Experts hunting for the Loch Ness Monster are excited after capturing mysterious footage of a large object cruising across the loch shortly before midnight.
The dark hump was filmed moving silently across the surface during a night vigil – in what the team claims is the first nocturnal footage of its kind.
The Loch Ness Exploration group said the sighting could be significant because most Nessie searches have traditionally taken place during daylight, as reported by What’s The Jam.
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A spokesperson said: “The footage was obtained during one of our night vigils – the heart of what makes our approach different.
“For decades, the search for Nessie has been conducted largely in daylight and from fixed shore positions, apart from the Dr Rines night expeditions in the 1970s, which also turned up interesting evidence.
“We have deliberately turned that on its head.
“By working through the hours of darkness, when the loch is at its quietest and human disturbance is at a minimum, we believe we are looking for the animal in a new and genuinely unique way.”
Team member Christopher Drysdale added: “We believe Nessie is nocturnal and that this shift in approach is the reason we are beginning to see things that daylight-only searches have missed.”
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The latest encounter happened near Urquhart Castle, where the team was watching the water using thermal imaging and night vision cameras.
Just before midnight, a large black object or hump suddenly appeared on the viewfinder.
It travelled from right to left at high speed, apparently moving just below the surface before breaking back through it in one continuous motion.
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The team said it appeared to have come from the main stretch of the loch before heading into the calmer waters of Urquhart Bay.
The object continued across a significant stretch of water before beginning to submerge near Temple Pier and disappearing into deeper water.
Loch Ness investigator Dick Raynor said his impression was that it was a surface creature rather than a diving one like an otter.
He acknowledged that ducks and geese swim at night to stay away from land predators, but the team said the latest footage appeared different from previous footage of ducks filmed at night.
Paul Smyth, a member of the team, said the object was a completely different animate object that was speeding across the loch.
He suggested it could have been a large Nessie-type animal chasing a school of fish which had unexpectedly diverted towards the River Ness.
He added: “Some of the team believe this could have been the case here, especially with the speed it was going.”
The group said the combination of the object’s apparent size, speed and movement between the surface and underwater made it difficult to explain.
It comes after a series of mysterious encounters recorded during its night vigils over the past year, including an unexplained low growl captured on the loch.
The group has also recently acquired a boat, allowing researchers to venture further out onto the water after dark.
The team said combining thermal imaging with sonar and hydrophones would open up a new way of studying the loch.
A spokesperson added: “We understand the scepticism, and we welcome scrutiny.
“But we would offer a simple counter-argument: we are not unusually lucky.
“We are doing something new.
“We are not telling people that this is Nessie.
“We welcome all ideas, theories and alternative explanations, and we have no interest in overstating what the footage shows.
“What we will say is that this is another piece of a very mysterious jigsaw – part of an enigma that has captivated people for generations and that, far from being closed, is very much still open and, we believe, closer than ever to being understood.”
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