- 2 months ago
Documentary, River Monsters S01E05 Amazon Assassins
Category
🐳
AnimalsTranscript
00:01The Amazon River is home to a terrifying collection of man-eating monsters.
00:06And in the darkest corners lurks a dinosaur.
00:11Legends tell of an evil spirit inhabiting an enormous fish.
00:16Longer than a man, it is encased in thick scales, and it crushes its prey with a tongue made of bone.
00:23But with a body of pure muscle, its primary weapon is raw power.
00:30I'm Jeremy Wade, biologist and extreme angler, and I've encountered this creature once before.
00:39That time I came out second best, but now I'm ready for the rematch.
00:48Yes!
01:00I've been coming to the Amazon for 15 years, and a tale I've heard many times is that of a fisherman going missing.
01:25Far from home, on a remote tributary of the Amazon, something happens.
01:33People tell of a creature leaping out of the water, knocking the fisherman from his canoe.
02:01But with no eyewitnesses, the list of suspects is speculative at best.
02:10Could there really be a monster in the Amazon capable of doing this?
02:13And if so, what kind of beast could it be?
02:16Anaconda, caiman, piranha are all convicted killers.
02:24But in my travels around the world, I've caught some super-sized freshwater fish that are more than capable of doing the job.
02:35Is there one more river monster to add to the list of the Amazon's usual suspects?
02:43It's a creature that has somehow slipped through the net.
02:48The story of a canoe found floating, nobody in it, fishermen disappeared.
02:54And the automatic assumption from everybody was that it was a caiman or an anaconda, those are the obvious candidates.
03:00But I've been doing a bit of thinking, and I think another animal might have been involved.
03:03And what I think it might have been is one of these.
03:08Now, I mean, this is a real armor coat, this, and it looks as if it's a snake or some other reptile.
03:14But, believe it or not, this is actually a fish, and this is a big fish.
03:20This is the skin of an arapaima fish.
03:23And if its scales make you think of a dinosaur, that's because the arapaima is indeed a dinosaur of sorts.
03:30It has swum in these waters virtually unchanged since the Cretaceous period.
03:37That is just a single scale from this animal.
03:40I mean, you know, that is pretty impressive.
03:42But they go a lot bigger than that.
03:44And the reason I know that is that.
03:47Now, whatever that came off, that would have been a serious river monster.
03:52Arapaima have been caught measuring up to ten foot long,
03:55making them the largest freshwater fish in the world's largest river.
03:59But in recent years, they have been relentlessly overfished.
04:02And today, they are so rare, it is forbidden to catch them in most areas.
04:07However, they are potentially found throughout the countless thousand miles of river that make up the Amazon basin.
04:14And I believe arapaima may be responsible for killing some of those missing people.
04:19My mission is to investigate this theory and see if I can track down and even catch one of these potential killers.
04:28I've begun my quest in Manaus, the Wild West Frontier town at the heart of the Brazilian Amazon.
04:39I need to know what I'm dealing with.
04:42And for that, I'm going to visit some captive arapaima.
04:45And I know just the place.
04:47Normally, in the Amazon, seeing arapaima live and close up is pretty well impossible.
05:04There's just so much water, it's pretty murky.
05:06Here's this place.
05:07It's a bar in the middle of Manaus.
05:09And this could be just the perfect place to check them out.
05:21Absolutely amazing opportunity to get eyeball to eyeball with these things.
05:25It really is prehistoric looking like stone or metal or something, a real armour placing.
05:30And the other thing that's very striking about these fish, you know, they are very elongated.
05:35They're quite cylindrical.
05:37That is just perfect design for an ambush predator, you know, speed over a short distance.
05:44Arapaima are naturally predatory, engulfing any fish that fit into that bony mouth, including piranha.
05:51They will even consume birds and other animals, sucking them down from the water's surface.
06:04And then they've got this very gruesome technique for actually finishing their prey off.
06:09They have a tongue with a piece of bone inside it.
06:13And they actually use that bony tongue to crush the small fish against the roof of the mouth.
06:19So it's not a very pleasant way to go, I'd imagine.
06:21These are pretty big fish.
06:24You know, that mouth isn't big enough to swallow a person.
06:26So any stories like that, you've really got to discount.
06:29But it could still actually kill you.
06:30That is a very solid lump of bone with an enormous mass of muscle behind it.
06:38I've actually been on the receiving end of one of these things.
06:40It hit me in the chest.
06:41And no exaggeration, I could still feel that a month and a half later.
06:45It just bruised me so deeply.
06:46It was seven years ago, and I was helping a friend of mine, a research scientist, with his captive breeding program for arapaima.
06:56His long-term goal is to take the pressure off the wild population, and he needed to capture his fish to pair them up with likely mates.
07:04We caught several fish already and weighed and measured them without problem, when I let my guard down.
07:12While drawing in a net with an arapaima trapped inside, this hard-nosed giant turned from fish into missile.
07:21From nowhere, I had 100 pounds of solid bone smash into me.
07:26Weeks later, a doctor described my injury as similar to the impact of striking the steering column during a car crash.
07:39I'm not saying this is some malignant creature that will deliberately hunt and eat you.
07:44It doesn't have the mouth for it.
07:46But corner one of these beasts, and it will launch a pre-emptive strike.
07:51It is this event that makes me believe the arapaima may be the killer in question.
07:56If these fishermen were hunting arapaima or accidentally caught one in a net, this animal will violently defend itself.
08:08Just one thrash connecting with the head is all it would take to knock you unconscious,
08:13leaving you at the mercy of the Amazon's scavenging river monsters.
08:16If I'm going to investigate this theory, I need to demonstrate that my experience wasn't a freak occurrence.
08:27An arapaima do have the power, the ability, and even the intent to take a fisherman out.
08:34But more importantly, I need to prove that despite overfishing,
08:38there are still arapaima out there large enough to do the damage.
08:42And the best way I can do that is by catching a giant arapaima.
08:45But as I set off on my mission, leaving the port of Manaus,
08:54my boat captain tells me that if I'm interested in arapaima,
08:58then I should definitely visit one of these floating houses.
09:04Salted arapaima used to be a meal enjoyed across the Amazon.
09:08But since a ban on commercial fishing,
09:10a few enterprising riberinos, or river people,
09:13have started to farm them in pens like this
09:15to satisfy the demand for arapaima meat.
09:21I've heard these arapaima in this enclosure here do something quite spectacular.
09:27I've arrived just as they're preparing to fish one out for their own cooking pot.
09:32Good morning.
09:33Good morning.
09:33I'm going to go.
09:38Here's what's going on.
09:39Oh, you say it's Jeremy?
09:40Jeremy.
09:42My name is Allegria.
09:43Allegria.
09:44Allegria.
09:44Sua Allegria, which means happiness,
09:46is he's about to try and get an arapaima out of here.
09:50There's a few in here.
09:51And he says it's not an easy job.
09:53It can be a wee bit interesting.
09:54I'm gonna ask him if maybe I can help thank you forget the only was there are
09:5930 fish in here and he says they're just jumping everywhere and they are just you
10:04know you're just having to duck you risk getting hit by the head and this is
10:09about the size of a boxing ring it's about having you know it's like having
10:1130 people coming at you and just having to avoid them right I'm gonna have to
10:18just prepare myself a little bit suddenly all my old fears from my
10:23painful encounter are back but if I'm going to catch an arapaima capable of
10:28killing a man then I need to face up to my fear and if that means getting back
10:33into the water with one of these beasts then that's what I'm going to have to do
10:53having previously had a crippling personal encounter I'm on a mission to see if I can
11:01add the arapaima fish to the list of Amazon River monsters with lethal potential and to do that I
11:08need to catch one of these giants but before I tackle one in the wild I need to lay the ghost of that
11:15earlier encounter to rest I just tried on a fish so I'm helping these guys net a captive arapaima
11:22right yes this is a bit like a boxing ring it's about the same size there's 35 fish in here nearly as big as I am
11:36it's a simple matter of netting one but this is exactly what I was doing when I took the full force
11:49of an arapaima headbutt to the chest and I have been warned that these fish are particularly violent
11:54when cornered they're walking forward which means all the vulnerable bits of my body a boxer would be
12:05covering them up okay that's going well right they're gonna start jumping any minute he's saying
12:17any minute they're gonna start jumping
12:24knowing what's coming makes the second attempt even more daunting I'm afraid Jeremy is afraid he's
12:50saying I think that is that is fairly clear to see there's no doubt that when cornered or trapped
13:11by nets the arapaima becomes a formidable force of nature
13:20with the help of these arapaima farmers I'm finally holding one of these incredible fish in my arms
13:37my fear has been replaced with a new respect
13:44maybe I'm now ready to face an arapaima on my own
13:52they wanted one to eat that one was too big they want to get a smaller one I think I'm just going
14:07to leave that to it okay never ever seen anything like that before all those fish absolutely clean
14:19out of the water you know I think that just has to be you know the evidence that I was looking for
14:24just imagine the damage a fish could do that had the same solid bone head but was more than twice the
14:31weight the Sualegria also insists that they sneak through holes in the nets displaying a curiously
14:38unfish-like cunning combine that with their sheer muscular power and you can easily see how dangerous
14:45the arapaima becomes when cornered now I know what I'm dealing with but to catch one is going to be a
14:57couple of days by boat to one of the few places where arapaima fishing is still allowed
15:10after a day's traveling we stop at a riverside town to spend the night
15:22I'm not suggesting that the arapaima is responsible for all disappearances on the Amazon
15:26this river has a full complement of killers as I'm powerfully reminded when asking around for any
15:33fishermen's tails
15:41this man lost his wife to a horrifying attack by the South American cousin of the alligator the Cayman
15:47just yards away his poor daughter could only helplessly look on
15:55this gentleman's wife went fishing
16:04on her way back the boat actually sort of went over the top of the Cayman
16:14it hit the canoe tipped her into the water and and then basically grabbed her
16:31the Cayman had actually drawn away a little distance because of the commotion and the shouting and then her
16:49daughter was able to go around the other side and and and pull her to land but it just took so long to
16:54to get help but despite rescuing her mother from the from the Cayman you know she actually died of her wounds
17:01later on
17:01it's one thing to hear second-hand stories about people being taken by animals in the water you know all very dramatic fisherman's tales but to actually hear from somebody who actually saw their mother you know taken in front of them just really brings home just water
17:28I don't know what a potentially dangerous place this is particularly if you're a fisherman something I've got to remember is that it's not just dangerous fish that you've got in the water but there's a whole array of other nasty dangerous creatures down there
17:42down there my mission is to prove whether the Arab climate deserves a place alongside the Amazon's undisputed freshwater killers
17:49and as I go deeper into the heart of the Amazon in search of this fish I encounter the other creatures that come with this increasingly dangerous territory
17:57between 1918 and 1924 what was the average annual catch of our primer in the Amazon's largest state was it a 7,000 fish be 7,000 pounds or see 7,000 tons
18:20between 1918 and 1924 the average annual catch of our primer was C 7,000 tons the weight of 20 jumbo jets this led to the commercial extinction of the Arab
18:50arapaima in the wild
18:57fishermen that hunt the arapaima fish here in the Amazon regularly expose themselves to river monsters that have no need to prove their deadly nature
19:09I've heard a tale of a killer caiman in these waters so I head out after dark to see if I can find it
19:17but it seems like I'm the one being watched there are eyes following my every move
19:24I'm out at night hunting caiman
19:27there's one in these waters apparently that is absolutely man-eating size they say it is close to 20 foot
19:34caiman's eyes reflect my flashlight making them easy to spot
19:41there's one there's one there's one there's one there's one
19:43see how many caiman there are in these waters makes me realize that it is as much the company the arapaima keep make them such risky prey to hunt
19:50Seeing how many caiman there are in these waters
20:01makes me realize that it is as much the company the arapaima keep
20:05that makes them such risky prey to hunt.
20:09Their fearsome defenses allow them to survive in these predatory waters.
20:14But also, as the arapaima becomes rarer and rarer,
20:17it is pushed deeper into the literally uncharted reaches of the Amazon.
20:22This is where the deadly forces of nature lurk.
20:26Civilization is left behind,
20:28and all medical assistance is, well, beyond reach.
20:33But if I'm to catch a giant arapaima and lay my own demons to rest,
20:38then I'm going to have to face these other monsters as well,
20:41as I enter the dark heart of the Amazon.
20:47Being such a rare animal nowadays,
20:52limited and sustainable fishing is allowed in just a few locations.
20:56And this is where I'm headed.
20:58I'm as far off the beaten track as possible,
21:01in search of those last places which still provide sanctuary to monsters.
21:07Basically, there's no way we could get up here using the motor.
21:09Too many branches, rocks in the water.
21:14So we're having to manhandle the boat up this very narrow creek.
21:23We've entered a pristine, magical world,
21:33home to many mysterious jungle creatures.
21:35And maybe, maybe, the large arapaima I'm after.
21:51Goodness me, that is a fish and a half.
22:05Look at that.
22:07This is a beautiful caparari.
22:10Right, I'm actually very pleased to have this fish.
22:16It's not the arapaima I was after.
22:20But, you know, this is just, to my mind, such a lovely looking fish.
22:24I mean, the patterning on that is just wonderful.
22:29This bizarre catfish is a strange monster of the deep.
22:33But it seems that the arapaima is an elusive giant that won't be caught easily.
22:40With the weather turning, it's time to rethink my options.
22:45Maybe I need to find someone who can advise me where exactly it's best to fish.
22:51As I race ahead of the storm, deeper into the jungle,
22:55I'm reminded of the legend that tells how this monster fish came into being.
22:59Piraruku was the son of an Indian chief, known to be cruel and arrogant.
23:06He was disrespectful of the gods.
23:08So the highest god, Tupan, decided to punish him.
23:15He ordered storms to attack Piraruku on a fishing trip.
23:20But Piraruku laughed them off.
23:25So Tupan struck him down with lightning.
23:29He dragged him to the bottom of the river
23:31and transformed him into a giant fish.
23:35The arapaima, or firefish.
23:38Although to this day, Brazilians still call it Piraruku.
23:44In the west, we have lost much of our old reverence for the natural world.
23:49But there are still remote tribal people
23:51for whom reality and myth are almost interchangeable.
23:55The tribes of this region have a deep connection to the arapaima
23:59and are still allowed to hunt it for food.
24:02So if I'm going to track one down and learn from the ancient ways,
24:06I'm told there are no better teachers than the munduruku people.
24:09I'm on a mission to catch the giant arapaima, or firefish.
24:29Fish that I believe should be on the list of river monsters
24:31that cause human fatalities here in the Amazon.
24:34From experience, both past and present,
24:38I know just how powerful this creature is when cornered.
24:45To prove that there are still arapaima out there
24:48that are big enough to inflict a deadly blow,
24:51all I have to do is catch one.
24:54Getting to grips with the arapaima in captivity is one thing,
24:58but getting close to them in the wild is another thing entirely,
25:02particularly now they are so endangered.
25:05But there are some people further up this Amazon backwater
25:08who do have a very ancient relationship with the arapaima,
25:11and I'm hoping that when I get there,
25:13I'm going to find out an awful lot more.
25:15I've now been travelling for several days.
25:23It feels like I'm light years from civilisation
25:26when I finally track down the munduruku people.
25:30My dear.
25:32My dear.
25:33Although often dressed in western clothes these days,
25:42the mundurukus still retain their connection to wildlife
25:45and to the myths and legends of old.
25:49It looks like I could be here at the right time.
25:58A good time is right now when the water's down
26:01and the fish are actually concentrated.
26:03OK.
26:05Ah-ha-ha.
26:07But lunch is on the go.
26:10And this far from civilisation,
26:12the creatures of the forest, like this tarantula,
26:14are an everyday part of life.
26:16That, that is a monster.
26:18That is an absolute monster.
26:23I hook up with Manel, one of the village's top fishermen.
26:28He's going to take me out
26:29to see if we can spot some wild arapaima.
26:33I want to learn all I can about the behaviour
26:35and natural haunts of this river monster
26:37if I'm going to give myself the best chance
26:40of catching a good-sized arapaima.
26:42What Manel's just told me is that
26:53to fish a arapaima,
26:55the one thing that you really need is patience,
26:57and I'm really, really getting a sense of that,
26:59just drifting slowly, slowly,
27:00watching for that one sign
27:03of the fish coming up to the surface.
27:07Arapaima are air breathers,
27:08an adaptation that allows them to live
27:10in the oxygen-depleted lakes
27:12that form in the Amazon's dry season.
27:14But it is also a vital clue for fishermen.
27:17Every time they break the surface,
27:18they give away their presence.
27:21And when they're actually not afraid
27:23or at all spooked,
27:24you know, that can be actually quite
27:26a gentle ripple for such a big fish.
27:28It's a small sign,
27:30but it gives away their location.
27:33The only problem is
27:35that it can be 20 minutes or more
27:36between breaths.
27:37So predicting where they're going
27:39to come up next is not easy.
27:41So there you are all day
27:42under the hot sun after this huge fish.
27:45But, you know, not only is that down there,
27:47there's all these other
27:48different river monsters in the water.
27:58I'm often in large, metal-hulled fishing boats.
28:08So coming down to water level
28:09in these tiny canoes
28:10makes you feel very exposed and vulnerable.
28:14I'm beginning to appreciate
28:16that how you see the natural world
28:18entirely depends on your perspective.
28:22We've been paddling around here
28:25for a fair old while,
28:26and he's actually seen, pointed out
28:28a couple of fish surfacing.
28:30But to be honest,
28:31I actually couldn't see anything at all.
28:33I think I've got quite a way to go
28:36until I properly get my eye in.
28:43As we head back to the village,
28:45my guide tells me about
28:46one river monster in particular
28:48that they fear.
28:49It's called the cobra grange,
28:51the big snake.
28:54I've heard of this monster before
28:55and I thought it was a mythical
28:56oversized anaconda.
28:59But I am told that several people here
29:00have actually seen it
29:01and that a nearby village
29:03had to totally relocate
29:04because they were so terrified
29:06of the big snake.
29:07Manel here has actually seen a cobra grange
29:22and it was actually on land,
29:24so I'm very keen to get the details of this.
29:26This sounds more than just a big anaconda.
29:33This was a huge animal.
29:34I mean, you know,
29:35immense size,
29:36great big head,
29:38and this thing was black,
29:40red, and yellow,
29:41and it was missing its tail,
29:42apparently,
29:43which is an odd detail.
29:44But he obviously had a very good look at it.
29:46The snake was just lying there,
29:48looking out over the water,
29:49these eyes like searchlights,
29:51and apparently his head
29:52just covered in bees,
29:54just black with bees,
29:55but, you know,
29:56the animal does not bother at all.
29:59Sounds far-fetched,
30:00but, you know,
30:00he actually saw this huge animal
30:02just down the bank from here.
30:06He tells me that a few other people
30:07in the village
30:07saw the cobra grange
30:09very recently.
30:10This is an opportunity
30:11not to be missed.
30:13I decide to put my arapaima hunt on hold
30:15to see if one of the Amazon's
30:17most unbelievable myths
30:18is, in fact, reality.
30:36I've come to meet the Munduruku people
30:38to try and catch the Amazon's biggest fish.
30:45But as I've become immersed
30:46in their world and myths,
30:48I've decided to put
30:49my arapaima hunt on hold
30:51to follow up a lead
30:53that might reveal
30:54another vast river monster,
30:56the cobra grange,
30:57or big snake.
31:03I'm on my way up
31:04a narrow, winding creek
31:06in the middle of flooded forests,
31:08except at the moment
31:08the water is very, very low,
31:11and I'm on my way
31:13to see the hole
31:14where a cobra grange
31:15is supposed to live.
31:16This is the giant snake,
31:17which, you know,
31:18I thought was just purely
31:19a creature of myth,
31:20but they said,
31:21no, no, we are taking you
31:22to a place where
31:23people say
31:24there is one
31:25actually there now.
31:28I was initially skeptical,
31:30but their insistence
31:31is infectious.
31:32You know, if anywhere
31:33is going to be
31:34the home of a cobra grange,
31:35I mean, this place
31:36certainly does have
31:37that kind of feel to it.
31:44We're here.
32:07With the Amazon basin
32:10covering some
32:112.7 million square miles,
32:14there are, without any doubt,
32:15new species
32:16waiting to be discovered.
32:18And who knows how big
32:19some of these animals
32:20might be.
32:21They said that this line
32:23here is a track.
32:24If this actually is
32:25the track of a snake,
32:27it is a big, heavy animal.
32:29You know, this is
32:30a seriously large track
32:32that it's actually made
32:33in the ground here.
32:34Anacondas can reach
32:36around 30 feet.
32:38If that isn't a big snake,
32:39I don't know what is.
32:41But the locals say
32:42cobra grange is far bigger
32:44than an anaconda.
32:46Yes?
32:50That does actually look
32:51like the home of something.
32:53Judging by the size
32:54of the holes there,
32:56you know, that could have
32:57been something pretty,
32:58pretty large.
33:01So here we've got
33:02a bit of shed snake skin.
33:04Let's just pick a bit up.
33:10You can actually see
33:11the individual scales.
33:12At some point,
33:14quite a large snake
33:15lay here and shed its skin.
33:19Even though it sounds
33:20quite an ugly bee,
33:21somewhat frustrated
33:21that it doesn't seem
33:23to be here today,
33:24although there are
33:25very, very definite signs
33:26that something large
33:28is around these parts.
33:30If I'm to fish for a giant
33:34arapaima,
33:35then I will be entering
33:36the home of monsters.
33:38Maybe I won't meet
33:40the cobra grange on this trip,
33:42but I'm finally grasping
33:43how myth and reality
33:44are intertwined
33:45for these people.
33:46I'm sure I could spend
33:55a lifetime learning
33:56more and more
33:57about the arapaima
33:58and the creatures
33:59that share
34:00its mysterious world.
34:02But it's now time
34:03to put all I have gathered
34:04into practice.
34:05This is actually a place
34:18where the tribe's people
34:21around here
34:21used to come
34:22before a big battle
34:23to focus the mind,
34:26prepare themselves
34:27mentally beforehand.
34:28And I guess,
34:32as I'm likely to need
34:33all the help
34:33that I can get,
34:34you know,
34:34it's not a bad idea
34:35for me to just
34:36spend a few minutes
34:37here as well.
34:42I know that if I'm
34:43going to be successful,
34:45I need to understand
34:46and respect a fish
34:48that, for the local tribes,
34:50is the incarnation
34:51of a warrior.
34:55Mentally and physically
34:56prepared,
34:57it's game on.
34:59It's just me,
35:01my guide Johnny,
35:03and out there somewhere,
35:04a very big fish.
35:11I'm putting into practice
35:13the things I've learnt,
35:14not just from the fishing
35:16captivity,
35:16but also the whole business
35:18about locating the fish,
35:20spotting them,
35:21patience,
35:22you know,
35:23gradually working close
35:24so that you're in a position
35:25of getting one on the line.
35:26With the water so low
35:29in this lake,
35:30oxygen levels are depleted.
35:33The arapaima's air-breathing
35:34physiology is both its strength
35:36and its weakness.
35:39It came into existence
35:40millions of years
35:41before there were hunters
35:42like me around,
35:44scanning the water surface
35:45for that telltale clue.
35:47I'm told there is
35:51another small lake
35:53in the forest
35:54where
35:55rod and line fishing
35:57is allowed for arapaima
35:58as long as it's
35:58catch and release.
36:00We can't take the canoe there,
36:01but we can go on foot.
36:03And the fact that
36:03it's tucked away
36:04a little bit,
36:05you know,
36:05maybe there's going
36:06to be something
36:06that I can
36:08get a bait at
36:09over there.
36:10I've heard tales
36:29of various Amazon monsters
36:31on this journey.
36:33Some legendary,
36:34some real,
36:35and all dangerous.
36:38But there's one creature
36:39that despite overfishing,
36:41I'd love to prove
36:42really grows
36:42to mythic proportions.
36:45It's the arapaima,
36:47a fish capable
36:47of knocking a man
36:48from his canoe
36:49and leaving him for dead.
36:54But the only way
36:55I know how to prove
36:56these monsters
36:57are still out there
36:58is to catch one.
37:00And I've heard of a lake
37:01that might be
37:02just the place
37:03to do that.
37:09This lake looks
37:25really nice, actually.
37:26It's very quiet.
37:29Lots of snags,
37:30which could be interesting.
37:31I'm actually using
37:41a thing called
37:43a circle hook.
37:43Now, that looks like
37:44it's just not going
37:45to hook anything
37:45at all.
37:46The point just
37:47coming in here,
37:48that's just not going
37:48to hook on anything.
37:50But in fact,
37:52if that's the fish's mouth,
37:54what happens
37:55is it just comes
37:57and turns.
38:02And there it is,
38:03right in the corner
38:05of the mouth.
38:06Oh!
38:08There we go.
38:09That was one.
38:10I just saw this red tail
38:11come up a fraction
38:12of a second,
38:13but I recognise it now.
38:14That was an arapaima.
38:15And what I've got to do
38:16is try and quietly
38:17get into position
38:18so I can actually
38:18put a bait
38:19near that fish.
38:27One thing that I learned
38:40from the tribe's people,
38:41which is actually
38:41quite hard to do,
38:42but I've just got
38:43to be patient.
38:44I've got to be patient.
38:44I've got to be patient.
39:14Yes, yes, yes, yes!
39:20That's a fish.
39:23That's a good fish.
39:25Close, sir.
39:30I can see the fish.
39:39As the battle
39:40with this arapaima
39:41approaches the half-hour mark,
39:43I'm reminded
39:44that the rebellious,
39:45proud spirit
39:45that inhabits this fish
39:47even refused
39:48to surrender
39:48to the gods.
39:55This is all
39:56I've got to be able to peg out.
40:04Right, it's got to be out.
40:11There we go.
40:13Oh, look at that.
40:17It came out so easily.
40:20Yes.
40:21Oh, there it is already.
40:23There it is!
40:25Look at that,
40:25for a fish.
40:26Look at that.
40:28Massive female arapaima,
40:30about 150 pounds.
40:32I finally have the proof
40:34in my arms
40:34that huge arapaima
40:36are still out here.
40:37This is a true
40:39dinosaur of the deep.
40:42I need this fish
40:43to regain its strength
40:44after our battle
40:45before I release it.
40:46If I put it straight back,
40:47it might not have the energy
40:48to swim to the surface
40:49to take a breath.
40:51And being an air breather,
40:52it would drown.
40:53Just the head
40:54a little bit under the water.
40:55And pointing up
40:58towards the bank
40:59so that if it does thrash,
41:00there's only one way
41:00it can go.
41:01In theory,
41:02which is not back
41:03into the water,
41:03although they can just
41:04double round 180 degrees,
41:07even at the end
41:08of a long fight,
41:10I can still feel
41:10the strength of this fish.
41:11so I can absolutely imagine
41:14this thing being able
41:16to knock over...
41:16Oh, there we go.
41:17That's good.
41:17That's good.
41:18That's good.
41:19Look at...
41:20Bom.
41:20That was good.
41:21That was the fish
41:21just having a breath,
41:22which is excellent.
41:23It means the fish
41:24is not too tired out.
41:26But, I mean,
41:27mainly this fish
41:28is just a bony head
41:30with a big cylinder
41:31of muscle behind it.
41:34And if this fish
41:35wasn't tired out,
41:36I don't think
41:36I'd be able to hold it.
41:37That's good.
41:41No, it's gone.
41:48We were just wondering
41:49if it had enough strength
41:50to go,
41:50and no doubt about it,
41:51I just couldn't hold it.
41:53And in fact,
41:54at the end of
41:55an epic battle on the line,
41:56but also an epic quest,
41:57trying to find
41:58one of these things,
41:58but, you know,
41:59finally feeling
41:59the strength of it,
42:01absolutely,
42:02I mean, no doubt now
42:03that if you were
42:03in a small fishing canoe
42:04and that thing
42:05hit you underneath,
42:06I mean,
42:06it would easily upend
42:07the canoe.
42:07And then if you were
42:08in the water afterwards
42:09and you got on the wrong
42:10side of that head,
42:11my goodness,
42:12that would absolutely
42:14take you out.
42:18Mythic and real beasts
42:20swirl around one another
42:22here in the Amazon.
42:23When people go missing,
42:25there is usually talk
42:26of giant snakes
42:27and mannington caiman.
42:32I set out to show
42:33that the arapina
42:34is an underestimated fish
42:35capable of extraordinary
42:37feats of strength.
42:38If cornered, trapped,
42:42or netted,
42:43it becomes a formidable
42:44opponent,
42:45an airborne missile.
42:49I knew I had to overcome
42:50my fear to prove my case.
42:53I went back into the water
42:54and caught an ancient survivor
42:56that is part fish,
42:58part legend,
42:59and entirely worthy
43:00of a deadly reputation.
43:02Now this
43:03is a real
43:05river monster.
43:08Want more
43:08of the world's
43:09wildest,
43:10strangest,
43:10and most terrifying
43:11freshwater horrors?
43:13Visit our website
43:14at animalplanet.com
43:15slash
43:16rivermonsters.
43:16Rivermonsters.
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