Animal Planet's 'Mermaids: The Body Found' Attempts To Answer Question: Are Mermaids Real?

In an attempt to gain more insight into whether mermaids exist, Animal Planet recently aired its latest documentary special, Mermaids: The Body Found.

The network aired the show on Sunday as part of its Monster Week series and is strictly a fictional account based on a scant facts.

While the folks at Animal Planet may have stretched the truth a bit on this one, Mermaids: The Body Found uses CGI images to give its viewers a preview of what a mermaid might look like - they don't resemble anything close to Ariel from The Little Mermaid - and also informs on how mermaids reproduce.

Created and written by Charlie Foley, the film follows two scientists who go on to share the details of a supposed secret government investigation that claims to have proof of mermaid existence.

The scientists use clues such as a picture of a mermaid taken by two boys with a camera phone in Washington State, as well as remains found inside a shark in South Africa, in order to reconstruct a mermaid. The end result is not quite as attractive as the mythical creatures depicted in Disney movies and cartoons.

Mermaids tries to give their claim some credibility by mentioning something known as The Aquatic Ape Theory, which suggests that human evolution was influenced by a shore-dwelling phase.

Referencing the theory, the Animal Planet show proposes that a specific branch of our human ancestors at one point actually began living in the open sea.

Also citing different cultural references over the years, the film's narrator asserts, The seafaring Greeks described them . . . as did the Vikings, as did the Chinese during their greatest period of maritime exploration. They are recorded in medieval manuscripts, and even into the 19th century.

While most of the show is quite unbelievable, the most substantial evidence used in the documentary is said to be the photo taken from the Washington State boys, which contains images never before seen of a supposed mermaid washed up on a beach.

The creature was reportedly alive, but was not immediately thought to be a mermaid, as it lacked long beautiful hair, flawless skin and a sparkly lower torso.