- 5 months ago
Documentary, River Monsters S02E07 Hidden Predator
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AnimalsTranscript
00:00The Bull Shark is the bad boy of the shark world, thought to be responsible for more
00:15attacks on people than any other shark.
00:21Their ferocity is the stuff of nightmares.
00:24Pound for pound, they are the ultimate killer shark.
00:29Last year I travelled to Queensland, Australia to investigate three potential bull shark attacks.
00:37The first in the surf zone at the mouth of a river.
00:42The second on a man swimming at night in an inland lagoon.
00:48The third on a thoroughbred racehorse 80 miles upstream.
00:54At exactly the same time I was there, the biggest bull shark ever caught was pulled out
00:58of a South African river, popular with swimmers.
01:03Upon hearing this, I instantly feared another deadly situation.
01:12My name is Jeremy Wade, biologist and extreme fisherman.
01:15I travelled the world investigating stories of fresh water monsters.
01:19That's a killer blow, that's about the thickness of my leg.
01:24This feels a good sized fish.
01:26I'm heading to South Africa to find out why sharks are leaving their patch and moving into mine.
01:32That's the fish, dorsal and tail, dorsal and tail.
01:38January 2009, a series of unusual sightings in the Briada River, South Africa, kickstarts an investigation.
02:03What the scientists discover shocks both the scientific and local communities.
02:14For not only is this river inhabited by sharks, it is home to the biggest bull shark ever caught
02:20anywhere in the world.
02:24Measuring 13 feet in length, it is more than three feet longer than the previous record.
02:31A year later, the team is back to see if they can discover why it was here, why it was
02:38so big and if that giant was alone.
02:45This is where I come in.
02:46I'm just as puzzled as the scientists by what's going on here and my many years' experience
02:51of tracking down and catching monster fish from rivers have got me the unique opportunity
02:56to join the investigation.
02:59What we find out could help to answer the most important question of all.
03:04Is the presence of this known man-eater a human tragedy just waiting to happen?
03:12I'm more accustomed to searching for monsters in rivers that tumble from mountain passes.
03:25We're investigating tribal myths in tropical jungles, places very remote from our modern world.
03:42So this is going to be very different from anything I have done before.
03:52This is the sleepy fishing village of Witsand in a remote corner of South Africa.
03:59It's not the place I would normally hunt for a river monster.
04:08However, under the surface of this peaceful scene, lurks a monster bigger and more aggressive
04:14than anything I have ever encountered.
04:22But how can a saltwater shark survive in freshwater?
04:30It is said that for most sharks, spending a day in freshwater would be like a man walking
04:35on the moon, without a space suit.
04:40But bull sharks are different.
04:43They have sensors all over their body which sample the salt content of the water, working
04:47in a way similar to our taste buds.
04:51A special organ called the rectal gland acts like an on-off switch, releasing or retaining
04:56salt as required.
05:00It's their ability to move from shallow coastal waters where they normally live up into rivers
05:06that makes them one of the most dangerous of all sharks.
05:14I've investigated fatal attacks in Australian rivers, but bull sharks have also attacked in
05:19the Ganges in India, the Tigris in Iran, in Lake Nicaragua, and even in the U.S. in New
05:25Jersey's Matawan Creek.
05:27And now, what has been found here in the Brida River?
05:33Only this one was much, much bigger.
05:37Swimming undetected where people swim.
05:41So far, I only have a few photos and newspaper clippings to go on.
05:51So far, I only have a few photos and newspaper clippings to go on.
06:05So I meet up with shark scientist Megan McCord, who brings me right up to date.
06:10What exactly happened last year?
06:12We were here for three days fishing.
06:15On the third day, we were up in the area up there that's commonly known as Hunpunt.
06:21Megan led last year's expedition, which caught the bull shark, known further up the coast
06:25as the Zambezi shark.
06:26Suddenly, around three o'clock in the afternoon, our angler had his fish taken.
06:39About two and a half hours later, we managed to see that it actually was a Zambezi shark.
06:46What are you hoping to find out this year?
06:47This year, Jamie, first of all, we want to find out whether that shark was just a once-off in the system.
06:53We're really counting on you to catch us another animal.
06:59Normally, I head out on my expeditions to unpick a riddle and satisfy my own curiosity.
07:05But this time, I have a scientific team depending on me.
07:09And the results could mean the difference between life and death.
07:14This is the biggest fishing challenge I have ever faced.
07:17And if I connect with one of these sharks, it could be the biggest fish I have ever hooked.
07:23It's only now that I realise what I've gotten into.
07:28The sharks in this river have a very specific way of feeding.
07:33And that is actually giving me quite a challenge in terms of what rig I use,
07:38because I've got to come up with something that presents the bait actually in quite a delicate way,
07:44but at the same time is strong enough to give me half a chance to get the shark in.
07:49And to be honest, at the moment, I'm not quite sure how I'm going to achieve that.
07:56Sharks have evolved the greatest sensitivity to electricity of any animal.
08:00Tiny paws around the snout, called the ampollae of Lorenzini, detect minute electrical fields produced by other animals in the water.
08:10But they could also detect electrical microcurrents produced by my metal hook and leader,
08:17which is going to make bait presentation very difficult.
08:20I'm basically just looking at what else I've got in my bag.
08:24I've got various different types of wire.
08:27I've got smaller hooks.
08:30Yeah, I think basically I've just had to play around with stuff for a few hours and just see what I can come up with.
08:51What I'm thinking of using is something like this.
08:54The trouble with these sharks here is if you fish too heavy, they're just not going to take the bait.
09:00The bait isn't going to act naturally, so hopefully something like that is going to work.
09:12It's hard to believe that once I've caught a potential man-eater, the scientists will release it back into the river.
09:18Like putting a fox back into the chicken coop.
09:21It's no surprise that this project is so controversial.
09:35With my rig built, I team up with skipper Mark Woof.
09:39He has years of experience fishing the Briada River.
09:42His knowledge will be invaluable if I'm to catch myself a big shark.
09:45We head to the spot where the team caught the monster last year.
09:56To catch sharks in the Briada River, you first need live bait.
10:00This feels good bait size.
10:04Very strong.
10:07I only use live bait if I have to, and this is one of those occasions.
10:11The sharks in this river will eat nothing else.
10:13I think that's why they're called a grunter. You can hear that noise it makes.
10:17I'm hoping the grunter struggling on the line will have caught the attention of a shark.
10:24I transfer it to my heavier gear and get it straight back into the river.
10:27It's actually a very strongly swimming bait.
10:43That's about 30, 40 yards off there, and that's right off the line.
10:46It came in on one hook, straight onto another one, and out into the water.
10:50And it's quite possible if there's a shark in the area, they actually check that out on the way in.
10:53And they could well be sort of lurking around, eyeing that up.
11:03I'm using a balloon rather than a conventional float, attached by a thin rubber band.
11:10This allows the bait to swim freely in mid-water.
11:13But when a shark takes, the balloon will break away,
11:17so the shark won't feel any resistance, which could make it drop the bait.
11:23I will then begin a count of 20.
11:28I have to know that the shark has properly taken the bait,
11:31so that when I tighten up, my circle hook will pull into the corner of its mouth.
11:35I may only get one chance, and I don't want to blow it.
11:39Just a case now of waiting.
11:40On the surface, this place is an earthly paradise, in sharp contrast to the picture underwater,
11:54where there lurks a beast that is the embodiment of savagery.
11:59Is the shark taken out, or is that the bait just running?
12:04It's not shooting out at speed.
12:06Ah, yes, yes, yes, yes, here we go.
12:08One, two, three.
12:10From the moment the bait's taken, the speed of the run tells me this has to be a shark.
12:15Anchor up, anchor up, please, anchor up, anchor up.
12:17And nothing else in this river could engulf a bait that size.
12:20Ah, yes, yes, yes, yes, here we go.
12:32I'm on the Breda River in South Africa, and I have a bull shark on the end of my line.
12:3611, 12.
12:39Now I must keep a cool head and wait for a count of 20 before I engage the reel.
12:4318, 19, right, tightening up, tightening up, tightening up, tightening up.
12:47There's the balloon, heading for the horizon.
12:54Here we go.
12:56Even with my harness absorbing a lot of the strain, this is like nothing I've ever hooked before.
13:03This slings in the way, a little bit of an obstacle course.
13:09This fish just feels so powerful.
13:11Without even really trying, it's just taken line.
13:13I've chased big fish all over the world, and experience tells me that this could be the biggest I've hooked.
13:20More than capable of dragging me overboard if I make a wrong move.
13:25Look at my, come up.
13:27Yes.
13:30Just saw a fin break the surface.
13:35Going left now.
13:36This is quite a fast fish, it's quite lively, which is good because it means it's tiring itself out.
13:43Take on the line.
13:44Coming up, coming up, coming up.
13:49There it is.
13:50I think I could be ready.
13:57Oh!
14:02What happened?
14:05That shark felt as big as anything I've ever caught.
14:08What went?
14:09But I'll never know for certain.
14:10Yeah.
14:16That's actually, that's bitten through the wire.
14:19Bitten through the wire.
14:21So that's a bite off.
14:28Score one to the fish.
14:32I was overconfident.
14:33I thought I was bringing the shark in, but now I realise the shark was bringing the fight to me.
14:38I could see it was large, but it was not the thousand pounder caught last year.
14:44Which means there's more than one shark using this river.
14:48And that's a concern to everyone living here.
14:50I hate losing fish.
14:59You're always haunted by the memory of the big one that got away.
15:05But it did tell me something.
15:07It suggests that there could be a lot more shark in here than anyone suspected.
15:12Last year, the team courted controversy.
15:19After catching the one thousand pound bull shark from this South African river,
15:23they ran a series of tests, attached an electronic tag, and then released it back into the river.
15:30So you got the tag in. What did you find out from that tag in the time you were here?
15:35We really had no idea what to expect from this shark.
15:39Over the course of the next 370 hours that we tracked her, she'd move up and down the river to within feet
15:47of people who were pumping for prawns in shallow water that was probably just up to mid-thigh.
15:52And how far up did you track her?
15:56We tracked her as far as 32 kilometers up river, which we thought was really amazing.
16:01And needless to say, it sort of freaked out the local Witsand residents.
16:08Many of the human residents were less than happy that the world's biggest bull shark had been released
16:12and was again swimming freely in their river.
16:16But this wasn't the only bull shark that made the headlines that week.
16:22It was the only bull shark that came out of the river.
16:23Experienced lifeguard, Sikanyiso Bangalizwi, was keeping watch over a stretch of beach along the Natal shore.
16:35He went out on a training swim on a route he had swum many times before.
16:43The unprovoked attack came out of the blue.
16:52Bangalizwi didn't stand a chance.
16:59Close inspection of the wounds on Bangalizwi's body confirmed that it was a bull shark that attacked and killed him.
17:08Even though this attack happened 600 miles up the coast, it still helped to stoke the anger in Witsand's riverside community.
17:14Some residents were understandably concerned that the world's biggest bull shark had been put back into their river.
17:25And Megan had some explaining to do.
17:30She even received serious threats for her part in releasing the shark.
17:34It's still hard to believe that after I catch one, the scientists will require me to release it back into the river, where people fish and play.
18:05Oh, oh, one, two, three, four.
18:08I've been given a second chance.
18:09Anchor up, please, anchor up.
18:11And I'm not going to let this one get away.
18:13Tightening up, tightening up, tightening up, tightening up.
18:15Okay, right, we're on, we're on, we're on, we're on.
18:24Freshwater sharks are in our backyards.
18:27A bull shark was found more than a thousand miles up a US river.
18:31Find out where right after this.
18:34In 1937, a bull shark was found 1750 miles up the Mississippi River in Alton, Illinois.
18:53I'm in South Africa on the Briada River.
18:56I've hooked a creature so strong, there's no way it should ever be in this river.
19:00And it's running, it's running, it's running.
19:04Look at that, it's really cutting sideways there, really cutting sideways.
19:07Oh, that was really heart-stopping when the, it suddenly goes slack and you think it's off.
19:14And then it's not, there's tension there again.
19:16It's probably kicking or rolling on the line even.
19:19This apex predator is not accustomed to this kind of treatment.
19:24Here he is.
19:27Instead of running away, it's coming in to check me out.
19:31I can't imagine what the shark is making of this experience.
19:41It's gone again.
19:44With a lot of fish, you see them up on the surface, you see them close in.
19:46You think that's it, they're nearly done there.
19:50I think this one was just coming up partly out of curiosity.
19:52What's all this, what's happening?
19:54Now he's checked me out.
19:56He's not coming anywhere near again.
19:58Last time, the shark brought things to an early end by rolling on the line.
20:02This one seems set for the long haul.
20:05Two hours.
20:08Two hours.
20:10It's a different phase of the fight now.
20:13It was tearing around, you know, using speed in the early stages.
20:18There it is again, there it is again, there it is again.
20:22Yeah, there's definitely some tactics going on.
20:23The speed didn't work, so now just a bit of a war of attrition.
20:28Ah, this is punishment.
20:33Two hours into the fight, the shark begins pulling the boat towards some shallows.
20:38One to three metres now.
20:41By now, the battle is beginning to attract attention.
20:44This is turning into an event.
20:46Everyone wants to see this shark.
20:52I can see the fish, I can see the fish.
20:54Back to two metres.
20:55If my line catches a rock down there, it could cut through and the shark will be gone.
21:00We've got to get away from the rocks.
21:01It does.
21:02We're still in two metres now.
21:05I've got a boat full of scientists relying on me to get this shark in.
21:08The tension on board is palpable.
21:12Four metres.
21:12I've got the line, if it goes, it can go without the line catching anybody.
21:23Put that line round the...
21:24Right, have you got the toe strap round?
21:26Yeah.
21:26Good, okay, brilliant.
21:28Got a good hold?
21:29Yeah.
21:29Okay.
21:31This is my biggest catch ever, and two and a half hours is by far my longest fight.
21:37It's astonishing to think that I've hauled this beast from a river.
21:40I do.
21:44But I was lucky to get it in at all, because it was foul hooked in the side,
21:48snagged on a flap of skin between the gill slits.
21:58The scientists want to know why the sharks are here.
22:01Right, this is like a sort of timers of the essence.
22:05And they're actually, they're starting to pump water to irrigate the gills.
22:08That buys a little bit more time.
22:10Last year's giant catch was a heavily pregnant female,
22:14which led the scientists to assume she was in this river to deliver her two-foot-long pups.
22:19Our expectation is that this fish, too, is female.
22:22Okay, three, two, one.
22:25It's a male!
22:26Our first catch, and we have answered one of our questions.
22:33It looks like the Briada River is a place where sharks come to feed.
22:38Three, two, one.
22:43Nine and a half feet, and with an estimated weight near 500 pounds,
22:47he's one of the largest bull sharks ever caught anywhere.
22:50And I'm returning him back into the river.
22:57I've just caught a giant, but I'm not off the hook.
23:00The scientists want me to try for another, and this time, even bigger.
23:09There is heated controversy about returning the sharks to the river,
23:13where people swim and play.
23:16But unlike bull sharks elsewhere in the world,
23:19these bull sharks have never attacked a person.
23:23So what makes the Briada River sharks so unusual?
23:30Hunting for clues, I talk to local fishermen,
23:33who fish these waters for grunter and cob.
23:38Cobus Veed is a fisherman and a kite surfer.
23:42He's been here for 50 years, and has had his fair share of shark encounters.
23:47Every year, there's a swim goala over there.
23:51And, I mean, we're not scared of the sharks, actually,
23:55because they don't attack people.
23:57I've never, never heard of a bull shark attacking anybody.
24:01So, actually, we're very lucky.
24:03And any thoughts why that might be?
24:05Maybe they don't like the taste of human blood.
24:08And you're confident that if you just take basic precautions,
24:13you're perfectly happy about going in the water yourself?
24:15Yes, absolutely.
24:16Although when you're down in the current, you know, and you fall down,
24:18then for a fraction of a second, you think, well, I'd better get up.
24:27Eugene Boykus is one of only a handful of commercial fishermen left in Witsand.
24:31His knowledge of sharks has been passed down through his family.
24:36Are you surprised that no, no people have been attacked?
24:39Yeah, you know, there's such a lot of food in this river.
24:43It's, it's, it's, it's such a healthy system.
24:45I think that's, that's why they're not going to be interested.
24:48Obviously, when somebody standing in the water, there's a vibration there,
24:51you will come and investigate.
24:54And we'll see, okay, this is not what I want, you know,
24:56then we'll just swim off type of thing.
24:58But maybe when there's a year where there's not, not such a lot of food in the river and all that,
25:02there could be an attack. You never know.
25:07I just had a call from Paul, one of the team, that there's been a shark attack
25:11right off the harbour wall.
25:25I've had a call from Paul, one of the tracking team,
25:27who has just witnessed a bull shark attack right off the harbour wall.
25:31This is the victim, is it?
25:33It was incredible.
25:34I just, I just put the boat alongside and, um,
25:37heard a giant splash about 20 yards off, off the harbour wall here.
25:41It was a giant pool of blood.
25:43The fish floated up to the surface.
25:45One of the reasons bull sharks got their name is because they are known to ram their prey
25:49before they kill it.
25:50This can clearly be seen by the marks along the side of this cob.
25:59So you reckon it's actually just hit it from the side,
26:02and then when it's, and then when it's floundering in the water just came along and just,
26:05I mean, that, I mean, that is just muscle, but that's, that's a killer blow, isn't it?
26:09I mean, the fish..
26:10Straight through.
26:10A battering ram armed with razor sharp teeth.
26:16That's about the thickness of my leg, which is quite disconcerting.
26:18It's gone right through the backbone as well, just clean through.
26:21This is actually the biggest cob that I've seen so far,
26:26and that is without the final third,
26:28which is out there somewhere inside a shark.
26:32Witnessing how they hit monster-sized prey
26:34makes me even more determined to land a monster-sized bull shark.
26:45Before I try again, I have the opportunity to discover
26:48exactly what the Briara River bull sharks are doing,
26:51that sets them apart from bull sharks in other rivers.
26:56We head out to track the shark that I caught and released.
27:01The acoustic tag, which we secure to the back of the shark,
27:04transmits a signal which we hear as a ping on our hydrophone.
27:08The clearer the sound, the closer the shark.
27:13Yeah? It's a bit further up, yeah?
27:15Nice.
27:18Maybe a hint of something.
27:21We might be just out of the main range.
27:28We end up 20 miles upriver in search of a tagged shark.
27:31Apparently, the guy there just said,
27:44you mustn't catch sharks here because we swim here.
27:46Um, I'm not quite sure what the logic of that is.
27:50It's, um, I think, you know, whether we catch them or not, they're here.
27:55Apparently, the big one last year was tracked right past these houses on several occasions.
28:01Yeah, meanwhile, the one that we're looking for at the moment,
28:05no, no sign, or shall I say, no sound of it.
28:08We turn and retrace our steps back downriver, searching as we go.
28:18Eventually, we come across a group of fishing boats just off Fitsand.
28:22A couple of fishermen have just had a very close encounter with a shark.
28:29Just trying to get a look at that.
28:32The enemy in its mouth.
28:33The shark tried to steal their catch as they brought it in.
28:39So I know there's a shark here, and it's hungry.
28:50Ah, there's a beep already, yeah?
28:52We found the tagged shark that I released yesterday.
28:5587, 81, that's sort of straight ahead.
28:59So it's actually 9, oh, oh, and 98.
29:01The hydrophone signal peaks at 100,
29:05so 98 means the shark is within yards of our boat.
29:10Slightly worried about having my hands close to the water now.
29:15Just to get 83, there we go.
29:17That's right.
29:18One o'clock.
29:24According to the hydrophone, the fish has been, you know, right under that boat.
29:31I'm just listening to the beeps and looking at the screen,
29:34and then when I get the strongest signal,
29:35I hold it here, I look up,
29:37and look, it's just pointing straight to the boat.
29:39The Breda River bullsharks have learned to shadow fishing boats,
29:46waiting for fish to be hooked, then taking them off the line.
29:49It's very specific, systematic behaviour.
29:59There are no records of bullsharks doing this anywhere else in the world.
30:03And I just witnessed it first hand.
30:05It's like a protection payment.
30:07The sharks steal a percentage of the fisherman's catch,
30:10and in exchange, they leave humans alone, at least for now.
30:14Normally, one of the first things you've got to do is actually locate the fish,
30:18but it appears that here, even though we've got a lot of water,
30:21I don't have to go looking for the shark.
30:22They're going to come looking for me.
30:24To many, it's the stuff of nightmares,
30:27a heavily populated river that's also home to massive hungry bullsharks.
30:32But can I make this work for me and catch myself a monster?
30:36The Breda River sharks have learned to steal fishermen's catches from their lines,
30:59unique behaviour not recorded in bullsharks in any other river in the world,
31:03which might explain why they are so big in this river.
31:06They will actively hunt down fishing boats,
31:12lie in wait until the fishermen make a catch,
31:14and then bolt in to take an easy meal.
31:22My plan is to position myself right next to the fishermen
31:25and let the sharks come to me.
31:29Yeah, lots of activity on the river today.
31:32That's going to get the sharks quite excited.
31:33I set up seven miles upriver,
31:38in a spot close to where the team landed the big female shark last year.
31:44But well away from this year's tagged shark,
31:46which was last located near the river mouth,
31:49the tracking team are out searching for him right now.
31:54There's boats generally around the river.
31:55I think the sharks today are going to be active.
31:57This is their big feeding day.
31:59This is when the humans come and do the work for them.
32:06The biggest bullshark ever recorded was caught in this river,
32:09and I'm determined to catch another.
32:14Then the tracking boat appears.
32:16Oh, no.
32:18Right, Megan's making signs like this.
32:20It's checking us out, yeah?
32:22It looks like the tag shark is actually around the boat.
32:25And I had no awareness of that at all until the tracking boat turned up.
32:28There's actually been a shark circling the boat
32:30for quite a few minutes apparently,
32:32and we were just totally unaware of it.
32:33We're being shadowed by a giant shark,
32:37which is clearly hunting.
32:40From now on, we'll keep Megan on board with the tracking equipment.
32:45This way, I'll know exactly when the tagged shark is nearby
32:48so I can get my bait out of the water before it strikes.
32:54It's close.
32:56This is just really frustrating.
32:58It's just proving so hard to keep away from that tagged shark.
33:01It's just covering such an area of water.
33:03It's right behind us now.
33:07And we just popped it in when we arrived here.
33:09This is actually one of the favoured spots.
33:11All clear, and, you know,
33:13about five minutes after anchoring, we're getting a signal.
33:16The shark's right under the boat.
33:22Catching it again would not be a good idea
33:24because at the moment we've got a stable situation.
33:27It comes along, it's taking fish from fishermen's boats,
33:30and everybody's happy.
33:31OK, the fishermen aren't too happy,
33:32but, you know, that is its main or important source of food.
33:35If anything actually makes the sharks wary of fish near boats,
33:41they could start feeding in a more opportunistic way,
33:43which, you know, might not be good news for the people around here.
33:47So very important to avoid hooking that fish again.
33:51If I hook the same shark again, or if anyone else does,
33:57it may become wary of its normal food source
33:59and start searching for other prey.
34:07We move on once again.
34:09We're learning so much about the behaviour of the bull sharks in this river
34:12that the scientists are desperate for me to make another catch.
34:15The capture of the male shark told us that they're probably here to feed,
34:22and the tracking showed us that they're actively following fishing boats
34:26for an easy supply of food.
34:30Catching another big one would confirm the Briada River
34:33as home of the monster sharks.
34:35I've left the tagged shark several miles upriver
34:46and set up just off the town of Witsand.
34:51This is what I use for Goliath Tigerfish, Nile Perch, things like that.
34:5480-pound line.
34:57So a big shark on here would be very interesting.
35:00I might just try pulling the bait a little bit.
35:07You know, if there's a predator watching,
35:08sometimes just a little bit of movement.
35:10You know, it's thinking about it, it's thinking,
35:11do I want it, don't I want it.
35:13It's got time to think about it.
35:14If you move it, suddenly it can be like a reflex.
35:16They'll just bang, they'll hit it.
35:19Something had to go.
35:20Yeah, wait a minute.
35:21The balloon has gone.
35:22One, two, three.
35:25This could be the monster I came here for.
35:28It knows it's hooked now.
35:30This feels like a good-sized fish.
35:34Oh, wait a minute.
35:35What's happened there?
35:46It's running, it's running, it's running.
35:48Only a shark in this river runs with this power and speed.
35:53But I've got a problem.
35:55Oh, wait a minute.
35:56What's happened there?
35:57Suddenly went slack.
35:58Oh, no, that's round something.
36:00That's round something.
36:01Ah, that is actually snagged.
36:03I've already lost one shark to a broken line.
36:07I don't want to lose another.
36:09I can still feel the fish.
36:11If we can go back, Mark.
36:15We need to get it off that snag, whatever it is.
36:17This is not good.
36:18I think we're clear.
36:21I think we're clear.
36:25I think we're clear.
36:28Oh, the line is a bit shredded there.
36:31Oh, that line is in a bad way.
36:34This shark has taken the line around some debris on the bottom.
36:37And even though it hasn't gone through, it's very badly frayed.
36:41I'm only on about, I don't know, might only be 50% strength on the line.
36:49My line is wearing through.
36:51But if I try to bring the shark in too quickly, I could lose it.
36:56I'm just so nervous because I know the line's not in a good way.
36:59One hour and one mile further upriver.
37:06A friend of mine who's caught bull shark said to me,
37:08bull shark's fault.
37:09You know, they're not like something like a mako shark,
37:10which is a real speed merchant.
37:12A bull shark is very solid, very muscular.
37:14It'll just, like, take you for a walk.
37:16I feel like a six-year-old child taking a rottweiler for a walk.
37:22It feels bigger and stronger than the other shark.
37:25It's just getting more lively all of a sudden.
37:27It's right under the bow.
37:28Oh, if we can go left, all right.
37:30OK.
37:34Three miles from where I hooked the shark,
37:36and it's still pulling the boat.
37:39People who say catching fish doesn't cause any pain,
37:41which they're wrong.
37:43My back is killing me.
37:46Not to mention where the rod butt is jammed.
37:48Oh, dear.
37:49It's going to be an interesting colour, I think,
37:51after the end of all this.
37:54As the hours pass,
37:55the shark continues to drag the boat up the river.
38:03This is totally not normal in a river.
38:07I had a giant stingray on for two hours,
38:10but we've gone past that.
38:11It must be two and three quarters now.
38:13The fight is now heading towards its third hour.
38:20The shark has taken the boat and me four miles upriver.
38:24It might come up.
38:28It might come up.
38:29It's coming towards the surface.
38:33That's the tail.
38:33That's the fish.
38:34Dorsal and tail.
38:35Dorsal and tail.
38:36First time it's broken the surface.
38:39It's going to show again.
38:41That's the dorsal.
38:42Wait, it's under the boat.
38:47It's under the boat.
38:48Back, please.
38:48Back, back, back, back, back, back.
38:51It's at last.
38:51Here we go.
38:54Right, now, absolute concentration.
38:56If I say let go, just let go, all right?
39:04OK.
39:05The gaff is necessary to hold the head up,
39:13but it barely punctures the tough skin.
39:17Bloody hell!
39:19It's not really gaffed, is it?
39:20This is going to break the gaff.
39:21It's going to break the bloody gaff.
39:25This shark has battled with me for three and a half hours
39:28and dragged the boat five miles up the river.
39:32Get to the bank, I think.
39:33We just need to get to the bank.
39:34If you guys need to get off.
39:38Never had a fight anywhere like that long before.
39:41That's almost double the longest fight I had
39:43with a freshwater stingray.
39:44And those things just glue themselves to the bottom.
39:47Wow.
39:52The gaff's now out.
39:54This bull shark is definitely larger
39:56than the last one I caught.
39:58We'll keep it alive while the team takes samples,
40:01measure it, and insert the acoustic tag.
40:03Then get it back into the river.
40:05The shark's going to actually pump water over their gills,
40:08so I'm wedging the mouth open with a bit of wood
40:11and just shoving water in its mouth.
40:14It's another male bull shark, nine feet, ten inches long
40:20and more than 500 pounds.
40:22The biggest fish I've ever caught
40:23and one of the largest male bull sharks ever landed.
40:28Tags are there.
40:29Sample's taken, parasites, all the rest of it.
40:31Very quick operation.
40:32But this thing, having been so strong for so long,
40:35is now just feeling a bit like I am.
40:38So we just need to get it revived.
40:46Sharks trigger a primal fear like no other.
40:49And even though it's utterly exhausted
40:50after fighting with me for nearly four hours,
40:53this bull shark can still prompt a nervous run for land.
40:56Two catches, proving that last year's shark was not a fluke
41:05and that the Briada River is home
41:07to some of the largest bull sharks anywhere in the world.
41:12When I first came here,
41:14I never imagined that what we would find out
41:16would take the investigation so far forward
41:18and actually provide likely answers
41:21to some of the big questions about the sharks in this river.
41:23It seems that they come here
41:26during the warmer months of the year to feed,
41:29but it's not a random feeding strategy.
41:32Instead of wasting energy by chasing free-swimming fish,
41:35they're actually taking their food from anglers' lines,
41:38like plucking fruit from a tree.
41:45It's a very efficient way of feeding,
41:48and perhaps this explains why the sharks in this river are so big.
41:53This easy food source also possibly explains
41:58why there have never been any attacks on humans.
42:01And as long as the numbers of those small fish remain healthy,
42:05this remarkable coexistence between humans
42:08and potential man-eaters should continue.
42:10Want to know how to catch a river monster of your own?
42:20I'll show you how at animalplanet.com slash rivermonsters.
42:24Transcription by Casting home
42:25Transcription by Casting home
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