Loch Ness Monster sightings jump in 2026 as scientist drills into legendary mystery

The Loch Ness Monster is making waves again amid an uptick in reported sightings, but one researcher told Fox News Digital he still isn't convinced the legendary Scottish creature is real. The sightings register contains eyewitness accounts from visitors and locals around Loch Ness, a freshwater lake in the Scottish Highlands, roughly 20 miles southwest of Inverness.

In March, an American man reported seeing "the dark-greenish gray body of what appeared to be Nessie emerge from the water." He wrote that "Nessie hovered for about 5 seconds, then dipped back into the water. Her body emerged against the chop of the surf, but appeared clearly defined against the waves, leading me to believe it wasn't just the current."

In July, a local sailor claimed to have seen a "large oversized crocodile head above the water" while sailing on his yacht. "The head quickly disappeared before I could get a photo," he said. "It took me a few minutes to process what I was seeing. We made it into Fort Augustus safely with no further sightings."

One visitor from Malta reported seeing a creature in August that looked like a "very large eel" moving against the current. "He estimated that the size was at least 7 meters [about 23 feet] in length," according to the register.

Expert Analysis

Though the increase in sightings may seem significant, one expert disagrees. Charles Paxton, a research fellow in statistical ecology at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, told Fox News Digital there was "nothing special" about the jump in reported sightings from 2025 to 2026.

Paxton explained that the modern phenomenon of Loch Ness Monster sightings began in the 1930s, particularly between 1933 and 1934. "In 1934, the local government slashed its tourist budget, because they felt it wasn't necessary to do any advertising for tourism whatsoever," he said. "And there were traffic jams around the loch."

The surge of interest fell off over the years but was revived in the 1960s when the Loch Ness Investigation Bureau began collecting data on Nessie sightings. "Since the '70s, numbers have generally sort of dwindled, but with fluctuations" from year to year, Paxton noted.

Paxton also clarified that the database used to track modern sightings is not an official record. "There are people collecting reports of the Loch Ness Monster from a variety of sources," he said. "But that website has become a central location for people to [share] their reports."

Possible Explanations

Though Paxton doesn't believe there is an unknown animal lurking in the loch, he said he doesn't think those who report seeing the monster are lying. "I don't think that's the case at all," he stated.

He cited several possible explanations for the sightings, including "people seeing animals in the loch, people seeing boat wakes, people seeing wind waves, floating vegetation." Paxton added, "In my view, the Loch Ness Monster has lots of different sources."

Paxton, who is currently researching how cultural influences may contribute to reported sightings, said statistics can help researchers better understand why people report unusual experiences. "And people have these exciting, strange experiences, and the question is, what caused them? And I think we can use statistics to kind of investigate patterns in what's going on."