BBC Investigates Bownessie Lake Creature
Posted by: Craig Woolheater on March 4th, 2012
Sightings of a creature not dissimilar to the Loch Ness Monster have caused a stir in the normally quiet waters of the Lake District.
Local swimmer Tom Noblett, world record holder in fresh water swimming, thinks he was within feet of the creature whilst out for a morning swim.
Photographer Linden Adams also claims to have seen the creature and has captured it on camera.
The picture is now being analysed by experts in forensic visual computing.
Inside Out investigates the possible discovery of a new species of lake dweller, dubbed ‘Bownessie’, which some have likened to the Loch Ness monster.
Source: BBC News
Co-founder of Cryptomundo in 2005.
I have appeared in or contributed to the following TV programs, documentaries and films:
OLN's Mysterious Encounters: "Caddo Critter", Southern Fried Bigfoot, Travel Channel's Weird Travels: "Bigfoot", History Channel's MonsterQuest: "Swamp Stalker", The Wild Man of the Navidad, Destination America's Monsters and Mysteries in America: Texas Terror - Lake Worth Monster, Animal Planet's Finding Bigfoot: Return to Boggy Creek and Beast of the Bayou.
Based on the photos, the sonar scans showing nothing like a Nessie, and the statements of the Zoologist, it does seem likely that this is an unusually large fish, like a Sturgeon, or perhaps a Wels Catfish (can weigh 660 lbs). The Wels was not mentioned as being native to those waters, but then again neither is the Sturgeon. One theory of Nessie is that it is based on Wels Catfish being seen and in some case exaggerated in Loch Ness.
I’m glad they are paying attention to this, but don’t expect a new species.
I can’t believe he actually said otters. LOL
They are so fortunate that a professional photographer happened to be the one to snap those shots. He had the equipment and knowledge to know how to get the best possible shots and took several to show the movement and fluctuations of the animal. Well done, Sir.
As for Nessie being a Wels Catfish? Doubtful. Too many people along the loch fish, either recreationally or as a livelihood, to not know what a catfish would look like. A sturgeon I could see, as even those of us who have a good idea of what they look like may be startled to see them thrashing about in real life (all muscle and vinegar, nasty temperament). Although that wouldn’t account for the long neck seen by many witnesses and photographed occasionally.
Flame821
Hello. I do not personally think that Nessie is a Wels catfish, just said that it was one of the theories about Nessie. I think some sightings might be of a Wels Catfish (some sightings of Nessie are by non-locals and foreigners, and therefore less likely to not misidentify a Giant Catfish as Nessie from a distance), but I don’t think personally that it is a Wels. The following is a theory list of what Nessie might be;
Wels or Sturgeons (some sightings of Nessie, though few, describe giant fish) large eels, perhaps Circus Elephants taking a dip in the Loch (though that might be debated: Elephants do not drink cold water, and I think they might have an aversion to entering really cold waters, but I’ll have to do some research about the latter. Nevertheless from a distance, an elephant swimming might be misidentified as a serpentine or plesiosaurus-like creature), other exotics (Hippos, Crocs, giant salamanders have been seen in the Loch), and some that defy easy explanations (a horse-camel hybrid seen on few occasions, spanning perhaps centuries).
The last odd critter might be a odder way of describing a Moose without Antlers (When I try to picture what a hybrid of Horse and Camel might look like, I can’t but help to think of a Moose, with its large shoulder hump, its darker hair and hooves, and its face, which turns downwards at the front similar to a Camel.). Having said that, Camels were extinct in Scotland when these sightings were noted: they were reintroduced quite recently.
These odd sightings can be found in Loren Coleman and Jerome Clark’s “Cryptozoology A to Z”, pages 138-143
I thought this was a very good report. None of the “monster bashing” you see in a lot of reports. At this point I’m thinking a large sturgeon or other fish though. Well done.
I also enjoyed this report and thought it was well done.
A main question that arises for me is regarding the nature of the smear on the lake surface. Is it water disturbance or is it the shadow of the body’s creature due to translucency?
Also, why were basking sharks even mentioned in this report?
Richard888
“Also, why were Basking Sharks even mentioned in this report?”
Greenland, Bull and Great White Sharks can sustain being in fresh water for a while (Bull Sharks have been found north on the Mississippi, taking cows and people in freshwater rivers. MonsterQuest devoted an episode to this, and after they came up empty in Louisiana, one of the men they had hired to find sharks in the Bayou found a bunch of them, all Bull Sharks. They also found a Greenland Shark in fresh water and filmed it for a considerable time. If These sharks can do it, then perhaps a Basking Shark just might be able to do it as well. However, I do not know if it has ever happened, if this particular lake is connected to the ocean, and if a Basking Shark actually can survive being in freshwater, let alone for a very long time.
Basking Sharks are believed to have been mistaken for sea serpents and sea monsters in the past (and they certainly qualify as a Sea monster, though a harmless one: imagine a giant Great white void of teeth. Toothless, yet impressive…)