Hundreds Join Largest Loch Ness Monster Hunt in 50 Years in Scotland

A general view of Loch Ness as people take part in the largest Loch Ness Monster hunt for 50 years in Scotland, Britain, August 27, 2023. REUTERS/Russell Cheyne
A general view of Loch Ness as people take part in the largest Loch Ness Monster hunt for 50 years in Scotland, Britain, August 27, 2023. REUTERS/Russell Cheyne
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Hundreds Join Largest Loch Ness Monster Hunt in 50 Years in Scotland

A general view of Loch Ness as people take part in the largest Loch Ness Monster hunt for 50 years in Scotland, Britain, August 27, 2023. REUTERS/Russell Cheyne
A general view of Loch Ness as people take part in the largest Loch Ness Monster hunt for 50 years in Scotland, Britain, August 27, 2023. REUTERS/Russell Cheyne

Hundreds of hopeful volunteers joined a two-day hunt for Scotland's fabled Loch Ness monster on Saturday and Sunday, in what organizers described as the biggest search for the elusive "Nessie" in more than 50 years.

The Loch Ness Center, which partnered with voluntary research team Loch Ness Exploration to organize "The Quest", said they would be using surveying equipment that had not previously been tried at the loch, including thermal drones.

Volunteers from around the world were allocated locations around the 23-mile (37-km) long lake from which to monitor for any signs of Nessie, while others took to boats. A hydrophone was also used to detect acoustic signals under the water.

"We did hear something. We heard four distinctive 'gloops'," said search leader Alan McKenna. "We all got a bit excited, ran to go make sure the recorder was on and it wasn’t plugged in."

The first written record of a monster relates to the Irish monk St Columba, who is said to have banished a "water beast" to the depths of the River Ness in the 6th century.

The most famous picture of Nessie, from 1934, showed a head on a long neck emerging from the water, but 60 years later it was revealed to have been a hoax that used a sea monster model attached to a toy submarine.

Countless unsuccessful attempts to track down the monster have been made in the years since.



Pope Calls Buzz Aldrin to Mark 1969 Moon Landing

20 July 2025, Italy, Castel Gandolfo: Pope Leo XIV visits the Vatican Observatory to mark the anniversary of the 1969 moon landing in the summer papal estate in Castel Gandolfo. Photo: -/IPA via ZUMA Press/dpa
20 July 2025, Italy, Castel Gandolfo: Pope Leo XIV visits the Vatican Observatory to mark the anniversary of the 1969 moon landing in the summer papal estate in Castel Gandolfo. Photo: -/IPA via ZUMA Press/dpa
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Pope Calls Buzz Aldrin to Mark 1969 Moon Landing

20 July 2025, Italy, Castel Gandolfo: Pope Leo XIV visits the Vatican Observatory to mark the anniversary of the 1969 moon landing in the summer papal estate in Castel Gandolfo. Photo: -/IPA via ZUMA Press/dpa
20 July 2025, Italy, Castel Gandolfo: Pope Leo XIV visits the Vatican Observatory to mark the anniversary of the 1969 moon landing in the summer papal estate in Castel Gandolfo. Photo: -/IPA via ZUMA Press/dpa

Pope Leo XIV on Sunday called astronaut Buzz Aldrin and visited the Vatican's astronomical observatory in Castel Gandolfo to mark the 56th anniversary of man's first moon landing.

"This evening, 56 years after the Apollo 11 moon landing, I spoke with the astronaut Buzz Aldrin," the American pope wrote on X.

"Together we shared the memory of a historic feat, a testimony to human ingenuity, and we reflected on the mystery and greatness of Creation", he wrote.

After Neil Armstrong, who died in 2012, Aldrin was the second person to set foot on the Moon on the historic Apollo 11 mission that secured the United States' victory in the space race.

A devout Christian, Aldrin took communion on the lunar surface using a travel kit provided by his Presbyterian pastor.

According to AFP, the pope said he blessed the 95-year-old US astronaut and his family during the call.

Earlier Sunday, Leo visited the Vatican Observatory, which sits on a leafy hilltop near the papal summer home of Castel Gandolfo.

Vatican photographs showed the pope looking through a large telescope in the Observatory, one of the oldest astronomical research institutions in the world, where planetary scientists mix the study of meteorites with theology.