Canadian tourist claims first Loch Ness Monster sighting of 2024 with photograph of creature spotted near Urquhart Castle
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It wouldn’t be like Nessie to duck out of an early season photo opportunity.
A Canadian visitor has posted the first 2024 “sighting” of the fabled beast on the Official Loch Ness Monster Sightings Register.
As a conversation starter and boost to the tourist industry, the picture certainly fits the bill.
Some would say the grainy, grey and black image looks distinctly duck-shaped, but Parry Malm, who lives in London after emigrating from Canada, is convinced he spotted something extraordinary.
Parry and his family were enjoying a relaxing break - their first visit to the Loch Ness area - when he took the photo on April 4.
Gazing out across the waters of the loch near Urquhart Castle, Parry was transfixed by what he saw moving against the current.
He said: "At first I thought it was driftwood, but slowly but surely it made its way north towards the castle.
“It looked like a head bobbing up and down above the waves, but was difficult to determine with the naked eye.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
This is the picture he took, as posted at Loch Ness Sightings.
“We were a few hundred yards from Urquhart Castle looking down on the bay and it was moving against the current, which led me to conclude it was a living creature.
“I was previously a total sceptic, but now I’m thinking there must be something there.”
Parry submitted his image and account to the Official Loch Ness Monster Sightings Registry, which deemed it compelling enough to list as the first official sighting of 2024.
