Scotland might have a plan for the Loch Ness monster if it's real

Scotland has a plan prepared if the Loch Ness Monster is caught.

Seriously.

The Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) drew up a ‘partly serious, partly fun’ code of practise in 2001 in case of a Nessie sighting – and it’s still in place.

Measures were put in place in case the creature was spotted, BBCreports.

What is this procedure, you ask?

In the event of a Nessie spotting…

1. Officials will take a DNA sample from the monster.

After, the monster is to be released back into the loch. Not only that, but the SNH want to make sure Nessie isn't disturbed. After all, if a discovery is made, the monster will be extremely rare – perhaps the only one of its kind – and conservation measures will have to be put in place.

The document will work for all new or rare discovered species.

2. The local community will need to be informed of the discovery to aid in conservation efforts.

SNH officer Nick Halfhide said:

There was a lot of activity on the loch at the time about Nessie.

So, partly serious and partly for a bit of fun, we drew up a contingency plan about how we would help Nessie if and when she was found.

The unofficial Scottish mascot has been a point of interest all over the world, with tourists descending on the loch every year in the hopes of spotting the creature.

In an interview with ITV’s Good Morning, first minister Nicola Sturgeon smilingly declared that she believed in the Loch Ness monster. Because 'as everyone in Scotland knows, of course Nessie exists'.

On average, there are 10 registered sightings of Nessie every year.

The monster dates back almost 1,500 years to when Irish missionary St Columba apparently saw the beast in the River Ness.

It is often described as looking like a plesiosaur, a dinosaur that is believed to have lived in the seas.

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