Does NESSIE venture out of Loch Ness into the open ocean?

Hi ATSers, hope you are all well.
I just came across this article complete with a photograph, which to me is very reminicent of NESSIE; our beloved monster of Loch Ness.
There have been many attempts over the years to try and definitively 'pin-her-down'; with varying, yet still inconclusive results.
I think about the expedition in the mid-80's where a maritime explorer, scoured the bottom of Loch Ness using multiple boats all equipt with sonar technology, yet they failed to find her.
This new photo makes me wonder, does NESSIE spend most of her time in the oceans at large?
This would explain infrequent sitings and inability to locate her, and I'm sure the open seas would have much more to offer in regards to food, than the Loch!!!
The Association of Maritime Research is calling for witnesses to aid their investigation; as per this article.

Correct me if i'm wrong, but I thought that Loch Ness was a land-locked body of water???

Regardless of that, if there's one of these creatures still alive than there are likely to be a few more elsewhere...and the oceans seem much more feasible for supporting and hiding gigantic and undiscovered creatures such as a "Nessie".

After seeing some of the creatures that have been documented in our oceans recently(such as the colossal squid), I can't discount the possibility of nessie-like creatures lurking in the depths.

reply to post by mpriebe81


Hello there! I've provided a link for your perusal which you may find interesting!
The Loch Ness doesn't open directly into the North Sea, but is connected.
It connects to the sea through a short river, then through Firth of Inverness and Moray Firth to the North Sea.

If I remember correctly, there are reasons why something in the Loch could not reach the ocean through the rivers you mentioned above.

A huge discovery was made just this year about the Loch being directly connected to the ocean in the past, but it isn't now.

Shells were found in the Loch that date back to the time of the last ice age. The shells are not native to the Loch, so it is presumed that they came in from the ocean while the ice was melting.

It is theorized that if Nessie actually exists/did exist, that a creature could have moved into the Loch during that ice age and could have become landlocked when the ice receded.

Thanks for that link KRIS, and for the info that both you and fooff have supplied us with here. It's especially interesting to hear that the ocean used to be very accessible via the Loch....that definitely adds credence to the possibility of a creature such as Nessie living in the Loch!

I've always found the lake- and ocean creatures to be extremely interesting, so i'll be following this one for sure

reply to post by mpriebe81


It was my intention to with the opening post to gain information which would explain the photograph within the article given. This was apparently photographed in the sea, off Dover somewhere.
It is still plausable that Nessie has in some manner made it out to sea, on the account that the river Ness is subject to flooding.
Please see the data supplied in the link.



Obviously there would be need of a large amount of water around for Nessie to transverse the small tribulataries along the route to the open sea. Large floods and the cover of darkness may be enough.
I would like to see data on the last major floods in these regions, to see if their is any correlation between the sonar expidition mentioned in OP, and the apparent disappearence/non-existenec of Nessie.
The data in the article supplied does seem a little dated; yet in the introduction it does state that the River Ness is indeed subject to flooding!

Most fresh water species can't live in salt water and vice versa. So it would be remarkable if this one could.. Even if it existed!

reply to post by Thain Esh Kelch


Hi Thain,
here in Australia we have the infamous Salt Water Crocodile. A creature that is not particularly liked, but one that is respected.
There have been numerous reports of these creatures turning-up in the most unlikely places!
Similarly, I would assume Nessie is somewhat of a hardy prehistoric survivor; if indeed still alive!
Please see this interesting info in the link, on the adaptabilty of these dinosaurs!

Nessie has been spotted on land...I find it more likely that it spends most of its time in the hills/mountains surrounding the lake hibernating and resting and only goes into the Lake for food.
Perhaps the same thing could be said for the Ogopogo.

Im not sure if this theory is correct, but I do find it more likely then the Ogopogo and Nessie going to the Ocean.

-Fox Mulder





[edit on 15-6-2009 by FoxMulder91]

reply to post by FoxMulder91


Could it be that Nessie would in fact be more closely resembling a Diplodosaur, rather than a Pleisosaur?
I,ve seen soom dated Circa 1980's photographs of great 'Flippers' apparently photographed in Loch Ness, and presumed to be of Nessie; wiht stationary cameras.
Where , and how would a creature of this apparent size hibernate?
Im not sure if these creatures were ever considered cold-blooded.

reply to post by KRISKALI777


Just so you know that picture and video are part of a viral marketing campaign. Here is the video from which the picture is from.
They are trying to promote a cruise line.

For Nessie to reach open sea it would have to travel down a very shallow river, The River Ness, which runs through Inverness, without being spotted by anyone. It would also have to negotiate many loch gates as Loch Ness is roughly 50ft (or is it metres?) above sea level.
As for it living in the woods on the mountain side!! Having visited the Loch many times I can hoenstly tell you that if Nessie ever dared come ashore she would be spotted straight away. All the old stories of the creature coming ashore come from the early part of the 1900s when the Loch was inaccessible and remote.
However, there is enough evidence to state that there are sizable creatures in the 15 to 20 foot size range swimming through the murky waters. Unfortunately they can't be dinosaurs as they were air breathers which means everyone around the Ness would see mast like head and necks sticking up from the water. My best guess is that Nessie is a large fish or eel which entered the loch years ago and now finds itself stuck there due to it's size.

Loch Ness is indeed linked to the sea, though not directly. The Loch flows into the River Ness, which flows into the sea approximately 10miles or so away.

The River Ness flows through the centre of Inverness, the largest town in the area. The river is not very deep, and also noted for its clear water. Many bridges cross it and theres a park area (Ness Islands) which covers both sides of the river and is used recreationally, popular with both tourists and locals alike.

There are floods in the area, the rivers burst its banks a number of times in the past 10 years, its actually just a matter of time till Inverness has an extremely severe flood what with all the land reclamation at the mouth of the river and a combination of a east wind/sea swell and some heavy rain and snow melt.

Id still find it unlikey that it does use this route to get to the sea and back, due to having to pass throught the centre of town and beneath so many bridges. I dont doubt it would be spotted if it does this even only a couple of times a year.

reply to post by Thain Esh Kelch


Carcharhinus leucas. the Bull Shark, tolerates the switch between salt and fresh water well. So, if there is an unknown creature in Loch Ness, perhaps it can, too.

Edit because I attempted to spell without coffee.



[edit on 17-6-2009 by tamusan]

a reply to: [post=6506429]KRISKALI777[/po

I'm not sure how many people follow her sightings closely but records show she's not been sighted for over a year, which is the longest she's been out of sights for since the famous "photo" in 1930s, so maybe she has found a way out to sea? Or to another loch possibly? But only if it could be done under the loch, through tunnels or gaps in the hillsides possibly?

Having recently visited the loch, there is no way she could travel over land (or through any shallow waters) without being spotted, there are constant boat cruises and its quite easy to see lots of it from the road. We stayed in a lodge a little way from the loch but from our veranda we could see a big chunk of the loch and I didn't see a thing(despite endless hours staring out hehe)

Loving everyone's enthusiasm for this top.
🐲🐉🐾🐚🐊🐍🐟🐋🐴

For what it's worth, one of the most famous Nessie reports involves the creature being on land and almost getting hit by a motorcyclist. Though it's one of the more famous reports, it's not known as one of the more credible ones.

originally posted by: ChesterGorilla
For what it's worth, one of the most famous Nessie reports involves the creature being on land and almost getting hit by a motorcyclist. Though it's one of the more famous reports, it's not known as one of the more credible ones.

It might be a female Conger eel, they just keep growing, and are quite capable of slithering across land. A friend who's father fished the North sea, caught a giant one once that was thirty feet long. They tend to make a noise like a bark, and if caught on a line, will come out of the sea at the fisherman. They can also tolerate fresh and salt water.

I remember a study being done on the amount of biomass needed to support a creature as big as nessie is said to be.....there wasnt enough food was the findings

originally posted by: FoxMulder91
Nessie has been spotted on land...I find it more likely that it spends most of its time in the hills/mountains surrounding the lake hibernating and resting and only goes into the Lake for food.
Perhaps the same thing could be said for the Ogopogo.

Im not sure if this theory is correct, but I do find it more likely then the Ogopogo and Nessie going to the Ocean.

-Fox Mulder

The main problem with nessie and ogopogo is that they are animals too much big to walk around on land and even if they did so, they would probably be crushed by gravity or insanely slow (see sea turtles.)





[edit on 15-6-2009 by FoxMulder91]