How old is Nessie?

The Long Life of Nessie?

Most people think that the Loch Ness creature was first seen in 1933 with the building of the new road. As you can see from the list below there have been sightings since 1527.

565 1527	St Colomba Duncan Campbell said he saw 3 men killed	Beastie in Loch (possibly River Ness not Loch) Terrible beast in the loch
1600 and 1700s	Many reports ,no details, may have been soldiers stationed near the loch. There was a warship moored on the loch supplying troops at this time.	Floating islands reported but there are no mats of vegetation in the loch.
1771	Reported sighting no details	Great beastie (N.B. there is no documentary proof to support these earlier sightings only reports written many years after it happened)
1871	Dr Mackenzie reported to police	Log like, then upturned boat
1879	Children reported to police	Elephant coloured creature small head on long neck turned head side to side .waddled(on land)
1880	E.H. Bright and cousin	Long neck dark grey. emerged from wooded area and left a wash where it entered water(on land)
1885	Roderick Matheson to police	Forward moving in loch. Biggest thing he ever saw with horse like head.
1888	Alex MacDonald	Early morning in loch described as salamander like
1889	Not known	Strange creature in loch
1890,s	Gypsy lady	Unknown except strange creature in loch
1895	6 or 8 people including a forester, a ghillie, anglers and hotel keeper	Reported to police a horrible great beastie in the loch
1898 1889	McKenzie No details only several people reported to police	It appeared in the loch at times and then it seemed to go away A beastie in the loch
1903	F.Fraser and 2 others	Hump in water like upturned boat tried to row closer but couldn’t get a close look
1908	John Macleod	Long tail eel like head 30-40ft lying on the surface of the water, quickly moved off Inchnacardoch bay
1912	5 Or 6 children including William MacGruer	Queer looking animal moved to the loch and vanished in the water. Described as camel like with long neck and humped back .(land )
1919	Mrs P. Cameron and 2 brothers	Small head like a camel long neck humped back 4 limbs
1923	1)William miller and D. McGillray 2)Alfred Cruickshank	1)Like an upturned boat about 10-12 feet showing, moved off in an arc and submerged 2)at night on land. about 20 to 25 feet long arched back with 4 legs and lighter underbelly skin elephant like(on land)
1929	Mrs Cumming and D Gillvray	Motionless sank with a splash. hump size of a horses body
1930s	Several sightings Including 3 young men in a boat, Ian J Milne, Alec Muir and several school children Exact dates not recorded	Described as 2 or 3 small humps, moved in an arc One on land sighting which left a visible trail of squashed moss
1932	James Cameron	Hump like upturned boat

A creature has been seen in the Loch for centuries. As it surely can’t be the same creature ,there must have been a breeding family to continue to be seen over the years. The argument has always been that the Loch doesn’t connect to the sea and therefore no large creatures could have come that way to breed. There is new evidence to say that this isn’t true.
British and U.S. scientists claim they have evidence that the sea extended into Loch Ness at two points in history: after the Ice Age in Europe (125,000 years ago) and 12,800 years ago. A geologist working with a research team in 2001 noticed the clay on the anchor of their boat looked different from other deposits found in the same part of the Loch. Carbon  dating and amino-acid testing on the clay indicated that it contained clams  and sea urchin spines from both 12,800 and 125,000 years ago. This discovery would tend to lend credence to the theory that large animals could have become trapped in the Loch as the water receded back to the sea. Source: The Press and Journal (North Scotland) .
Food for thought indeed.Another  theory is that Nessie could be like some animals such as certain types of sharks that can breed without a mate. Whatever Nessie is , whether apparition or monster, she / he has been around a long time.