In early April, 2023, a New Orleans preschool called Early Partners posted an Instagram video depicting an unidentified aquatic creature, swimming in a lagoon in City Park. It was dubbed “The Loch Ness Monster of New Orleans” by the media.
It was seen by Kim Frusciante—one of Early Partner’s founders—while she and her family were walking through the park’s Sculpture Garden. She called the animal a “mysterious serpent-like creature” when speaking to news station WGNO.
Kim Frusciante on the “Loch Ness Monster of New Orleans”
What is the mysterious creature swimming in lagoons at New Orleans City Park? https://t.co/HlhWsJn3Gm
— KLFY NEWS 10 (@KLFY) April 12, 2023
Frusciante went into further detail about what she saw in the lagoon: “It was quite long. I have a four year-old who’s slightly smaller than it, and it was weaving on the surface. It had a lot of scales, the tail was red, and it was swishing around aimlessly, hanging out on the surface much longer than a normal fish would.”
She claims that her children were both frightened and excited by the creature, which she dubbed “The Loch Ness Monster of New Orleans.”
Theories as to What “Loch Ness Monster of New Orleans” Could Be
Despite the animal’s unusual appearance, the internet is not fully convinced that it is a cryptid (a la the Loch Ness Monster). Comments on Frusciante’s original Instagram post offer a slew of theories, some plausible, some bordering on conspiracy.
“It’s a catfish,” says one comment. “It was probably a pet that was released when it outgrew its tank.”
“It appears to be man-made,” reads another. “Maybe it’s a battery-operated fish for some project, or it’s just as a joke. But it’s resting too high on the water, which would not allow it to properly oxygenate, and the fins aren’t moving fluidly like a real fish.”
In other corners of the internet, some have even speculated that the video was faked as a means to increase online engagement with Early Partners (certainly a strange marketing move for a preschool).
Why the Loch Ness Monster Comparisons?
For those unfamiliar, the Loch Ness Monster, nicknamed Nessie, is a cryptid that supposedly resides within the depths of Scotland’s Lake Loch Ness. Reported sightings of the creature date all the way back to the 6th century CE. Many purport Nessie to be a plesiosaur, an aquatic dinosaur.
While there is no evidence of Nessie’s existence, archaeologists recently unearthed plesiosaur bones in a freshwater lake, debunking the previous consensus that they were strictly oceanic creatures.
While this obviously doesn’t prove that the Loch Ness Monster currently exists, it proves that it certainly did exist ages ago.