The Irish Lough Monster ,Muckie of Muckross Lake.

There is apparently a lake monster in Muckross lake in Ireland of the serpent variety. Muckross Lake is up to 70m deep, and is said to be Ireland’s deepest lake and is one of three lakes that make up an area known as the Lakes of Killarney. Scientific research points to a large and mysterious creature living in Muckross lake. People have already christened it “the Muckross Monster” or more affectionately “Muckie”.

It is estimated to measure almost 80m in length and the object or creature has scientists puzzled. Irish and international scientists have been working with the Irish Char Conservation Group to find out more about the fish life in the Ice age lakes around Co. Kerry. They carried out the first fish survey in Muckross Lake in September 2002 and identified the presence of the Arctic char. Then when they analysed the data collected by hydroaccoustic or sonar gear they found something anomalous.

Dr. Fran Igoe, scientific adviser to the Irish Char Conservation Group stated “ what we do know is the fish fauna in Muckross is very ancient indeed. We have confirmed the presence of a good population of Arctic char, and the lake is known to hold ferox trout, ordinary trout and Atlantic salmon as well as lamprey species and eel, all of which attest to the ancient origins of this lake. This latest discovery is very exciting and the Irish Char Conservation Group is keen to continue our investigations in this area. Talk that these images may be that of a mysterious prehistoric monster like that reported for Loch Ness may be a bit premature.”

The sonar picked up something the size of a two story house in about 75 feet of water near the south eastern portion of the lake. The team was unsure as to what the object or creature might be, but they were able to rule out computer errors as everything was functioning well.

Mr. Patty O’Sullivan, Killarney National Park manager for the National Parks and Wildlife Service, stated that he was very excited about the findings and delighted that the ancient fish of these lakes are being examined by International and Irish scientists.

It has been seven years since the initial sonar contact was discovered, no sightings or new evidence has been found to adequately explain what it was the sonar picked up, so a mystery remains..

The original story : http://www.charr.org/news/muckrossmonster.htm

And more about Irish Lake Monsters: http://www.stickyfingerstravel.com/Lakeshores/Lakeshores.705.html