Best Evidence:
There have been more than 1,000 reported sightings of the Loch Ness Monster. While people are notoriously bad eyewitnesses, especially to phenomena such as this, a few accounts (some of which are listed above) constitute some of the best evidence for the creature.
There are also a few good photos, most notably a shot taken by Anthony Shiels from Urquhart Castle on May 21,1977. It's perhaps the clearest photo of the creature, showing its neck and head high above the water.
Tim Dinsdale's 1960 16mm motion picture film may still be the best evidence for a large unknown creature in Loch Ness. On April 23, he photographed a dark object moving across the loch then turning parallel to the far shore and heading down toward Fort Augustus. Although no features of the creature could be distinguished, experts who studied the film concluded that it was not a boat or submarine, but some large, unknown animate object.
Various expeditions have also recorded numerous sonar contacts with a large moving object within the loch that cannot be explained as known fish.
Conclusion:
There is no firm conclusion regarding the existence of the Loch Ness Monster. Skeptics cannot prove that it's not there, of course, but they don't need to; the burden of proof lies with those who think it is. Some photos and eyewitness testimony are intriguing, yet far from convincing. Without a doubt, enthusiasts and researchers will continue to see and search for the monster... and enterprising folks will continue to make tidy profits from T-shirts, stuffed animals and a load of other Nessie bric-a-brac.
