River Monsters S04E07 Phantom Assassin

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Documentary, River Monsters S04E07 Phantom Assassin   #RiverMonsters #Documentary

Transcript

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

00:13I've been hearing stories of a shadowy predator hiding in an Australian river that's thick with deadly flesh eaters.

00:22It was only named a few years ago. It's never been filmed and next to nothing is known about it.

00:28And I'm setting out to attempt the near impossible to catch one.

00:34Against million to one odds, this journey will expand our knowledge of the freshwater world and turn what I thought I knew about river killers upside down.

00:58Last year, I traveled to Australia's Fitzroy River, one of the most extreme and least explored waterways on the planet and one renowned for its man-eaters.

01:18I discovered that two of its most impressive predators were interlopers swimming in from the sea.

01:27One looked murderous, but it's a gentle giant.

01:32Oh, it's a sawfish, it's a sawfish.

01:37The other is a known killer, the bull shark.

01:40But I also heard rumors of another predator swimming in from the open ocean.

01:50One so elusive, it was only discovered 10 years ago.

01:53So mysterious and next to nothing is known about it.

01:58And so rare that only a handful have ever been caught.

02:02The glyphous shark.

02:07More people have walked on the moon than have caught this fish on Rodden line.

02:12But I've not been able to forget about it.

02:14So I've come back to Western Australia to see if I can catch this very rare fish and find out if it's a potential killer.

02:27I start by meeting up with an old contact.

02:31American fish scientist Jeff Whitty works on the Fitzroy.

02:36I've fished with him before and he's one of the few people to have ever seen a glyphous.

02:41What can Jeff tell me about the fish I'm here to catch?

02:46They're a pretty rare shark.

02:47They were only discovered here in Western Australia in like 2002.

02:51So since then we've caught very few, know very little about this fish.

02:56Fewer than 20 glyphous river sharks have ever been caught from just a handful of rivers in Australia and New Guinea.

03:04No full grown adults have ever been recorded.

03:07But they are thought to grow over nine feet long.

03:11Beyond that their range, population size and behavior are shrouded in mystery.

03:19And no one knows just how dangerous these fish are.

03:23That's where I come in.

03:24Any chance of one of these things picking a baiter?

03:27Likelihood.

03:29Very rare species.

03:30Even so much that they're listed as critically endangered.

03:33There's always a chance.

03:35Fun about fishing, there's always a chance, but it's a rare chance.

03:38If I do manage to get one in the next few days, presumably that's going to be quite a significant addition to the data.

03:44Very few have been caught in Western Australia period.

03:47So increasing that sample size by even one would be a massive contribution.

03:55I'm trying to catch a fish that few people have ever seen in a river that runs for nearly 300 miles.

04:03And I have just two weeks to do it.

04:06I must be crazy.

04:08On my last trip, I learned that the Fitzroy draws some fish in from the sea.

04:14Both bull sharks and sawfish use its waters as a place to give birth to their live young.

04:20This is probably about a year old.

04:22They have to be breeding size adults around.

04:26It's possible the Glyphus does the same.

04:31That gives me something to go on.

04:37This is the Fitzroy River.

04:43It's a place of extremes.

04:47Any creature to survive down here is going to be dark.

04:54And if there are any aquatic killers that we don't know about, this would be the place of maximum.

04:59The Fitzroy runs through one of the world's last great wild places.

05:09Isolated, undisturbed and hostile.

05:12It's said there are so many flesh eaters in the water that when people go missing, their bodies are never found.

05:19And I've heard of one unsolved attack that might just add the Glyphus to this list of hostile river monsters.

05:26It was a summer evening at the height of a heat wave.

05:37A young man came down to the river to cool off.

05:43Just a few yards out, he felt something tear into his flesh.

05:59He drank himself back to shore, where he saw a savage gash in his thigh.

06:20I'm told the victim survived, but his attacker has never been identified.

06:25It sounds like the work of a freshwater shark.

06:30And the Glyphus I've come to catch might just be a suspect.

06:35From the chopper, I map out the best looking fishing holes, the danger zones and the escape routes.

06:43Because as soon as I hit the ground, I'm fishing many miles from the nearest hospital.

06:48I need to stay out of range of the killers I can see and the hidden predators I can't.

07:01I'm using dead fish bait, a large hook and a wire trace, perfect for toothy hunters in muddy water.

07:08It's a fish, I think.

07:18What is it? Oh, that is a crab, that is a crab.

07:21The bottom rung on the flesh-eating ladder, these river crabs clean up anything the larger predators miss.

07:27So, that's what they do. I mean, you're left fishing with no bait.

07:32But they're not the only technical challenge.

07:37This fishing's actually very problematical. There's all this stuff on the top of the water catching my line.

07:46There's rubbish on the bottom as well. I'm just getting snagged up, losing so much stuff.

07:49Anywhere else in the world, I'd get in to retrieve my gear. But here, it's too risky.

07:59Just getting a bait in position where it's likely to intercept something more interesting is really quite a challenge.

08:19Any fish living in this predator soup needs to be constantly alert.

08:25The bait has gone.

08:27And when they're all watching their backs, they're harder to catch.

08:39This is going out.

08:41But the next morning, something at last lets its guard down.

08:45I'll let it play with it a bit more. It seems to be quite hesitant.

08:54OK, I'm going to hit this.

09:00Yep, there we go.

09:11OK, I'm going to hit this.

09:12On Australia's Fitzroy River, I've hooked into a fish.

09:17Yep, there we go.

09:19But is it a glyphus?

09:21Oh, it's a shark in here.

09:23It's a bull shark.

09:25It's a bull shark then.

09:27All right.

09:29Nearly 50 miles from the sea, I've caught a young version of the ultimate marine predator.

09:34So this is a bull shark up a river, wandering in from the sea, spinning part of this life here.

09:40This bull shark, tagged by scientists, has the amazing ability to swim in both salt and fresh water.

09:47Physiologically, it's comparable to a person breathing on the moon.

09:52I've tracked them down in rivers and lakes across the globe, and I've seen just how deadly they can be.

09:59But with the rare glyphus also prowling these waters, the bull shark may not be the only killer fish in this river.

10:08Well, there's the proof that there are bull sharks in these rivers, and I have to say, until I'm convinced otherwise, that remains my number one suspect for any shark attack in a river.

10:21To the untrained eye, the bull shark and the glyphus are very easy to confuse.

10:33It's just possible that the bull shark may have been taking the rap for glyphus attacks.

10:37I know from experience that the best way to gather information is to seek the advice of the locals.

10:51So I travel further upriver into a series of gorges that have been home to Aboriginal Australians for tens of thousands of years.

10:59They have an intimate knowledge of local plants and animals, and on my last visit, Mary Aitken, an expert fisherwoman, was instrumental in my quest for the sawfish.

11:20Local legends are full of references to this monster, but can this ancient culture tell me anything about the glyphus?

11:27In this, this year, we haven't had rain yet, but they are in the water, and they're really big.

11:36There are sharks here, but Mary tells me they're all bull sharks.

11:41So have you caught any big ones here?

11:44This year we have. It's the same like barramundi when you try to pull a barrow in, you sort of slacken your line, let it run.

11:54And then when it slows down, then you pull your line in.

11:59Yeah, yeah.

12:01Out here, the term bull shark could mean any shark swimming in a river.

12:05And given that glyphus and bull sharks look very similar, I need to take a closer look at exactly what's swimming in these waters.

12:17It's still there, it's still there, it's still there.

12:36Okay, that's coming in, that's coming in.

12:39It's not a bull shark or a glyphus. This predator is a barramundi.

12:45Here we go, this is a barramundi. No, it's quite strange for me because this is, it's actually just like a Nile perch.

12:52It's, uh, they've got quite as big as Nile perch, but, uh, very uncanny, the resemblance, the same family.

13:02It's picked up a big, dead mullet off the bottom in the middle of the night.

13:06Barramundi have sandpaper teeth, which makes them unlikely to injure people.

13:11Yeah, that's, that was, um, not the one that I'm actually after.

13:17But I don't want to push my luck in this spot.

13:21Because a predator, even deadlier than a shark, is on patrol.

13:27A saltwater crocodile.

13:29I'm careful to set up camp well back from the water's edge.

13:44The next morning, I get a visit from a local guide.

13:48He's been told I'm here and has a story that suggests I'm not being careful enough.

13:53Yeah.

13:55Well, I just camped on the Pentecost River and, uh, yeah, just, uh, decided to come out and, uh, attack us on the second night.

14:05Dan Duncan and his girlfriend, Sonia, were on a fishing trip in the outback.

14:09Aware of the danger from crocodiles, they too pitched their tent well away from the water.

14:28But on this night, distance was no protection.

14:32Dan Duncan was there all night, obviously, to about three o'clock until he decided to, uh, do something.

14:42What is the estimated global population of Glyphys Garakai, the shark I've come to catch,

15:02What is the estimated global population of Glyphus garrichai, the shark I've come to catch?

15:11The answer after this.

15:16I asked, what is the estimated global population of the Glyphus garrichai shark I'm trying to catch?

15:23Best estimates are as few as 250 adults anywhere on the planet.

15:32I'm trying to track down the rare Glyphus shark on Australia's deadly Fitzroy River.

15:43And I'm learning the dangers aren't just in the water.

15:55Somehow Dan's girlfriend managed to avoid the crocodile's jaws and escape.

16:02Leaving Dan tangled in the tent and fighting for his life.

16:06My arm was stuck with him and I was going over and he was slowly dragging me back towards the river.

16:15Luckily at the last minute he started to roll the other way.

16:18And I unrolled my arm and I got out and he just slid into the river.

16:21People say you can stick your fingers in their eyes and stuff, but it doesn't really work, you know.

16:28They pretty much, if a croc's got you and he's dedicated, I don't think you're going to get away.

16:33Especially in that river.

16:34If he had to pull me down there, that's it.

16:38To stay safe out here, I'm going to need eyes in the back of my head.

16:42But the croc story has got me thinking about teeth and bite marks.

16:52Whatever attack that man in the river may have left an identifiable mark.

16:58Teeth marks are often the calling card large predators leave behind.

17:02I need to dig up reports on the attack to look for some kind of dental signature.

17:09Even in the outback, satellite technology provides exactly what I'm looking for.

17:14Pictures of the injuries.

17:20Now these are closely spaced, sharp cuts.

17:25Distinctive wounds that instantly eliminate one possible suspect.

17:29Crocodiles have teeth that are much larger and blunter.

17:33And they rely on biting force rather than sharp edges.

17:38They leave heavier, wider spaced holes that look nothing like the wounds in question.

17:45So what about the bull shark?

17:47I've seen their bites before.

17:50In one case, a prize racehorse was being exercised in Australia's Brisbane River

17:56when it was attacked by a bull shark.

17:59Experts instantly recognised its unique signature.

18:10Its triangular upper teeth leave an arc of clean cuts, unlike any other bite.

18:16One glance at the more messy tears of this new attack shows these bites are nothing like those of the bull shark.

18:25And as the obvious suspects are eliminated, I could be looking at the first known victim of the glyphous shark.

18:34I head back downstream to another shark hotspot, where Jeff Whitty's team of fish scientists are working on their survey.

18:49Recently, we've been going up to Fitzroy Crossing, Geeky Gorge, and we haven't done much sampling in this area.

18:58For maximum coverage, they're setting gill nets across the width of the channel.

19:06I want to keep an eye on what they're catching and also try my chances on a rod and line.

19:11My bait has been stolen.

19:34But the scientists are having better luck.

19:39So you're bringing the net in.

19:42So you're just, there's something in it?

19:43They want me to help from the shore.

19:48There could be anything in there.

19:51A shark, a stingray, or something bigger.

19:55On the Fitzroy River, I'm trying to track down a glyphous shark.

20:11And I'm helping to land a potentially lethal catch.

20:18We're going to try and flip him over.

20:20It's one of the strangest and deadliest looking fish in the world.

20:23Here's the street.

20:24The sawfish.

20:25Shit.

20:26Right.

20:28We just turned it on its back.

20:30This is some fish.

20:32You turn them on their back, it calms them down a little bit.

20:34This is an impressive-sized animal.

20:36And, I mean, look at the business end on that.

20:39It's not a glyphous.

20:41And although it's well-armed, this can't be the attacker I'm looking for.

20:46Although the body looks a bit shark-like.

20:49If you go back from the roster, it has got teeth.

20:52But they're small, and they're flat, and they're blunt,

20:55and I can quite easily put my hand in there, no danger at all, completely unmarked.

21:00Thrashing around in a net, the sawfish might look like a deadly weapon.

21:04But there are no records of this fish deliberately attacking a person.

21:08I really see why populations of sawfish around the world have plummeted.

21:13I mean, these things are just so vulnerable to nets.

21:15If you're a commercial fisherman, time is money.

21:17You're not going to spend time disentangling it,

21:20then put it back in the water when it's probably going to swim straight back into your net again.

21:23You know, a lump of wood makes sense for the fishermen.

21:27This is a very, very rare place to actually find, you know, a semi-healthy population of them.

21:35Just putting a tag in now.

21:36I'm going to make a hole, a small hole in the dorsal fin.

21:41And what that also does, it provides a tissue sample for DNA analysis.

21:45But then the tag goes in, it's got a number on it.

21:48So if this fish is recaptured, it'll tell something about the movement of it,

21:51but also growth rates.

21:52So a lot of information comes from tags.

21:55There we go.

21:56I named this fish 1178.

22:03First the bull shark, and now the sawfish.

22:05I've seen two of this river's three marine trespassers.

22:10The very rare glyphus still eludes me.

22:13But one of the scientists on this team may be able to get me closer to finding one.

22:20Dr. Dave Morgan holds a unique distinction.

22:27He's the only person I know to have caught a glyphus on rod and line.

22:31That's the rig.

22:33That's the glyphus stick, that one.

22:35That was the one that caught the first glyphus that we know of.

22:37Right.

22:38Or the first one recorded anyway.

22:40Since then, I think the count's up to about 18 or 20, so somewhere around there.

22:44It's still rare, and that's with a lot of effort.

22:46Yes.

22:46So that's a fair amount of effort in chasing it.

22:50A normal angler might mistake a glyphus for a bull shark, but Dave knows his sharks.

22:58It looks like a standard sort of shark form, but a lot more well-developed, and that's

23:05obviously living in this sort of water.

23:06You need to have good sensory ability.

23:09Light doesn't penetrate more than half a metre in here, so it's just night time always.

23:13They don't really need their eyes.

23:15Any idea what they might grow to?

23:17The biggest reported is about 2.5 metres, but you've got to assume that they'd probably

23:23get to 3 metres, so a 10-foot animal.

23:25It could be potentially dangerous.

23:27Yeah, they probably are a danger, because they're not going to know what you are.

23:30I mean, they can't see you for one thing, so it'll just be an impulse strike.

23:35Then they come back for more if they like it.

23:40Impulse strike.

23:41It's the perfect description of the attack I'm investigating.

23:45In the murky river water, whatever bit the swimmer couldn't see what it was biting.

23:55Dave caught his glyphus downstream, at the mouth of the Fitzroy, a place called King's Sound.

24:05Any shark swimming in from the ocean must pass through here, and it may be my best bet for

24:11catching one of the rarest sharks on the planet.

24:13But King's Sound has its own extreme hazards.

24:20This estuary has one of the largest and most dangerous tides on the planet.

24:26Twice a day, this water, thick with mud, can rise and fall by up to 30 feet.

24:34Boats ground on the shifting sands or get washed out to sea by the vicious currents.

24:39It's suicide to get in the water, and it can be lethal even to sail on it.

24:52I'm putting my faith in a strong hook, a heavy wire trace, and fresh fish bait.

24:59If there is a glyphus down there, I'm ready for it.

25:09There goes on.

25:24It's funny.

25:30The way it's hanging.

25:35Monstering fish just saw a flash of grey.

25:39That sort of explosion and rapid change of direction, that's interesting.

25:46Close this up.

25:51Yeah, it's a whip ray, it's a whip ray long.

25:54It's not a glyphus, but a close relative of sharks.

25:59It's a whip ray. Bite-wise, nothing really going on there.

26:03They do have teeth. They're not cutting teeth, they're just flat and blunt.

26:08With rays, it's not the teeth you have to worry about.

26:12I caught a giant freshwater stingray in Thailand.

26:16The barb on its tail, ten inches long, covered in thick toxic mucus,

26:22and capable of inflicting horrific wounds.

26:28This ray is smaller, but just as deadly.

26:31Very wicked spine on the tail there, covered in this toxic venom.

26:36Well, we don't want that thing in the boat.

26:43The thing about the tide moving up and down is that, you know, the current patterns change.

26:48The fish are probably going to be on the move.

26:50What the water's doing is quite dynamic, and we need to follow suit.

26:53Although it looks calm on the surface, the currents are running up to ten knots.

27:00With the sands constantly shifting, suddenly the river has become a minefield.

27:06Can we get through this?

27:15It is very shallow. I'm not sure that we will.

27:19If we ground in current this quick, it could roll the boat.

27:22I am going to have to get out of here pretty quick.

27:25It's really shallowing fast.

27:27It's a touch. We're in trouble.

27:32One mistake, and we're in the water with the crocs and the sharks.

27:36Skipper Andrew gets us out of trouble, but it's game over for today.

27:50These conditions are starting to worry me.

27:55Getting out on the boat is no problem. The fishing is no problem.

27:58What's the problem is getting back.

28:00Today it was really hairy, and if it stays like this,

28:02actually going out tomorrow might not be safe.

28:07The odds of catching this very rare fish were already stacked against me.

28:12These tides have pushed the odds off the scale,

28:15but they might hold a clue to the attack I'm investigating.

28:19The next morning dawns calm.

28:28We get back out onto the sound and into a good spot before the tide starts running.

28:37The scientists are also here, and Geoff is preparing his nets.

28:40Morning.

28:43Hey, how's it going?

28:44All right, you're just waiting for the tide, yeah?

28:46Yeah, yeah.

28:47If I catch a shark, I want to be sure I'm identifying it correctly.

28:51I don't want to miss a glyphus.

28:53So you, um, optimistic for today?

28:56I'm always optimistic.

28:58Now, if I go and put out a line, and I get something which looks a bit like a bull shark,

29:05how will I know if it is a glyphus?

29:07A couple of key features is the eye. It's really small.

29:09It's actually smaller than a bull shark.

29:11Yeah.

29:12In addition, you've got the dorsal fins.

29:14Um, unlike a bull shark, the second dorsal fin on a glyphus is much larger.

29:18So it's a bit like a bull shark, but sort of, but not quite.

29:21Yes, exactly.

29:22Yeah.

29:23Okay.

29:24Um, I mean, the reason they're mostly confused with bull sharks is because they both occupy the same habitat,

29:30that's really murky, muddy waters.

29:32So, yeah.

29:33Right there.

29:34I have a little luck on our side.

29:38I leave Jeff and his crew on the nets.

29:44My challenge is to get a bait to hold the bottom in the swirling currents.

29:48What we've done is we've tucked into a little eddy so that the main push is going there about sort of 15 yards out,

29:57but we've got a back eddy and some still water here,

30:00which is exactly the kind of place that anything on the bottom is expecting to find food.

30:06Zero visibility in the muddy water means I'm relying on the shark's acute sense of smell to home in on my fishy bait.

30:18I think there's something there.

30:24Yeah.

30:33I have got a fish.

30:34It's small, but it might be interesting.

30:37Could this be a glyphus on the end of my line?

30:48My search for the incredibly rare glyphus shark has brought me to King Sound in Western Australia.

31:01I have got a fish.

31:02It's small, but it might be interesting.

31:09Oh, it's a shark.

31:10It's a shark.

31:12But have I boated a glyphus?

31:18Yeah.

31:23Spiky teeth on the lower jaw.

31:26I now see for myself just how difficult it is to identify these juveniles.

31:32You know, I'm thinking it. I reckon it is, you know.

31:35Let's go, Jeff.

31:42But straight away, Jeff dashes my hopes.

31:45So you can see here already it's not a glyphus.

31:47It's a relatively big eye compared to what a glyphus would be.

31:50Okay.

31:51So I was a bit excited then, but getting it out and then having a good look at it, it's definitely not.

31:56Okay.

31:57Do you know what it is?

31:59The two suspects I have in mind are the milk shark and the creek whaler.

32:04But both of these sharks are saltwater species, which means this shouldn't really be here.

32:11So, I mean, if it's not a bull shark and it's not a glyphus, what's it doing in a river?

32:16These large tides that are pushing up, this freshwater becomes more saltwater.

32:21So you've got marine creatures that are on the edge of their domain perhaps, and as that boundary moves they move with it.

32:28And if that means going inland, they could end up inland as well.

32:31Yeah, most definitely.

32:33It's still not my glyphus, but this unexpected catch blows my attack investigation wide open.

32:40It shows that on Western Australia's extreme tides, ocean predators can find their way some distance inland,

32:49with a whole range of new victims to prey on.

32:56So was the shark that attacked the swimmer in the river not a glyphus, but a shark you'd normally only find at sea?

33:03I need to revisit that bite mark, the criminal's fingerprint.

33:17So I've come to a nearby archive, hoping that a bit of old-fashioned research might reveal the last piece of the puzzle.

33:26Just as bull shark teeth produce a unique signature, so too do other sharks.

33:33And now that I know that other sharks are entering rivers like the Fitzroy, I can perhaps match these ragged bite marks to a culprit.

33:42This is a mako shark, and the teeth here are very different.

33:47They're not going to make a clean cut, they're just going to make holes, make a mess.

33:51The mako has carried out over 40 reported attacks in the last 60 years.

33:56It's a known killer.

33:57And it looks like a mako made it up river, because these marks look like those left by a mako's jaws.

34:05The attack mystery may be solved, but my mission is far from over, because I still have to catch a glyphus.

34:21And the enormity of this challenge is beginning to sink in.

34:29Just 20 of these animals have been caught here in the last 10 years or so, and most of those have been taken in nets.

34:35So what I propose to do could actually be harder than looking for a needle in a haystack.

34:41Add to that the fact that this immense area of water has some of the biggest, most dangerous tides anywhere in the world.

34:48And it really is starting to sound like a pretty crazy undertaking.

34:51Attempting to catch what might be the planet's rarest shark on possibly the world's most dangerous river.

35:05Have I finally bitten off more than I can chew?

35:08Tide and sands are constantly shifting in the minefield of the estuary.

35:24But we push through to find shelter in a pocket of slack water.

35:28With three lines out, now it's just a waiting game.

35:38I'm just waiting for something moving around in this very dark environment to sniff, sense what's on the end of the line.

35:45Oh, it's a shark. It's a shark.

36:04Yeah, it's a shark.

36:08Yeah, it's...

36:11I'm waiting for a glickup.

36:13It's the right shape and the right colour.

36:28I know now from talking with Jeff, this is not a glyphus, because this second dorsal fin here is small.

36:34On a glyphus, that is much bigger.

36:36That's going to be at least half the size of the main dorsal fin.

36:39This is a bull shark, but first glimpse breaking the surface, you just never know.

36:48It's the wrong shark again.

36:50But before I get another bait out, the scientists call me over to take a look at the surprise they've pulled in.

37:01It's a hammerhead shark.

37:02Well, actually, this one is called a wing head. I mean, look at the width of that head.

37:10I mean, it's like some kind of underwater aircraft in a way.

37:13I've not called a hammerhead before.

37:15So, I mean, this is an impressive, very strange looking beast.

37:21But I think what this really brings home is that the estuary here is just full of predators.

37:26Another marine hunter following in the salty tides.

37:30But the more predators there are down there, the lower my chances of hooking the one I'm after.

37:39The tide has turned and the fishing is slowing down.

37:58Maybe I'm kidding myself to think I can catch the glyphus when fewer than 10 have ever been recorded on rod and line.

38:16But something has picked up my bait.

38:19Maybe.

38:22Yeah, yeah, that is running.

38:25It's running.

38:31Is this at last what I've come to catch?

38:34On Australia's Fitzroy River, something is running with my bait.

38:55Yeah, that's something.

38:57Coming up.

39:15Coming up.

39:17It's a shark, but it's far from caught.

39:21Because it's foul hooked with the hook just nicked in its fin.

39:24You can probably tail it.

39:27It could break free any second.

39:32We just have to grab it.

39:33Where's it gonna go?

39:35Look at that, look at that, look at that, look at that.

39:40That's okay, it's okay.

39:42Hold, hold well, that's good.

39:45Suddenly silence.

39:47Because everyone on the boat realises this is something special.

39:52Is this a positive idea on this then?

39:53Yeah, definitely.

39:55Yeah, fantastic.

39:59It's the first time this species has ever been filmed.

40:05I've landed bigger river monsters, but none more rare.

40:08This is a glyphus liver shark, very rare species.

40:14We've got a real positive idea on this.

40:17The shape of the notch just in front of the tail and also the anal fin.

40:21First one caught on camera.

40:25Important to get it back now.

40:26You can count the people who have landed one of these on the fingers of one hand.

40:34One, two, two.

40:36But we need to work fast.

40:37This shark is so rare we're only permitted to handle it for 60 seconds.

40:46So is it a killer?

40:47It's a powerful predator with super senses and all the right weaponry.

40:59But we've only just learned this shark even exists.

41:01And as yet, we don't know enough about its behaviour or how large it grows to make that call.

41:14You always get that feeling of disbelief when you put the fish back.

41:16But I think with this particular one, more so than normal.

41:19And the trouble is, because it's a fish that there have been so few caught,

41:23you just have to get it back in the water quickly.

41:24This journey has shaken my assumptions about where the marine world ends and my freshwater world begins.

41:32I've added the glyphus to the very short list of fish that swim in both.

41:37But can I also add it to my list of dangerous river monsters?

41:41The jury is still out.

41:44This fish here, people didn't know it was here ten years ago.

41:49So it just underlines for me the fact that what's under the water, you know,

41:53it is still, even the 24th century, just full of mystery.

42:08Want to know how to catch a river monster of your own?

42:11I'll show you how at animalplanet.com slash rivermonsters.

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