Man spends billions of pounds on equipment that will look deep into and explore space and on craft that will one day take them to far distant planets in our universe and beyond,
Yet we still know so little about our own planet.
We know about some of the animals and life on Earth and even some from the past although extinct through the study of fossils and preserved skeletons from the dinosaur age. The advancement in DNA studies and carbon dating testing have given us an insight into the development and evolvement of both man and other life forms.
Although most of the land surface area of our planet has been explored, there are still areas of forest; jungle; cave systems and other difficult to access areas which have not been fully explored. We may be able to travel to the Moon and Mars, Yet we still struggle to venture to the bottom of our seas, only aware of some of the life that exists at the depths we are able to descend to, or that which rarely gets washed up ashore or caught in the fishing nets of deep sea trawlers by accident.
With two thirds of our planet covered in water, and much of that at a depth we are unable to explore due to the intense pressure, there are bound to be life-forms that we have yet to see.
We already know that some of the Life we do know of, both those that are now extinct and those presently still in existence have far greater abilities than we possess for coping with these intense pressures and darkness of the deep. The extreme depths and pressures, and more importantly the lack of intrusion by man, have allowed previously unknown life-forms below the sea to develop that can appear alien and frightening to us.
There are Many stories from man's past, all from different countries yet with similarities that include references to 'Sea Monsters'. Reports of Octopus of a size that can attack a boat, or of prehistoric style animals such as the Loch Ness Monster.
For centuries there have been many tales of gigantic sea monsters.
Do they, or did they ever exist ?
Who is to say that varieties of life still exist in the far depths that are far beyond what we expect, just because we have yet to capture one it does not mean that such gigantic creatures are impossible. Take a look at some of the photographs of the strange life that we have become aware of by choosing the 'Creatures of the Deep' option from menu top left, then consider what else there could be swimming around beneath the waves!
Choose one of the options below, or scroll down