WASHINGTON 鈥� A man who has spent nearly half his life trying to work out the mystery of the Loch Ness Monster says 鈥渕y best guess鈥� is that it鈥檚 a catfish.
A catfish?
Don鈥檛 feel too brought down 鈥� tells it鈥檚 not just any catfish. The bottom of the Scottish lake, he thinks, is home to a Wels catfish, which he says is the biggest freshwater fish in the world, growing to about 13 feet. It lives up to 100 years and eats other fish.
The biggest creatures known to be in Loch Ness, Feltham says, are salmon and seals. There are one or two 鈥渕onster鈥� sightings a year.
鈥淲e get sonar contacts with things that are far bigger than any fish that should live in this body of water,鈥� Feltham says. In fact, some are the size of a station wagon.
Feltham鈥檚 announcement could seem like trouble for the Loch Ness Monster industry, which brings in about 25 million pounds a year (nearly $40 million), but Robbie Bremner, the director of the Loch Ness Centre tells Sky 草莓传媒 that 鈥渋f you give a balanced view, which is what we do here 鈥� people can make up their own minds.鈥�
Feltham, 52, gave up his job, home and girlfriend to spend the past 24 years staring at Loch Ness, and he says he has no regrets.
“I’m in my utopia living here on the shores of the loch.鈥�
And he says the hunt isn鈥檛 over 鈥� even if the Loch Ness Monster turns out not to be something like the giant eel-like creature depicted in the famous 1934 photo now known to be a hoax, Feltham says, 鈥淚鈥檓 still looking 鈥� You can鈥檛 say Loch Ness has nothing to be explained. Loch Ness still has something to be explained.”
