What if they really did find the Loch Ness monster or the legendary Bigfoot of the Pacific Northwest?
Most scientists doubt that these creatures exist, but thoughts of the discovery of a new species that might be the closest living relative to man, or the possibility of finding a leftover dinosaur, excite the imagination of scientist and nonscientist alike. It also poses another question: Would such a creature be subjected to the same kind of exploitation as the giant movie ape, King Kong?
Scientists generally believe there are still many species of birds and mammals that have not been discovered because they live in remote areas and their populations are limited. After all, the gorilla and giant panda were only legends until the late 19th century when their actual existence was first confirmed by scientists. The komodo dragon, a 10-footlong lizard, wasn't known to science until 1912. The coelacanth, a deep-water prehistoric fish, was known only from 65 million-year-old fossils until 1938 when a specimen was caught alive off the Madagascar coast.
Just last year a Navy torpedo recovery vessel dropped a sea anchor into 500 feet of water off Hawaii. But instead of a torpedo, it hauled up a 15-foot representative of a new species of shark. The dead shark, named megamouth after its bathtub-shaped lower jaw, had an enormous, short-snouted head and 484 vestigial teeth.
To be sure, no remains of today's legendary "monsters" have ever been found. There are no living specimens in zoos or dead ones in museums. Most certainly, many "sightings" of these creatures are exaggerated or misinterpreted reports, and some are downright hoaxes.
But finding a Loch Ness monster or Bigfoot is still a possibility, and the discovery would be one of the most important in modern history. As items of scientific and public interest they would surely command more attention than the moon rocks. Millions of curiosity seekers-and thousands of zoologists and anthropologists throughout the world would be eager to "get at" the creatures to examine, protect, capture, or just look at them.
What would the United States Government do?
"I doubt we'll ever have to do anything, because I don't believe there are any of the things around to be discovered in the first place," said Keith Schreiner, Associate Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Service is the Government agency with responsibility for protecting endangered and threatened species.
"At least, we have the laws and regulations on the books to deal with newly discovered species.


