Nessie: Feeding on Land
Posted by: Nick Redfern on April 15th, 2014
Although the overall mystery of the Loch Ness Monsters fascinates me, the one issue that really intrigues me is that of the beasts allegedly being seen on land – and possibly even feeding on land too!
As to why I mention this right now: Roland Watson has an excellent new post on this very issue over at his Loch Ness Mystery blog.
You can find the article here and it begins like this:
“It is back to this blog’s occasional series on land sightings and there is one interesting aspect to the Loch Ness Monster on land and that is its role as hunter. Of the thirty five alleged land cases I know about, three are reported with an indication of prey being carried away.
“Now sightings of a large creature in Loch Ness are interesting, stories of this monster lumbering about on land are even more fascinating. But stories of the monster helping itself to cows, sheep, deer and other animals around the loch boggles the mind and may make some a bit wary of wild camping along secluded parts of the shore! Critics have often complained there are not enough fish in the loch to sustain a group of large predators, but what about on land? It is now time to indulge in some wild speculation!”
About Nick Redfern
Punk music fan, Tennents Super and Carlsberg Special Brew beer fan, horror film fan, chocolate fan, like to wear black clothes, like to stay up late. Work as a writer.
What kind of terrestrial creature could NOT outrun a creature like that? Besides turtles, I mean.
And if there is nothing he can catch to eat on dry land, wouldn’t he have given up a fruitless quest a long time ago?
Say he could get onto land in the first place. I have no problem with the notion. Imagine he’s standing motionless, so as to not draw attention to himself. That would mean he would have to move his head – which is on the end of a long neck – fast enough to snatch his prey before it got away. If it’s escaped, it’s no longer prey; he can’t pursue it.
What stands out to me is my conviction that something on the end of long, heavy neck would never be able to move his neck fast enough to catch prey.
Don’t forget how the Croc/Gator feeds on prey near the water’s edge. Slink along the bottom out of sight, then propel itself out of the water to grab it’s prey. If the prey is injured in the lunge attack, then it may follow it to finish it off.
………….maybe
I would like to pass on an experience of mine which I hope will help people to keep watching the waters of the loch and its surrounds.
Back in the 70’s I was having morning tea with a lady named Liz McLeod who held the responsible position of Secretary to the General Manager of a Melbourne Television Station. If the name McLeod rings a bell, it is because Liz was married to Torquil McLeod when he was the Gamekeeper at Loch Ness.
She told me that one morning, her husband flung open the door to the cottage and came rushing in. He was ghostly white and could hardly speak! Liz said to him: “Don’t tell me you’ve seen Nessie?” He had!
The story is now well documented. Torquil saw the animal with binoculars OUT OF THE WATER on rocks across the loch.
I have no doubt what Liz said to me was true as she was a friend and a very reputable person who was holding an important position at a major TV Station. She was there when it happened and from my point of view, it was good to have this famous sighting confirmed.
With the power of the internet many years later, at least I have been able to share the story she told with others who like me, would dearly like answers to the perplexing puzzle of Loch Ness.
The article is a speculative one, no one has ever seen such an act of predation, but certainly it is unlikely the monster could chase anything, so it is down to the element of surprise and some assumptions about how that long neck works.