It sounds like the start of a low-budget thriller: A New Zealand scientist is traveling with his international research team to Scotland to investigate whether the Loch Ness monster is real, according to the Associated Press.
The expedition is led by University of Otago professor Neil Gemmell, who does not himself believe in the Loch Ness monster. He does, however, think water samples taken from the lake may result in the discovery of new bacteria and a deeper understanding of invasive species in the ecosystem. (Sure, whatever gets the trip approved, Neil 😉.)
The plan is to take 300 water samples from the lake and analyze the DNA found floating around inside it. When organisms swim around the lake, they shed bits of skin, scales, feathers, urine, and feces, says Gemmell. By tracing the DNA found in those samples back to identifiable species, the team can decode what’s living in the lake.
This is far from the first excursion to investigate the fabled sea creature. The late Robert H. Rines, who died in 2009, spent his adult life trying to track Nessie, even recruiting a pair of dolphins (and reportedly a British intelligence agency). Pictures from a separate 1976 expedition show a totally normal, competent-looking group of people standing around on a boat looking for the creature.
Gemmell says that he would “be surprised” if he found evidence of a Jurassic-style creature living in the lake. But in the true spirit of scientific discovery, he’s not ruling anything out. “I’m going into this thinking it’s unlikely there is a monster,” he tells the AP, “but I want to test that hypothesis.”