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Loch Ness Monster or WHALE PENIS? Expert leaves Internet in splits with new theory

Award-winning researcher Professor Michael Sweet of the University of Derby thinks the Loch Ness Monster is a whale's boner, leaving the internet in splits

Another outlandish Loch Ness Monster theory has surfaced on the internet. Marine biologist Michael Sweet suggested that the mythical creature could be the boner of an excited male whale swimming near the surface.

Interest in the Loch Ness Monster, affectionately known as Nessie, started in the 1930s with the publication of the infamous Surgeon’s Photo, which was later revealed to be a hoax. But since then, hundreds of people have claimed to see the mythical creature over the years, and many have come up with their own theory of what the creature could be. People have theorized that Nessie is a plesiosaur, a giant eel, a massive catfish, an elephant, and nothing at all. But award-winning researcher and lecturer Professor Michael Sweet of the University of Derby thinks that Nessie is a whale's boner.

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In several tweets, Sweet claimed that the long neck of sea monsters reported by early explorers could have been the protruding penis of a male whale looking to mate.

On 8 April, alongside a picture of the monster, he tweeted, "Back in [the] day, travellers/explorers would draw what they saw. This is where many sea monster stories come from ie. tentacled and alienesque appendages emerging from the water, giving belief to something more sinister lurking beneath....however, in many cases it was just whale d**ks."

In another tweet, he wrote, "Whales often mate in groups, so while one male is busy with the female, the other male just pops his d**k out of the water while swimming around waiting his turn. Everyone’s gotta have a bit of fun, right?"

He also tweeted, "One female whale is typically paired with a primary escort (male) and a group of males will try to fight for their right to overthrow the escort and earn mating rights. A competition pod can have just a handful of whales or a larger group of 12–15."

Internet users are finding Sweet's claims hilarious. One user tweeted, "This could be the best plot twist in history." "Knowledge is a bliss, and yet I somehow doubt this knowledge was something I needed," another said. 

Although Sweet's claims were taken hilariously by many, it did not go well with Nessie experts, and one of them even slammed Sweet as an "ignorant fool."

Author Tony Harmsworth said, "The man’s ignorance of the environment at Loch Ness is astounding. Any large air-breather would have been easily identified. There is no whale in Loch Ness. His ignorance of the mystery is equally astounding. He is comparing the whales’ penises with a photograph that was discredited thirty years ago as a hoax. "

Sweet's tweets became viral and it accumulated more than 93,000 likes by 14 April, with pictures being shared out of context, and many people missing the original intention behind the tweet.

In an email, Sweet clarified to Live Science about the tweet, he said, "I used the image of Nessie just as an example of what people used to describe sea monsters looking like. There are no whales whatsoever in Loch Ness, so Nessie was a poor choice to use in this instance." 

However, this doesn't mean the tweet was totally off base. "The tweet still stands as factual. Many whales' penises (from various species) were surely mistaken by tired and half-starved sailors around the world," Sweet added.