Is it a whale? Or is it Nessie?
London - Something strange breaking the surface of the murky water may be part of life for the monster-hardened folk who live near Loch Ness.
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But while they take such sightings in their stride, claims that Nessie had taken a 600-mile trip south to splash about in the Thames caused ripples in London on Wednesday.
A video showed a long dark shape which appeared to be humped, reminiscent of the mythical creature, in front of The O2 arena, then disappearing beneath the surface.
A YouTube user calling themselves Penn Plate, who took the footage while on the Emirates Air Line cable car near Greenwich, wrote on the video sharing website: ‘Something huge was moving under the water and then briefly surfaced.
‘Are there whales in the Thames? Or is it some weird submarine?’
Others speculated that it might have been Nessie, taking a trip a long way from home.
But Steve Feltham, who has spent the past 25 years living by Loch Ness trying to find the first definitive proof of the monster from his caravan, said it was unlikely that whatever was spotted in the Thames was Nessie.
It would be almost impossible for her to slip unnoticed from the loch, get to the North Sea via Inverness or the Caledonian Canal, swim south and head up the Thames. Mr Feltham, 52, said: ‘There have been no sightings up here this year which is suspicious. But I’m still pretty convinced she’s in Loch Ness.’
He added that whatever had been captured on the video may have just been ‘disturbances’ on the surface of the water in a part of the river that was shallower than the rest.
Gary Campbell, president of the Official Loch Ness Monster Fan Club, which logs sightings of Nessie, told the Daily Mail: ‘I’ve no idea what it is. Given the size of it I’m surprised no one else saw it.’ Seals, porpoises, dolphins and even whales have been seen in the Thames before so could all be behind the mystery. Equally, the video emerged close to April Fool’s Day so some digital trickery may be to blame.
Daily Mail