What happens if someone catches the Loch Ness Monster?
Image copyrightSCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
Image captionNessie is often described as resembling a plesiosaur, an extinct prehistoric animal
A Scottish government-funded body has a plan in place if the Loch Ness Monster should ever be found.
Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) prepared the "partly serious, partly fun" code of practice in 2001 amid a period of intense interest in Nessie.
This year's interest has been piqued by scientists gathering DNA from the loch, and Scotland's first minister saying she believes there is a monster.
SNH said it would "dust off" the plan if Nessie was discovered.
The code of practice was drawn up to offer protection to new species found in the loch, including a monster.
It stipulates that a DNA sample should be taken from any new creature, and then it should be released back into the loch.
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES
Image captionThis photograph of Nessie was taken in 1934 but was later exposed as a hoax
The story of the monster can be traced back 1,500 years when Irish missionary St Columba is said to have encountered a beast in the River Ness in 565AD.
Later, in the 1930s, The Inverness Courier reported the first modern sighting of Nessie.
The creature's appearance has been described as resembling a plesiosaur, a creature that died out with the dinosaurs.
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