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00:00Quando os primeiros missionários e exploradores voltaram de casa de África,
00:06eles falaram de um monstro estranho de água, vivendo na base de Congo.
00:13Até esse dia, as tribunais em região tem um animal do tamanho de um elefante com uma longa, fina na cabeça.
00:20Eles chamam ele Mokele Mbembe.
00:23Ele disse que esse ring era enorme, apenas um criatório massivo.
00:26Então, quando ele chega abaixo do bão, ele vai atingê-los com os espinhos, e os canoes vão se derrubar.
00:35Meu nome é Pat Svein.
00:36Por dia, eu trabalho em uma área de biotecologia.
00:42Mas na minha família, há uma tradição de investigar criaturas que ainda não conhecem à ciência.
00:51E então, indo para o campo para descobrir se eles podem existir.
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02:08O lindos de um antigo antigo antigo.
02:11E isso é ótimo.
02:12Isso é, você sabe, em 1910,
02:13eles estavam descrubindo esse animal
02:14em uma região de África
02:16que nós não conhecemos nada sobre.
02:20É uma coisa estranha para nós
02:22que um monstro chamado Mokele Mbembe
02:25poderia viver em África.
02:27Mas isso foi um momento de descobrir,
02:30quando criaturas de legendas
02:31foram às vezes provenes para existir.
02:33Aqui no Harvard Museum of Natural History
02:38off-limits para o público general
02:41e deep in the basement
02:43é a skull de um animal
02:45que foi inicialmente reported
02:46como um ferocious monstro.
02:52For anos,
02:53reports foram vindo de África
02:54de uma humanidade,
02:55de uma criatura que instou medo
02:57em todos os que encontrou ela.
03:00Western ciência escreveu as mites e legendas
03:03é só histórias contadas por local pessoas.
03:06Até 1847,
03:07quando um americano missionário
03:09chamado Thomas Savage
03:10trouxe isso em casa.
03:13Esse skull
03:14introduzido as guerrilhas
03:16para o mundo.
03:18Isso é o que provedam
03:19que os nativos eram bem
03:21e os cientistas eram bem.
03:23E o que era um animal
03:25que era um animal que era
03:26em os jungles.
03:30Então, podia os locais
03:31ser bem?
03:31e o que era um animal que era?
03:33Os cientistas encontrariam
03:34uma população de dinos
03:35se eles realmente existiam
03:37em África do Sul.
03:38Eu quero dizer,
03:39por que eu viajar
03:40meio ao meio do mundo
03:41para procurar por eles?
03:44Um recente descobriu
03:46me fez perceber
03:46o que nós realmente sabemos
03:48sobre essa região
03:48e como muito
03:50ainda tem que ser descobriu
03:52aqui.
03:52em 2008,
04:10uma população de mais
04:11100,000 gorilas
04:13foi encontrada no Congo
04:14só um milagre.
04:16Se que tantos animais puderam ficar escondidas por tanto tempo,
04:20eu não sei o que mais poderia estar nessa força.
04:24Oh, crap.
04:30Eu estou aqui com um dos poucos grupos de gorilas do mundo
04:33que foram habituados e que só para toleram a presença humana.
04:38É o som que os gorilas associam agora com nós.
04:42Humãos amados, não aqui para os cumprir, apenas para observar.
04:46O Congo Basin spans several countries
04:51and covers an area of relatively unexplored forest
04:54that's about the size of Alaska.
05:02This new population of gorilas was discovered
05:05in an extremely remote part of it that very few people visit.
05:09This is the same region where Mokele Mbembe is said to exist.
05:16It's really easy to forget just how powerful these animals are.
05:22Over 1.8 meters tall,
05:30silverback gorilas can weigh up to 200 kilograms.
05:33Yet the forest concealed them.
05:36So if there was a place where a large creature
05:38could stay hidden from modern man,
05:40this is it.
05:41Critics always ask,
05:44where are the breeding populations of these animals?
05:47Where are the fossils?
05:48Where are the eggs?
05:49Where are the remains?
05:51What our trackers have told us is
05:52if they don't get to a dead gorilla within two days,
05:55every piece of it is gone.
05:58Discovery of fossilized chimp and gorilla bones
06:00are almost unheard of in the whole of Africa.
06:03And these are animals that we know live here.
06:07These gorillas,
06:09they're clearly finding food,
06:11they're clearly finding a way to have these massive numbers
06:14that have stayed hidden to science for so many years.
06:18Who's to say Mokele Mbembe isn't hiding here too?
06:21And that's my mission,
06:23to explore this area,
06:25to find out if it is possible
06:27for there to be a large,
06:28as yet undiscovered animal
06:30living in the Congo Basin.
06:37I'm beginning my investigation in Cameroon,
06:39a country with a history of Mokele Mbembe sightings.
06:43And I'm heading from the capital, Yaoundé,
06:45to the remote, far southeast.
06:48The first time the West heard about Mokele Mbembe
06:51was from these French missionaries in the late 1700s
06:54who found these just enormous clawed footprints in the mud.
06:59From then on,
07:01there were reports of a huge water-dwelling monster
07:03periodically emerging from this mysterious region of Africa.
07:07The person who really got people thinking
07:09that this could be a dinosaur
07:10was someone named Carl Hagenbeck.
07:12He was the director of the Hamburg Zoo
07:13and one of the great animal collectors of all time.
07:16He came back from Africa in 1910
07:18with reports of a great beast
07:20lurking under the swamps and lakes.
07:22That was half dragon, half elephant.
07:25His reports sparked headlines all over the world,
07:28including the one I found at the library.
07:35Because of the inaccessibility of this region,
07:37most of the data that we get
07:39comes from remote sensing,
07:40you know, satellite images and things like that.
07:42very, very few scientists or even any outsiders
07:45make it as far as we have
07:47and we're heading even deeper in.
07:49Some of those remote images
07:51have got stored on here.
07:55And, man, you can just see
07:57all these spider-webbing series
07:59of tributaries and little rivers
08:00coming off the side of this main one that we're on.
08:02The Congo Basin holds up to one quarter
08:06of the world's tropical forests.
08:08It's swampy, sparsely populated,
08:11and there's a lack of decent roads out here.
08:14That's why a population of over 100,000 gorillas
08:17can go unknown to science for so long.
08:19And stories of a creature like Mokele Mbembe
08:22can go unverified.
08:33This is one of the world's last true wildernesses.
08:37The forests of the Congo Basin
08:38are where Ebola outbreaks occur.
08:40And some say it's the likely birthplace of AIDS.
08:44Very few places are large enough
08:46or remote enough to still hold secrets.
08:48But this is one of those places.
08:58I arrive at the village of Lengui,
09:00just near the border of Cameroon
09:02and the Republic of the Congo.
09:05This is the region where I'm told
09:07Mokele Mbembe has most recently been sighted.
09:10Thank you.
09:14These are the Baka pygmies.
09:16And when I mention that I'm interested
09:18in Mokele Mbembe,
09:19I'm quickly introduced to one of their elders
09:21who's said to know this creature.
09:24I'd like to know if you know anything
09:25about the animal they call Mokele Mbembe.
09:29So the animal is here on the river.
09:43He's seen a footprint once.
09:47And he's seen the body of the animal one other time.
09:49That's absolutely incredible.
09:51This is really a great resource
09:53that we have someone who's truly seen
09:55not just the footprint,
09:56but has seen the creature itself.
10:02So he saw the animal
10:03when he was going down to fish
10:04with the big group
10:05and they were planning on staying
10:06the night on the river.
10:08It was a long time ago
10:09and he didn't see much of the animal
10:11because he was scared and ran away.
10:12So the animal has killed people before.
10:18They said that the people are scared of it
10:20because of what it can do.
10:27But he has found some footprints
10:29with large claw marks.
10:30It was a large footprint
10:35with three toe prints.
10:38Three toes, this is just like the descriptions
10:39that we've had throughout history.
10:41Back in the late 1700s,
10:42this is what the French missionaries were reporting,
10:44these huge three-toed footprints.
10:47It's just very, very odd
10:48because elephant tracks would be that big,
10:51but they wouldn't have these claw marks.
10:55Thank you very much.
10:56It's a great start to my investigation
10:58to meet someone that claims
10:59to have actually seen Mukhele Mbembe.
11:02But it sounds like it was quite a few years ago
11:04and it was only a glimpse.
11:06The old man's story of a footprint
11:08is intriguing
11:09and matches the historical reports.
11:12But I'm a scientist.
11:13My natural habitat's in the lab.
11:15I work with hard data and solid facts.
11:18What I need is a recent sighting,
11:20a fresh trail,
11:21as that might lead me
11:23to the evidence I'm after.
11:31That night, I'm invited
11:33to be part of a tribal ceremony
11:34to both welcome me
11:35and honor the forest spirits.
11:40The Baca culture is ancient and unique.
11:44Not only do they source
11:45almost everything they need
11:46from the forest,
11:46it's also their spiritual home.
12:00They tell me this grass-covered character
12:02represents a dangerous spirit
12:03that they're trying to keep
12:04out of the village.
12:05Woo!
12:06Woo!
12:06Woo!
12:06Woo!
12:07Woo!
12:07Woo!
12:08Woo!
12:08Woo!
12:09Woo!
12:09Woo!
12:10Woo!
12:10Woo!
12:11Woo!
12:11Woo!
12:12Woo!
12:13Woo!
12:14Woo!
12:15Woo!
12:16Woo!
12:18Woo!
12:19Well, there's a whole array
12:20of different spirits.
12:21They believe that
12:22Mokele Mbembe
12:23is not one of these
12:24legendary animals,
12:25but it's a real
12:26flesh and blood creature.
12:27Woo!
12:28Woo!
12:28Woo!
12:28Woo!
12:29Woo!
12:29Woo!
12:30Woo!
12:30Woo!
12:31Without a written culture,
12:32it's through song and dance
12:34that the Baca history
12:35is kept alive.
12:36And no doubt
12:37how tales of Mokele Mbembe
12:38are passed through
12:39the generations.
12:40Woo!
12:40Woo!
12:40Woo!
12:40Woo!
12:41Woo!
12:41Woo!
12:42Woo!
12:42Woo!
12:43Woo!
12:43Woo!
12:44Woo!
12:44Woo!
12:45Woo!
12:45Woo!
12:46Woo!
12:46Woo!
12:50Woo!
12:50Woo!
12:52We dance long into the night.
12:53We dance long into the night,
12:54Vamos lá!
12:56Vamos lá!
12:58Vamos lá!
13:00Vamos lá!
13:02Vamos lá!
13:04Vamos lá!
13:06Mas, no próximo dia,
13:08eu encontrei um vizinho que,
13:10aparentemente, teve um encontro com o Mokele Mbembe.
13:14É um ano passado,
13:18que ele estava viajando esse rio
13:20aqui, vindo da farm,
13:22onde ele tem coco plantas.
13:24Ele tinha um voo com ele,
13:26com a esposa na canoa,
13:28e eles virem até o rio.
13:30Quando ele saiu, ele saiu.
13:42Ele disse que a esposa ficou muito, muito,
13:44e queria sair daqui, mas o voo foi tão loadado
13:46com coco, que eles não conseguiam sair rápido.
13:50Então, ele só começou paddando e paddando,
13:52e tentando sair,
13:54e o animal subvergou.
13:58Ele enciclou pela canoa algumas vezes.
14:02Ele disse que isso era grande,
14:04um criador enorme.
14:06Ele disse que ele tinha um cabelo muito longo.
14:08Ele disse que o couro e a cabeça que eu vi.
14:10Ele não conseguiu ver o corpo,
14:12porque ele ainda estava embaixo da água.
14:14Mas, então, ele tinha uma cabeça,
14:16como um crocadil.
14:18Ele disse que ele era muito assim,
14:20ele disse que o color era muito
14:22como um lixo,
14:24um branco, um branco,
14:26um branco.
14:28Eu pensei sobre isso, e muitas vezes,
14:30a resposta é o certo.
14:32Se temos essa coloração,
14:34eu vi algumas crocs que são esse colorado.
14:36E também, se você já viu um croc
14:38de água, é realmente distúrbendo.
14:40Eles comeu bem direto,
14:42que eles estavam percebendo assim,
14:44um crocadil.
14:46Não, não, não,
14:48não.
14:50Ele disse que ele estava perdiando o crocadil.
14:52Ele disse que não, não, não.
14:54Não é possível que eu falasse os dois.
14:56Quando eu tenho a macheta e a crossbow,
14:58eu não posso ter medo de um crocadil.
15:00Mas o animal foi terrível.
15:02Describam Mokele Mbembe
15:04E não há como ele ficaria tão confusado.
15:08Ok, desculpe, cara, eu só preciso perguntar, mas obrigado.
15:11Eu não acredito que isso aconteceu apenas três meses atrás.
15:13Eu quero dizer, estamos no caminho da praia.
15:15Podemos ver um animal em torno a esta rima.
15:18Você acha que há alguma forma que você possa nos trazer para a área onde você viu Mokele e Mbembe?
15:21Sim.
15:22Great, obrigado.
15:24Obrigado.
15:29As nós chegamos em um cano tradicional, carvado de um solo triturão,
15:33eu estou consciente que, depois de uma jornada realmente épica,
15:36eu estou finalmente no meio de Mokele e Mbembe,
15:39suponho que ele existe.
15:42Você sabe, isso realmente me fez pensar que se algo nos derrotar,
15:44nós estamos em um lugar.
15:46Eu estou em um lugar.
15:47E como absolutamente terrível que isso seria.
15:50Eu seria petrificado.
15:50E quando ele estava lá, quando eu vi ele, ele trouxe as frutas.
16:13Oh, great.
16:14Ele disse que quando ele viu o animal, o tree estava fruindo.
16:17Então, isso é muito bom.
16:18Ele pode ter sido um lá, você sabe, eating isso.
16:20É uma potência alimentação para o animal.
16:22Eu gostaria de ver se eu posso encontrar algum traço de um animal
16:25e procurar um bom lugar para plantar a câmera trap.
16:30Along com a sua descrição física,
16:32é essa reputação para virar de água e comer frutas e árvores
16:36de altas de árvores que levam algumas pessoas a concluir
16:39que Mokele e Mbembe é, talvez, um sauropodos dinos.
16:43Ah, é realmente alto aqui.
16:48Tons de overgrowth.
16:49Eu não acho que isso é usado como um traço animal.
16:51Eu não estou vendo nenhum tipo de traço ou traços de árvores.
16:55Os sauropodos eram os maiores animais que nunca caminharam a terra.
16:59E eles eram vegetais,
17:00frequentando as árvores de árvores de árvores
17:03que seus negros e long negros gavem eles acesso a.
17:07Oh, legal.
17:08Eu acho que nós pensamos que isso é o que eles estavam tentando comer.
17:11Vamos ver se eu posso...
17:12Oh, estranho.
17:14Estou estranho de essa coisa.
17:19Não está realmente olhando como algo.
17:20Mas é bastante antigo.
17:23Algunos, como o Brachiosaurus,
17:25eram extremamente long,
17:27cerca de 25 metros,
17:28muito maior do que Mokele e Mbembe é que diziam ser.
17:31Mas os ossos foram encontrados aos sauropodos
17:33que eram apenas apenas 6 metros long.
17:36Alguns experts dizem que esses dinos europasaurus
17:38dwarfed rapidamente depois de ser isolado em uma isla.
17:43Então, pode Mokele e Mbembe
17:45ter evoluído em uma espécie de menor para lidar com um ambiente encolado?
17:50Essa foi uma das teorias
17:51sobre porquê as pygmas são tradicionais pequenos em stature.
17:56Então, esse câmera trap é um simples,
17:58mas fica em um tempo todo o tempo.
18:01Tem uma foto em menos de um segundo.
18:03Basicamente, meu olho é a toda a width do rio.
18:06I'm hoping anything that comes down this river
18:09we're going to catch on here.
18:13I stake out the entire area
18:15with a mixture of video and photo camera traps
18:17in the hope that I'll capture
18:19whatever it is the Baca call
18:21Mokele e Mbembe.
18:22A clear image of the beast
18:35would definitely silence the critics.
18:37So, could it be a dinosaur?
18:46Sauropod fossils have been found
18:47in the north of Cameroon,
18:49but it's widely accepted
18:51that all dinosaurs died out
18:52in the mass extinction 65 million years ago
18:55when a massive asteroid hit the earth.
18:58However, a recent find claims
19:03to date a series of fossils,
19:04including a sauropod,
19:06to nearly half a million years
19:08after the mass extinction.
19:10It's a long stretch to extrapolate this
19:12to dinosaurs living today.
19:15But could there be a distant descendant alive,
19:17much like the crocodile
19:18whose ancestors survived the mass extinction
19:21after sharing the world with the dinosaurs?
19:23In reality,
19:26this area is one of the last
19:29unexplored places on earth.
19:31And if there are large animals to be found
19:34that we don't know about yet,
19:36this is the place to be.
19:40Word's getting around
19:41that I'm interested in Mokele e Mbembe.
19:43As I'm my return to the village,
19:45a guy's waiting for me
19:46who claims to be an eyewitness.
19:48He actually saw the entire body.
19:50He saw the full animal
19:51because he said the water was very low.
19:53He said the animal was very large
19:58with a very long neck
19:59and a head like a crocodile.
20:01But when he saw it start to come out of the water,
20:03he turned and ran away.
20:04So could you tell me what the head looked like?
20:10So very long shaped
20:11with jaws kind of opening like that.
20:14Did it make any noises?
20:16Was there any kind of sound
20:17that the animal had, any call?
20:20It sounded a little bit like a crocodile.
20:23But this was very distinct.
20:31Wow.
20:32I have no idea
20:33any other animal that sounds like that.
20:36I'm beginning to feel like
20:37I'm being taken for a ride here.
20:38Maybe this guy's a little too savvy.
20:40And what he tells me next
20:43is even more out there.
20:48But my doubts are kept in check
20:49by his obvious belief
20:51in what he's telling me.
20:52I'm very sorry to hear that.
20:55That's terrible.
20:56So he said it was actually his grandfather
20:58who was killed by a mokele Mbembe.
21:00So this is something
21:01that's very, very close to home
21:03for this man.
21:04Was your grandfather a fisherman also?
21:10Grandfather was a pro fisherman.
21:11He was a very big fisherman.
21:15His father and his grandfather
21:16were coming back from fishing
21:17with a boat full of fish.
21:19They hit a bump.
21:23What they thought
21:23something in the water
21:24turned out to be a mokele Mbembe
21:26which came up
21:27and split the canoe in hand.
21:31He describes how the back
21:32of mokele Mbembe
21:33has these spines coming out of it
21:34that are kind of like spears.
21:39Those spines are what can break a canoe.
21:41So if it comes up under the boat
21:43it'll hit them with those spines
21:45and the canoe will just shatter.
21:50It's really interesting
21:51about the spines
21:51because when we first started
21:53hearing reports of sauropods
21:54and finding the bones
21:55the models that they would make of them
21:57had a smooth back.
21:58But now that we know more
21:59and we're finding more and more
22:00examples of these around the world
22:02we are finding ones
22:03with those kind of dermal spikes
22:04coming off from the head
22:06all the way down.
22:07So it's really interesting
22:07that mokele Mbembe
22:08has these same spines.
22:11It's a detail that makes his account
22:12potentially a lot more believable.
22:15My opinions on this eyewitness
22:16are changing rapidly
22:17just like the weather out here.
22:21As the rain lashes down
22:23it gives me a chance to reflect.
22:27As I'm thinking about the time
22:28that he saw mokele Mbembe
22:30I have to imagine
22:31he's wanted to see this animal
22:32his entire life.
22:33He's heard the stories about it
22:34this just mythical beast.
22:37He's heard the legends
22:38about how it killed his grandfather.
22:39He must be aching
22:40to see this thing for himself
22:42and to really see
22:43what took out
22:43a member of his family.
22:45Then you're out on the river
22:46really late at night
22:47you go to cast your net
22:48you see some kind of animal.
22:51I can't help but think
22:52maybe you see
22:53what you want to see.
22:58So far I've heard
22:59some incredible eyewitness accounts
23:01that match all the traditional
23:02descriptions of this creature.
23:05Yet on further questioning
23:07the sighting was never that clear
23:09or they ran away from it
23:10or it was dark.
23:12I mean
23:13it might be that something
23:14was here
23:15and now it's extinct
23:16but there's this ancestral memory
23:18that's been passed down
23:19from generation to generation
23:21and that's backed up
23:22by mysterious sightings
23:23which
23:24kind of keep the myth alive.
23:26I need some evidence
23:32that Michele Mbembe
23:33is more than just a memory
23:35that these guys
23:36know what they're talking about
23:37and unknown to me
23:39the men of the tribe
23:40are planning just that.
23:44And so the men of the Baca tribe
23:45have gathered together
23:46getting ready for a hunt today
23:47and
23:48we can hear all these cries
23:50and some kind of banging
23:51I wish I could get back there
23:52but I haven't been initiated
23:53so I'm not allowed in there.
23:55So I think maybe
23:56I struck a nerve yesterday
23:57when I sort of
23:58implied that
23:58they had mistaken
23:59Michele Mbembe
24:00for a crocodile.
24:01They really really know
24:02these forests
24:03and they want to prove to me
24:04that there's no way
24:05they can mistake the identity
24:06of Michele Mbembe
24:07for any other animal.
24:09Wow
24:09it just sounds fantastic.
24:11I feel like I should be
24:12really nervous
24:12but I'm just getting
24:13really pumped up
24:14and excited
24:14just listening to them.
24:15It sounds like
24:21they finished the preparations
24:22so now I'm going to
24:23go join the hunt.
24:32The Baca revere the forest
24:34and know their fortunes
24:35rely on luck
24:36goodwill
24:36and the blessings
24:37of the spirits.
24:43So the village shaman
24:45performs a ceremony
24:45for those about
24:46to enter the jungle.
24:53This is not something
24:55I'm prepared for.
24:56I thought I was just
24:57going to observe
24:58but I'm really honored
24:59to be included
25:00as a member
25:00of the hunting group.
25:06These men are continuing
25:07a tradition that's gone
25:08unbroken
25:09since the dawn of mankind.
25:15The final blessing
25:22and then we're off.
25:23As we trek
25:38into the jungle
25:38it's instantly apparent
25:40just how unsuited
25:41I am to this environment.
25:46It's really incredible
25:47to me how silently
25:48these guys can walk
25:49through the forest.
25:50I mean
25:50I'm tripping over things
25:51knocking into trees
25:53breaking down branches
25:54and when I stop
25:56for a minute
25:56I can't even hear them.
25:57Wow.
26:15That's incredible.
26:17It's like the
26:18freshest, sweetest water
26:19I've ever had in my life.
26:20They just spotted
26:35what looked like
26:36some kind of pig
26:37prints
26:37said it's come
26:39from that way
26:40come around here
26:41turned and gone down
26:42this way
26:43so we're going to
26:44try to track it.
26:50they just asked
26:56for quiet
26:57which means
26:58I should probably
26:58stop walking.
27:00I think they hear
27:01something up ahead.
27:13They're trying to
27:14mimic the call
27:15of an animal
27:16to get some
27:17to come out
27:18and then we'll be able
27:18to spear it up
27:19to me it sounds
27:21like a distress call
27:22like an animal
27:23that's hurt.
27:41There's some kind
27:42of animal coming
27:43and it's getting closer.
27:49As subsistence hunters
28:08the Baca
28:09regularly take
28:10small forest animals
28:11but they'll also
28:12kill gorillas
28:13and even elephants
28:14for food
28:14should the
28:15opportunity arise.
28:16what they've just told me
28:26is that we missed
28:27a big bush pig
28:28probably because
28:29we're making
28:29too much noise.
28:35We keep hunting
28:36for the rest of the day
28:37but without success.
28:41There are supposed
28:42to be animals
28:43as large as elephants
28:44out here
28:44but I haven't seen
28:45any in this dense forest.
28:50This was
28:50an incredibly cool
28:52thing to be able
28:52to experience.
28:54I mean I saw
28:54these guys in their element
28:55I got to see the forest
28:56through their eyes.
28:57They were pointing out
28:58what looked like
28:59marks in the mud
29:00to me
29:00but they're saying
29:01these are pig tracks
29:02we even found
29:02gorilla tracks.
29:04They were hearing
29:04monkey calls up
29:05in the trees.
29:06These guys
29:06are so at home
29:08in the forest
29:08in a way I could never be
29:09and they really
29:10know their animals.
29:12I mean I'm just
29:13thinking about
29:13Mokele Mbembe
29:14and it doesn't
29:15really seem like
29:16mistaken identity
29:17is something
29:18that they're going
29:18to be guilty of.
29:24And there's one
29:25particular story
29:26they tell me
29:26that really speaks
29:27to their hunting prowess.
29:29The baka really
29:33are incredible hunters
29:34and with a spear
29:35not much longer
29:36than this one
29:37they supposedly
29:38took out
29:39a Mokele Mbembe.
29:42The legend goes
29:43they killed
29:45Mokele Mbembe
29:46butchered it
29:47and brought the meat back.
29:50They said it was
29:51about as much
29:51as an elephant kill.
29:57They fed it
29:58to the villagers
29:58but everyone
30:00who ate died.
30:03Reptile meat
30:03often is infected
30:04by salmonella
30:05which is deadly
30:06or it will make you
30:07really really sick.
30:08This could give us
30:09some indication
30:10as to what
30:10Mokele Mbembe
30:11might be.
30:12If they had killed
30:13a large lizard
30:14you know
30:14a huge monitor
30:15and brought it back
30:17and people ate
30:17from it and died
30:18salmonella poisoning
30:20you know
30:21that could do it.
30:25When I get back
30:25to the village
30:26it seems like
30:27my efforts
30:27and interest
30:28in their way
30:28of life
30:29has earned
30:29their trust.
30:33That evening
30:33I'm honored
30:34to be invited
30:35into the chief's hut
30:36to meet his mother
30:36who's apparently
30:38also seen
30:39Mokele Mbembe.
30:41So she's just said
30:42that she was out
30:42on the river
30:43on a canoe
30:44and you could tell
30:44that Mokele Mbembe
30:45is in the area
30:46because the leaves
30:47on the trees
30:48had been eaten
30:48and that's what this animal
30:49is known for.
30:50And at the same time
30:55they looked off
30:56in the distance
30:56and saw the animal
30:57itself.
30:59Were you very frightened?
31:02She was terrified
31:03because she had heard
31:04the stories
31:05from her grandparents
31:05that Mokele Mbembe
31:07will snap a canoe
31:08in half
31:08and kill the people
31:09in it.
31:13I'm going to show you
31:14some pictures
31:15of some animals
31:16and see if you could
31:16tell me
31:17if you see one
31:19that you recognize.
31:23Despite how unfamiliar
31:24they are with my technology
31:26they catch on
31:27pretty fast.
31:28She said
31:46this is an animal
31:46that doesn't exist
31:47to us
31:47and this is a manatee
31:49so that makes sense
31:50they wouldn't have seen that.
31:51Yes, for the crocodile
31:57or the caiman
31:58yep, definitely.
32:04Elephant.
32:06Definitely an elephant.
32:16This one's definitely
32:17causing a stir.
32:21Very, very, very interesting.
32:27They're pointing
32:27to all the spines
32:28and pointing to the skin
32:30and saying
32:30the skin looks like
32:31Mokele Mbembe
32:32these spines
32:32look like Mokele Mbembe
32:34this is
32:34this is what they believe
32:36is a Mokele Mbembe.
32:41Encouraged by this
32:42positive ID
32:43I decide to head out
32:44with a thermal imaging
32:45camera that I've set
32:46to pick up the heat
32:47signature of anything
32:48warmer than the
32:49ambient temperature.
32:51Wow
32:52this thing is
32:54really incredible
32:55the way that it works
32:57well
32:57here
32:58actually
32:58let me show you
33:00you can see
33:01me right now
33:02you can see
33:02my face is probably
33:03you know
33:04a series of reds
33:05and whites
33:05and things like that
33:06but then my shirt
33:07is nice
33:08and a little bit cooler
33:09but
33:10if I just undo a button
33:11it shows up
33:13with a red patch
33:14man this thing is
33:16amazing
33:16this forest is so
33:17dense and so thick
33:18there's no way
33:19that I could see
33:20any animals in here
33:21at night
33:22without the help
33:23of technology like this
33:24I love it
33:25this thing is absolutely
33:36the coolest
33:37gadget I've ever used
33:39to track animals
33:40man
33:40oh you can just see
33:45everything
33:45it lights up
33:46the night
33:47oh my god
33:49wow there's
33:50chickens roosting up
33:52in the tree up here
33:53all that's glowing
33:55are their faces
33:56I head out with a few
34:04of the villagers
34:05as guides
34:05to see what I can
34:06find in the forest
34:07a lot of people
34:10spot Mokele Mbembe
34:11at night
34:12and uh
34:12actually maybe spot
34:14isn't the best word
34:15they hear him
34:16they talk about
34:17the call of
34:17Mokele Mbembe
34:18and I can just
34:19imagine hearing
34:20this massive sound
34:22mixed with the
34:22cacophony of noises
34:23just bombarding
34:25all of your senses
34:26right now
34:27whoa
34:46we're at the river
34:49oh
34:51you can see
34:53right down the river
34:54I can see the other
34:55bank so clearly
34:56but it's just
34:58perfectly calm
34:59there's nothing
35:00on the water
35:00there's no heat
35:01signatures on the
35:02other side
35:02I would love
35:05to just see
35:06some huge animal
35:07pop up out of
35:08the water
35:08right now
35:09there's a bat
35:16I got one
35:19so I just saw a bat
35:21something huge
35:30just crashed through
35:31and my heart's really
35:38beaten now
35:39that was close
35:40I just want to run
35:44down into there
35:45it's probably a bad
35:46idea
35:46it was really
35:55scary
35:56something just
35:59grunted
36:00like a very low
36:01rumble
36:02like
36:02oh
36:02oh
36:03it sounded
36:05very
36:05like
36:06very inhuman
36:08my thermal camera
36:15is picking up
36:15the signal
36:16from what must
36:16be a large animal
36:17way down there
36:19in the forest
36:19the guides are saying
36:36that they don't want
36:37to get any closer
36:38and they're telling
36:39me not to either
36:40but I can't get the
36:42thought out of my head
36:43that there could be
36:43something truly unique
36:45down there
36:45I may never get this
36:48opportunity again
36:49so despite their
36:53warning
36:53I move a little
36:54closer
36:55I think what we're
37:02looking at are
37:03gorillas moving
37:04through the forest
37:06that is unreal
37:08if it is gorillas
37:10I don't want to
37:10disturb them
37:11but I know I left
37:12a camera trap in the
37:13area so hopefully
37:15I'll have the evidence
37:16to find out if I was
37:17right
37:17that looks like it's
37:24been knocked around
37:25a little bit
37:26that's a good sign
37:26hopefully whatever did
37:28it set it off too
37:30I'm definitely getting
37:39pretty excited about this
37:40I'm kind of shaking
37:41a little bit
37:42and the ground
37:45lots of pictures of the
37:49ground
37:50looks like it's changed
37:52angles a little bit
37:53so something smacked it
37:54whoa
37:55that's an elephant
38:01you can really see the
38:04skin
38:05and see that an elephant
38:06is way close to it
38:08like must have just
38:08come right down this
38:09trail
38:10which is exactly
38:11why I put the camera
38:12here
38:13oh so cool
38:16whoa
38:18he's charging the camera
38:22it's right here
38:24I mean
38:25man
38:26oh
38:27wish I could see this
38:30myself
38:30but it's so good
38:31to get it on film
38:32the fact that there are
38:37elephants so close by
38:39I mean
38:39it's just so close
38:41to the camera
38:41so near the village
38:43that could explain
38:44some of the noises
38:44that they're hearing
38:45at night
38:45I mean
38:46they make these
38:46crazy weird noises
38:48and that can just
38:50be interpreted as
38:51anything
38:51I mean
38:52you just can't tell
38:53but I know
38:54that they're here now
38:55I have proof
38:56that there are
38:57elephants close by
38:58man
39:00I head out onto the river
39:03to collect my other
39:03traps
39:04to see if maybe
39:05I've been as lucky
39:06with them
39:06it's just markings
39:17in the sand
39:18there's a man
39:24in a very small
39:25bathing suit
39:26it's not
39:29but it's pretty good
39:31the heat must really
39:35be getting to me
39:35I'm practically delirious
39:37and I'm seeing
39:38michele umbembe
39:38everywhere
39:39strange shapes
39:41floating logs
39:42even just the way
39:44the water moves
39:45but it gets me
39:46thinking about
39:47some of the sightings
39:48of this long-necked
39:49large-bodied creature
39:50in the water
39:51it's the weirdest thing
39:53if you take
39:53take a close look
39:55at this picture
39:56and it's this great
39:57side view of an elephant
39:58you know really
39:59just the typical
40:00pose of them
40:01with the trunk
40:01up in the air
40:02like that
40:03I'm looking at it
40:04and thinking
40:04yeah these guys
40:05really know
40:06they're elephants
40:06but they know
40:07they're elephants
40:07in the forest
40:08this pose
40:09that I see
40:10the elephant in
40:10with the trunk
40:11up in the air
40:12that's what they do
40:13when they're crossing
40:13streams
40:14so if I take this
40:16I kind of cover it up
40:18and see just the part
40:20of the elephant
40:20that'd be sticking
40:21out of the water
40:21when they're crossing
40:22the absolute first thing
40:24that comes to mind
40:24is dinosaur
40:25forest elephants
40:29rarely exceed
40:30two and a half meters
40:31at the shoulder
40:32and most of the main
40:33rivers around here
40:34are well over
40:34four meters deep
40:35so an elephant's
40:37gonna have to swim
40:38to cross them
40:38I mean
40:42yeah
40:42these guys really
40:43know their animals
40:44yeah they know
40:45elephants
40:45they've seen them
40:46they've found the
40:47tracks
40:47they've hunted them
40:49but they know
40:49them in the forest
40:50seeing this in the
40:52water would be
40:52a completely different
40:53experience
40:53they wouldn't see
40:55it very often
40:55especially if you
40:57just see this at night
40:58I could definitely see
41:00where someone would
41:01come up with
41:01dinosaur
41:02it's time I take
41:09stock of where I am
41:10and my conclusions
41:11about this beast
41:12the thought that this
41:15could be a surviving
41:16dinosaur
41:17is really really
41:18really on the fringe
41:19I kind of
41:20don't really buy that
41:21myself
41:22but
41:23the reports do tell me
41:25that there could be
41:26this creature out there
41:27something that we're
41:28just not sure about
41:29whether it's
41:30a new species of
41:32elephant
41:32a new species of
41:33rhino
41:33some mutation
41:34of a hippo
41:35I think it's an
41:37arrogant way of
41:38thinking to say that
41:39we've discovered
41:39everything
41:40we found it all
41:41we know what's out
41:42there
41:42life changes
41:43all the time
41:44animals mutate
41:45to survive in
41:46hostile environments
41:48there's one last
41:58place I want to
41:59visit as I hear
41:59it's regularly
42:00filled with giant
42:01creatures from the
42:02forest
42:03I've just come out
42:21of this dense forest
42:23into this huge
42:24opening that's
42:25called a pie
42:26I can't move
42:30too fast
42:31the elephants
42:40are coming to this
42:41area because it's
42:42really rich in
42:42minerals and salts
42:44they dip the trunk
42:46way down
42:47into these
42:48pools and holes
42:50get the minerals
42:52out and ingest
42:54them
42:54it's one of the
42:56few spots where
42:57they can find this
42:58mineral rich soil
42:59in the jungles
43:00you look out on a
43:07scene like this
43:08just all of these
43:10massive animals
43:11it can't help but
43:13remind you of
43:13something out of the
43:14Jurassic
43:14it's just the way
43:17that they move
43:18that prehistoric
43:19sort of walk
43:20that they've got
43:21and seeing these
43:22huge tree trunk
43:24like legs
43:25just stamping
43:26into the ground
43:27and that noise
43:33god that sound
43:35you just
43:36can't get anything
43:38more ancient
43:39than that
43:40until scientists
43:44found clearings
43:45or byes
43:46like this
43:47little was known
43:48about the forest
43:48elephant
43:49something scared
43:55them
43:56I'm not sure
43:56but since 1990
43:59over 4,000
44:01individual elephants
44:02have visited
44:02this one by
44:04revealing a
44:05population far
44:06larger than
44:06anyone expected
44:07I can't say
44:11whether there is
44:11a sauropod
44:12like creature
44:13out here
44:13but what I can
44:15say
44:15is I'm in an
44:16area so remote
44:17that it was
44:18very very very
44:20difficult to
44:20access
44:21the fact that
44:23forests close by
44:24hit a population
44:25of over a
44:26hundred thousand
44:27gorillas
44:28and that elephants
44:30elephants
44:31the largest land
44:32animal on earth
44:33can take two steps
44:35into it
44:36and be gone
44:37that's just
44:38opening the door
44:39for the possibility
44:40that there's
44:40something out there
44:42that we don't
44:42know about
44:43that there's
44:47how you
44:48can't
44:49see
44:50how you
44:50can't
44:52see
44:53where you
44:54are
44:54up
44:57maybe
44:58or
44:58where you
45:00can't
45:00see
45:01or
45:02where you
45:04can't
45:05see
45:06there's
45:07a
45:07way
45:09that
45:09of
45:10the
45:10way
45:12that
45:12there's
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