River Monsters S02E02 Death Ray

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3 months ago

Documentary, River Monsters S02E02 Death Ray

Transcript

00:00I'm Jeremy Wade, biologist and extreme angler.

00:17From the depths of the Amazon to the suburbs of Berlin, I've been busy tracking down the

00:23world's most frightening freshwater fish, and uncovering the truth about their evil reputations.

00:31It's taking line, it's taking line.

00:34But tangled with man-eating catfish.

00:38This is the one that goes after people as well.

00:41Swam with piranhas, and grappled with ferocious garb.

00:48My next assignment is a beast of terrifying power.

00:51It's spinning the boat, it's spinning the boat, it's taking the boat down.

00:54Some people say this is the world's biggest freshwater fish.

00:59If my line jams, it could pull me in.

01:04This is a monster that can stab you with an eight-inch bayonet.

01:10Its flesh-dissolving venom has no known antidote.

01:16Just catching this fish will test me to the limit.

01:19My aim isn't simply to measure one of these giants.

01:22I also want to know where it lives, and how dangerous it really is.

01:27I have a feeling this could be the toughest challenge yet.

01:31Here it comes, here it comes.

01:33I think we're going to need a bigger boat.

01:40In just the past few years, a strange and possibly deadly creature has come out of the shadows.

01:58I've read dramatic accounts of epic six-hour battles, and heard that this predator can inflict horrendous wounds.

02:05Some people are even claiming that this little-known beast is the world's biggest freshwater fish.

02:18The name of this monster is Haimantura chowpraya, the giant freshwater stingray.

02:25Shaped like a UFO, this Southeast Asian giant is said to grow to 16 feet long and seven feet across.

02:33Some sources put its weight at over 1,300 pounds.

02:42Even this basic information is very hard to verify.

02:45It all sounds incredibly impressive, but how much of this stuff can I really believe?

02:50It seems that no one knows how big this thing actually grows, or why.

02:57I've encountered river stingrays before, a thousand miles up the Amazon.

03:02Here they're known as wish-you-were-dead fish, because of their agonizingly painful sting.

03:08But these stingrays are relatively small.

03:10The thought of a 16-footer sends a real shiver down my spine.

03:20These are some examples of the wounds caused by marine stingrays.

03:25And typically, what you're talking about is a very deep puncture wound.

03:30Normally to the foot or the lower leg, but sometimes higher up.

03:34And the people generally talk about this as being extremely painful.

03:39And as well as the actual immediate wound, you have this very long-lasting effect of tissue necrosis.

03:45I mean, it's just a very painful, messy wound.

03:49This is the barb from a stingray, actually quite a small one, but you get the general idea.

03:55The barb sits on top of the tail, and what it does, it whips it over its back, a bit like a scorpion.

04:00Or it can also whip it round to either side.

04:02And, you know, looking at this, you can just see just how wickedly sharp that point is.

04:08The second thing is, you've got these grooves running underneath.

04:14And that is for delivering the venom from the gland at the base here, but also for making it a more efficient stabbing weapon.

04:21You'll see exactly the same thing on a bayonet or a combat knife.

04:24And the third thing, looking closely at this, you can see these serrations along the edge here.

04:30And what that does, it works on the same principle as an arrowhead.

04:33It goes in very cleanly, but, you know, it's going to make a real mess when you pull it out.

04:39Imagine being stabbed by a large steak knife.

04:44Only this one's smeared with poison, and it really shreds your flesh when it comes out.

04:52Yeah.

04:53I've heard that the giant freshwater stingray has a barb that is eight inches long, which is a really sobering thought.

05:00I'm quite curious to have a look at one of those, hopefully not too close,

05:03and it's certainly not something I want to bring back as a souvenir in my leg.

05:09My quest for the giant freshwater stingray takes me to Southeast Asia.

05:14First, to Thailand's capital, Bangkok.

05:18Surprisingly, this huge and potentially lethal monster lives right under our noses.

05:24Normally, when you're looking for underwater monsters, you're thinking hundreds of miles upriver,

05:28in the middle of remote wilderness, but not this time.

05:31I'm literally taking a short cab ride from the airport,

05:34and I'm slap bang in the middle of Bangkok and just a few miles away from the sea.

05:39Even more incredibly, scientists only discovered the giant freshwater stingray a mere 20 years ago.

05:50Its species name, Chao Phraya, comes from this very river, running through the heart of Bangkok.

05:56And yet, this monster in our midst is still cloaked in mystery.

06:01I want to find out how big it really gets.

06:05And I also want to know how far this animal travels inland.

06:09In most people's eyes, stingrays are sea creatures, not river fish.

06:15Barely an hour's drive from the capital, I track down a story that puts me on edge.

06:26And reminds me that the venom of this creature has no known antidote.

06:30Four months ago, local fisherman Pung San was surprised to hook one of these rarely seen giants.

06:43For people here, such a huge fish is a potentially lucrative catch.

06:48The stingray came to the side of the river and then wouldn't come any further, actually, basically got buried in the mud.

06:58So what he had to do was actually get in the water, and it was about chest deep,

07:02and then completely go underwater with a rope, feed the rope through the spiracles,

07:08the water intake of the stingray, not the rope.

07:10He'd managed to pull it off the bottom, and it was actually as it rose in the water

07:14that he then felt this pain.

07:24The wound was actually just numb to start with.

07:31And then just this incredible pain, and in fact so painful that he collapsed

07:35from the intensity of the pain and actually had to crawl the remaining distance to the house.

07:42This was something that wasn't going to go away on its own.

07:44It did need urgent medical treatment.

07:47As he races for help, Pung San continues to bleed heavily and almost passes out with pain.

07:56With no antidote available, his chances of survival are anyone's guess.

08:00By the time he arrives for treatment, his condition is deteriorating fast.

08:08What happens at the medical centre?

08:13His heart rate spikes alarmingly, and despite anaesthetic, he remains doubled up in agony.

08:19The wound, in fact, is no more than a glancing blow,

08:22and yet the pain proves so intense that Pung San is unable to work for the next four weeks.

08:30He still has the very barb that impaled him.

08:33Can I have a look at that?

08:34Well, seeing that really does concentrate the mind,

08:44an absolutely vicious point on that and these horrible barbs down the side.

08:49And I think, you know, this is a fish I've got to really treat with some respect.

08:55Evidently, even a quick jab from this fish can land you in serious trouble.

09:00Whatever it contains, the venom seems every bit as potent as in marine stingrays.

09:08OK, so that actually went in about getting off of three inches there,

09:13but it was at an oblique angle,

09:15and so although he probably doesn't feel very lucky to have had this experience,

09:19but if that had gone in straight and that had punctured the femoral artery,

09:22you know, that could have killed him.

09:23Tragically, Steve Irwin, the crocodile hunter, was not so lucky.

09:32He was struck clean through the heart and died.

09:36While this freak accident happened way out at sea,

09:39the chilling fact about the stingray I'm looking for is that it swims up rivers,

09:43into some of the most densely populated parts of Southeast Asia.

09:48And it's in these crowded waterways that I'm about to try and meet this monster face to face.

09:54I'm in Thailand in search of the giant freshwater stingray,

10:05a rarely seen monster that lives in the midst of millions of people.

10:09I've already met a man who's been stung by this beast and who lived to tell the tale.

10:13Now I'm about to try and catch one for myself.

10:18I head to a town called Samut Songkram, 50 miles west of Bangkok and just a few miles inland.

10:25This tidal stretch of river harbours some of the largest freshwater stingrays ever caught.

10:34This fish, the giant stingray, was only described by scientists just 20 years ago,

10:39but presumably the people on these rivers have known about it probably for centuries.

10:45The problem the scientists had was just getting their hands on enough specimens to study.

10:49And what this means is that either it's a very, very rare animal,

10:52or it's just very, very hard to get one out of the river.

10:57To try and catch one of these elusive giants,

11:00I'm teaming up with an experienced fishing crew, led by stingray enthusiast Boyne.

11:05Live bait is essential.

11:10Its muscle movements will give off the electrical signals that stingrays use to detect their prey.

11:19These animals are active hunters, prowling over the riverbed in search of a meal.

11:25Their faces are packed with sophisticated sensors that penetrate the mud and murk.

11:30Potentially eight times my size, this fish is in a different league from anything I've tackled before.

11:40It calls for the heaviest gear.

11:44I'm using ultra-strong braided line with 30 yards of thick nylon monofilament at the business end.

11:49To take some of the strain, I'll be wearing a harness.

11:54Good news for my arms, but if the line digs in and jams, I could be pulled in.

11:59You know, normally what would happen, the fish can't take line and the line will break.

12:02But when you're using a 160-pound line, that line isn't going to break.

12:05I'm going to go over the side or the boat's going to flip.

12:07After Pung San's account, I'm anxious to avoid this nightmare scenario.

12:18If that's dug in for some reason, I've got to have plan B.

12:21I'm going to be strapped to that, I'm going to have a harness locked into that.

12:24So what I'm going to do, I'm just going to have a knife in my pocket.

12:26If I'm going over the edge, knife comes out and just cut that line.

12:29You know, the fish can go, I don't care about the fish, it's better than drowning.

12:32With everything prepped, we head for the chosen spot.

12:39A deep pocket in the riverbed, they call Area 51.

12:43Because, as they say around here, it's crawling with aliens.

12:50My battle boat is rigged with four big-game rods,

12:53including my own Marlin-class outfit that I've brought for the occasion.

12:57If a line goes, I'm ready to hunker down, strap in and lock horns.

13:06To improve the odds, boys put out a dozen or so extra lines tied to floats.

13:12This isn't regarded as true sport fishing,

13:14but my mission here isn't to beat my chest or win prizes.

13:18I simply want to see one of these incredible animals in the flesh.

13:22And within minutes, there's something big mauling our baits.

13:30That didn't run off with a bait, but there's definitely been a stingray on that.

13:34Something's come along and actually crushed that there,

13:36but then, instead of taking the bait, it's actually spatted out.

13:40Stingrays have crushing mouthparts that leave an unmistakable imprint.

13:46Disappointing in one sense, but also good news.

13:48I mean, I'm in the right place, they are definitely down there.

13:51The next bite's a clean take, and we're game on.

14:01As I race to clip in, something powerful rips out several feet of line,

14:06then decides to tow us upriver.

14:08It's spinning the boat, it's spinning the boat.

14:10Pulling the boat, it's taking the boat down.

14:12I think we're going to need a bigger boat.

14:14The venom of the giant freshwater stingray is most like that of which other killer?

14:22The answer's A.

14:23As in rattlesnakes, the stingray's venom contains a potent enzyme that attacks your flesh.

14:35I'm on a mission to get face-to-face with a giant freshwater stingray.

14:50Fifty miles from Thailand's capital, Bangkok, I've finally got a monster on the end of my line.

14:59But I'm up against a beast as big as a bear.

15:03It's spinning the boat, it's taking the boat down.

15:05I've never fought a fish like this before.

15:12Right.

15:13Oh, yeah, that is, oh, look at that rod, that rod, it's now springing back slowly.

15:19This line shouldn't go.

15:20The rod's always a bit of an unknown quantity.

15:24It's my own Marlin class outfit taking the strain.

15:29I just have visions of this rod suddenly shattering.

15:31I'm getting a face full of fiberglass and carbon fiber.

15:36That's pulling down, that's pulling down.

15:38There is quite a real possibility of this thing pulling me in.

15:41I feel like I'm trying to pull the plug out of the river.

15:45All I can do is dig in and keep the pressure on.

15:50After 30 exhausting minutes, I haven't gained an inch.

15:56This isn't like any fishing I've ever experienced,

15:59and I start to wonder if I can cope.

16:01Most fish, it's all over in five, ten minutes, half an hour at the extreme.

16:14You know, in fresh water, something like this is just unheard of.

16:19With neither of us willing to give in, it becomes a war of attrition.

16:26Give or take the odd foot of line, we're in total deadlock.

16:30I've just been told it's one hour, five minutes so far.

16:38We're at about round eight now.

16:40Oh, look at that, look at that, look at that.

16:41It's taking line, it's taking line far.

16:43This thing does not like being bullied.

16:44I just decided I was going to, you know, show it who's boss.

16:47And the fish is saying, no, no, you're not the boss.

16:52Oh, that's about half an hour's worth of work has just gone.

16:58I've just gained about three foot of line and it's just taken that.

17:02But sometimes when it does that, the fish then takes a bit of a breather.

17:05I can maybe capitalise.

17:07For another 40 minutes, we slug it out in a gruelling tug of war.

17:12Right, I've got the initiative.

17:13Then, after almost two hours, a breakthrough.

17:19I think it's come off the bottom, there was a sudden, a sudden sort of break of suction.

17:25It does feel like it, it's actually, yeah, that's definitely coming my way a lot faster than it has done at any time until now.

17:32My arms are cramping up and I'm close to breaking point.

17:37But I've finally got the measure of this gigantic fish.

17:40It's about a metre and a half below the surface.

17:42Here it comes, here it comes.

17:45I'm just seconds away from seeing what must surely be one of the world's greatest river monsters.

17:51Right, look at that. The rod went. The rod went. The rod went. As you saw the fish, we nearly, nearly had it in the net. But an almighty bang.

18:06My gear was built to deal with sharks and marlin.

18:11Whatever broke this rod could have weighed as much as 700 pounds.

18:14I thought it was my shoulder going for the net, but it was actually the rod.

18:15It's not too long. The rod's too long. Yeah.

18:17Oh dear, that was so close. The fish nearly came in. We saw it. It was up to the net.

18:20You know, eventually after two hours or something, it was off the bottom. We were trying to get the net round it. The rod went.

18:23And the fish escaped. It wasn't quite in the net.

18:24This is a knot. This is a net.

18:25If you saw the line that is all going for the net, that is so close.

18:30The fish did not get it in the net.

18:31And this is a bit too long. It's not too long.

18:32The fish did not get it in the net.

18:33This is a bit too long. As you saw the net.

18:35Rod. Not too long. Rod's too long, yeah.

18:38See the net.

18:41Oh, dear, that was so close. The fish nearly came in.

18:43We saw it. It was off off, you know, eventually after two hours,

18:45something, it was off the bottom.

18:46We were trying to get the net round it.

18:49The rod went and the fish escaped. It wasn't quite in the net.

18:54And to make matters worse, the fighters left me with a torn bicep.

19:00All that suffering. I saw the fish and it's...

19:03Oh, all that for nothing. All that.

19:15It's score one to the stingray.

19:17But my close encounter with this giant has got me wondering,

19:20why does this creature grow so huge?

19:25Perhaps it's no coincidence that the rivers here

19:28are also home to another gigantic fish.

19:33Growing up to nine feet long and weighing over 600 pounds,

19:38the Mekong giant catfish is a class A monster.

19:44Conceivably, the stingray's immense size could be a defence strategy.

19:49To get a close-up look at a giant Mekong, I've come to a stocked fishing leaf.

20:06These animals are all but extinct in the wild.

20:08Yeah, this is a strong fish.

20:14Got that line great against there.

20:17This one's giving me the run around.

20:20Huge tail, huge tail on that.

20:23It is probably just a small one.

20:24Very powerful sort of throbbing fight. You can almost feel the beats of the tail.

20:33That's a Mekong catfish.

20:45My catch is only one-tenth the size of what they can reach.

20:49Nonetheless, I can see it's no ordinary catfish.

20:53Being a catfish, it's got no scales.

20:56But what's interesting as well, although it's a catfish, it hasn't got feelers.

21:02It hasn't got barbels.

21:03And the other thing that's actually interesting here is there's no teeth in there.

21:07There's not even anything approaching one of these raspy pads in there.

21:10Although this does grow very big, well over 600 pounds, it's not really a predator.

21:15This thing's a vegetarian. It's a gentle giant.

21:18If I'm looking down from here, I can't see any eyes.

21:20The eyes are actually on the underside of the head there, very close to the corner of the mouth.

21:25And that's something that just points to it being a bottom feeder,

21:28just sort of rooting around vegetable matter on the bottom.

21:32So this gummy oddball isn't a killer,

21:35which leaves me still wondering why the stingrays here have evolved into such giants.

21:41I've yet to see a Chow Prya stingray, dead or alive.

21:46But with Thailand's biggest fish market just down the road, I'm back on the hunt.

21:53This is a vast clearinghouse for everything that comes out of the sea,

21:57for hundreds of miles around.

22:00Stingrays first evolved in the oceans,

22:03and it could be that the giant freshwater stingray occurs in the sea as well as rivers.

22:10So we have got rays here. I'm finding some rays.

22:16That's not the one I'm after.

22:18This is an eagle ray of sorts.

22:21Yet another species of ray.

22:23These are all marine species, but the thing that this is bringing home,

22:26there's a huge diversity of ray species, lots of variations on the theme.

22:30Stingrays are clearly one of nature's more successful designs.

22:35But their origins, some 200 million years ago, may come as a surprise.

22:40Quick lesson in evolution here. Here's a shark.

22:45And that is the classic shark mouth, classic shark teeth, shark tail.

22:51Come to this fish here.

22:53Shark tail, shark dorsal fin.

22:56There's something very different going on at the front end of the fish.

22:59It's flattening, it's becoming squashed.

23:01Let's flip it over, and suddenly we've got a very different type of mouth there.

23:05Crushing plates, but very different.

23:07Gills here on the bottom of the body.

23:09Come to this fish here.

23:11And here we have, same mouth, same gills.

23:16Flip it over, and there we have it.

23:21A ray is basically a flattened shark with this long tail.

23:27This flattened body plan, with the eyes and water intakes on top,

23:32is an adaptation for life on the ocean floor.

23:38Whatever its origins, the monster I'm after continues to elude me.

23:42After three hours of trawling, I haven't found a single specimen.

23:49Back at Area 51, our lines are set,

23:53and I'm hoping my luck's about to change.

23:56As we wait for a bite, Boy tells me an unnerving story.

24:01The heart here, make my eyes come, bum, bum, bum, right at the square.

24:05And that's the scar of it now, is it?

24:06Yeah, just here, right.

24:08I've just been asking Boy about stingray wounds, this kind of thing.

24:12And he told me a story about how a small one just scratched him on the finger,

24:16and he thought, that's going to be fine.

24:1815 minutes later, the entire left side of his body's gone numb,

24:22the heart is pounding away.

24:24He was actually thinking, blimey, this could be like a snake bite,

24:26you know, this could be fatal.

24:27But actually, after three hours, it passed,

24:31and I'm just thinking, yeah,

24:32you've just got to obviously be so careful when handling these things.

24:35With plenty of floats out, it's not long before I'm back in the ring.

24:42This time, I've learnt my lesson, and switched to a shorter rod.

24:46It's my arm that worries me.

24:51I'm not sure it'll take another 12 rounds.

25:02To my relief, it's barely 20 minutes before this one starts to surface.

25:07All right, fish is coming up, fish is coming up.

25:15OK.

25:16OK, you ready, boys?

25:20So we've got the fish near in the net.

25:22I've finally caught one, my first Chow Pryor stingray.

25:27I keep well clear, though.

25:29Until its sting is strapped up, this fish is still a loaded gun.

25:38So this is just binding the barb, which sits in a bit of a groove,

25:43and that is binding the barb to the tail.

25:46Once it's disarmed, we head for the bank.

25:50Most of the body of the fish is actually in the water.

25:53I haven't really properly seen this fish.

25:54I'm really looking forward now to getting it in

25:56and having a proper look at this animal.

26:06I've finally caught a giant freshwater stingray,

26:09and I'm about to see this animal in the flesh for the first time.

26:15This species is said to top 1,300 pounds.

26:19Yet, as I now discover, this is only half the story.

26:22You've got a male. This one's a male.

26:26The entire team is on hand to help measure and weigh the fish.

26:30So this one's about four and a half foot across.

26:33It's not particularly big as they go, but it is very big for a male.

26:36Its sex explains why this one came up so fast.

26:40Astonishingly, females can be up to eight times bigger than this full-grown male.

26:45We've weighed it accurately, which is quite a hard thing to do.

26:51We've done it very quickly.

26:53175 pounds, around 80 kilos.

26:56For sheer weight, this is one of the largest fish I've ever caught.

27:00And yet, incredible as it sounds, it's a mere minnow.

27:04It's been out of the water long enough now, I think.

27:09Here we go. Definitely time to get it back in the water.

27:12This is an animal that completely warps your normal sense of scale.

27:16So, is it coming under here?

27:17Yeah.

27:19Despite catching a good-sized male, I know that my quest is far from over.

27:23Since it was first scientifically described, there have been occasional reports of large Chow Prya stingrays from far inland.

27:38I'm leaving the tidal waterways around Bangkok and heading up-country.

27:44Could this be where I'll finally find my monster?

27:47150 miles north, at a town called Nakhonsawan, I meet a fisherman with a tantalising tail.

28:00And this was what, just here in Nakhonsawan?

28:11Right, this is interesting. This is a recent capture. This was only a few months ago.

28:14I'm imagining that that wasn't easy to get out. How long to get this out of the river?

28:19Oh, it's been a long day.

28:21It's been a long day.

28:23It's been a long day.

28:26Clearly a very big fish, this.

28:28Apparently, 320 kilos, which converts to something like 700 pounds.

28:34Seriously large fish.

28:36And the story is, it took ten people in two boats four hours to get it in.

28:41And it actually dragged the boat well over a mile during that time.

28:45So, I think, a bit of an epic battle and a big fish.

28:48Looking at the man's tackle, I'm amazed he got it in at all.

28:56Ah, we got a video clip someone took, you know, this is obviously big local news.

29:00There's people all around.

29:01I'm no stranger to fishermen's yarns, but the figure of around 700 pounds does ring true.

29:08This fish was cut up and weighed accurately for market.

29:11It seems they only kept one piece of it.

29:14Is this from the same fish?

29:17Yeah, same fish.

29:20Ooh, right, okay.

29:21Even with its tip broken off, this barb is by far the biggest I've seen.

29:27If there are giant stingrays here, then how much further upriver do they go?

29:33I'm starting to wonder, could these creatures have penetrated deep into the river systems,

29:41just like their distant Amazon cousins?

29:43Getting on for 3,000 miles long, the mighty Mekong is Southeast Asia's greatest river.

29:59Until just the last 150 years, its upper reaches remained largely cut off from the outside world.

30:06Even today, it still feels like a land of secrets.

30:10If anyone can help me unlock them, it's the fishermen who make their living along its banks.

30:19I'm now 1,000 miles upriver, and I wonder if anyone here will know about the creature I'm looking for.

30:26I wonder if you, fishing here, see any cabin?

30:29Any cabin?

30:30Any cabin?

30:36The big-sized cabin, or these were small fish? Any really big ones?

30:40What happened there was that the stingray got wrapped up in the net, and this big one just broke its way through.

30:58It sounds promising, but I want a positive ID.

31:01Will they recognise the fish from Nakhon Sawan?

31:04Same fish?

31:08This is the same fish.

31:11This is the same fish.

31:12This is the same fish.

31:13This is the same fish.

31:14Right.

31:15This is very interesting.

31:16So I've shown the picture of the ray that was caught at Nakhon Sawan, and not only is it the same species, it was also about the same size.

31:20And this was a big animal here, so that's a very, very encouraging bit of information, and it does bode well.

31:41You know, I'm going to be putting a bait in water where these things are.

31:45With a confirmed eyewitness account, I'm eager to take a look for myself.

31:53I'm at a place called Nongkai, right on the border with Laos.

31:5825 years ago, I was actually in this very same bit of river, a little bit upstream in fact, and I was arrested by the police on suspicion of spying.

32:08And that cut short my entire trick, end of fishing, end of everything.

32:12They locked me up for the night and confiscated all my photos.

32:20This time round, I'm using some sophisticated sonar equipment to scan the riverbed.

32:25What I'm doing now, I'm looking down into the water.

32:27I've got the sonar here, I've got about 20 foot of water, and I'm trying to get a sort of a mental picture of the underwater geography as my first step in looking for the stingrays.

32:37I've actually got fish symbols straight away, but they're in the middle of the water.

32:43They're unlikely to be stingrays, although if there's something close to the bottom, it could be a ray.

32:48I do think that they don't spend all the time necessarily just stuck right down.

32:53I think sometimes they do actually rise off maybe three or four feet and glide away.

32:59I'm convinced there are giant stingrays down here.

33:02But before I can unpack my rod, there's a nasty surprise.

33:05I'm in Thailand in search of the giant freshwater stingray.

33:20I've fought and lost a real monster and landed a 175 pound male.

33:27Now, I've followed the trail of this obscure beast to the Thai-Laos border, a thousand miles up the Mekong.

33:38But before I can drop some baits into the river, the border police are on to me.

33:42One problem about here, it's the border between two countries, Thailand and Laos.

33:49I might have possibly strayed over the border.

33:52I'm just going to carry on acting normal.

33:54I suppose I have got some sort of fairly high-tech looking gear on the boat.

33:58I'm spying on the bottom of the river.

34:03OK, OK. Go in. OK. OK.

34:07They probably don't see that many foreigners on the river here.

34:12Yeah, no, I've been waved into the side. I've been waved into the side.

34:18They are still obviously very, very keen on keeping an eye on people who do things by this border.

34:24Border areas are just very sensitive.

34:25That's another difficulty in trying to find this stingray here, the political situation.

34:34I avoid jail at least.

34:37But I've no choice but to cut short my mission and head back south.

34:45I'm starting to wonder if I'll ever see this elusive monster.

34:56With one last throw of the dice, I return to Area 51.

35:07I'm back at Samut Songkram, where I've already caught a full-grown male and come painfully close to landing a truly massive female.

35:22Let's get the rods on first.

35:28This time the stakes are even higher.

35:31A team of scientists has arrived from Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok.

35:35And they're counting on me to provide a live stingray for their research.

35:40So little is known about this animal that every catch offers a rare chance to learn more.

35:45The scientists will settle for any stingray I can catch, but for me this is all about seeing a true giant.

35:58To hell with my sore arm. I'm just hoping we've hooked a big female. I haven't come this far to miss out.

36:11The thing is I get the illusion now that I'm actually bringing the fish to me.

36:16What's actually happening is I'm taking the boat to the fish.

36:20The fish isn't actually going anywhere at the moment.

36:22What do you think? Is it a fairly good fish?

36:25Oh, it's just actually come off the bottom.

36:27It's a worrying sign. Any monster worth its salt isn't going to give up so quickly.

36:36But then the stingray sinks back down, switches gear and takes off up river.

36:43Oh!

36:45The drag on this reel is a little bit like a handbrake on a car.

36:49And I've got that almost fully on and the fish is basically just taking that line.

36:53As I watch at the moment, it's just going out one inch, two inches, three inches.

36:58After half an hour, my opponent stops for a breather.

37:03And I do the same.

37:08Then we're back for round two and it's looking like a big fish.

37:12Seven of us on two boats are dragged half a mile against the tide.

37:18Right, it might surface, it might surface, it might surface over there.

37:21Now I've got the fish on the ropes.

37:24For the first time, it feels like I'm driving the bus.

37:31It's under the boat now, the fish is under the boat.

37:33I don't want to be lifting it while it's under the boat.

37:35I think it's coming this way again.

37:37Ah, it's just squashing my fingers, it's squashing my fingers.

37:40It's coming this way, it's going this way.

37:44See the water boiling there?

37:46I haven't seen the fish yet.

37:52It's near the surface, I've just actually seen the lead.

37:55It's up in the water.

37:56I think you've got it, I think you've got it.

38:01Back of the net.

38:03And this one looks pretty big, with an impressive ten inch sting.

38:07Head of the science team, Dr Ning, first secures the barb.

38:21She's asked me to help her collect some venom before we release the fish.

38:25It takes six people to heave this huge animal onto its front, into a position where we can measure it.

38:35Okay, 180 centimetres the base of the tail.

38:48Okay.

38:56Head down, head down, forward, head down, forward.

38:58Go for the wingspan.

39:00Go for the wingspan.

39:02One metre ninety-one, nearly two metres across.

39:05One ninety-one.

39:07At around six feet across, and roughly four hundred pounds, this female stingray is by far the largest river fish I've ever seen.

39:18Little did I realise, she was about to produce the mother of all surprises.

39:23I'm in Thailand, on the trail of the giant freshwater stingray.

39:39It's squashing my fingers, it's squashing my fingers.

39:41And I've just landed the biggest fish of my life, a 400 odd pound female.

39:46But it seems, we've got more than we bargained for.

39:48So we've just got the fish into where the scientific team is.

39:55And literally, as we sort of pulled it in the net, it's actually given birth to two live young.

40:05Dr Ning uses ultrasound to see if there are any more babies still inside.

40:09This is the first time scientists have been able to collect data from the fully formed pups of these stingrays.

40:18Here, here.

40:20On the ultrasound, there's the dark line, which is a cavity, and then there is a lighter shape inside it.

40:25So apparently that is the baby stingray still inside.

40:28For me, this fish is a real first, and not just for its size.

40:32I thought I had one fish on the end here. It looks like I've got one, two, three, and another one inside. Four fish, one hook.

40:40Like many sharks, stingrays give birth to live young.

40:45When they emerged, these babies had what looked like a small cap on their stings, presumably to prevent internal injury to the mother.

40:52However, these safety catches soon drop off. Within minutes, these twins are armed and ready to defend themselves.

41:02It has been known before for these fish to reject young when they're caught, and if they are not very well developed, there's a worry that they're not going to survive.

41:09The great thing about these fish here, these two, is that they are pretty well fully developed.

41:13They might be being born a little bit early, but I think they are definitely going to survive in this room, particularly with that two-inch crong on their tail.