By Tim Binnall
Despite a significant downturn in visitors due to the coronavirus pandemic, sightings of the legendary Loch Ness Monster in 2020 were largely in line with previous years. With the acceptance of a recent report from late November, the Official Loch Ness Sightings Register has now recognized 12 cases this year. That number, director of the group Gary Cambell told a local media outlet, is "incredible" in light of the lockdown which kept so many people from journeying to the shores of the iconic site.
"It just shows that whatever the situation, Nessie has not gone away and is finishing the end of the year with another unexplained appearance," he marveled, "it all adds to the mystery and is in many ways it is a vintage year for sightings." Assuming that the creature is not spotted again in the next few weeks, this year's tally of sightings is not all that much of a downturn in comparison to previous years. While it would be hard to top the 18 sightings accepted last year, 2018 only saw 15 cases and 2017 had 14 reports. Remarkably, 2016 featured a mere six sightings and, obviously, that was without the restrictions on visitors which hampered 2020.
To that end, when the first five sightings of the year were made by way of quarantined individuals at home watching the Loch Ness webcam, it seemed as if perhaps 2020 would wind up without anyone actually spotted the creature in person. However with loosening travel restrictions in the summer months, on-site reports finally began to occur, beginning in late July, and, at year's end, accounted for an equal number of reports added to the register. The remaining two sightings may have been the most intriguing of them all as they were incidents in which sonar on tour boats appeared to pick up a mysterious mass believed to possibly be Nessie.