200 hunters join the biggest search in 50 years for Scotland's fabled Loch Ness monster

The monster hunters are also using infrared cameras to find heat spots and a hydrophone that can pick up acoustic signals 60 feet below the lake's surface. (Representational image: Pixabay)

Around 200 monster hunters have gathered in the Scottish Highlands equipped with drones and infrared cameras with a single goal -- to finally find the Loch Ness monster. This is the biggest search operation of its kind in 50 years. Apart from the hunters, there are also 200 volunteers on-site and about 300 people who have signed up to follow a livestream from the search, the BBC reported.

The fabled Loch Ness monster affectionately nicknamed "Nessie," is a fixture of Scottish folklore and is believed to inhabit the deep lake in the Scottish Highlands.

But it has eluded both capture and definitive proof ever since it was reportedly first spotted in the 6th century, Business Insider reported. The modern myth of the legendary beast began in 1933 when a hotel manager claimed to have seen a whale-like creature in the loch. In the following year, the Daily Mail published the famous "surgeon's photograph" which allegedly shows the marine creature's head and neck. The picture continues to make waves despite most now agreeing that it was a hoax.

But last weekend, amid grey skies and heavy rainfall, the hunters -- significantly better equipped than their predecessors -- descended on the Highlands with flying and underwater drones to survey the lake, which is 788 feet deep and 37 km miles long, The Washington Post reported.

The monster hunters are also using infrared cameras to find heat spots and a hydrophone that can pick up acoustic signals 60 feet below the lake's surface.

These are not just people "with binoculars and a tub of sandwiches," Paul Nixon, head of Loch Ness Center, asserted. This hunt is the most elaborate of the 1300-year search for Nessie, the New York Times reported. "The interest in our weekend of activities has been fantastic, and to see how people worldwide are still fascinated by the story of the loch and Nessie," Nixon added.

This hunt, called "The Quest" was launched by the Loch Ness Center itself in partnership with Loch Ness Exploration, a research group that studies the lake and other unexplained phenomena. It invited volunteer hunters “fascinated by the legendary tales of Nessie” and with “a passion for unraveling mysteries and exploring the extraordinary.” The center was later forced to close online registrations for volunteers “due to an overwhelming surge in demand,” The Washington Post stated.

"We are looking for breaks in the surface and asking volunteers to record all manner of natural behavior on the loch," said Alan McKenna of Loch Ness Exploration to BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme.

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