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River.Monsters.S06E04.Man-Eating.Monster
Transcript
00:01I'm Jeremy Wade, freshwater detective, explorer, and angler.
00:08I've been fishing the world for over three decades,
00:11but it's the impenetrable Amazon that keeps calling me back.
00:16Now I'm returning to South America on the mission of a lifetime.
00:21To spend an entire year going further, deeper, and more remote than I've ever been before.
00:28In search of the Amazon's ultimate river monsters.
00:35All along these remote rivers, I've heard stories of a fish so huge it can swallow a man whole.
00:42Locals call it the Lao Lao.
00:45There was a human body inside.
00:49I've spent 20 years trying to hunt down a single colossal specimen.
00:55But so far, this giant has eluded me.
00:59It's left me wondering if there are any still out there.
01:03My mission to find out will push me to the very limit.
01:08But this time, I'm not coming back until I catch one.
01:13In 1913, President Roosevelt ventured deep into the Brazilian Amazon on a dangerous expedition to map a previously unexplored tributary known as the River of Doubt.
01:41He kept a meticulous journal chronicling life in the remote jungle.
01:48One entry stands out.
01:52Two men were fishing on an Amazon tributary when, without warning, a vast fish leapt from the water and attacked them.
02:07With wild slashes of their machetes, they fought the animal off.
02:18Until the river ran red with blood.
02:23And the beast succumbed.
02:36Described as a giant over nine feet long, the culprit could only be one of two legendary South American heavyweights.
02:42I've wrangled huge arapaima many times, but the other fish stands alone.
02:55Looking more like a shark than a typical catfish, the Piraiba can grow to monstrous sizes.
03:02With the anatomy, and some say the attitude, to tackle human prey.
03:07Also called the lau-lau, I've hunted this fish for 20 years.
03:20But from Brazil to Colombia to Peru, the trail has gone cold.
03:26A lau-lau of man-eating proportions remains the one glaring absence on my monster hunting resume.
03:33Do they really still exist?
03:39But now, there's news of a vicious attack by a large fish on a young boy, on Guyana's Esikiba River.
03:48It's just the lead I've been waiting for.
03:52I immediately make my way to Guyana.
03:56Lying just above the equator at the top of South America, Guyana is a wild, little-known place.
04:03Almost the entire country is jungle.
04:08I've been here once before, but Guyana's river system is so extensive, I've barely scratched the surface.
04:15It's the perfect place for a giant to hide.
04:22My journey starts in the capital, Georgetown.
04:29I'm heading to the fish market to see what the locals know about the attack.
04:34On route, I re-examine Roosevelt's journal.
04:38President Roosevelt was constantly warned about this fish.
04:41The local people feared it a great deal, and he's pretty detailed in his description.
04:45He says this is a greyish-white fish over nine feet long, with the usual disproportionately large head and gaping mouth.
04:53And one chilling detail, it occasionally makes prey of man.
05:02It's a claim that I still hear throughout South America, over a hundred years on.
05:08But the evidence I need, a man-sized laulau, has so far proven impossible for me to catch.
05:17All I want is some little leaves, something to follow up.
05:22Guyana is a melting pot of cultures and ethnicities, but as a former British colony, English is widely spoken.
05:29I pick my way through the market, taking every opportunity to quiz people about this elusive giant.
05:42You ever have laulau come here?
05:44Yes.
05:45We've had all the fish.
05:46OK.
05:47And this is a long time ago?
05:49I lived last year.
05:51So he's saying he saw a fish last year that was getting on for the size of this table, from the end here up to pretty much where the woman is standing.
06:01Very good news.
06:02They're still around, big ones.
06:04But I won't allow myself to get too excited just yet.
06:09I want to know if anyone else has seen one of these giants.
06:12Do you ever see them in here?
06:15Not on the coast, but inland.
06:18Yeah.
06:19We find them inland.
06:20And they can get really huge.
06:22But the big ones are rare.
06:24Are people afraid of them at all?
06:26Yeah, they're dangerous.
06:27Because they're catfish, they have a big mouth, so they're just like...
06:32A really big one, like a 10 or 12 footer, can swallow a human.
06:40Have you heard any stories of people being attacked, being swallowed?
06:43Yes.
06:44You hear about people getting attacked?
06:48Oh man!
06:49Recently, two boys were fishing in a canoe.
06:52Fishing bow and arrow.
06:57And something hit the boat.
07:01And one of them was throwing overboard.
07:04Grabbed him on his leg.
07:10rush the boy for medical attention.
07:12He went back into his village probably about a week ago.
07:15So it's possible that if I'm in that area or if I ask around,
07:18I might even be able to meet the boys or something?
07:24Well, I wasn't, to be honest, expecting an awful lot from that.
07:27There weren't any la la on view.
07:28People were saying, yes, it's big, it's dangerous,
07:30it can swallow you.
07:31But then this one story, which is incredibly similar to the one
07:35in the Roosevelt Journal.
07:37And in this case, the boy was physically grabbed.
07:41Something which sounds totally outlandish,
07:43like it's a complete one in a million event,
07:46but it turns out that maybe it isn't.
07:50It's this apparent malicious intent that sets the la la apart.
07:56People say this is a fish that actively targets human prey.
08:02To discover exactly what happened to the young boy,
08:05I find a pilot willing to fly me
08:07into the heart of Guyana's rainforest,
08:09to the boy's village of Apatere.
08:22Down below me is an expanse of rainforest,
08:26so impenetrable that it hid one of the world's biggest waterfalls,
08:31from outsiders until just 150 years ago.
08:41If true giants are still to be found anywhere,
08:44it's deep in the unspoilt tropical water below me.
08:48But where exactly?
08:50As we approach the small Amerindian outpost of Apatere,
08:56the jungle becomes blanketed by dense cloud.
09:00I have to say, I'm slightly bothered by all this cloud.
09:03It's pretty well unbroken, quite thick.
09:05It could mean it's raining down there.
09:08That could mean higher water levels.
09:10And that is going to make the fishing harder.
09:13I learn that the young boy will arrive with his father later that day.
09:29I'm itching to get a line in the water,
09:32so I head off with a fisherman named Neville to find some bait.
09:36He leads me through the forest to a particular tree,
09:40but it's what falls to the ground from it that we're looking for.
09:44We use the seeds for catching a bait.
09:49We cut it, and then you find a worm inside.
09:53A worm?
09:54The insect just lay inside and then form up a worm.
09:57So it's feeding on the nuts?
09:58They're feeding on the nuts, all the time feeding on the nuts.
10:01So do you want to open this one?
10:02Ah, that's a hole.
10:04Ah, yeah, yeah, that's big.
10:09Oh, it's trying to bite me, actually.
10:11So it's really sharp because they actually cut through this hard nut.
10:16It's just a sack of amino acids and goodness.
10:21From a fish's point of view, they're going to love that.
10:24One thing this really underlines is the importance of local knowledge,
10:28how to actually get started.
10:31If I was going to work this out for myself,
10:33I'd just be wasting time.
10:34It's perfect bait to entice smaller fish.
10:38Ah, and the fish are coming already.
10:39Yeah, that is quite incredible.
10:40You could see the fat forming a sort of slick on the surface,
10:44and these fish just came from nowhere.
10:46Ah, first time.
10:47Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
10:50Look at that.
10:51We're on the way.
10:52This is moving up the food chain.
10:54So from palm grub to miniature fish,
10:57to slightly bigger fish,
11:00to top predator.
11:02It's just the essentials.
11:04It's just a hook, a little bit of wire,
11:05just to protect against piranha teeth, a bit of weight, and the line.
11:08I'm going to whirl that round my head, lob it out.
11:13That's the one.
11:14And then you're feeling with your fingers on the line,
11:17which is what I like to do with a rod, actually.
11:18You get a lot of information if there is anything moving down there.
11:22Yeah.
11:26Now, it's a waiting game.
11:33Oh.
11:34There's something, there's something, there's something, there's something.
11:36Fish.
11:38Something bigger than I bargained for has taken my bait.
11:42I'm going to go in the water if it's tipped over like that.
11:44I'm exploring a secret stretch of Guyana's jungle waterways,
12:00on the trail of a giant fish that's said to swallow men whole.
12:04A really big one?
12:05Swallow a human.
12:10While handlining for bait with my guide, Neville,
12:12fish, I've hooked into something much bigger than I expected.
12:24All right.
12:25That is just a beautiful, beautiful fish.
12:28More to the point, it's very encouraging.
12:31Incredible to think that a couple of hours ago,
12:33a palm nut on the floor in the forest has turned into this.
12:39Known locally as a basher,
12:41it has a huge mouth for its size,
12:44but they don't reach anywhere near the size of a man-eater.
12:48I don't want to speak too soon,
12:49but if things keep on this trajectory,
12:52then maybe I will get that monster that I came here for.
12:55with bait sorted for the following day,
12:59we head back to the village,
13:01where the young boy I heard about at the market is due to meet me.
13:05His name is Nenon.
13:10Still shaken from his ordeal,
13:12he's accompanied by his father, Nigel.
13:15Nigel, can you tell me exactly what happened to Nenon in the water?
13:18He was playing in the water with his friends,
13:20and something grabs him on his leg.
13:26One of his friends who was with him shot the creature.
13:33So he was holding onto a canoe while this thing was trying to pull him into the water?
13:39Nenon shows me the scars on his legs.
13:57That's something with some big teeth, isn't it?
13:59I mean, that doesn't look...
14:00I heard it was a fish, but this...
14:01What was this?
14:05It was a black caiman.
14:07A big black caiman.
14:09The fact that the perpetrator wasn't a fish is a setback for my search.
14:24My best chance now of finding a lau lau is to head even deeper into the rainforest,
14:30following the winding river and setting up camp on its banks.
14:37Stringing up my hammock on the edge of the village, I rest up for the trip.
14:42We leave at first light.
14:54I don't know how long this rain's been going, I woke up to the sound of it.
14:59It's not heavy as yet, but it's pretty constant.
15:04It's not good news.
15:11At dawn, Neville helps me assemble a crew from the village and gather supplies for the treacherous journey ahead.
15:18I'm dependent on the locals to get me to the remotest parts of this river.
15:34As I feared, there's been unseasonably heavy rain, and high water disperses the fish, making them much harder to find and catch.
15:43Encouragingly though, we pass absolutely no other boats or habitation for the entire journey.
15:51Perhaps here, lau lau really are free to grow, unhindered.
15:58We set camp with help from another man, Josie.
16:01See you, Jeremy.
16:03On this trip, more than ever, my gear is critical.
16:09A giant lau lau has eluded me for so long that I can't take any chances.
16:14I've got my best equipment from all over the world.
16:18High-tech braided line from Germany, hooks from Japan, and a custom-made rod from the US.
16:24The next step is to locate the fish.
16:30The thing about big fish is they get big by minimising their energy output.
16:36And where you've got a dip, a fish can lie there out of the current without expending any energy.
16:41And also, any food that comes down is going to tumble into that space, like a conveyor belt bringing food to them.
16:49A very good rule when you're fishing, think like a fish.
16:52Where would you be if you were a fish?
16:56But lau lau are known to migrate with the annual floods.
17:00With this unexpected high water, are they still here?
17:0533 foot off here.
17:07OK, just keep coming.
17:09I use a sonar device to help me decipher the structure of the riverbed
17:13and locate deep pools in which to place my bait.
17:17There's a definite hole here.
17:22I fish on well into the evening, but with absolutely no interest in my bait.
17:40There's absolutely nothing.
17:44It's pretty depressing.
17:51After dinner, my fishing crew and I share stories.
17:55Surely, if huge lau lau are to be found in these waters,
17:58these lifelong fishermen will have had encounters.
18:03What's the biggest lau lau that you've seen?
18:06Well, the biggest lau lau I've ever seen was about 210 or 15 pounds.
18:10That is the biggest fish I've ever seen in my life.
18:13The size of the mouth of that, would you be able to put your head in?
18:15Would you be able to put your shoulders in?
18:17A human head could fit in very, very easy.
18:20It can do a lot of damage.
18:22People here are very afraid.
18:24I've read something in an old book about people believing that this fish can actually swallow people.
18:33Have you heard any stories like that at all?
18:36Yeah, I heard stories from an old guy who was telling me a story about a fisherman
18:41who somehow got the big fish and carried it to the market.
18:47They're showing off with this big fish.
18:49Look at this lau lau!
18:53The fish was looking very pagan.
18:55Like the belly was full that it had something in its belly.
19:02And when they opened it, there was a human body inside.
19:06All mashed up and crushed.
19:16All rotten.
19:24So an entire person inside.
19:28Certainly they know it's a human.
19:29It could be a fisherman or somebody just beating and being caught by lau lau.
19:37And so these fish, they're right here in this river?
19:41Oh yes, they are here.
19:42They are here.
19:43So that's quite a thought.
19:44Fish that size.
19:45Yeah.
19:46Quite a...
19:47Terrifying.
19:48Very dangerous.
19:49So be careful.
19:50Fish that size.
19:51Fish that size.
19:54When it comes to river monsters, it's an incredibly elite few that have the potential to devour a person.
20:06But can a monster lau lau really be capable of swallowing a person whole?
20:11Never have I wanted to catch one more.
20:20But as I try to drift off, I hear something moving outside my tent.
20:24And realise I'm not alone.
20:36In Amerindian legend, when lau lau grow old, what unusual feature are they said to develop?
20:42The answer is thick, black hair.
21:01I'm deep in the South American jungles of Guyana, weeks into an exhausting mission to catch an alleged man-eater.
21:10And where I've suddenly been woken by noises in camp.
21:21That was a noise.
21:22Sort of crashing around noise.
21:25It's quiet now, but I think something was moving around out there.
21:34As the sun rises, whatever it was has long gone.
21:40But I'm intrigued and concerned enough that I decide to rig camera traps at the edge of camp.
21:50I place three at different angles, looking out over the water's edge.
21:54Leaving the traps positioned and primed, Neville and I set out onto the water and find another deep pool with the sonar.
22:0852, 52.
22:11Neville shares with me the result of his early morning bait fishing.
22:15We have four species of fish here.
22:17Silverfish, Yakutu, Piranha and Dari.
22:20Go with half a fish to start?
22:22This here.
22:23Let's do that.
22:26I'm here to catch an elusive giant.
22:29But I'm not getting far.
22:31There's very little doing.
22:32I mean, there's nothing doing.
22:33There's nothing really to keep the hope alive at the moment.
22:37To make things worse, tropical storms are striking every few days.
22:43Shedding inches of water in just hours.
22:47If this carries on, then the water's going to go up, it's going to start colouring up.
22:55So I'm really hoping that this is just a passing shower, but no way of telling at the moment.
23:03Even in ideal conditions, Lao Lao are notoriously difficult to catch.
23:11High water not only makes the river harder to read, it gives fish much more room to hide.
23:18The uneventful hours roll into days.
23:23Almost every waking hour, I have a line in the water.
23:28After 20 years of searching for this fish, I have to keep on battling.
23:32And maintaining my focus.
23:35I might just get one take, and if I mess things up, then that's it.
23:39There'll come a moment where it could go either way.
23:46The elation of catching a fish that I've been trying to catch for so long,
23:52versus the total despair if it's gone.
23:57When that opportunity comes, I just want things to go the right way.
24:03I decide to change tactics.
24:09I take our position on land to stake out the pools.
24:14Now, is it possible to pull the anchor and just go into the rock, just for the quiet water?
24:18If we go closer to the rocks, we're slightly off the main current, so the bait should just settle to the side, rather than more in the middle of the current.
24:28I've found an ideal spot at the perfect time of day.
24:35I've done everything I can to maximise my chances.
24:38Do good things really come to those who wait?
24:48Do good things really come to those who wait?
24:52I'm on a remote stretch of river, deep in the forests of Guyana, continuing a 20-year mission to catch a notorious South American monster.
25:08All through this region, I've heard that the Lao Lao can grow to mind-boggling sizes.
25:26A really big one can swallow a human.
25:32But throughout my whole career, I've never landed one bigger than 70 pounds, let alone a man-eater.
25:38I'm hoping my fortunes are about to change.
25:41I'm hoping my fortunes are about to change.
25:55Ah, it's off, it's off.
25:59It's off, whatever it was.
26:03So annoying.
26:07All I can do is get another bait up.
26:21That's another session with no interest whatsoever in the bait.
26:29We could be fishing an empty river, pretty much.
26:37But I decide to stick with my new tactic of fishing from land.
26:46Neville takes me to a sandbar that he suspects has some deep water alongside.
26:50I just really like this spot here.
26:54It's just perfect predator ambush territory.
26:59This has to give us a better chance than everywhere else.
27:02I'm going to camp on a sandbar here and actually keep a couple of baits out overnight.
27:07Sleep next to the rods.
27:10Every day, I've been up at dawn and fishing after dusk.
27:14Now, to maximize my chances, I'm going to keep a line in the water through the night.
27:20If I fall asleep, I might miss a take, so I'll need some high-tech gear to keep me on guard.
27:26I'm pretty well attuned to these things.
27:29Basically what happens, the line is passing over a roller there.
27:34And if the line moves at all, it actually sends to this receiver here.
27:41And this buzzes, it also vibrates.
27:45Got some quite big baits on.
27:47If anything goes, it ought to be something quite interesting.
27:50So it's not just a waiting game, it's time, time, time, time.
27:53Time, time, time, time.
28:08Yeah.
28:09Not really quite sure what time of the morning it is now, but it's been very, very quiet tonight.
28:27Nothing really doing, though, until this.
28:30Apparently they call this a blinker locally.
28:32Pretty as this fish is, I'm up to something that could actually swallow this thing easily
28:37and possibly even swallow a person.
28:40The thing I'm after is more predatory, more monstrous than this, by a long way.
28:52At daybreak, we head back to camp.
28:57My thoughts turn to the camera traps that I've left near my hammock
29:01to investigate the noises that have been waking me at night.
29:07Right.
29:09Oh!
29:10Oh, good grief.
29:11There's a flash of open mouth and teeth.
29:14That's a caiman.
29:15This is a point of view of having your face bitten by one of these things.
29:19Quite disturbing.
29:21It's got something in its mouth.
29:22Just a few bites, that's it.
29:24It's gone.
29:27Oh.
29:28What's going on there?
29:31There's other eyes in the background.
29:34Oh, gosh!
29:35That's incredible.
29:40No wonder I've been hearing noises.
29:42My hammock is just a little way in that direction.
29:46Right, OK.
29:47Maybe I shouldn't hang around here too long.
29:49The black caiman's intrusion into camp is a sobering reminder of the dangers in this wild place.
29:59I'm glad to make my way back onto the water.
30:03But as more days pass, maintaining my focus is becoming a challenge.
30:08This is a fish I've been on the trail of for 20 years now, since I first came to South America.
30:27Trying to work out where the big ones are still to be farmed.
30:32Most places, the trail has gone cold.
30:39This place that I thought was unknown to outsiders.
30:43I might have left too late.
30:46Too late.
30:46Fishing daytime, nighttime, nighttime, evening, morning.
30:55I'm starting to lose track of time, what day it is.
31:00I'm in this sort of in-between state.
31:03It's not exactly awake.
31:04It's not exactly asleep.
31:07Somewhere halfway between the two, the place gets to you.
31:11I must keep my eyes on the prize.
31:19A man-sized lau-lau.
31:23After resting up into late afternoon, I head back to the rock where I lost the fish just a few days ago.
31:31The water has definitely dropped.
31:41Oh, there's something, there's something, there's something, there's something, there's something.
31:50I've embedded myself deep in Guyana's dense tropical forest
32:13with one simple goal
32:15to catch the fabled man-eating fish
32:18they call the lau lau
32:20the giant that's eluded me for 20 years
32:24I've got a local guide
32:27the perfect untouched habitat
32:29and specialised equipment from around the globe
32:32but the water conditions have been far from perfect
32:35and my relentless fishing campaign is wearing me down
32:41I cast into a promising spot near camp
32:50oh there's something there's something there's something there's something there's something
32:53all right deceptive amount of line out here that's a good sign first cast fish has woken up all right there's the leader in sight that's red-tailed catfish
33:08all right there's the leader in sight that's red-tailed catfish
33:15well I'm hoping that's not a just a one-off that's almost like the switch has been thrown incredible to get a take on the first cast
33:24it's just blowing air out the gills and that clicking noise the squeak is the petrol fin
33:40it's a small red-tailed catfish but it's activity
33:44there's finally some activity here
33:46not a huge fish
33:54but could be quite a good sign
33:57if the perfect size prey have become active
34:02perhaps the lau lau
34:03isn't far away
34:05the weather is also clearing
34:10and tell-tale tide marks begin to appear on the boulders
34:14as the water recedes
34:17the fish should become more concentrated
34:19today I saw a rainbow
34:22and that lifted my spirits
34:26maybe I'm clutching at straws
34:31but I'm possibly feeling a little glimmer
34:34of hope
34:35I awake to the calls of howler monkeys
34:46and for the first time in over a week
34:51set out into a bright clear day
34:54so maybe just here
34:58I position a bait in the middle of the pool
35:01then pay the line back to the rock
35:04it's when the fish takes particularly a big fish
35:12it can go to just complete chaos in a fraction of a second
35:18if you don't do everything right
35:21that's when you can get human error
35:24a lifetime of observing
35:28and refining my skills
35:30has brought me to this place
35:33the trap
35:35is set
35:37I'm bringing about 150 yards of line here
36:00it's a truly bizarre looking fish
36:06known as a diwala
36:08it's just so quiet at the moment
36:10I'd actually rather not be catching to be honest
36:12I wanted the bait to sit there until a laula comes along
36:14what it does mean though is I've got to
36:16get the bait back out there again
36:17and get the boat out
36:18I'm just going to take up slack on here
36:29I think I'll put that down until something decisive happens
36:36that's more serious
36:47this time I have no doubt about what's on my line
36:59that's gone solid
37:06harness
37:09harness around my waist
37:10can I have the light out of my face please I need to
37:14thank you
37:15can I get that away please
37:18never
37:21I'm on the trail
37:35the trail of a legendary freshwater beast
37:37after a lifetime of dreaming
37:4120 years of searching
37:44that's more serious
37:45and months in the jungle
37:47now I have one on my line
37:50this gear is designed for the heaviest ocean giants
38:06but is it strong enough
38:09just round the rock
38:12I'm using thick monofilament line
38:19for just this reason
38:21but it's being tested
38:23to its limit
38:24I can't let that line break
38:29can I get that away please
38:32we need to be careful with this
38:36that's good it's out of the rock whatever it wants
38:42but this fight
38:47is not over yet
38:48the fish is nowhere near tied yet
38:52Neville
38:56you want the rope please
38:59there it is
39:02just be very careful Neville
39:04the fish could kick off
39:06even though it's like this
39:07because we're coming around the waist
39:10it's an unbelievably muscular animal
39:15built for speed
39:16and power
39:17what am I trying to do
39:18let's get that hook out first
39:20and there's
39:21its signature weapon
39:23that enormous mouth
39:25it's got a bit of a bite
39:38I want to bring it somewhere
39:39where it can't
39:40if it kicks it's not sloping down
39:42I have to work quickly
39:43to remove the hook
39:44good
39:45and measure this enormous beast
39:48I don't want it to be out of the water
39:51any longer than absolutely necessary
39:53in inches
39:55and girth in front of the dorsal fin
40:00is 50
40:01I'm having to use scales designed
40:04for lifting concrete blocks
40:06that's okay
40:07lift lift lift
40:08258
40:10256
40:11257
40:12254.6
40:14I think guys you can put it down
40:15so that's a 250 pound fish
40:17my whole life
40:23I've longed for this moment
40:25ah
40:26only just starting to be able to
40:30think straight
40:32this is wonderful
40:33this is absolutely wonderful
40:35this I'm going to remember
40:37the size of this fish
40:39and just the drama of getting it in
40:41what a beast this is
40:43lift
40:43well
40:47I came here
40:48with a very simple question
40:49I wanted to answer
40:50can these fish
40:52grow big enough
40:53to be potentially dangerous to humans
40:55can they even engulf a small human
40:56and I'd heard stories
40:58President Roosevelt's account
41:00inspired me to look for one
41:01he never actually saw one
41:03but here it is
41:04this moment
41:05is actually very short for us
41:06I think it's got to go back in
41:07and we'll let it swim back down
41:10into the depths
41:11I really actually wanted to sit
41:17and just look at it
41:18and look at it
41:18and look at it
41:19but you can't
41:19I think there's every chance
41:21that fish will never be seen
41:23by anybody again
41:24there's bigger ones down there
41:25believe it or not
41:26there are bigger ones down there
41:27but maybe that's big enough
41:28for me for now
41:29if ever something was worth waiting for
41:33it's this
41:35the river monster
41:36of a lifetime