All language subtitles for A.A.S20E02.1080p.WEB.h264.EDITH_track3_[eng]

NARRATOR:
A flying monster
terrorizing West Virginia...

...a giant beast
that roamed the Himalayas,

and a sea creature
that may be from another world.

For more than a decade,
Ancient Aliens

has collected dozens of reports
of bizarre encounters

with strange
and mysterious beasts.

Now, we're going to take
a look back at the top ten

extraordinary creatures
we've investigated.

Creatures that just might
provide definitive proof

that Earth has been visited

by extraterrestrials.

Throughout recorded history,

there have been stories
of strange beings

inhabiting the Earth,

from bizarre hybrids that are
half human and half animal,

to giant sea monsters
and fire-breathing dragons.

But for ancient
astronaut theorists,

these are not
just fanciful stories.

They are eyewitness testimony

to what could
very well be alien entities.

And believe it or not,

there is evidence
that the most famous monster

reported in modern times

may be a visitor
from another world.

At number ten on our countdown

of the top ten
extraordinary creatures,

Bigfoot.

NARRATOR: Mount Shasta,
northern California, 1979.

Author Chris O'Brien
is out for a hike

when he encounters something
terrifying in the dense forest.

I was up on the side of
Mount Shasta on the foothills,

uh, trying to get to
the base of the mountain.

So dense and so tough.

As we're standing there,
we heard this crashing sound.

(branches snapping)

And then we heard
the most blood-curdling

combination of
an elephant, uh, trumpeting

a lion roaring.

(roaring)

And it was so loud,

it bounced off the foothills
two miles away.

That was probably
the most terrified

I've ever been in my life.

A-And the next thing I knew,
we were headed

down the mountain,
almost skidding on corners.

NARRATOR:
Chris believes
he had an encounter

with the legendary Bigfoot,

also known as Sasquatch.

Witnesses report
that these creatures

walk upright like a human,

are covered in
reddish-brown hair,

and are of enormous size.

Bigfoot is this sort of
large, lumbering,

eight- to nine-foot-tall ape

that predominantly lives
in the Pacific Northwest.

But we also get reports
of these creatures

all across the United States,

from the west coast
to the east coast.

And estimates are there
must be thousands of them.

NARRATOR:
With so many reports
of the notorious beast

coming from
all across the country,

could it be
that Bigfoot is real?

Anthropologist Jeff Meldrum

believes it's very possible.

There is, uh,
a growing body of data

that suggests that there
may actually be

a biological species
behind the legend of Bigfoot.

I've focused my attention
on the footprints.

And so, in my laboratory now,
I've amassed a collection

of well over 200 examples
of footprint casts

from all over the United States.

And-And that's provided
a quite unique opportunity

to very systematically
assess this evidence.

NARRATOR:
If the creature
known as Bigfoot does exist,

why is it so difficult
to capture?

(growling)

Ancient astronaut
theorists suggest

clues can be found
by examining reports

that link Bigfoot
to otherworldly phenomena.

REDFERN:
There are a number
of cases on record

where Bigfoot has been seen
in the same precise timeframe

as UFO activities
being reported.

For example, there was
a big wave of UFO activity

in Pennsylvania, and people
were actually reporting

these large, shadowy,
lumbering, ape-like creatures

walking out of the woods.

I had heard from sheriffs

about a rancher in Montana

who had gone out to go hunting.

Comes around a ridge,
has an eight-foot-tall,

reddish-brown, primate-looking,

long-haired creature
standing right in front of him.

Picks up a .30-06
and just fires.

And the creature disappeared
in a flash of light.

If the Sasquatch,
when a bullet is shot at it,

disappears in a flash of light,

then what in the world
are we dealing with

and what do they want?

Many Sasquatch researchers
have noted

that there is a connection

between Bigfoot activity
and UFO activity.

And in fact,
some people have claimed

they have seen a Bigfoot

actually come out
of a flying craft.

So, you have to wonder,

is it possible that Bigfoot

is actually an extraterrestrial?

High in the mountains
of the Himalayas,

there are accounts of another
mysterious ape-like creature.

Sightings of the beast

have been reported
for centuries,

and the local people say

that it is
an otherworldly being,

one that is protecting
a hidden kingdom of the gods.

At number nine
in our countdown

of the top ten
extraordinary creatures,

the Yeti.

NARRATOR: Mount Makalu,
Nepal, April 9, 2019.

Just a few miles south
of the Tibetan border,

a group of Indian soldiers
are on patrol

when they make
a mysterious discovery.

An expedition
from the Indian army

noticed very strange tracks
in the snow.

And when they looked at them,
they realized

that each one was
32 inches in length

and 15 inches in width.

And they came to the conclusion

that they possibly belonged

to the legendary Yeti.

NARRATOR:
The Yeti are often described

as half-man, half-ape creatures
that are covered with hair.

But while
physical descriptions

of the creature sound
very similar to Bigfoot,

researchers suggest
that the Yeti

is something entirely different.

MELDRUM:
The notorious Himalayan Yeti

is often described
as being shorter,

between five and six feet
in height,

and leaving footprints
that possibly, uh, show

indications
of a divergent big toe

in a thumb-like fashion.

So their footprints
look quite distinct

from the North American
Sasquatch.

NARRATOR:
The Yeti is said to be

an extremely dangerous
and ferocious monster.

According to both Hindu
and Buddhist traditions,

this is because the Yetis

are the guardians of a hidden
kingdom in the Himalayas

known as Shambhala.

Shambhala is considered
to be one of the abodes

of the celestial gods
of the region

where knowledge was imparted

to the local population.

WILLIAM HENRY:
The Yeti have this reputation
of being guardians of Shambhala,

keeping away all those
that are not pure of heart

from entering into
this holiest of holy places.

NARRATOR:
For ancient astronaut theorists,

the Yeti's role
as a protector of Shambhala

suggests the creature
has otherworldly origins.

Despite the fact
that we have numerous sightings

and photographs of footprints,
we don't have

any actual DNA or bones
of-of a Yeti.

And the question is,
why is that?

And-And one answer
that's been proposed is that

the Yeti could, in fact,
be an interdimensional creature

capable of disappearing
into other realms.

The next extraordinary
creature on our list

is believed to be hiding in the
deep, cold waters of Scotland.

And it has been reported
by witnesses

for nearly 1,500 years.

But how is it
that in all that time,

this giant lake monster
has never been caught?

Well, according
to some researchers,

it's because
this is no earthly being,

but one that can travel
between dimensions.

At number eight on our countdown

of the top ten
extraordinary creatures,

the Loch Ness Monster.

NARRATOR: Scotland.
April 21, 1934.

The Daily Mail newspaper

publishes
an astonishing photograph.

It allegedly shows
a long-necked creature

emerging from the rippling
waters of Loch Ness.

Many people believe the image

is of the famous
and elusive Loch Ness monster.

KEN GERHARD:
The Loch Ness monster,

affectionately referred to
as Nessie,

is easily the most iconic
of all aquatic monsters,

with thousands
of reports on record.

Most people typically describe

one or several large, dark humps

surfacing in the water,

although some people
have also reported

a very long, periscope-like neck

with a small head attached.

Nessie first gained
notoriety in 1933,

when sightings began
to surface as a result

of a road being constructed
along the side of the loch.

But accounts actually
date back to the year 565 AD,

when great St. Columbus

actually repelled
a great water beast

that was seen in the river Ness.

One of the things
that we've found

is that sometimes
there's a cluster of sightings,

and then there won't be
any reports for decades.

And if there was
a colony of these animals,

we surely should have got
evidence of their existence.

NARRATOR:
Is there really a creature

moving deep within
the waters of Loch Ness?

And if so, just what is it?

According to
ancient astronaut theorists,

it's possible
the Loch Ness monster

is not of our world.

HENRY:
The story of
the Loch Ness monster

reminds me of a UFO sighting
that happened

north of Nashville,
back in the '90s.

A man sees a giant UFO

that's firing at a creature
on his deck that looks like--

he calls it the one-footed
snorkel monster,

because it looked like an
elephant's trunk with one foot.

In his police report,
the man described

how the snorkel monster
spun itself into a vortex

or a ball of light
and disappeared.

One wonders if this
is evidence of a portal

that this creature
was opening up.

And, in fact, if this creature
and the Loch Ness monster

are part of the same
family of creatures

that travel the world through
these portals or gateways,

it's possible
that the Loch Ness monster

somehow came from another world.

(lowing)

the ancient astronaut theory
net of

is that thousands of years ago,

extraterrestrials performed
genetic experimentations

on planet Earth.

And evidence of this
can be found

in the form of strange hybrids

that were documented
in numerous cultures.

Like a bloodthirsty creature
described in Greek mythology

that was created
by an otherworldly being.

At number seven on our countdown

of the top ten
extraordinary creatures,

the Minotaur.

NARRATOR: The Greek island
of Crete.

According to the stories
of ancient Greece,

this land was once home

to a terrifying monster
called the Minotaur.

The Minotaur was a creature

that was half bull
and half human.

And the Minotaur was this
incredibly violent

and unwieldy beast.

KATHLEEN MCGOWAN:
This legend of the Minotaur

is one of the most important
and prevalent legends

of the ancient Greek mythology.

One day, King Minos of Crete
angers the god Poseidon.

Poseidon, being angry at Minos,

casts a spell
over his wife, Pasiphaë,

that she might fall in love

with this great white bull.

And through the mating
of the bull,

the Minotaur is born.

And he is ferocious and he feeds
on the flesh of humans.

Eventually, it had to be
placed within this structure

known as the Labyrinth.

The legend of King Minos
and the Labyrinth

is something that was seen
to be a fable,

until the explorations

of the palace in Crete.

MCGOWAN:
At the very beginning
of the 20th century,

a British researcher and
archaeologist, Sir Arthur Evans,

discovered the ruins
of the palace of King Minos.

But it's not just a palace.

It became very clear

upon looking at the structure

that this was
the original Labyrinth.

NARRATOR:
If the structure found in Crete

really is the fabled
Labyrinth of King Minos,

then is it possible
that the story of the Minotaur

is based on actual events?

Ancient astronaut theorists
say "yes,"

but suggest that what is
described in the legend

is not literally
a bull mating with a human.

The story of the Minotaur
is an amazing story

about the creation
of a hybrid being.

And what's interesting
about this

is that Daedalus,
this genius engineer,

crafts this cow-shaped container

that Minos' wife is to enter
into this container

and mate with this sacred bull.

The Minotaur is the result
of that mating.

So, when we peel back
the layers of this story,

we can easily interpret this

as some kind of genetics lab

that's being created here
for gene splicing.

It's fascinating to think
that my Greek ancestors

could have actually encountered

a hybrid creature
like the Minotaur.

But believe it or not,

there might be
another hybrid creature

living among us today.

This one is described
as appearing human,

but with glowing red eyes
and birdlike wings,

and is often witnessed
in connection with UFOs.

At number six on our list,

the Mothman.

NARRATOR:
Point Pleasant, West Virginia.
November 15, 1966.

Two young couples

are driving down a dark road
outside of town.

As they pass by an old building,

they are startled
by a frightening sight.

(raspy breathing)

They claim to have seen
a large, uh, winged creature.

Six to seven foot tall,
gray in color

and two large red eyes.

They said this creature
flew over their car

and followed them
back into town.

That was the beginning
of the Mothman sightings.

NARRATOR:
The harrowing account was
picked up by the local press

and incited panic across town.

Over the next year,

residents were terrorized
by encounters

with the winged monster.

(raspy breathing)

There were over
100 reported sightings

to the local authorities.

You had some people who claimed

to have seen it
while driving in their car.

You had other people seeing it
in their front yard.

NARRATOR:
The strange sightings
attracted the attention

of local journalist Mary Hyre.

Mary Hyre was just a normal,
legitimate, uh, journalist

investigating your average
stories around town.

And then she was
suddenly plunged

into this issue
involving the Mothman.

NARRATOR:
Mary interviewed
dozens of people

who encountered the Mothman.

But soon after she began
her investigation,

she was visited by a group
of mysterious government agents

known only as the Men in Black.

Mary Hyre was visited
by Men in Black,

uh, who told her
to s-stop writing

about the Mothman and
all these strange encounters.

"Stop writing about this."

"You don't want to be
involved in this."

The Men in Black
are the cleanup squad.

They are the ones
who hide the traces,

hide the footsteps,
so to speak,

of the alien presence

or phenomena
such as the Mothman.

NARRATOR:
Could it be that the creature
known as the Mothman

was an otherworldly being,

one that
the alleged Men in Black

were attempting to cover up?

Ancient astronaut theorists
say yes,

and suggest further evidence

of extraterrestrial visitation

can be found in ancient stories

of beasts
that could breathe fire.

,

I'm always looking out
for examples

of what I call
"misunderstood technology."

Our ancestors didn't have
the same frame of reference

that we have today.

So when they wrote
about flying serpents

that were breathing fire,

were they talking
about real-life monsters

or extraterrestrial spacecraft?

At number five on our countdown

of the top ten
extraordinary creatures,

Dragons.

NARRATOR:
Throughout history, there
have been tales of dragons:

powerful,
fire-breathing creatures

that flew through the air.

Virtually every culture
has a legend about dragons

or dragon beings
that came from the sky.

Around England,
the Celts revere the dragon.

And the winged dragon, to this
day, is the symbol for Wales.

In North America,
we learn of the winged serpents.

It must be that there
was a common source.

CHILDRESS:
We have stories
all around the world

of flying dragons
and smoke and thunder and fire,

of flying around,
carrying people with them.

So, how would all these
different places

that are unconnected
with each other

have these similar stories?

So, is it possible
in these cases

that these flying dragons

are really a mistaken identity

of airships
and things like that?

NARRATOR:
Is it possible,

as ancient astronaut
theorists suggest,

that dragons are not
mythical creatures,

but descriptions of advanced,

even extraterrestrial
technology?

Perhaps further clues
can be found

in the legend of
China's Yellow Emperor,

who founded Chinese civilization

nearly 5,000 years ago.

According to Chinese mythology,

the Yellow Emperor,
also known as Huangdi,

arrived on the back of a dragon.

The Yellow Emperor, uh,
Huangdi, is a culture hero.

He's an originator of Chinese
civilization and culture.

And one version of the story
has a dragon emerging.

And then the Yellow Emperor
jumps on the dragon's back,

and the dragon ascends
up to heaven.

NARRATOR:
To this day, the people of China
celebrate the arrival

of the Yellow Emperor
with a traditional dragon dance.

Curiously, dragons are also
prominent in the creation myths

of Central America,
where various civilizations

worshipped a dragon-like being
known by various names.

The Aztecs called this
flying deity Quetzalcoatl.

JONATHAN YOUNG:
Quetzalcoatl was a creator god.

He brought the rain,
he brought water,

he brought civilization,
he brought the arts.

This was the creator divinity
for the Aztec culture.

It was a flying serpent.
It was a dragon.

The dragon is worldwide because,
again, in Central America,

in Villahermosa,
there is a stone

called the Dragon Monolith.

You see a man sitting
inside the dragon.

You see the form of the dragon

with his open mouth,
like a snake.

And you see
the man is sitting inside.

He has a helmet on.

So the story of the dragon

has come around the world,
from China to Central America.

TSOUKALOS:
Now, from the ancient
astronaut perspective,

the dragon was never a dragon.

It was a flying craft.

It is only natural
that our ancestors would

describe these things as living
creatures with fire and smoke.

They had never seen
anything like it before.

So in my opinion, dragons
were an extraterrestrial craft.

Dragons are just one
of countless examples

of misunderstood technology

that can be found in
the accounts of our ancestors.

In fact, you can find many
in the pages of the Holy Bible,

like a terrifying
sea monster described

in the Book of Job
that had glowing eyes

and ribs made out of
gleaming bronze.

At number four on our countdown,
the Leviathan.

NARRATOR:
The Mediterranean Sea.

Thousands of years ago,
these picturesque waters

were said to be home to
one of the most extraordinary

creatures ever encountered.

This gigantic beast
was described in

the Bible's Old Testament.
It's known as the Leviathan.

The Leviathan is
sometimes described

as a serpent
or a crocodile or a dragon,

but it lurks deep
in the sea and comes up

and terrifies the people.

Leviathan, in Biblical terms,
is considered this

sea monster of behemoth
proportions. Huge.

Now, in the Book of Job,
the behemoth all of a sudden

is seen and witnessed.

And the way Job describes it,

it's not a biological entity
that we are familiar with today.

It is described that it has
skin of metal

and ribs made
out of gleaming bronze,

And then Job
even describes that it is

like some type of an animal.

But what animal
breathes smoke and fire,

and has glowing eyes?

NARRATOR:
Might the eyewitness
account of the Leviathan

found in the Book of Job

actually be a description
not of an underwater creature,

but of misunderstood technology,

as ancient astronaut theorists
suggest?

HENRY:
Today, we have videos
of UFOs, or UAPs,

that are coming
and going from the ocean.

We call them trans-medium craft.

Well, this is exactly
what we see in

these ancient myths
about the Leviathan.

So based on this,
that opens up the possibility

that the Leviathan is also

some kind of an ancient,
misunderstood UFO technology.

Some of the mod

can be found in the Islamic
holy book called the Quran.

These strange
beings are described

as shapeshifters
made of smokeless fire.

And some believe they inhabit
alternate dimensions.

Number three on our countdown

of the top ten
extraordinary creatures,

the Jinn.

NARRATOR:
Karachi, Pakistan. 2016.

A 25-year-old mother of three
is taken to a local physician

after displaying
increasingly bizarre behavior.

She speaks in gibberish

and complains of being plagued

by disturbing visions
and strange voices.

Her family claims
she is possessed

by supernatural beings
known as the jinn.

In Islam, there is
a class of beings known as jinn.

The jinn are angelic,
and yet they are

not of the ethereal realm.

They are of the earthly realm.
They're shapeshifters.

They can help you.
They can also trick you.

"Jinn" literally means
"to hide" or "to conceal."

And so you can think
of a jinn as a being who is

concealed from the senses.

They have all sorts
of interesting properties.

The jinn can change shapes.

The Quran talks about the jinn
being able to take animal form,

but it also takes on the notion,
in Arabic of, like, possession.

Someone who is possessed
is called Majnun.

They literally have, you know,
a jinn inside them.

NARRATOR:
In the Islamic texts,
the jinn appear only when

they want to be seen,
often influencing humans

by whispering instructions
to them while invisible.

HENRY:
The jinn are described
as shadowy beings

that are often malevolent
in their intentions.

They are supposed to have
had magic abilities,

supernatural powers, and
humans greatly feared the jinn.

NARRATOR:
Stories of encounters with
the jinn have been reported

for centuries,
and millions of people

continue to believe
in their existence.

But if the jinn really do exist,

could they be extraterrestrials?

ARIEL BAR TZADOK:
In order to understand
the nature of these entities,

we must understand that,
in many ways,

they're the intermediary race.

Like human beings,
they eat and drink.

Like human beings,
they sexually procreate.

But like the angels,
they can shapeshift,

fly, and know the future.

LYNN PICKNETT:
The interesting thing
about the jinn

is that, technically,
they're neutral.

They're neither good nor evil,
but they resent human beings

because they were there,
enjoying the Earth,

and along came human beings
and usurped them.

NARRATOR:
Is it possible that alien
beings, known as the jinn,

preceded humans on planet Earth,

and have been interacting
with us for thousands of years?

Perhaps further clues
can be found by examining

ancient Hebrew texts
that describe the role

of the jinn in building
King Solomon's Temple.

According to the story,
King Solomon was given

a powerful ring that allowed him
to communicate with the jinn.

HENRY:
In the story,
Solomon prays to God,

and instantly,
the Archangel Michael

manifests,
as if out of thin air.

And Michael says that
he's going to give Solomon

a power that has never before
been seen on Earth

and never again shall be.

And he produces for him
a ring with a signet seal

that would enable Solomon
to control the jinn

from that point forward.

NARRATOR:
The jinn were said
to be master architects,

and King Solomon used his ring

to compel them
to help build his temple.

The jinn also gave Solomon
a mysterious tool

that could cut through stone
called a shamir.

Now, the shamir is described
in traditional literature

as this little worm
that you'd put on the stone,

and it would cut it precisely.

TSOUKALOS:
The shamir was a "worm"

that could cut and drill

through even the hardest
of stones rather with ease.

What if this shamir was some
type of laser cutting device?

NARRATOR:
As far as ancient astronaut
theorists are concerned,

the fact that the jinn
possessed a device

like the shamir
suggests that they were

not ethereal beings,
but otherworldly creatures

that have remained
present on Earth to this day.

HENRY:
When we look at
various encounters

with beings like the jinn,

we have to be open
to the possibility

that these are examples of
misunderstood extraterrestrials,

that they're
a different class of being

than we're ordinarily
thinking about

when we think
"extraterrestrial."

They come from outside of
our normal frequency realm.

n y

and all around the world.

As far as I'm concerned,

these are eyewitness accounts
of the same beings

that have been described
by modern-day alien abductees.

And according
to the people of Ireland,

they reside in hidden realms
right here on Earth.

Number two on our countdown

of the top ten
extraordinary creatures,

the Sidhe.

NARRATOR:
Ireland.

According to ancient folklore,

this lush, green island
in the North Atlantic

is home to mysterious,
otherworldly creatures

known as the Sidhe,
or fairy folk.

Do we believe in fairies
and leprechauns in Ireland?

Absolutely, 100%.
You ask any Irish person.

We don't call them fairies.

It's the Sidhe.

And all of our stories say
they came from the sky world.

They went underground.
They went to rest.

NARRATOR:
According to ancient folklore,

the Sidhe inhabit
the massive earthen mounds

that dot the Irish countryside.

And they've been part of
the Irish culture for centuries.

MULLIGAN:
Fairies and leprechauns
and all that sort of stuff.

Like, too many people
kind of laugh

and joke about at times,

but it's knowledge
that's been passed down for

thousands and thousands
of years.

NARRATOR:
While modern-day representations
of the fairy folk

often depict benevolent,
sprightly creatures,

traditional Irish notions
of fairies are much different.

They are considered powerful
and sometimes dangerous beings.

You don't want
to mess with the Sidhe...

They're not cute,
cuddly little fairies like

we typically think of today.

These are very extraordinarily
powerful beings

that-that dwell
underneath the earth.

NARRATOR:
While modern stories
of the Sidhe

often refer to these beings
as fairies or elves,

the Irish know them by yet
another name, the Shining Ones.

This is because, according
to ancient Irish stories,

they are the descendants
of a race of luminous beings

who came down from the sky
more than 3,000 years ago

called the Tuatha Dé Danann.

JENNY BUTLER:
There is a description in
the mythological material,

in the early Irish literature,

of the Tuatha Dé Danann
arriving in cloud ships.

Arriving in dark clouds,

and landing on a mountain.

NARRATOR:
Irish legends describe
the Tuatha Dé Danann

as god-like beings
who wielded powerful weapons.

But a conflict with humans
led them to find

a new home in
a mystical underground realm.

COLLINS:
It was agreed that
the Tuatha Dé Danann

would go beneath the earth,

inside mounds of earth
that were known as Sidhe.

These acted as
these doorways into a realm

where, forever after,
the Tuatha Dé Danann would live.

NARRATOR:
After this event,

the Tuatha Dé Danann
became known as the Sidhe,

just like the mounds
they inhabit.

But could the Sidhe
really exist?

In 1969,
French astronomer Jacques Vallée

published a groundbreaking book
on unexplained phenomenon called

Passport to Magonia:
From Folklore to Flying Saucers.

In it, he proposed
that historical accounts

of fairies and other
strange beings could be

the same phenomenon

that today is interpreted
as extraterrestrial.

Jacques did what I think is
one of the most important books

about the UFO phenomena.

Trying to understand
of all the things in the sky

and on the ground
through history

that have either been painted,

photographed, caught on radar,

what are they and why are they?

NARRATOR:
According to Vallée,
the strange beings

that humans have
reported encountering

for thousands of years,

known in Ireland as the Sidhe,
may in fact be interdimensional.

BILL BIRNES:
Vallée believes that
from the time of the Big Bang,

if it created one universe,

why couldn't it create
a multitude of universes?

Might there be
connections between

the different universes,
where elements

from the other universe
cross into our universe,

and where elements of
our universe cross into theirs?

That would explain how
people coming upon the Sidhe

might not just see
an underground civilization,

but they might see an
interdimensional civilization.

We're moments away from
the most extraordinary creature

on our list,
and I'm almost certain

it's not what you expect.

down

of the top ten
extraordinary creatures,

and this last one
absolutely blows my mind.

It's one that everyone
is familiar with,

and is found in oceans
around the world.

But scientists believe it could
possess extraterrestrial DNA.

At number one, the Octopus.

NARRATOR:
History books are filled
with sensational accounts

of terrifying sea monsters,
like the Hydra and the Kraken.

Some are convinced they exist,

while others dismiss them
as purely mythological.

But perhaps the most
extraordinary sea creature

is one that can be found

in every ocean,
and is undeniably real.

The octopus.

KIRSTEN FISHER:
The octopus is
a really fascinating organism.

The octopus's brain,
instead of just being centered

in its head, like ours,
is actually distributed.

There are these brains
in their arms,

as well as the central brain
in their head.

An octopus can certainly
manipulate its environment.

It builds its own homes
by piling rocks

and shells on top of it.

FISHER:
Octopuses are very adept
at camouflaging themselves

by changing their color
to that of their surroundings

really, really quickly.

I mean, almost,
it looks instantaneous to us.

It can also manipulate its body
into different shapes

to imitate other animals.

NARRATOR:
This extraordinary creature

has three hearts
and nine brains.

Some scientists have speculated
that in the absence of humans,

the animal best suited to
evolve into the dominant species

on the planet is not another
primate, but the octopus.

For many scientists,
these creatures are truly unlike

any other organism on Earth.

CHILDRESS:
As scientists study octopi,

they're amazed
at what they're finding,

and they're not seeing

a connection to some
ancestor of the octopi.

It's like these creatures
were brought here

in their entirety

and put into our oceans.

NARRATOR:
Could it be that the octopus
didn't originate on Earth,

as ancient astronaut theorists
suggest?

Astrobiologist
Dr. Chandra Wickramasinghe

believes it's entirely possible.

In March, 2018,
he and 32 other scientists

published a scientific paper
that caused

a sensation in the press.

In it, they suggest the octopus

contains extraterrestrial DNA.

What we find in the octopus
genome is just almost uncanny.

It has something
like 50,000 genes.

Compare that with the human,

which has something like
25,000 genes.

So the octopus,
in many ways, appears to be

more complex than the human.

Now, how did this
complexity manifest itself?

There's ample evidence
to suggest

that it came from outside.

NARRATOR:
According to Dr. Wickramasinghe,

the DNA of the octopus
didn't originate on Earth,

but was transported here
through meteors or comets.

The process is known
as panspermia.

The panspermia theory
cannot be dismissed.

And one possibility
is that our solar system

is like one big,
gigantic Ping-Pong table,

with ping pongs--
that is, asteroids--

carrying DNA
going back and forth

between the various planets.

NARRATOR:
Is it possible that the octopus
didn't originate on Earth,

but was brought here
from somewhere else?

Perhaps further clues
can be found

in mythological accounts
from across the ancient world

that describe aquatic deities
who resemble the octopus.

All the way around the world,
there are traditions

to do with a creator god
in the form of an octopus.

For instance, in ancient Crete,
there are numerous

images and paintings
of an octopus

with bizarre, large eyes.

In Ecuador,
at a place called Mantas,

were these bas-relief carvings
of this bizarre octopus deity.

We have to ask ourselves,
is it possible that the ancients

were aware that the octopus
is truly alien to this planet?

If we could one day
prove the presence

of alien DNA in the octopus,
it would radically change

the accepted history
of our planet.

But as far as I'm concerned,
each of the extraordinary

creatures on our list,
from Bigfoot to dragons

to the mysterious jinn,
provide evidence

that extraterrestrials came
to Earth thousands of years ago

and are still visiting today.

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