Do mermaids exist?

[Medea]

I saw a special on Animal Planet last night. Did anyone else see this? Personally, I don't know about "mermaids". Much of the video footage just looked like one of those viral "surprise/scare" videos that are all over the net.

What interested me was the fact that Navy sonar testing was causing whale beachings, and the newest low frequency tests actually caused impact damage to aquatic life's internal organs, essentially killing them.

At about eight minutes into this video, you can hear the whales and other aquatic life actually screaming after the new Navy sonar was primed. Just a warning...it's gut-wrenching if you are an animal lover:

I think the whole purpose of this special was to bring attention to the damage navy sonar testing does to aquatic life.

 

[Punz]

Interesting.

As far as mermaids being real, I believe this guy thinks they are.

 

[Dagmar]

I think you're reading too much in to the intent of the producers of this mockumentary. The negative impact on marine life from U.S. Navy Sonar use is already well established by a 2008 U.S. Supreme Court Ruling, and an Environmental Impact Statement of the Navy itself on the effects of the same. A real documentary film would serve that purpose in a far more constructive and informative way. Muddling it in the context of this dog and pony show only undermines any such message if that was ever the intent.

 

[Medea]

Yeah, I guess I didn't do my research on this one Dagmar. I never even heard that whales were being beached or marine life was being harmed by navy sonar weapons testing before watching this. I just always assumed that whales beached themselves for some other, unknown reason.

In the interview after the show, the main "scientist" (the one with the beard that looks like Zach Galifianakis being "oh so sincere") said his number one priority was to stop naval sonar weapons testing. They went on about the aquatic ape theory and showed a few more video clips, including this one:

Yeah. Not only was this extremely hard to believe, the acting in the video was about on par with the acting in a made for tv movie on the Syfy channel.

And OF COURSE, the only evidence they had (a body that was supposedly recovered near some beached whales, then autopsied) was "confiscated by the South African government and the Navy".

If there really is an undiscovered aquatic creature like this out there, I'm sure we have already drove them to extinction or displaced them, because we aren't very good at coexistence. That was one of the only good points I heard in the special. There is evidence humans wiped-out the neanderthals, and we have been responsible for the extinction of several other species of animals. But still....mermaids????

I just wonder how long it is before the ancient astronaut theorists say "Well, you see, this is proof that aliens were experimenting with genetic engineering on humans and created mermaids!"

 

[Medea]

 

[Mighty Pecan Pie]

I had to think of this when I saw the title

 

[Medea]

I had to think of this when I saw the title

I think of this, cuz it makes I laugh: