While coastal flooding millions of years ago turned some of our ancestors inland, is it possible that one group of our ancestors didn’t retreat from water but rather went in deeper? Could they have ventured farther into sea out of necessity and to find food? The Aquatic Ape Theory makes it possible to believe that while we evolved into terrestrial humans, our aquatic relatives turned into something strangely similar to the fabled mermaid. As evidence that humans once evolved into aquatic creatures, the Aquatic Ape Theory cites some of the striking differences between man and other primates and the many features we share with marine mammals, including the following:

• Webbing between fingers (other primates don’t have this)
• Subcutaneous fat (insulating from cold water)
• Control over breath (humans can hold breath up to 20 minutes, longer than any other terrestrial animal)
• Loss of body hair (hair creates drag in water)
• Instinctive ability to swim (human babies are able to do this)
• A highly developed brain, which depends on nutrients provided by seafood

Mermaids: The Body Found makes a strong case for the existence of the mermaid, a creature with a surprisingly human evolutionary history, whose ancestral branch splits off from a shared human root. The film is science fiction, using science as a springboard into imagination and centering the story on the following real-world events:

• In the early 1990s, the US Navy began a series of covert sonar tests, which were linked to mass die-offs of whales, which washed up on beaches throughout the world. For years, the Navy denied they were responsible for these beachings.
• In 1997, scientists at the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recorded a mysterious sound (called “The Bloop”) in the deep Pacific, which was thought to be organic in nature. It has never been identified.

These are facts.

Mermaids: The Body Found is a story that imagines how these real-world phenomena may be related. In this story, startling amateur video and photographic evidence, as well as additional audio recordings, suggests whales weren’t the only creatures affected by the Navy’s sonar. The film follows the two scientists who tracked the whale beachings for years and delivers first-hand, on-camera accounts of what they claim to have discovered in the aftermath of one particular beaching. Their story is nothing less than fantastical: they claim to have found the remains of a mermaid.

With compiled amateur footage, including photos and video shot by deep-sea fishermen that never have been shown in the US, as well as cinema-quality CGI, Mermaids: The Body Found argues how a mythical creature – one of humankind’s most enduring legends – may be real. It depicts how mermaids may have evolved from the early human family tree and persisted into the present day.

Mermaids: The Body Found is so compelling with evidence and so credible, audiences can see it a second time when it repeats Monday, May 28, from 7-9 PM ET/PT as Monster Week comes to a close.

Mermaids: The Body Found is produced for Animal Planet by Darlow Smithson. Tom Brisley is executive producer for Darlow Smithson. For Animal Planet, Charlie Foley is executive producer, creator and writer. For Animal Planet, Vaibhav Bhatt is co-writer and supervising producer, and Jamie Dugger is producer. Steve Gomez, of Bandito Films, is director of animation.

http://press.discovery.com/ekits/monster-week-mermaids/press-release.html

Mermaids: The Body Found – The Scientific Theory Beneath the Narrative

In most people’s minds, mermaids are purely fantastical creatures of fairytales and mythology. Mermaids: the Body Found challenges this mainstream belief and brings to life the possibility that mermaids may be as real as you and I. The program examines a scientific theory – the aquatic ape theory – which supports the feasible existence of mermaids and that they’ve evolved from apes as we did.

A unique melding of narrative, science and dissected human history, Mermaids: the Body Found forces us to open our minds to question the barriers of our beliefs and the possibilities of what may be.

There are certain established facts that may help us question the unbelievable…that mermaids might be real.

• If…It’s a fact that polar bears evolved from the brown bear, categorized now as full-fledged marine mammals… Then…Is it possible that apes split off from terrestrial apes millions of years ago (due to coastal flooding) and retreated into the water, evolving into aquatic creatures somewhat related to humans?
• If…Human babies instinctively hold their breath when placed under water before they walk – something baby primates can’t do… Then…Were humans ever capable of having an aquatic state?
• If…Dolphins seem to have a unique kinship with humans and possess a learned trait of cooperatively hunting with humans… Then…Is it possible dolphins learned to hunt with humans because they have a memory of cooperatively hunting with mermaids, a species that closely resembles us?
• If…New species of whales (the largest sea mammals) have only been detected within the past two decades… Then…Is it possible that we haven’t discovered every creature and that if massive whales haven’t been discovered until recently, it answers why we haven’t been able to detect mermaids yet?
• If…Ancient, disparate civilizations have described the mermaid without having any communication with other cultures… Then…Isn’t there a kernel of truth beneath the legend?

PS Is it a Fake?

Footage from “cell phone camera” of alleged mermaid or aquatic ape. Being a skepic I say this documentary made a great case but they should have done it for real like an ancient aliens and not a “Blair witch”. Like the Bigfoot of the sea. Like the Zoras from Zelda.

It’s a fake TV documentary. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1816585/ You may have to look hard to see the disclaimer, but the producers and Animal Planet make it clear that this program is totally and completely made up. It would have been on the news or a better channel than animal planet. The bloop is real however, but most scientists agree it is “calving of glaciers” which means they make a huge boom before they break in two. We were more of a global society in ancient times people traveled and traded stories. Watch the documentary on easter island dna. Once again you believed because you WANTED to believe. Open your mind to the fact that human beings have accomplished great things on their own with no supernatural intervention…don’t be a sheeple !!!

What tipped me off was the fact they didn’t bother to freeze frame the video and have an expert study it. The fisherman video and the fake one. No one bothered to compare video evidence? No Navy guy would talk on camera like that he’s lose his pension. The male actor playing the scientist did a good job they had him with a beard like the jaws guy. The female scientist was portrayed poorly that is what originally clued me in. BAD ACTING !! The Government is not planning a secret cover up of water aliens. Here are the credits from the doc read them. Proof it is fake. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1816585/