zzzz
Just a regular American
You pose a wide question. Is there life beyond Earth and I think there is no doubt there is life out there. Look at the where life has been found here on earth at the bottom of the oceans in extreme heat and other bizarre places. The vastness of the universe would imply that the same conditions that existed here occurred elsewhere.
Intelligent life? I would also say yes. Why have we not been contacted? Distance is one factor. According to science it is impossible to go faster than light (and stay in this dimension), therefore space travel is not a real probable event. Of course science has been proved wrong before and if there are wormholes or other methods and Aliens have visited us before they may have the attitude that we are to evolve by ourselves. The old Star Trek policy.
Does the Bible specifically eliminate other life? No I do not believe so. The Bible is for the human race (Hispanics too guys) and not for aliens. God may have created other worlds, other races, Lord knows he probably was not proud of the human race. Or he may have created other Earths with human beings since we are made in his likeness.
Is it useless to speculate? No! We are an inquisitive species, always asking why, or what happened. this is what makes the human race the evolving species we are. When we stop asking questions then we become a dying race.
Evolving into what ? Something better than we were a couple of hundred years ago ?
Because the are elephants one in place DOES NOT prove or even give credence to the possibilty there are elephants elsewhere.
What you are saying is relative. The Earth is finite, the universe is for this example, infinite.