Original subtitles

- [Tony] Over 70% of the Earth's surface

is covered by water, yet so much of it remains uncharted.

What if the greatest mysteries of the deep

are still waiting to be discovered?

- [Onlooker] What the [bleep] is that?

Go, go, I don't know what that is.

- [Tony] From the darkest trenches

to the vast open waters,

what is lurking beneath the surface?

- [Onlooker] Yeah, it's really pushing forward now.

- Now watch, its head's gonna pop out.

- [Tony] Is a mysterious underwater forest

stranding deep sea fish in California?

- Some UFO theorists talk about Sycamore Knoll,

that it might represent

some type of underwater alien base.

- [Tony] Are dinosaurs still present in the ocean's abyss?

- Perhaps we're looking at a prehistoric creature,

specifically a Mosasaur.

- [Tony] And what's that

disturbing the waters of Loch Ness?

Has the fabled monster been caught on camera?

- Some researchers have called this the most significant

Loch Ness footage in the last 20 years.

- [Tony] On this special episode of the "Proof is Out There,

Unexplained Edition,"

our team of top experts investigates evidence

of mysterious underwater creatures.

- [Onlooker] What on earth is that?

- These remains

aren't like anything I've really seen before.

- [Tony] Then, we'll pass a verdict.

- We were able to confirm the authenticity of this video

and it is genuine.

- The Proof starts now.

[upbeat music]

Good evening and welcome to, "The Proof is out There."

We know the ocean is as mysterious as it is deep,

but what we don't know

is why there's been a spate of odd creatures

from the depths washing up in the same area in California.

See if you can figure it out.

It's 2021 in scenic Crystal Cove, California,

a seaside nature preserve in Orange County.

While out for a refreshing surfside stroll,

one beachcomber comes across a carcass

that looks like something imagined by Jules Verne.

The photo shows a bizarre, huge round fish

with a gaping tooth mouth and an odd

joystick like appendage protruding from its body.

It seems to lack eyes and fins and its near black coloring

only adds to its disturbing phantasmagoric appearance.

And this incident was not a fluke, pun intended.

- [Onlooker] Yeah, it's a barracuda, it's a barracuda.

- [Tony] No, a barracuda looks like this.

What we see here is another

bizarre, out of place sea creature

that washed up in recent months.

A few miles up the coast,

a strange fish flailing about on the beach.

Are these creatures natural?

And if they are,

what accounts for their appearance on these shores?

- Some UFO theorists talk about Sycamore Knoll,

a strange anomalous structure about 2000 feet

under the water off the coast of California.

UFO enthusiasts have speculated

that it might represent some type of underwater alien base.

- [Tony] The Sycamore Knoll is three miles wide

and 2000 feet beneath the surface.

That alien base theory stems from its oval shape

and perfectly flat surface.

One theory is that the Sycamore Knoll is emitting signals

that are driving deep sea fish to the surface.

Another theory is that we are.

- Another possibility is that the US military,

and other military forces around the world

deploy new types of sonar and underwater experimentation

driving these strange looking creatures to the surface.

- Another note,

22 miles off the coast of Southern California

lies Catalina Island, a place where some of our own experts

have recently been documenting

anomalous activity in the skies.

In other words, this area is a noted hotbed

for unexplained phenomenon.

So what are these strange creatures

and why are they washing up on shore with such frequency?

Let's hear from the experts.

- This is a football fish which is related to angler fish.

Football fish have this large lure on top of their head

to bring in prey to eat,

but this is not an animal

that we would expect to see washed up on a beach

because it is a very deep sea animal.

- [Tony] She also identifies the long, skinny fish

from the video, which is very unusual to find on dry land.

- This is the lancet fish

and they're typically very deep dwelling.

A lot of benthic or abyssal fish are built like this

where they have really striking fins

that help them stay upright in the water

and they have these long, sinuous bodies

because they live under a lot of pressure.

- [Tony] By abyssal, she means the zone of the ocean

roughly 10,000 to 20,000 feet below the surface

where no light reaches,

resulting in perpetual darkness

and an absence of oxygen producing plant life.

But the mystery remains,

why are these deep sea creatures

turning up on the beaches of California?

Steingass considers the Sycamore Knoll theory,

but she says it's not an alien base,

it's a natural geological formation called a sea mount.

- This is probably just a normal ocean feature

and sea mounts like this

are actually really important for ocean life.

- [Tony] But what could cause the creatures

congregating around the Sycamore Knoll to wash ashore?

Steingass moves on to the top secret experiment theory.

- Military testing is definitely an explanation

of why we might find deep sea fish

abnormally washed up on shore.

Sonar testing is incredibly powerful,

being hit with that high impact of sound and pressure

can be very injurious or even deadly for marine animals.

- [Tony] Steingass also suggests a natural cause,

underwater seismic activity.

- Many of the earth's fault lines

are actually off the coast of our continents,

so there could be earthquakes

and that's why we have tsunamis for example.

There's a lot of volcanic activity

under the ocean as well,

and it's not unfeasible

that this would cause animals to wash up on shore.

- [Tony] But at the end of the day,

she thinks the real culprit is us,

specifically the global fishing industry.

- Within the last decade,

there's been an uptick of species washing up

that are traditionally deep water species.

The reason for this may have to do with

when humans are out fishing,

we catch a whole variety of species in those fishing nets

and the animals that aren't marketable are discarded

and eventually they float to shore.

- Our verdict?

We're looking at a football fish and a lancet fish,

both deep water creatures.

As to why they washed up, that remains a mystery.

I'm drawn to the fishing theory,

but you can pick your favorite.

[dramatic music]

People have always been surprised

by stories of creatures

with human-like traits.

A dog singing or squirrel surfing will break the internet,

but can some animals with special powers

adopt human features intentionally?

November 7th, 2019, Miao Village In Kunming, China,

a visitor is wandering through a park near Kuwei Lake

when she takes this video.

[onlookers speak foreign language]

The footage shows a fish, but there's something more here.

There are two dark dots that look like human eyes,

two vertical lines which resemble the sides of a nose

and one horizontal one

underneath where a man's mouth would be, it's uncanny.

Take another look as we zoom in.

- What I'm seeing is obviously a large fish,

but as it swims closer to the camera,

it appears to have a human-like face

where you can actually make out

what appear to be eyes, a pronounced nose,

this is really creepy and disturbing.

- [Tony] Field researcher Ken Gerhard

speaks of this fish's resemblance to a local legend.

- Dragon's Gate represents

one of the most famous Chinese legends.

The story describes a carp in the China's Yangtze River,

which began to swim upstream, slowly mutating as it went.

And when this carp finally reached

the head of the Yangtze River, the Gods rewarded it

by transforming it into a golden dragon.

In modern depictions of Chinese dragons,

we often see these large scales,

which is almost a tribute to this carp fish.

Perhaps this carp or this koi type of fish is in the process

of transforming into one of these golden dragons.

- [Tony] Gerhard explores another possibility

that this creature

could be the result of covert government activity.

- There have been many theories

that China have been conducting experimentation

with marine animals.

You have examples of porpoises

and seals that have been trained for military use.

Perhaps they are somehow

trying to manipulate the genetic makeup

of different of aquatic animals.

- Is this ringing any bells?

It certainly reminded our team of something,

the human faced shark we previously investigated.

We decided that was a birth defect

caused by pollution in the ocean.

So what exactly is going on in the waters of China?

We'll turn it over to our experts to decide.

Biologist Dr. Floyd Hayes mulls the theory

that the Chinese government

might be trying to mutate fish with other species.

There have been cases of fish undergoing

gene editing techniques

that resulted in the development of limbs with bones,

joints, and musculature.

But Hayes says the morphology of this fish,

particularly the dorsal spines and the large thick scales,

are in line with what we'd expect from a normal carp.

- Hadn't seen any evidence that it has been mutated

with any kind of other animals

such as a reptile or a mammal.

- Next, Dr. Shea Steingass

weighs in on how the fish got this way.

She compares the phenomenon in this video

to our previous case involving that bizarre shark.

- The human faced shark

had really severe developmental defects.

What I see here doesn't seem to have any structural issues.

Because fish hatch from eggs,

it really is survival of the fittest.

And for an animal to get this size,

it would have to be very healthy.

And what we see here are really distinct markings,

but I don't see anything biologically

wrong with this fish.

What we see appears to be a really healthy live carp.

- [Tony] The key here is that the carp is known

as the plastic species, with a marked tendency

to produce varieties and races

in response to selective breeding

and environmental influences.

Steingass says those markings are no coincidence.

- There have been other cases of carp

that looked like a human face.

Having markings is a really common technique

that we call mimicry.

- [Tony] And why would a fish wanna look like a human?

It's all about survival of the fittest.

- Having marks that look like eyes

is a really disconcerting thing for a predator

because in that split second where the predator

has to decide if it's going to go after a prey item or not,

having something that causes a little bit of uncertainty

is advantageous.

- Our verdict?

Adaptive marking patterns.

Yes, this species of carp

has developed these strange features over time

to help it survive in its environment.

And this specimen

just happens to be exceptionally well-adapted.

- As elusive as the Loch Ness monster,

but maybe not as famous, is a legendary sea serpent

said to inhabit the waters of the Pacific Northwest.

Today, there has been no actual hard evidence

that this sea monster exists,

but that might have just changed.

2009, Nushagak Bay, Alaska,

salmon fisherman, Kelly Nash is on a boat with his sons

Jason and Kyle, when suddenly,

they spot unusual movement in the water next to them

and start recording this video.

The shaky black and white footage

shows what appears to be a long, dark serpentine creature

with humps on its back moving rapidly through the water.

- [Kelly] Now watch, his head's gonna pop up.

Check this out.

- [Onlooker] Blue.

- [Tony] Let's look at that again.

Kelly estimates the massive creature

to be about 20 to 30 feet long.

While this footage is curiously unique,

it may actually be showing us

a clearer view of a legendary creature,

a cryptid as they're known

that's been widely reported before.

- Cadborosaurus or Caddy is a mysterious sea creature

that's been reported off the coast of Pacific North America.

The name is associated

with the location where it's most been seen,

which is Cadboro Bay, British Columbia.

Cadborosaurus is generally described

as an immense serpentine animal,

anywhere from 60 to a hundred feet in length,

with a horse like head, sharp, fish like teeth,

giant forward facing eyes.

- [Tony] There have been more than 300 sightings

of Caddy over the past 200 years,

including one case in the 1930s

that may have produced

actual physical evidence of the creature.

- During the summer of 1937

off the coast of British Columbia,

there was a strange animal

that was found in the stomach of a sperm whale.

This animal popped out that was snake-like in form,

had a horse like head, two flippers and a fluke tail.

The man in charge actually had these workers

take some photographs of it.

Subsequently, this became known as the Naden Harbor Carcass.

In my opinion, this is the same animal

that we see in this video.

But there are other theories as well

that perhaps we could be looking

at a primitive type of snake-like whale

known as a basilosaur.

- [Tony] The basilosaur or Basilosaurus,

was a fearsome predatory whale

which swam the oceans nearly 40 million years ago.

And while scientists first described this

as a giant reptile, further research

determined it to be a marine mammal,

one that could grow up to 65 feet in length.

Could this be the same creature?

- There have been hundreds

if not thousands of eyewitness accounts.

So I think that we could build a pretty strong case

that this animal really does exist.

- Right after this video was revealed,

two Cadborosaurus researchers

went to visit the Nash family who shot this footage.

They claim the creature fully lifted its head

out of the water and even turned to face their camcorder.

But of course, that piece of evidence

isn't on this recording.

Let's see what our experts have to say

about the evidence that remains.

We first wanted to check the authenticity of this tape.

- This video has indications that it was enhanced,

it has processing done to enlarge it

as well as stabilize it.

There's too many unknown variables here

to actually arrive at some sort of accurate conclusion

because the video has been enhanced.

- So there's already a red flag.

But to be fair,

we spoke with marine biologist, Shea Steingass.

She first looks at this creature's possible connection

with the prehistoric Basilosaurus.

- I don't think that's what we're looking at

because the body type of the Basilosaur

was actually pretty solid, it wasn't a snake-like animal.

- [Tony] However, Steingass believes

this creature does have more in common

with the marine mammal Basilosaurus

than the supposed reptile corpse from Naden Harbor.

- Nushagak Bay is part of a polar arctic environment,

very cold environment to live in.

It's very unlikely that any kind of reptile-like animal,

especially this size, would be existing in Nushagak Bay.

The animals that thrive here are typically either fish,

invertebrates that live on the bottom or marine mammals.

There's really no reptiles or snakes

that this could be mistaken for.

- [Tony] Many online critics

claim we are just looking at some piece of trash

or floating debris,

but the dozens of tech people and fishermen

who have studied this video

can't explain how debris could move in such an organic way.

So with all of these potential possibilities ruled out,

does Steingass have any idea what this is?

Unfortunately, like many who have chased Caddy's tail,

she's stumped.

- This is really interesting footage

and part of the charm of it for me is that

it's difficult to tell exactly what we're looking at.

So this might be one of those classic sea monster videos

that's gonna stick around for a long time.

- Our verdict?

Possible cryptid if the video is legit,

and yes, that's an if,

whatever this thing is has stumped our

ace marine biologist.

People have been looking at this footage since 2009

and to this day, it remains a mystery.

On this show,

we love nothing more than a good deep sea mystery,

especially when there's a very large creature involved.

And this next video is so mind bending,

it would have Jules Verne himself saying,

"Come on, Monsieur."

2017, the Mediterranean Sea.

A team working a debris sweep along ocean pipelines

comes across what at first

looks like just another deep sea carcass to be cleared away.

But closer inspection reveals

this is truly something unusual.

What appears to be a 90 foot long dusty spine

sits undisturbed on the bottom of the ocean.

A remote controlled crane

reaches out to investigate the skeleton,

turning over one of the vertebrae, which disintegrates.

British podcaster and investigator Debbie Hatswell

was one of the first people to see this intriguing film

after a member of the pipeline maintenance team

reached out to her.

- He said they've seen a lot of carcasses on the sea floor.

And I've seen whale carcasses and our fish and all that

and it just doesn't fit, it doesn't fit with what they are.

He's saying this is an anomaly

and he's felt that he was a very, very old animal

of some kind.

So I reached out to a number of marine biologists

and nobody really got back to me with it as to what it was.

- Ken Gerhard explores the idea

that perhaps these are the remains

of a long extinct ocean predator, the dreaded Megalodon.

- In 2022, the Atlantic Shark Institute

out of Rhode Island was deploying sonar

when they encountered what they believed to be a shark

of unbelievable proportions,

perhaps 50 to 60 to feet in length.

Now if so, this would be the best account

of a modern Megalodon.

- [Tony] The Megalodon, a nautical nightmare

that experts believe could weigh as much as 50 tons

has been thought extinct for nearly 3 million years.

Have these Rhode Island researchers

uncovered a modern day version of this historical monster?

And if so, could we be looking at the remnants of one

in this video?

- This would certainly fit within the paradigm

of what we know about Megalodon.

- Gerhard also sees a connection between this discovery

and the classic mythology of the region.

- In Greek mythology,

different sea monsters like Cetus,

Charybdis, the Lernaean Hydra

were said to live throughout the Mediterranean sea.

- [Tony] And while there are many suspects,

there's one sea dragon sighting in particular

that Gerhard thinks could be connected.

- In October, 1907,

fishermen on the island of Corsica

claimed that they were terrorized

by a horrible 200 foot sea dragon

that actually ripped apart their nets.

And the fishermen were so scared to go back out

and fish that they actually called on the government

to bring in a torpedo boat in order to kill the monster.

And that just happens to be the location

where we've got this footage of a 90 foot spinal column.

- Sea Dragons can be found in all sorts of ancient texts

and tales dating back thousands of years,

from Norse Mythology's Midgard serpent

to the ancient Babylonian saltwater dragon, Tiamat,

who many say was rebranded

as the Leviathan in the Old Testament.

Is there a connection here?

Let's see if our experts can help slay this oceanic mystery.

[upbeat music]

- It's been hypothesized that this might be a sea dragon.

That's probably not the case

'cause we really don't have any scientific evidence

of these creatures existing.

- [Tony] Steingass also points to the fact that

we can see what appears to be a pelvis,

something not found in the numerous depictions

of these serpent like creatures.

- What we're actually seeing here is a very old skeleton

of some kind of modern animal.

- But the only documented modern marine animal

that could possibly grow to this length would be a whale.

Could that be what this is?

- I would say the chances

that this is a really large whale skeleton are really slim

because we would likely see other types of large bones

like a skull if we were to see a spinal column.

These remains aren't like anything

I've really seen before.

- With Dr. Steingass at a loss,

we checked with wildlife biologist Stephanie Manka

to see if this could be a modern Megalodon

like the one thought to be discovered near Rhode Island.

- If it were a Megalodon, I wouldn't expect to see the bone

as intact as this.

Megalodons, like other sharks instead of bone skeletons,

they have cartilage skeletons which don't fossilize well.

Bone contains minerals whereas cartilage doesn't.

Bones are much harder,

and if you think about your ear,

this part where it bends is the cartilage

and that's what shark's skeletons are made of.

- [Tony] When cartilage breaks down,

it turns into a jelly-like substance

that dissolves into the water,

which is why the only proof we have for Megalodons

are their teeth.

And as for that alleged Megalodon spotted

by the Atlantic Shark Institute of Rhode Island,

further research indicates this sonar image is more likely

a large school of Atlantic mackerel.

So with all of our theories ruled out,

what is Manka's best guess?

- I believe that this is a whale.

What is probably going on here is the whale skeleton

has been on the ocean floor for so long

that organisms have eaten away at the bone

and there are fin whales in the Mediterranean,

which are the second largest whale species.

They usually don't get up to 30 meters,

so there is a little size discrepancy,

but everything else seems to allude that it is a whale.

- Our verdict?

Unknown sea beast.

Stephanie Manka thinks it could be

an abnormally large whale, but our marine biologist,

Dr. Steingass says no way.

Until there is further investigation

of the skeleton itself beyond this video evidence,

these bones will remain a mystery.

- The imagery of the creature from the black lagoon

has captivated our imaginations for almost 75 years.

But what if I told you there was a real creature

from a mud lagoon?

August 8th, 2017, North Queensland, Australia.

David White who runs cruises

in the Daintree River Wildlife Preserve,

is hoping to capture footage of a crocodile

he'd spotted earlier in the day,

but instead, he captures something much more disturbing.

A tide pool sits undisturbed,

something sticks out of the water.

Still, it could almost be a rock,

but then slowly,

it begins to descend straight down into the pool.

It goes down, down, down

until eventually it sinks under the surface

and out of view, leaving only a tiny bubble in its wake.

Is this a creature, a rock or something else entirely?

- When I think of Australia, I think of the bunyip.

Like many legendary creatures,

the bunyip has various interpretations,

but the most common one is that it is an aquatic creature

covered in hair, with a head like a dog,

very large and powerful.

And the aboriginal people greatly fear the bunyip

because it's said to come onto the land at night

and drag its unwilling victims back into the swamp.

- [Tony] Bunyip sightings

were reported in Australia newspapers

throughout the 19th and 20th centuries

dating as far back as 1851

where it was reported

that a bunyip had killed an aboriginal man

and had to be speared to death.

- Being that the bunyip legend

is so prevalent throughout Australia,

I think we have to stop and consider the possibility

that what we could be looking at here

might be at the root of this bunyip mythology.

- So the theory suggests

that this is in fact some kind of living thing.

Is it possibly a new discovery?

Australian taxonomists

name an average of 1000 new species each year

and its estimated that

two thirds of the continent's total species

remain undocumented.

Let's see what our experts can discover.

Some have guessed that we're looking at the front tip

of an Indo-Pacific crocodile,

a species prevalent in this region,

but our marine biologist is skeptical.

- I can rule this out entirely as a crocodile

because I don't see any of the body

or head features of a crocodilian.

It's not behaving like a crocodile,

it's coming vertically up out of the water.

And we have a little bit of size reference here

when we see the bubble on the surface of the water,

which means whatever this is, it's actually pretty small.

And in addition to that, it actually has pretty smooth skin.

- [Tony] For those same reasons,

both size and smoothness,

Steingass thinks this creature contradicts reports

of the legendary bunyip.

- I would probably rule out that this is a bunyip,

especially because the bunyip is said to hunt at night

and this footage was taken during the day.

- [Tony] Then what is it?

- Based on this video and looking at the environment,

I think this is actually a mud skipper.

- [Tony] The mud skipper is a fish

that can spend as much time in air as in the water.

It can grow up to 12 inches in length,

breathes through its skin

and uses its fins like legs to walk.

But NASA geologist Bob Anderson says that can't be

because the environment is just too harsh

for most known animals.

- The environment around it, it's very carbonaceous.

There's probably a lot of sulfate

because the landscape is white, so it's very toxic,

it's not where a reptile, an alligator

or anything would wanna live

because there's no food source for them.

- [Tony] So does that rule out any living organism?

Not exactly.

- If you notice, there's a slight green tint

to the creature, and so most likely,

that is a living organism,

that's what we call an algal mat.

- [Tony] An algal mat is a mat of algae

that may grow in water or on rocks

in both toxic and non-toxic environments,

which can balloon up and float to the surface while forming.

- In fish tank, you'll see algae buildup,

and if you have a pump in there,

you'll see that the algae literally starts to rise

because the air bubbles get trapped underneath

to lift that mat into the air, release it,

and then the mat goes back down to the bottom.

- [Tony] Makes sense in theory,

but algal mats tend to look like, well mats.

This thing has a completely different shape,

so what gives?

Our verdict?

Unknown organic specimen.

While our experts disagree

on what this mysterious mud creature is, they both concur

that it is in fact an organic life form of some sort,

proving that even in the harshest of environments,

life finds a way.

- Now it's time for a classic;

one of those decades old incidents

that still inspires head scratching to this day.

As we say in the business, this story has legs,

even though the alleged creature you're about to see

does not.

It's December 12th, 1965,

Robert Lesarek is on a motorboat with his family

near Hook Island in Queensland, Australia.

While crossing the Bay,

Robert's wife notices a strange object

from the bottom of the lagoon,

the family starts snapping pictures.

The photo shows what appears to be a massive sea creature

that resembles a terrifyingly large tadpole.

The long, dark serpentine creature can be easily seen

beneath the clear waters of the lagoon.

It looks to be at least 30 feet long

based on the proportional size

of the boater in the background,

and it seems to be coiled in the shape of an S.

The Sareks say they weren't terrified, they were fascinated.

- They decided to jump in the water

and get a closer look at whatever this thing was.

It wasn't moving, so they assumed that it was dead.

- [Tony] Serpents like this are a popular feature

of the local Australian lore.

- There's a creature from the mythology

of Australia's indigenous peoples

called the rainbow serpent.

When you see a rainbow in the sky in Australia,

that's said to be the rainbow serpent

traveling from one water hole to another.

- [Tony] So is the rainbow serpent more than a myth?

Could the myth have been inspired

by something rare but real?

- So one theory that has been floated

is that perhaps we're looking at a prehistoric creature,

specifically a Mosasaur

which lived in oceans around the world

from between 82 and 66 million years ago.

- [Tony] Technically, Mosasaurs weren't dinosaurs,

they're more closely related to lizards and snakes.

As such, they were able to unhinge their jaws

to eat prey nearly the size of their bodies.

It seems ridiculous to think an extinct sea species

could still be swimming, but McCarthy doesn't think so.

- There was a particular type of fish,

Coelacanth, that was thought to be extinct

that was then rediscovered in the 1930s.

So it's not unheard of

for science to believe that a creature has gone extinct

and for it to pop back up.

So we could be looking at maybe a new species

or maybe a creature that we thought was extinct,

but actually isn't.

- The people on the boat later surmise

that the creature may have been wounded

by a ship's propeller in deeper water

and had decided to take refuge

in the shallow lagoon to recover.

They said it had eyes with slit shaped pupils

on the top of its head, and its whole body was smooth

with no fins or spines.

But what will our experts see?

First off, could the photo have been doctored?

- So from the exif analysis, no signatures of Photoshopping

or any third party editing software

was detected of this particular image.

Now whether or not the print photography was manipulated

prior to production of this image,

I can't say with certainty, but digitally,

nothing has occurred to these images.

- So then what is it?

We turn to our marine biologist

who's pretty sure this is not a Mosasaur.

- Mosasaurs were very dynamic predators,

they were probably very fast.

They had four flippers that you would see here,

and they had a bit of a long neck

and a smaller head with really sharp teeth.

Also, Mosasaurs were typically

known to be deeper sea animals.

They didn't spend any time on land,

and so they probably wouldn't be in shallow water like this.

So I don't think this is some kind of a living

predatory animal that we think of as prehistoric.

- [Tony] Could it be something

that was never even alive in the first place?

- If I had to guess as to what we're looking at,

I think this looks like a really two-dimensional object

like black plastic that has been placed on the bottom

of wherever this was taken.

- [Tony] One problem there though,

some maintain that the figure in the water is so clear

we'd be able to identify a piece of plastic

if that's really what this was.

- It's a very clear image,

and the fun thing about it is

your brain can't quite make it out.

It's hard to tell what you're looking at,

and that's where a lot of the mystery comes from

in the Hook Island sea monster image.

- We're going to call this an unexplained object.

The evidence still begets the question,

is this a real sea monster

lurking off the coast of Australia,

or just another convincing fake?

But this is hardly the only suspected creature

off Australia's shores.

The country even has its own Loch Ness monster

called the Hawkesbury monster,

which is believed to be between 23 and 79 feet long.

So if you're ever in the waters

off the coast of the land down under, keep an eye out.

- Strange things can happen when you're on vacation.

Well, at least on my vacations.

And now one couple's holiday stroll

may have solved a mystery that dates back to ancient times,

the mystery of the Loch Ness monster.

April, 2022,

a couple in their fifties

holiday in the Scottish Highlands.

After waking up early on a Monday morning

and heading out with their camera,

the couple is taking in the eerie sight

of the still waters of Loch Ness when they record this.

- [Onlooker] What on earth is there?

- [Tony] Take a closer look as we zoom in

and sharpen the image.

It looks like a creature moving through the water.

So admittedly this video was hard to make out,

but I wanna draw your attention

to a couple of features that really intrigue us.

First of all, it is this wake that leads us to believe

that this is actually a creature moving through the water.

And then this hump right here is so consistent

with other sightings of the Loch Ness monster.

- Some researchers have called this

the most significant footage

to come off Loch Ness in the last 20 years.

It doesn't seem to have an artificial or staged quality.

- [Onlooker] Yeah, it's really pushing forward now.

- [Gerhard] It seems like whatever they're filming

is actually there in Loch Ness.

- [Tony] The elusive legendary creature,

affectionately known as Nessie,

has actually had its fair share of caught on camera moments.

- The first compelling image of the Loch Ness monster

dates from November of 1933,

and then in April of 1934,

something known as the surgeon's photo surface.

It appeared to show a small head, a long neck,

and a hump protruding out of Loch Ness

and quickly achieved worldwide fame.

Unfortunately, in the 1990s,

researchers proved that the surgeon's photo

was in fact a hoax.

- [Narrator] But the sightings continue to this day.

Nessie is often described

as an aquatic creature having two humps,

which has led to the theory

that there is a surviving Plesiosaur

swimming beneath the surface of the Loch.

- Plesiosaurs were an archaic marine reptile

that lived alongside the dinosaurs

up until the end of the Cretaceous period

about 65 million years ago.

They were about 20 or 30 feet long,

they had a very big body with a long neck

and a small head, four flippers and a very powerful tail.

And in some respects,

this does fit some of the eyewitness accounts of Nessie.

- [Narrator] But Gerhard says there's a good reason why

many Nessie sightings remain unexplained to this day.

- Loch Ness is incredibly deep, up to 754 feet,

and what's really problematic in terms of research

is that the water is very dark.

- [Narrator] Despite those challenges,

researchers have managed to collect compelling evidence

that something is lurking in the loch.

- Dating back to 1954, there have been literally

dozens of sonar contacts with large animate objects

swimming in Loch Ness, 20 to 30 feet long,

usually serpentine in shape.

And as recently as this year,

there was a sonar contact at a depth of about 500 feet

of a large serpentine unidentified object,

about 20 to 30 feet long,

further adding to the body of evidence

that the Loch Ness monster exists,

- [Narrator] Loch Ness holds an estimated

263 billion cubic feet of water,

which is more than all the water in all the lakes,

rivers and reservoirs

in the whole of England and Wales combined.

So could this video be the latest proof

that Nessie is somewhere in there?

We turn to our experts to find out.

- In terms of authenticity, nothing appears to be CGI.

The video appears to be consistent

and plays consistently.

No editing or splicing was detected.

Through the media interrogation,

digital information analysis through Medex,

we were able to confirm the authenticity of this video

and it is genuine.

- [Tony] So if the video is real, what are we looking at?

- You can actually see based on the other objects around it

that not only is this animal moving through the water,

it's actually navigating,

you can see it turn towards the shoreline.

To me that means it's not something being towed

or something stuck in the water,

this is actually a really large animal,

I think moving across the surface of Loch Ness.

- [Tony] So could a dinosaur

thought to be extinct for 65 million years

really survive in the frigid murky waters of Loch Ness?

- Plesiosaurs did actually inhabit this area,

but Plesiosaur were known to be very large,

voracious predators.

So there would have to be a lot of food

to support a remnant dinosaur.

It would be very difficult for an animal like a plesiosaur

to obtain enough food,

so I can rule out that this is some sort of living dinosaur.

- [Tony] Furthermore, Steingass says that

in one of our biggest DNA studies

of its kind scientists from New Zealand's Otago University,

were able to identify the presence of around 3000 species

in the deep dark waters of Loch Ness.

- This 2019 study actually

ruled out the idea of some Plesiosaur living in Loch Ness

because there was no genetic material

associated with that that was found.

- [Tony] DNA from Whales and Dolphins

was also identified in Loch Ness by the researchers.

Steingass rules those out though,

because you can't see a dorsal fin in the video,

but she does have one guess.

- The EDNA study actually showed a lot of eel DNA

in Loch Ness, and this brings the possibility

that maybe the Loch Ness monster

is actually just a large eel being sighted at the surface.

- [Tony] If it is an eel, it's huge,

which is fascinating in itself.

- There's still a mystery that's going on

and we're not really sure what we're seeing in Loch Ness.

- Our verdict?

We're going to say this is possibly a gigantic eel,

though we can't say for certain what species.

Perhaps one that hasn't been discovered yet.

But the mystery is far from solved,

so we'll keep our eyes peeled for more evidence.

We've only scratched the surface of what lies beneath.

Our team will continue to investigate

mysterious underwater creatures

that blur the lines between myth, science and reality.

The deeper we go,

the more we realize how little we truly know.

Thank you for watching this special edition

of The Proof Is Out There.

Please send us any video, images or sound

that you think we should investigate

and remember to keep those cameras rolling.

[upbeat music]

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