On the afternoon of July 25, 2026, a man sailing his yacht down the middle of Loch Ness, about two miles west of Glenmoriston, saw what he could only describe as a large, oversized crocodile head above the water. It was about 100 metres away, between his boat and the north shore. The water was calm and visibility good. The head was gone before he could get a photo.

The sighting was later added to the Official Loch Ness Monster Sightings Register, the long-running list kept by enthusiasts, as reported by the Inverness Courier. The sailor was not named.

It was the 15th registered sighting of 2026, plus two from webcams. That is nine more than in all of 2025 and twelve more than in 2024. The last years to reach 15 were 2017 and 2018. The record is 17, set in both 1996 and 1997.

The register logs reports, not proof. Common explanations for Loch Ness sightings include boat wakes crossing on calm water, swimming deer, large fish, floating logs and, as the season gets busier, more people watching the water. A 2018 environmental DNA survey of the loch found no reptile DNA, though it found a great deal of eel DNA.

The jump in sightings this year may say as much about how many people are looking as about what is in the loch.