The Loch Ness monster has haunted a deep Scottish lake for more than 1,000 years — in imagination, at least.
But a scientific survey of the waters of Loch Ness found it contains no traces of “monster” DNA at all, adding weight to the already-likely prospect that “Nessie” doesn’t really exist.
Geneticist Neil Gemmell of Otago University in New Zealand said an environmental DNA survey of Loch Ness saw no signs it was home to any giant reptiles or aquatic dinosaurs – a theory sometimes used to explain the mysterious monster, which has reportedly been seen several times since the 1930s.
Gemmell said the survey revealed DNA traces of more than 3,000 species living beside or in Loch Ness – including fish, deer, pigs, birds, humans and bacteria.
But “we did not find any giant reptiles; we didn’t find any reptiles at all,” Gemmell told Live Science. “We tested a variety of ideas about giant sturgeons or catfish that might be here from time to time, but we did not find those either.”