Mermaids: The Body Found: What Exactly is the 'Aquatic Ape Theory'?

 

 

When we first premiered "Mermaids: The Body Found" back in May, I must admit I was curious about the aquatic ape teory mentioned in the documentary. I'm fascinated by many of the creatures featured on our cryptozoology page, watched 'Finding Bigfoot' regularly before joining the Animal Planet team, and am often guilty of getting lost in endless loops on Wikipedia and other sites while researching many of the creatures that are said to exist but have yet to be found.

When the opportunity came up to learn a bit more about this aquatic ape theory, I figured I'd share some of my findings with the rest of the world.

[Watch More Monster Video!]

Mermaids: The Body Found - Just How Real is it?

 

 

You first saw "Mermaids: The Body Found" during Animal Planet's monstrous Monster Week line-up, but the two hour documentary-style program recently re-aired on Discovery. Once again, the Animal Planet program, which uses scientific theory and real events to debate whether or not mermaids exist, caused a stir among viewers and the program was trending in the No. 1 spot on Google after airing. It seems the program had many convinced that mermaids could exist (much in the way another popular Animal Planet program, "Finding Bigfoot," explores the possibility that Sasquatch could be real).

[Watch: Did Mermaids Evolve from Aquatic Mammals?]

Everyone's Asking: Do Mermaids Really Exist? ...Well, Do They?

 

Charlie Foley, SVP of Development for Animal Planet, is Creator, Writer and Executive Producer of Mermaids: The Body Found. Get his answers to FAQs about the program.

 

How much of this is real and how much of this is made up?

The science really informs the fiction. The theory of Aquatic Ape mentioned in the program is real and has been studied for decades. Many events in the show have occurred – i.e. the whale beachings, Navy experimental sonar testing, The Bloop ...

We use the transitive property to further explore the possibility of mermaids – i.e. if polar bears evolved from the brown bear, isn’t it possible that a mermaid, which was reported in disparate civilizations for ages, evolved from a human-like creature that retreated into the water?

The scientists are actors who portray an authentic government organization (NOAA) who currently study phenomena like whale beachings and sonar testing. The imagined part of the show is our entry point into a new world of possibility rooted in science.