Nessie, the legendary inhabitant of Scotland's Loch Ness, has finally emerged into the open. But local officials want her gone.

Unfortunately, this isn't the live beast, believed by some cryptozoologists to be a Pleistocene survivor, a giant eel, or an unknown subgenus of aquatic Scotsman. It's a statue erected in the Chippewa River, Wisconsin, US, which Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources spokesman Dan Baumann says is illegally blocking the river, and must be removed.

But the sculpture's origins are just as mysterious as the monster's. It simply appeared overnight. Aliens? Surviving super-intelligent dinosaurs memorizing their cousin? Or just a prankster with a good sense of art? Whoever they were, they e-mailed the local Eau Claire Leader-Telegram, saying they'd remove it within 10 days, since he or she didn't want to be fined.

Global Times - Agencies