Re: LochNess Tooth Find
OK, I find the tooth thing to be a bit out there and unbelieveable.
But as to the fact that Nessie exisits? It is plausible. I have seen so many tv programs and read so many articles about Nessie that I want to scream and yell, "Basic things, people! Basic!"
OK, it is presumed that Nessie is a plebiosaur (sp?). Recently some sources say that dinosaurs aren't the cold blooded reptiles we have always thought them to be. I can understand that, but with mostly fossil remains to point to that conclusion, we really don't have extreme conclusive evidence.
I am a herpetologist. For those who don't know what that is, I keep, breed, and study reptiles. My reptilian experience goes on about 25 years.
Assuming that Nessie is a plebiosaur, thought goes to dinosaur/reptile. Reptiles are cold-blooded. Basically all their life functions depend on the atmopheric temperatures. If it is warm, their metabolism is fast and they eat and excrete more. If the teperature is cold, they don't eat as much and in extreme cases, they go dormant. Hibernation if you will. And reptiles do go into hibernation during the winter. If their fat reserves are good, they will survive with no problems. There are cases of captive ball pythons not eating for over 2 years with no ill effects. So what stops a huge reptile from going into a hibernation in cold waters? A reptile in cold weather will most likely slow down it's body functions (eating, excreting, and even moving). But an animal used to cold conditions like lets say, the Atlantic Ocean, can manage things like that a bit better than your garden variety iguana. It is known that a Reticulated Python can be fed a small pig every six months to a year and still live with their body fat intact, what is to say that a creature as (presumably) as big as Nessie can't survive for longer periods than that?
It is said that there aren't enough life forms to keep something as big as Nessie sated. Once again, in waters that cold, Nessie won't be feeding as often.
Surfacing. Crocs and Alligators are known for staying submerged for extreme amounts of time. What's to say that a creature like Nessie can't go any longer. Lung capacity plays in here.
Migration plays an important role here also. The shores of Loch Ness are known to have seals hanging around certain times of the year. There is an inlet that Nessie can move through to leave and feed when needed. Simple migration. Who knows, it could have been a wrong turn for Nessie.
Life span. Tortoises are known to live for hundreds of years. There was one case where an explorer brought a tortoise back to Europe and it had been passed down through the royal family for over 200 years. The shelled critter was presumed to have been over 100 before hand. (I can't name it exactly, if I remember correctly, I read it in Reptiles Magazine-don't hold me to it). And much the same with a Koi fish that was over 125 years old. What is to say that an animal as big as Nessie can't live for a few hundred years?
It is all these things that make me want to throttle the 'explorer' on tv when the talk of Nessie arises.
One day I would love to see the mystery resolved, but like with Bigfoot, I also don't want to. If someone ever found these fantastical creatures, all would be lost. You would never know if they are the last of their species. To see the demise in pieces in a lab somewhere would be a loss to nature itself.
--pearl
Something about the video seems scripted to me though... And where's the deer's blood? I just see pink muscle.
