MONSTERS
LOCH NESS
Loch Ness, Scotland
INTERESTING FACT
Loch Ness is a lake in the north of Scotland and it is the second largest lake in that country. However, for centuries this lake has been a subject of many discussions because of the legendary monster which, as many believe, lives in its dark depths and is known as Nessie. The first records of a great fiend living in the lake date from 565, and later through history many confirmed to have seen the same creature. However, Nessie becomes famous all over the world in 1933, after an eyewitness made public a photograph, claiming that he took picture of the legendary snake-like monster from Loch Ness. After that, for many people the hunt for Nessie became an obsession, and the story about Nessie is still very topcical.
Many cryptozoologists1 claimed that Nessie is in fact the only species that survived from prehistory – some kind of dinosaur. These claims were easily re futed, because it’s impossible for a living creature to live for several million years.
THE LAKE WITH THE LARGEST WATER VOLUME
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IS NESSIE A KIND OF DINOSAUR?
Although the second largest lake in Scotland, because of its depth Loch Ness has the largest water volume. Its maximum depth is at 230 meters, and the lake contains more water than any other lake in England and Wales combined. Because of this phenomenon, many people are convinced that there’s an enormous monster living in the lake. 1
Cryptozoologists are scientist who study creatures which presumably exist but whicha re not officially classified (so-called cryptids).
Photographs and video recordings Since the appearance of the first photograph, allegedly showing the image of Nessie, there were many other photographs where, more or less clearly, you can see the creature with enormous scaly back and a several meters long neck sticking out of the water, sliding over the surface of Loch Ness. In later years, there have also been video recordings where, in the distance, you can see something enormous come out of the water for a moment, and then, disappear as suddenly as it had appeared. Unfortunately, most of these photos and recordings were proven to be false, but many people don’t lose hope that a monster, whose shape and way of living are unlike any other creature known today, actually lives in the depths of Loch Ness.
What’s hiding in the depths of Loch Ness?
TOURIST ATTRACTION It’s not very likely that there really is a prehistoric creature called Nessie living in Loch Ness. Nev ertheless, every year millions of people visit Loch Ness, hoping to be lucky enough to see the legend ary monster. That makes this place in Scotland one of the most visited tourist attractions in the world.
INTERESTING FACT
After they explored the depths of Loch Ness, using the most modern equipment, the scientist didn’t find anything not even closely resembling a monster. However, the centuries old story about a monster Nessie still spurs the human imagination. An experiment with the tourists was conducted where, while the tourists were watching the surface of the water in the distance, with the help of an underwater cable, an ordinary log was pulled out of the water for a moment, and then submerged again. Eight out of ten tourists were convinced that they had clearly seen Nessie!
For many people, the search for Nessie became their life’s mission. One of the most famous among them is Steve Feltham who sold everything he owned and moved to the shore of Loch Ness and has been watching the surface of the lake with the most up-to-date binoculars for eleven years now, hoping to see the legendary Nessie.
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MONSTERS
BIG FOOT
North America and Canada
INTERESTING FACT
When the first Europeans came to the North American continent, among many other wonders they found on the new continent, one especially caught their attention. Among many Indian tribes, there was a story about a gigantic hairy creature of enormous strength, which terror ized their villages by abducting their people and children, taking them deep into the woods and then devouring them. The Indinas called it Sasquatch, and the white settlers named it Big Foot.
CHARACTERISTICS It is believed that Big Foot lives in North America and Canada. It is between two and three meters tall, covered with thick, black hair and very strongly built. He looks like a huge ape, and is specific because he walks upright on two legs, just like humans.
| MYSTERIES
FOOTPRINTS
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Big Foot got its name because of its large, 40cm long, feet. There are many Big Foot footprints today and they are kept in Natural History Museums or are privately owned. Many of these footprints are proven to be more or less skilfully made forgeries, but after a detailed analysis, the scientists have determined that some of the moulds are authentic, which means that it’s possible that a creature we call Big Foot really exists.
Hunt for the Big Foot
THE STRONGEST PROOF The strongest proof of Big Foot’s existence so far are hairs which were found and claimed to be the hairs of this creature, and for which the scientists confirmed that they didn’t belong to any other known animal.
INTERESTING FACT
Throughout history, especially in the XX century, many people came up with evidence of the existence of Big Foot. A hunt for this creature was organized, and anyone who managed to catch it, dead or alive, would get a large financial reward. Attracted by the large reward, one by one, amateurs, as well as professional hunters joined this mission, but no one ever managed to catch Big Foot. Over time, the existence of this creature became a myth. However, in 1961, two explorers from California – Roger Patterson and Robert Gimlin – shocked the world after they made public their video recording of the mysterious creature moving through the woods and then disappearing. They claimed to be the first to prove the existence of Big Foot. To this day, the question remains whether it was a deftly carried out hoax or an authentic recording that proves the existence of the legendary creature.
Did you know?
In the last hundred years, there were 3000 reported sightings of Big Foot.
Many believe that Big Foot is a kind of gigantopithecus, the biggest anthropoid primate that lived on planet Earth and became extinct more than 100,000 years ago, which somehow survived. Rare fossilized remains of this creature were found in China, India and Vietnam.
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MONSTERS
YETI
Himalayas, Tibet
Just like Big Foot, which is believed to live in the woods of North America and Canada, in the far east, on the slopes of the Himalayas and Tibet, there’s a legend of a similar creature, known as the Abominable Snowman, or just Yeti. As with Nessie and Big Foot, there are many of those who claimed to have encountered this unidentified crea ture, but up until today there is no concrete evidence of its existence.
Similarities with Big Foot According to the the descriptions we have, Yeti is most similar to his American ”relative”. However, there are two important differences between these two monsters. Yeti is a bit smaller than Big Foot but, on the other hand, it is said to be a far more aggressive creature. While (apart from the old Indian tradition) it was never reported that Big Foot ever attacked a man, there are many claims that Yeti attacked and often killed people. The natives of Tibet tell of Yeti attacking a yak, an autochthonous species of Tibetan ox, when Yeti managed to easily kill this large domestic animal, most similar to our bull.
| MYSTERIES
THE ORIGIN OF THE NAME YETI
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The name Yeti was deri ved from the Tibetan word yeh-teh – ”a small manlike animal”. But, in fact it’s an erroneous translation of the Old English word geottan (yettin in modern English), which means troll or orc (a kind of a mytho logical creature).
The Mysterious Finger
An American explorer, Peter Byrne, who spent most of his life working on the Himalayas, heard the story of a monster called Yeti. Searching for the evidence of the existence of Yeti, one Tibetan monk agreed to take him to the secret treasury of the monastery and show him a strict ly kept secret – a scalp and a mummified right hand of Yeti. Although he was forbidden to even touch what the monks believed to be the remains of Yeti, Byrne somehow managed to get hold of a finger, which he cut off the hand. In the strictest secrecy, he managed to send the finger to the United States, where his close friend, a scientist, was supposed, through DNA analysis, to prove the real origin of the finger. He managed only to determine that the tissue from the finger wasn’t human, and after that the scientist suddenly died, and the finger disappeared without a trace.
Macabre Howling
BROWN BEAR’S RELATIVE Since an actual proof of Yeti’s existence was never found, scientists claim that it is in fact only a deftly spun myth, or simply a mistaken identification with a bear species living on the Himalayas, which is rarely seen and is considerably bigger than its closest relative – the brown bear.
INTERESTING FACT
Many people who were at the Hi malayas claim to have heard eerie sounds, so loud that they were heard for miles around. The natives claim that it's the voice of Yeti. Still, many believe that the howling comes from a distant avalanche.
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