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(By Captain Howdy @ B3ta)
This forum isn't supposed to have images of horror on it.
 
I know there's a general air of disappointment out there, but I can't help wondering whether those feeling most let down have ever actually seen an eel.

I mean, given the average size, they are generally manageable. But a big one? A really big one? Bugger that - I rather cuddle a plesiosaur any day of the week

(Anyone else remember that diver who was dragged around Loch Long (? I think) by a six foot conger?)
 
Seen 2/3 footers that kids have caught on the slipway here and it's like fighting with
a wire rope made of spring steel, and when you are fighting with a big un thats in
it's own element your going to loose.
 
The press really took the "giant eel" bit and ran with it. There isn't any evidence for giant versions. But, I agree, eels are very awesome.

The more curious bit in the results was no sharks, no catfish, no sturgeon. Human was the top DNA percentage. From the press release:

Professor Gemmell says one of the more intriguing findings was the strong input of DNA from land-based species in the Loch.

“We found substantial levels of DNA from humans and a variety of species directly associated with us such as dogs, sheep and cattle. However we also detected wild species local to the area such as deer, badgers, foxes, rabbits, voles and multiple bird species. These findings indicate eDNA surveys of major waterways may be useful for rapidly surveying biological diversity at a regional level.”


So, all along, this was a science project with a gimmick. The science worked out just fine. The gimmick was a bit goofy but, hey, at least more people know what eDNA is now. Watch the TRVL channel special this Sunday. (Seems they lost their vowels on some trip...)
 
know there's a general air of disappointment out there, but I can't help wondering whether those feeling most let down have ever actually seen an eel.
It's a disappointment because they created all that fuss and fanfare just to tell us something that we already knew. I look forward to their next project, perhaps to tell us that cattle sheds contain cattle DNA or that eucalyptus DNA is found in koala poo. The full DNA results are interesting right enough but they don't tell us anything about size.
 
Wiki quotes the largest known eel as measuring 13ft in length.
Impressive, but hardly a monster. I suppose that, if a huge eel were undulating just beneath the surface though, the effect of the waves could give the impression of a larger size.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eel

Also, why is this eel story being illustrated by the known hoax of the surgeon's photograph?
That was just a model attached to a Woolworth's toy submarine.
 
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Wiki quotes the largest known eel as measuring 13ft in length.
Impressive, but hardly a monster. I suppose that, if a huge eel were undulating just beneath the surface though, the effect of the waves could give the impression of a larger size.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eel

Also, why is this eel story being illustrated by the known hoax of the surgeon's photograph?
That was just a model attached to a Woolworth's toy submarine.
I didn't realise the adapted toy submarine used for the surgeon's pic was from Woolworths specifically .. if that's true, I might be able to find one on ebay one day ..
 
Yeah, granted - it was kind of deflating. That said, I was probably insulated from any disappointment by a natural mistrust of anything that comes with premature trumpets.

I don’t think it’s disappointing at all. I’ve been saying it’s an eel for years. But a possible huge eel is interesting. In fact a genetic lineage that can cross land, breed in the Sargasso Sea and return to the loch would make more sense than some air-breathing Scottish Godzilla that survived an ice age and decided not to emigrate.
 
I don’t think it’s disappointing at all. I’ve been saying it’s an eel for years. But a possible huge eel is interesting. In fact a genetic lineage that can cross land, breed in the Sargasso Sea and return to the loch would make more sense than some air-breathing Scottish Godzilla that survived an ice age and decided not to emigrate.
But the DNA just points to the presence of eels which we knew anyhow, there’s no evidence for giant ears other than Gemmel saying yeah that might be possible.
 
Well this is now a Boris Bus. When Boris said he coloured in cardboard boxes to model buses, the internet became a confusing thing regarding Boris on buses.
But I do remember, with my biological brain, a story of a diver in Loch Ness who encountered and nearly aquatically shat himself when confronted by a huge eel. In this regard, the search waters have been muddied a bit more.
 
Wiki quotes the largest known eel as measuring 13ft in length.
Impressive, but hardly a monster. I suppose that, if a huge eel were undulating just beneath the surface though, the effect of the waves could give the impression of a larger size.

Yes but... that's a selected figure. There are around 800 species of eel, some of which live in fresh water, some in saltwater, and some in brackish water. The one that grows to 13 feet is the slender moray eel. Known species that could survive in a freshwater Scottish loch are much smaller. Therefore, assuming the sightings are of eels, they would have to be either extraordinary examples of a known freshwater species, or a new species.

Saying "eels can grow to 13 ft" is true in the same way that it is true to say that "trees can grow to 300 feet" because the giant redwood can.
 
Completely take your point about potential size.

I'd just add my non-scientific that eels are resilient little buggers that seem capable of eking out an existence in the most unpromising of surroundings.

Could the local variety have evolved or adapted some sort of survival strategy not seem elsewhere?
 
Some animals just keep growing their entire lives.
Though would size be an advantage for an animal that lives off carrion?
 
It is obvious that Nessie is not just one thing. As well as being a possible large eel, or other unusual or possibly unknown thing, it most certainly has been mistaken identifications of regular animals, logs, waves, and hoaxes. It's really frustrating for me, who likes paranormal and mysterious topics and possible explanations, to have to listen to the media and many people's assumption that it is one specific thing, some smoking gun. That's so biased and wrong.
 
They're playful eels that likes to play practical jokes on people.
 
It is obvious that Nessie is not just one thing. As well as being a possible large eel, or other unusual or possibly unknown thing, it most certainly has been mistaken identifications of regular animals, logs, waves, and hoaxes. It's really frustrating for me, who likes paranormal and mysterious topics and possible explanations, to have to listen to the media and many people's assumption that it is one specific thing, some smoking gun. That's so biased and wrong.

Tchh, next you'll be saying that UFOs could be aircraft, Venus, swamp gas, Chinese lanterns or drones!
 
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