you Crypto people.

A mystery creature washed up on Orkney almost 200 years ago was "strikingly similar" to descriptions of Nessie, the Highlands Science Festival will hear.

Geneticist Dr Yvonne Simpson, who hails from Orkney, has researched the Stronsay Beast.

Its carcass, which some said was that of a basking shark, was found off Stronsay in 1808.

Dr Simpson said the descriptions of its long neck were along the lines of those of the Loch Ness Monster.

She will give a joint talk with Loch Ness expert Adrian Shine during the science festival, which opened on Saturday.

The Stronsay Beast was first sighted on 25 September 1808 on rocks at Rothiesholm Head, on the south-east of the island, by a local fisherman.

Various others saw the carcass and fragments of it are preserved at the Royal Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.

Some people suggested it was a basking shark or a large unidentified shark.

Orcadian Dr Simpson, who has a degree in evolutionary, environmental and biomedical genetics from the University of St Andrews and a PhD in the field of DNA damage repair from Edinburgh's pathology department, is fascinated by the stories....

READ ARTICLE HERE

The Stronsay Beast measured (16 metres) 55ft. Yes 55ft! So it makes you wonder if all these 'beast sightings' in the great lakes around the World are just an ancient species of shark. The sightings in places do sound awfully similar.