MONSTERQUEST: Sea Monster

History Channel - Original Air Date: 4/22/09

People are seeing something strange in the inlet waters of Florida, and MQ wants to find out what it is.  Eyewitnesses describe it as a turtle-like ambush predator.  Could it be the sea serpents described by ancient mariners?  The show recaps Florida sea monster sightings.  A local man, Gene, reports seeing the beast multiple times.  The witness has over 40 hours of video evidence.  (It looks something like a manatee to me -- perhaps ones with deformed fins.)  For once, the pictures are of excellent quality, and the creatures -- for there are evidently more than one -- seem to have tri-forked tails.  The witness takes the MQ aquatic team to the creature's secret location to investigate.  Alligators, barracuda, and other local wildlife make the dive area dangerous.  The show also sends the footage to several experts for analysis, all of whom seem (initially, at least) puzzled -- though one later says "manatee" and another walrus or seal (piniped).  Cryptozoologist Loren Coleman makes another appearance to talk about sea monsters and finding new animals.  MQ decides to create a piece-by-piece 3D model based on the tapes.  As experts close in, one suggests that it is a Carribean Monk seal, thought extinct.  The divers look for both the creature and a secret underwater passage that would allow it to get inland unseen.  Sadly, the divers only get tantalyzing sonar hits.  The final animation is approved by Gene, and causes two biologists to agree it is likely a manatee mutilated by an encounter with boat propellers.  The third and fourth bilogists disagree, thinking it likely a seal, or perhaps a seal and a manatee swimming together -- and perhaps even the thought-extinct monk seal.  Sadly, that's as close as the show gets.  With this episode coming closer to finding a monster than any other MQ episode, perhaps this search would be worth another try.