The amazon river is home to a terrifying collection of man-Eating monsters,
And in the darkest corners lurks a dinosaur.
Legends tell of an evil spirit inhabiting an enormous fish.
Longer than a man, it is encased in thick scales,
And it crushes its prey with a tongue made of bone.
But with a body of pure muscle, its primary weapon is raw power.
I'm jeremy wade, biologist and extreme angler,
And i've encountered this creature once before.
Hey!
That time, i came out second best, but now i'm ready for the rematch.
Yes!
I've been coming to the amazon for 15 years, and a tale i've heard many times
Is that of a fisherman going missing.
Far from home, on a remote tributary of the amazon, something happens.
People tell of a creature leaping out of the water,
Knocking the fisherman from his canoe.
But with no eyewitnesses, the list of suspects is speculative at best.
Could there really be a monster in the amazon capable of doing this?
And if so, what kind of beast could it be?
Anaconda... Caiman... Piranha are all convicted killers.
But in my travels around the world... Ugh! Ugh!
I've caught some supersized freshwater fish
That are more than capable of doing the job.
Is there one more river monster to add to the list of the amazon's usual suspects...
A creature that has somehow slipped through the net?
The story of a canoe found floating, nobody in it, fisherman disappeared...
The automatic assumption from everybody was that it was a caiman or an anaconda.
Those are the obvious candidates.
But i've been doing a bit of thinking,
And i think another animal might have been involved.
And what i think it might have been... Is one of these.
Now, i mean, this is a real armor coat, this,
And it looks as if it's a snake or some other reptile.
But, believe it or not, this is actually a fish, and this is a big fish.
This is the skin of an arapaima fish.
And if its scales make you think of a dinosaur,
That's because the arapaima is indeed a dinosaur of sorts.
It has swum in these waters virtually unchanged since the cretaceous period.
That is just a single scale from this animal.
I mean, you know, that is pretty impressive, but they go a lot bigger than that,
And the reason i know that is... That.
Now, whatever that came off, that would have been a serious river monster.
Arapaima have been caught measuring up to 10 foot long,
Making them the largest freshwater fish in the world's largest river.
But in recent years, they have been relentlessly overfished,
And today they are so rare, it is forbidden to catch them in most areas.
However, they are potentially found
Throughout the countless thousand miles of river that make up the amazon basin...
And i believe arapaima may be responsible for killing some of those missing people.
My mission is to investigate this theory and see if i can track down and even catch
One of these potential killers.
I've begun my quest in manaus, the wild west frontier town
At the heart of the brazilian amazon.
I need to know what i'm dealing with,
And for that, i'm going to visit some captive arapaima, and i know just the place.
Normally, in the amazon, seeing arapaima live and close up
Is pretty well impossible, there's just so much water. It's pretty murky.
Here's this place.
It's a bar in the middle of manaus, and this could be just the perfect place
To check them out.
Absolutely amazing opportunity to get eyeball-To-Eyeball with these things.
It really is prehistoric-Looking, like stone or metal or something
In a real armor plating.
And the other thing that's very striking about this fish...
They are very elongated. They're quite cylindrical.
That is just perfect design for an ambush predator...
You know, speed over a short distance.
Arapaima are naturally predatory, engulfing any fish that fit into that bony mouth,
Including piranha.
They will even consume birds and other animals,
Sucking them down from the water's surface.
And then they've got this very gruesome technique
For actually finishing their prey off.
They have a tongue with a piece of bone inside it,
And they actually use that bony tongue
To crush the small fish against the roof of the mouth.
So it's not a very pleasant way to go, i'd imagine.
These are pretty big fish.
You know, that mouth isn't big enough to swallow a person,
So any stories like that, you've really got to discount.
But it could still actually kill you.
That is a very solid lump of bone with an enormous mass of muscle behind it.
I've actually been on the receiving end of one of these things.
It hit me in the chest, and, no exaggeration,
I could still feel that a month and a half later.
It just bruised me so deeply.
It was seven years ago, and i was helping a friend of mine, a research scientist,
With his captive-Breeding program for arapaima.
His long-Term goal is to take the pressure off the wild population,
And he needed to capture his fish to pair them up with likely mates.
We caught several fish already, and weighed and measured them without problem
When i let my guard down.
While drawing in a net with an arapaima trapped inside,
This hard-Nosed giant turned from fish into missile.
From nowhere, i had 100 pounds of solid bone smash into me.
Weeks later, a doctor described my injury as similar to the impact
Of striking the steering column during a car crash.
I'm not saying this is some malignant creature
That will deliberately hunt and eat you.
It doesn't have the mouth for it.
But corner one of these beasts, and it will launch a preemptive strike.
It is this event that makes me believe the arapaima may be the killer in question.
If these fishermen were hunting arapaima or accidentally caught one in a net,
This animal will violently defend itself.
Just one thrash connecting with the head
Is all it would take to knock you unconscious, leaving you at the mercy
Of the amazon's scavenging river monsters.
If i'm going to investigate this theory, i need to demonstrate
That my experience wasn't a freak occurrence
And arapaima do have the power, the ability,
And even the intent to take a fisherman out.
But more importantly, i need to prove that despite overfishing,
There are still arapaima out there large enough to do the damage.
And the best way i can do that is by catching a giant arapaima.
But as i set off on my mission, leaving the port of manaus,
My boat captain tells me that if i'm interested in arapaima,
Then i should definitely visit one of these floating houses.
Salted arapaima used to be a meal enjoyed across the amazon.
But since a ban on commercial fishing,
A few enterprising riverinos, or river people,
Have started to farm them in pens like this
To satisfy the demand for arapaima meat.
I've heard these arapaima in this enclosure here do something quite spectacular.
I've arrived just as they're preparing to fish one out for their own cooking pot.
Jeremy, jeremy.
Alegria. Alegria, eh?
Alegria.
Senhor alegria, which means "happiness,"
Is about to try and get an arapaima out of here.
There's a few in here.
And he says it's not an easy job.
It can be a wee bit interesting.
I'm going to ask him if maybe i can help.
There are 30 fish in here, and he says they're just jumping everywhere,
And, you know, you're just having to duck.
You risk getting hit by the head.
And this is about the size of a boxing ring.
You know, it's like having 30 people coming at you and just having to avoid them.
Right, i'm gonna have to just prepare myself a little bit.
Suddenly, all my old fears from my painful encounter are back.
But if i'm going to catch an arapaima capable of killing a man,
Then i need to face up to my fear.
And if that means getting back into the water with one of these beasts,
Then that's what i'm going to have to do.
Having previously had a crippling personal encounter,
I'm on a mission to see if i can add the arapaima fish
To the list of amazon river monsters with lethal potential.
And to do that, i need to catch one of these giants.
But before i tackle one in the wild, i need to lay the ghost
Of that earlier encounter to rest... Oh, i just trod on a fish!
So i'm helping these guys net a captive arapaima.
Ah, this is t-T-T-T-The... This is a bit like a boxing ring.
It's about the same size.
There's 35 fish in here nearly as big as i am.
It's a simple matter of netting one, but this is exactly what i was doing
When i took the full force of an arapaima headbutt to the chest.
And i have been warned that these fish are particularly violent when cornered.
I'm walking forward, which means all the vulnerable bits of me body...
You know, a boxer would be covering them up.
Okay, that's going well.
They're gonna start jumping any minute, he's saying.
Any minute, they're gonna start jumping.
Okay, we didn't get one.
Gonna have to go through the whole thing again.
Knowing what's coming makes the second attempt even more daunting.
I'm afraid. "jeremy is afraid," he's saying.
I think that is fairly clear to see.
He's saying they might be a bit tired this time, so they might... Oh!
There's no doubt that when cornered or trapped by nets,
The arapaima becomes a formidable force of nature.
With the help of these arapaima farmers, i'm finally holding
One of these incredible fish in my arms.
Look at that fin.
Aah!
Hey!
My fear has been replaced with a new respect.
We're gonna lift it up.
Maybe i'm now ready to face an arapaima on my own.
Now we're gonna let the head go.
Gonna let the head go.
This is the... Ooh!
They wanted one to eat. That one was too big.
They want to get a smaller one.
I think i'm just going to leave them to it.
Okay.
Never, ever seen anything like that before...
All those fish absolutely clean out of the water.
You know, i think that just has to be,
You know, the evidence that i was looking for.
Just imagine the damage a fish could do that had the same solid-Bone head
But was more than twice the weight.
But senhor alegria also insists that they sneak through holes in the nets,
Displaying a curiously unfishlike cunning.
Combine that with their sheer muscular power,
And you can easily see how dangerous the arapaima becomes when cornered.
Now i know what i'm dealing with.
But to catch one, it's gonna be a couple of days by boat to one of the few places
Where arapaima fishing is still allowed.
After a day's traveling, we stop at a riverside town to spend the night.
I'm not suggesting that the arapaima is responsible
For all disappearances on the amazon.
This river has a full complement of killers, as i'm powerfully reminded
When asking around for any fishermen's tales.
This man lost his wife to a horrifying attack
By the south american cousin of the alligator... The caiman.
Just yards away, his poor daughter could only helplessly look on.
This gentleman's wife went fishing.
On her way back, the boat actually sort of went over the top of a caiman.
Aah!
Mae! Mae!
Mae!
It hit the canoe, tipped her into the water, and then basically grabbed her.
Mae!
The caiman had actually drawn away a little distance
Because of the commotion and the shouting,
And then her daughter was able to go around the other side and pull her to land,
But they just took so long to get help
That despite rescuing her mother from the caiman, you know,
She died of her wounds later on.
It's one thing to hear secondhand stories about...
People being taken by animals in the water...
You know, all very dramatic fishermen's tales.
But to actually hear from somebody
Who actually saw their mother, you know, taken in front of them
Just really brings home just what a... Potentially dangerous place this is,
Particularly if you're a fisherman.
Something i've got to remember is that it's not just dangerous fish
That you've got in the water, but there's a whole array
Of other nasty, dangerous creatures down there.
My mission is to prove whether the arapaima deserves a place
Alongside the amazon's undisputed freshwater killers.
And as i go deeper into the heart of the amazon in search of this fish,
I encounter the other creatures that come
With this increasingly dangerous territory.
Between 1918 and 1924, the average annual catch of arapaima was "c," 7,000 tons...
The weight of 20 jumbo jets.
This led to the commercial extinction of the arapaima in the wild.
Fishermen that hunt the arapaima fish,
Here in the amazon, regularly expose themselves to river monsters that have no need
To prove their deadly nature.
I've heard a tale of a killer caiman in these waters,
So i head out after dark to see if i can find it,
But it seems like i'm the one being watched.
There are eyes following my every move.
I'm out at night hunting caiman.
There's one in these waters, apparently, that is absolutely man-Eating size.
They say it's close to 20 foot.
Caimans' eyes reflect my flashlight, making them easy to spot.
Oh, there's one, there's one, there's one, there's one, there's one!
Seeing how many caiman there are in these waters makes me realize that it is
As much the company the arapaima keep that makes them such risky prey to hunt.
Their fearsome defenses allow them to survive in these predatory waters.
But also, as the arapaima becomes rarer and rarer, it is pushed deeper
Into the literally uncharted reaches of the amazon.
This is where the deadly forces of nature lurk, civilization is left behind,
And all medical assistance is, well, beyond reach.
But if i'm to catch a giant arapaima and lay my own demons to rest,
Then i'm going to have to face these other monsters, as well,
As i enter the dark heart of the amazon.
Being such a rare animal nowadays, limited and sustainable fishing
Is allowed in just a few locations, and this is where i'm headed.
I'm as far off the beaten track as possible, in search of those last places
Which still provide sanctuary to monsters.
Basically, there's no way we could get up here using the motor.
Too many branches and rocks in the water.
So we're having to manhandle the boat up this... This very narrow creek.
We've entered a pristine, magical world,
Home to many mysterious jungle creatures...
And maybe... Maybe... The large arapaima i'm after.
Agh!
Goodness me, that is a fish and a half!
Look at that!
This is a beautiful caparari.
Oop.
Right. I'm actually very pleased to have this fish.
It's not the arapaima i was after, but, you know, this is just,
To my mind, such a lovely-Looking fish.
I mean, the patterning on that is just wonderful.
This bizarre catfish is a strange monster of the deep,
But it seems that the arapaima is an elusive giant that won't be caught easily.
With the weather turning, it's time to rethink my options.
Maybe i need to find someone who can advise me where exactly it's best to fish.
As i race ahead of the storm, deeper into the jungle,
I'm reminded of the legend that tells how this monster fish came into being.
Pirarucu was the son of an indian chief, known to be cruel and arrogant.
He was disrespectful of the gods, so the highest god, tupa, decided to punish him.
He ordered storms to attack pirarucu on a fishing trip,
But pirarucu laughed them off.
So tupa struck him down with lightning... Dragged him to the bottom of the river,
And transformed him into a giant fish... The arapaima, or fire fish,
Although, to this day, brazilians still call it pirarucu.
In the west, we have lost much of our old reverence for the natural world,
But there are still remote tribal people
For whom reality and myth are almost interchangeable.
The tribes of this region have a deep connection to the arapaima
And are still allowed to hunt it for food.
So if i'm going to track one down and learn from the ancient ways,
I'm told there are no better teachers than the munduruku people.
I'm on a mission to catch the giant arapaima, or fire fish...
A fish that i believe should be on the list of river monsters
That cause human fatalities here in the amazon.
From experience both past and present,
I know just how powerful this creature is when cornered.
To prove that there are still arapaima out there
That are big enough to inflict a deadly blow, all i have to do is catch one.
Getting to grips with arapaima in captivity is one thing,
But getting close to them in the wild is another thing entirely,
Particularly now they are so endangered.
But there are some people further up this amazon backwater
Who do have a very ancient relationship with the arapaima,
And i'm hoping that when i get there, i'm going to find out an awful lot more.
I've now been traveling for several days.
It feels like i'm light-Years from civilization
When i finally track down the munduruku people.
Bom dia.
Although often dressed in western clothes these days,
The mundurukus still retain their connection to wildlife
And to the myths and legends of old.
It looks like i could be here at the right time.
A good time is right now when the water's down
And the fish are actually concentrated.
Aha-Ha.
But lunch is on the go.
And this far from civilization, the creatures of the forest, like this tarantula,
Are an everyday part of life.
That is a monster.
That is an absolute monster.
I hook up with manoel, one of the village's top fishermen.
He's gonna take me out to see if we can spot some wild arapaima.
I want to learn all i can about the behavior
And natural haunts of this river monster
If i'm going to give myself the best chance of catching a good-Sized arapaima.
What manoel has just told me is that to fish for arapaima,
The one thing that you really need is patience,
And i'm really, really getting a sense of that,
Just drifting slowly, slowly, watching for that one sign
Of the fish coming up to the surface.
Arapaima are air-Breathers... An adaptation that allows them
To live in the oxygen-Depleted lakes that form in the amazon's dry season.
But it is also a vital clue for fishermen.
Every time they break the surface, they give away their presence.
And when they're actually not afraid or at all spooked,
You know, that could be actually quite a gentle ripple for such a big fish.
It's a small sign, but it gives away their location.
The only problem is that it can be 20 minutes or more between breaths,
So predicting where they're going to come up next is not easy.
So, there you are all day under the hot sun, after this huge fish.
But, you know, not only is that down there, there's all these other
Different river monsters in the water.
I'm often in large, metal-Hulled fishing boats,
So coming down to water level in these tiny canoes
Makes you feel very exposed and vulnerable.
I'm beginning to appreciate that how you see the natural world
Entirely depends on your perspective.
We've been paddling around here for a fair old while, and he's actually seen,
Pointed out a couple of fish surfacing.
But to be honest, i actually couldn't see anything at all.
I think i've got quite a way to go until i properly get my eye in.
As we head back to the village,
My guide tells me about one river monster in particular that they fear.
It's called the cobra-Grande... The big snake.
I've heard of this monster before,
And i thought it was a mythical, oversized anaconda.
But i am told that several people here have actually seen it
And that a nearby village had to totally relocate
Because they were so terrified of the big snake.
Manoel here has actually seen a cobra-Grande, and it was actually on land,
So i'm very keen to get the details of this.
This sounds to be more than just a big anaconda.
This was a huge animal... Immense size, great big head.
And this thing was black, red, and yellow, and it was missing its tail, apparently,
Which is an odd detail.
But he obviously had a very good look at it.
The snake was just lying there, looking out over the water,
These eyes like searchlights, and apparently its head just covered in bees...
Just black with bees, but, you know, the animal just not bothered at all.
Sounds farfetched, but he actually saw this huge animal,
Just down the bank from here.
He tells me that a few other people in the village
Saw the cobra-Grande very recently.
This is an opportunity not to be missed.
I decide to put my arapaima hunt on hold
To see if one of the amazon's most unbelievable myths is, in fact, reality.
I've come to meet the munduruku people to try and catch the amazon's biggest fish.
But as i've become immersed in their world and myths,
I've decided to put my arapaima hunt on hold, to follow up a lead
That might reveal another vast river monster... The cobra-Grande, or big snake.
I'm on my way up a narrow, winding creek in the middle of flooded forest,
Except at the moment, the water is very, very low.
And i'm on my way to see the hole where a cobra-Grande is supposed to live.
This is the giant snake which, you know,
I thought was just purely a creature of myth.
But they said, "no, no, we are taking you to a place"
Where people say there is one actually there now."
I was initially skeptical, but their insistence is infectious.
If anywhere is going to be the home of a cobra-Grande,
This place certainly does have that kind of feel to it.
We're here.
With the amazon basin covering some 2.7 million square miles,
There are, without any doubt, new species waiting to be discovered,
And who knows how big some of these animals might be?
They said that this line here is a track.
If this actually is the track of a snake, it is a big, heavy animal.
You know, this is a seriously large track
That it's actually made in the ground here.
Anacondas can reach around 30 feet.
If that isn't a big snake, i don't know what is.
But the locals say cobra-Grande is far bigger than an anaconda.
Yes?
That does actually look like the home of something.
Judging by the size of the holes there,
You know, it could have been something pretty large.
So, here we've got a bit of shed snakeskin.
Let's just pick a bit up.
And you can actually see the individual scales.
At some point, quite a large snake lay here and shed its skin.
Even though it sounds quite ugly, they're somewhat frustrated
That it doesn't seem to be here today, although there are very, very definite signs
That something large is around these parts.
If i'm to fish for a giant arapaima, then i will be entering the home of monsters.
Maybe i won't meet the cobra-Grande on this trip,
But i'm finally grasping how myth and reality are intertwined for these people.
I'm sure i could spend a lifetime learning more and more about the arapaima
And the creatures that share its mysterious world,
But it's now time to put all i have gathered into practice.
This is actually a place where the tribespeople around here
Used to come before a big battle to focus the mind,
Prepare themselves mentally beforehand.
And, um... I guess, as i'm likely to need all the help that i can get,
You know, it's not a bad idea for me to just spend a few minutes here, as well.
I know that if i'm going to be successful, i need to understand and respect
A fish that, for the local tribes, is the incarnation of a warrior.
Mentally and physically prepared, it's game on.
It's just me, my guide johnny, and out there somewhere, a very big fish.
I'm putting into practice the things i've learnt,
Not just from the fish in captivity
But also the whole business about locating the fish, spotting them, patience,
You know, gradually working close
So that you're in a position of getting one on the line.
With the water so low in this lake, oxygen levels are depleted.
The arapaima's air-Breathing physiology is both its strength and its weakness.
It came into existence millions of years before there were hunters like me around
Scanning the water's surface for that telltale clue.
I'm told there is another small lake in the forest,
Where modern line fishing is allowed for arapaima,
As long as it's catch and release.
We can't take the canoe there, but we can go on foot.
And the fact that it's tucked away a little bit,
You know, maybe there's gonna be something that i can get a bait out over there.
Yes! Yes, yes, yes!
That's a fish.
I've heard tales of various amazon monsters on this journey,
Some legendary, some real, and all dangerous.
But there's one creature that, despite overfishing,
I'd love to prove really grows to mythic proportions.
It's the arapaima... A fish capable of knocking a man from his canoe
And leaving him for dead.
But the only way i know how to prove these monsters are still out there
Is to catch one, and i've heard of a lake that might be just the place to do that.
This lake looks really nice, actually.
It's very quiet.
Lots of snags, which could be interesting.
I'm actually using... A thing called a circle hook.
Now, that looks like it's just not gonna hook anything at all.
The point just coming in here... That's just not gonna hook on anything.
But, in fact, if that's the fish's mouth... What happens is it just comes...
And turns... And there it is... Right in the corner of the mouth.
Oh!
There we go. That was one.
I just saw this red tail come up.
Fraction of a second, but i recognize it now.
That was an arapaima.
And what i've got to do is try and quietly get into position
So i can actually put a bait near that fish.
One thing that i learned from the tribespeople, which is actually quite hard to do,
But i've just got to be patient.
Yes! Yes, yes, yes!
Ah, yeah!
That's a fish. That's a good fish.
Oh, he's up.
I can see the fish.
As the battle with this arapaima approaches the half-Hour mark,
I'm reminded that the rebellious, proud spirit that inhabits this fish
Even refused to surrender to the gods.
Right. It's got to be out.
There we go.
Oh, look at that. It came out so easily.
Okay. We're ready.
There it is.
Look at that for a fish.
Look at that massive female arapaima... About 150 pounds.
I finally have the proof in my arms that huge arapaima are still out here.
This is a true dinosaur of the deep.
I need this fish to regain its strength after our battle before i release it.
If i put it straight back, it might not have the energy
To swim to the surface to take a breath.
And being an air-Breather, it would drown.
Just the head a little bit under the water...
And pointing up towards the bank so that if it does thrash,
There's only one way it can go, in theory, which is not back into the water,
Although they can just double 'round 180 degrees.
Even at the end of a long fight, i can still feel the strength of this fish.
So i can absolutely imagine this thing being able to... Oh, there we go.
That's good, that's good, that's good.
Bom.
That was the fish just having a breath, which is excellent.
It means the fish is not too tired out.
But, i mean, mainly, this fish is just a bony head
With a big cylinder of muscle behind it.
If this fish wasn't tired out, i don't think i'd be able to hold it.
That's good.
No, it's gone.
We were just wondering if it had enough strength to go,
And no doubt about it... I just couldn't hold it.
And in fact, at the end of an epic battle on the line
But also an epic quest trying to find one of these things...
But, you know, finally feeling the strength of it, absolutely, i'm in no doubt now
That if you were in a small fishing canoe and that thing hit you underneath,
It would easily upend the canoe.
And then, if you were in the water afterwards
And you got on the wrong side of that head,
My goodness, that would absolutely take you out.
Mythic and real beasts swirl around one another here in the amazon.
When people go missing, there is usually talk of giant snakes...
And man-Eating caiman.
I set out to show that the arapaima is an underestimated fish,
Capable of extraordinary feats of strength.
If cornered, trapped, or netted, it becomes a formidable opponent...
An airborne missile.
I knew i had to overcome my fear to prove my case.
I went back into the water
And caught an ancient survivor that is part fish, part legend,
And entirely worthy of a deadly reputation.
Now, this is a real river monster.