River Monsters (2009–2017): Season 1, Episode 7 - Freshwater Shark - full transcript
Jeremy wants to know what a shark is doing up river miles form the ocean, why it's munching on people and most important, did it bring some friends and relatives he can catch.
No fish inspires the
same terror as the shark.
You're in the monster's
mouth getting thrown around.
Somebody's like a
rag doll in its mouth
getting thrown all over.
We've got sharks in
Australia that hit hard.
They don't leave anything.
But at least these killers
are confined to the oceans.
Or are they?
It seems one species of
shark has been trespassing
from salt water into my
territory... freshwater...
Operating where people
thought no danger existed.
Alan!
As an angler and biologist,
my aim is to work out
how this is possible
and just how far inland
these sharks will bring
their reign of terror.
My mission is to find out
whether it's safe to
get back in the water,
even if you're
miles from the sea.
I'm a specialist in hunting
down giant freshwater animals.
Using a combination of logic,
local intelligence,
and intuition,
I've faced shoals of
piranha in South America
and man-eating catfish in Asia.
Sharks, though, are a
different target altogether.
These creatures are
the stuff of legend.
"Jaws," the iconic '70s story,
describes ferocious man-eaters
with a taste for human flesh.
But the report of a shark
operating in an inland lake
is truly terrifying.
To investigate, I'm
heading to Australia.
Midsummer on a brackish lake.
The temperature...
Over 80 degrees.
A 23-year-old postdoctorate
student, Beau Martin,
and his friend David
are planning a cooling
swim in Miami Lake.
I'm gonna flog you. I'm
gonna absolutely slay you.
Put some money where it is.
- 50 bucks?
- 50 bucks. Give me this.
Yeah, you need it.
You need that
for the race, yeah.
Going down. Gonna beat you.
Whoa.
Hey... keys, keys. Need keys.
Let's go.
Shirts off... less drag.
We're going. We're going.
They begin a swimming race
across the 500-yard-wide lake.
Dave takes the lead...
and reaches the
safety of the shore.
Beau, however, is
still out on the lake.
In trying to catch up, he
strays into deeper water.
In an instant, he disappears.
Dave returns to the water,
but there is no
sign of his friend.
Beau's sudden disappearance
had all the hallmarks
of a shark attack.
But few could imagine this
apparently safe backwater
to be a hunting
ground for sharks.
Even here, where there
are the deadliest snakes,
massive crocs, the
most poisonous spiders,
this incident rang alarm bells.
We just don't expect to
be attacked by a shark
on an inland lake...
in an urbanized area
like the Gold Coast.
In Australia, there are
three species of shark
commonly responsible
for attacks on people.
Australians know Vic
Hislop as the Shark Man.
Like Quint from "Jaws,"
Hislop has fought a series
of battles with sharks...
including this 2
1/2-ton great white.
We've got sharks in
Australia that hit and hit hard.
They don't leave anything.
They're so good at what they do,
they pull somebody under,
you don't see any more.
Someone's got to be
looking at that exact spot
to see it happen.
The great white is a
notorious man-eater,
but some experts
think the bull shark
is a far more deadly
threat altogether.
It's a very robust animal,
very rough and tough.
Because of the
structure of its teeth,
it can't just bite through
a big chunk of meat.
It has to bite and
start shaking like crazy.
And, of course, somebody's
like a rag doll in its mouth,
getting thrown all over.
And that immediately
also instigates
all sorts of fear reactions.
You're in the monster's
mouth getting thrown around.
Stocky in shape,
savage in character,
the bull shark is built
like a street fighter,
with a level of
raging aggression
that gives it its name.
Pound for pound, it's top
of the league of man-eaters.
Statistically, a
bull shark's attack
is more likely to result in
death than a great white's.
And the authorities
believe that it's a bull shark
that killed Beau Martin
in this canal system.
This complex of waterways
was built during the '70s and '80s
and is bigger
than Venice, Italy...
160 miles of canals
and over 30 lakes.
This is an area with just
thousands of apartments,
houses right down
on the waterfront.
And most of the people
here just think of these canals
as a perfectly
safe place to swim.
What puzzles me
is how any shark could
have made its way here,
so far from where
we expect to find it...
The open ocean.
To work that out, I'm heading
60 miles south to the coast.
There were 15 shark
attacks in Australia in 2008.
But there's one, well
reported in the press,
that is central to
my investigation.
16-year-old Brock Curtis-Mathew
is setting off with his
friend Peter Edmonds
for some early-morning
bodyboarding.
We got there maybe
quarter to 8:00, 8:00-ish.
They've chosen a location
next to the mouth of
the Richmond River.
This is a popular surfing spot,
often used by
these close friends.
But this morning, after
several days of heavy rain,
they have the
beach to themselves.
We were maybe halfway to where
we were gonna go in the water.
I turned around
and came back in.
And he kept going.
While Brock covers
their possessions
in case of more
rain, Peter heads out.
He's around 35 yards
from the surf line.
But as Brock goes
to rejoin his friend,
he glimpses a dark shape.
I saw this big, round,
weird circle thing.
What Brock had seen was a shark.
He has no idea it is
attacking his friend.
All he can see from 25
yards away is some splashing.
I was just thinking,
"Oh, what's he doing?
Something's not right."
Brock approaches
as quickly as he can.
When I got, like, really
close, I couldn't see any blood.
And then, once I grabbed
him and stuff, I noticed his leg.
Risking his own life,
Brock carries his
now-unconscious friend
towards shore.
He had taken a
first-aid course at school.
There was a slight pulse
when I first checked it,
like a beat...
beat...
beat.
Come on, Pete!
In a state of shock, he
calls the emergency services.
- Emergency service.
- He's gonna die.
I just said, "Can you
come down here quickly?
My friend's been
attacked by a shark."
From the shape and the size
of the wound to Peter's thigh...
the attacker appears
to be a bull shark...
some 9 feet long.
At first sight,
this would seem to carry
all the brutal hallmarks
of a classic shark
attack on the coast.
But is there anything more
that could be learned
from what happened?
After the attack,
lifeguard Stephen Leahy
was one of the
first on the scene.
It was obvious that it was
high-impact, hard-hitting,
and there was just a
large amount of flesh
removed from his upper thigh.
Leahy has worked to
save lives on these beaches
for over 15 years.
But in this case, tragically,
Peter had lost too much blood.
There was just
absolutely nothing
that we were going to do
that would save this boy's life.
Dr. Vic Peddemors
is the first person
medical teams turn to
when they believe
there's been a shark attack.
It's estimated that a
shark bite applies a force
of over 4 tons per square inch.
The most important
thing for a shark
is to get that lower jaw in
because those are
the hooking teeth.
That sort of latches in.
So once it's got
its lower jaw in,
the upper jaw can clamp down.
If that lower jaw
has got in properly,
it only needs one bite,
and it'll take the
muscle straight off.
Because of the
site of this incident,
the lifeguard already had
this attacker's identity in mind.
Knowing that the attack's
happened just here,
we always had, in
the back of our mind,
that this was going to
be a bull-shark incident.
It's likely that the shark
had confused Peter
for its common
prey... A large fish,
perhaps even another shark.
Nothing can ever
compensate a family and friends
for such a cruel loss.
But if there is
anything to be salvaged
from this terrible episode,
it might be in identifying
the warning signals
that accompany
a bull-shark attack.
Bull sharks have been observed
congregating around river
mouths after heavy rain,
attracted by the
supply of freshwater fish
being washed out to sea.
We know that bull sharks
will always hang around
the river mouth after
periods of heavy rain
and when there are
lots of fish around.
The beach where
the attack occurred
is only 60 meters away
from the entrance
of that river mouth.
The bull shark that
killed Peter Edmonds
had been attracted
to this shoreline
because of its
proximity to freshwater.
We're well and truly aware
that there's just so much
for the bull shark to live on
in our freshwater systems.
And that's part of the
uniqueness of the bull shark...
It can easily cope in salt
water and in our oceans,
but it's just as comfortable
in our river systems.
Perhaps this knowledge might
prevent others being caught,
like Peter, in the wrong
place at the wrong time.
As a biologist, I want
to better understand
the physiology and
particular affinity
bull sharks have for freshwater.
I need to catch one.
I must have fished literally
thousands of destinations
all over the world.
But this time, I think
I'm out of my depth.
I've never tried to
catch any kind of shark,
let alone a bull shark.
100 miles north of
where Peter was killed,
in sight of land,
I join a fishing charter
boat out after sharks.
With four rods set, I know
I'm in with a good chance.
Oh, yeah. Right. There we go.
There we go.
That is a bull shark.
Hammered quite big mullets...
Couple-of-pound mullets...
And just took off.
I think we're ready to bring
it in the back of the boat.
Okay.
This one's none
too happy to see me.
But after the hook's out, he
becomes easier to handle.
It's 4 1/2 feet long,
around 1/3 of the
length they can reach.
Boat's rolling around a
little bit at the moment,
side on to the tide
and rolling a little bit.
So with something like
this, mouthful of teeth,
got to be a wee bit careful.
The teeth are partially
obscured by thick gums.
But the tips are as
sharp as scalpels.
That's good to actually see
one of these animals close up.
Get my hands on one.
That's what I wanted.
But what sets this
species of shark apart
is its extraordinary ability
to operate in both
salty and freshwater.
The bull shark is the
only species of shark
that can do this.
Some scientists speculate
that the bull shark is
capitalizing on this adaptation
to dominate new
feeding grounds inland.
The bull shark is unique
because it's actually much
more capable than other sharks
in regulating the amount
of salts and urea
in its body tissues.
Bull sharks constantly test
the salt content of the water
with tiny sensors
mounted all over the body...
similar to the way
we use our taste buds.
Then, a special
organ, the rectal gland,
acts like an on/off valve,
releasing or retaining
salt as required.
It's really incredible how
capable they are at doing that.
But it's obviously,
energetically, very costly.
And that's why we tend
to find the bigger animals
capable of changing
very quickly,
whereas the smaller animals
tend to stay within a relatively
narrow band of salinity.
This amazing adaptation
gives the bull shark
a deadly access-all-areas
freedom to roam,
bringing its violence
to our once-peaceful
inland waters...
a predator that can operate
in rivers and adjoining
lakes all around the world,
responsible for fatal attacks
from Australia to South Africa,
from Florida to New Jersey.
Here, in 1916, four
people were killed
and one was severely mutilated
in a 10-day spree of attacks.
This provided the inspiration
for the most famous
shark story of all, "Jaws."
But what is so terrifying
is that two of these deaths
occurred 15 miles up an estuary,
at Matawan Creek...
in a place that everyone
thought was safe.
Man-eaters are supposed to
be found in untamed places.
But this unstoppable predator
seems to be
bringing its savagery
into the very heart
of our civilized world.
Aah!
I'm hunting down the
creature responsible
for the brutal attack
on Beau Martin.
And that sends a
shiver down my spine.
Bull sharks seem to be
heading in from the ocean
towards where people are
most likely to swim and play
in the belief that
they are safe.
Is there nothing in place to
stop these deadly predators?
I'm here to meet Tony Ham.
G'day, Jeremy. How you going?
He manages the
shark control program
on the Gold Coast in Australia.
Got the bait on board.
We're planning to
make an inspection
of the shark nets just
off the main beach.
This section of the beach
is called Main Beach
on the other side of the Spit.
That's a fairly heavily
populated beach.
In summer, you'd have anywhere
upward of 50,000, 60,000 people
between here and
Surfers Paradise.
And then, from
Surfers down further,
probably double that number.
It's a big beach just running
up with sort of all the hotels
and sort of tourist amenities.
Exactly.
But branching off here are
a number of canal estates
and large lakes.
And what's happened is
it's basically extended
the river habitat.
And so we have bull
sharks here pretty constantly.
Right up inland?
Yeah, bull sharks will
actually live all the way up
and including into freshwater
reaches of some rivers.
So they're definitely in there,
and when you get in
the water, if you go in,
you could only be just a
matter of yards away from one.
Literally feet, and you
wouldn't know they were there
unless, you know, you actually
see it or it bumps into you
or actually does
have a bite at you.
Around the Spit, at about
500 yards off the beach,
the swell has picked up.
This shark net is pretty
much the only line of defense
along a 2 1/2-mile-long beach.
The idea is to remove sharks
that come in close to the shore.
But looking at it, I
can see no reason
why bull sharks wouldn't
easily go under it or around it
and then head on,
relentlessly, into the canals.
After all, the net is
only 200 yards long
and just 20 feet high.
Some think that these measures
are in fact literally
worse than useless.
Shark nets in Australia
are a false sense of
security for tourism.
They kill everything
we love out there.
They kill dolphins,
turtles, dugong.
But more important,
the big sharks
have learned to
feed off those nets.
They're now a feeding ground.
Cost millions of taxpayers'
dollars for a waste of time.
Just a false sense
of security. It's a joke.
If Hislop is correct,
bull sharks are being
lured towards the shore
and then inland, into
the canals and lakes.
And because inevitably
they'll meet more people inland,
this species has to
be a far greater threat
than other man-eating
sharks which remain out at sea.
On Miami Lake, the day after
Beau Martin's disappearance,
the search begins,
led by Beau's father.
Exhaustively, he combs
the perimeter of the lake.
For two days, there
is no sign of Beau.
On the morning of the third day,
after the police have
given up the hunt,
he begins to search
from his kayak.
He happens upon
the body of his son,
part in and part
out of the water.
The only reason his
body had surfaced...
The gases resulting
from decomposition
causing his body to inflate.
The autopsy revealed that Beau
had been struck three times...
by a bull shark...
one devastating bite on
his left thigh proving fatal.
This predator had slipped
with ease from the sea
into the brackish
water of Miami Lake.
Once inside, it had been free
to go about its business unseen
until the killing of Beau Martin
revealed its deadly presence.
But just how much further
inland into freshwater
are these predators
capable of going?
80 miles inland from the
ocean, trainer Alan Treadwell
is taking his finest trotting
horse, Glen-burns Arm,
for exercise in the river.
I'd swum there for eight,
nine years, never a problem.
It's a very popular picnic spot.
This part of the river
is a secluded oasis,
popular with families
as a swimming hole.
But on this day, Treadwell
has the river to himself
for his training program.
He wants to build up his
horse's muscle strength
without straining its legs.
Glen-burns Arm,
a 6-year-old gelding
weighing 1,000 pounds,
has won seven times
over a three-year career.
With the help of his
stable hand, Alice Holden,
Treadwell ties a half-inch
rope to the horse's halter.
With it, he can control
the horse from the bridge.
As far as Treadwell can see
from 20 feet up on the bridge,
everything appears
to be going to plan.
The horse was swimming.
I had control of the horse.
But suddenly,
something startles it.
The horse looks
like it's gonna drown.
Then, all of a sudden,
I saw something hanging
off the back of him.
Alan!
As the horse rolled
over, the color lightened,
and it went to a white
underneath, whatever it was.
Whatever this creature is,
it has the force to hold on to
and the power to submerge
a 1,000-pound horse.
The horse is in trouble.
We had a problem.
I've got to get this
horse out of there.
Whatever's wrong, if I
can get him out of the water,
I can control it...
He won't drown.
If we hadn't have got him out,
I don't believe he
would have survived.
Trainer Alan Treadwell was
able to pull his horse to safety.
If the victim had been a human,
a fifth of the
size of his horse,
there would be no hope
of surviving the attack.
The horse, Glen-burns Arm,
was treated by a
veterinary surgeon,
who photographed the wound.
I want to meet up
with Alan Treadwell
to find out if this attack can
be attributed to a bull shark.
Hello, Alan.
- G'day. How are you?
- I'm well, thanks.
- This is the boy, is he?
- Yeah, this is him.
- Can I say hello?
- Say hello.
Hey.
So he's not just an
ordinary horse, is he?
- He's a bit of an athlete.
- He's a bit of an athlete.
- Yeah, he has been.
- Or used to be.
- Yeah.
- Can we see the wound at all?
- Can you show me where it was?
- Yeah, I can do.
- It's healed pretty well.
- Yeah.
That's where it
was, on the flat there.
So, looking at him now...
- He looks fine.
- He looks fine.
- Did he recover fully?
- No, I don't think so.
Actually, he swells up in
the fetlock after a hard run...
Right.
Which virtually makes
it impossible to race him.
So in effect, this actually
finished his career.
It has done, yes.
It still seems to be a bit
awkward in that one back leg.
I don't know what
happened to it.
It's impossible to say.
So possibly, there's some sort
of deep muscle
damage, something.
Yeah, it could be.
That's exactly right, yeah.
Although there had
been no reports of sharks
this high up the
Brisbane River before,
Alan Treadwell believes
that what he saw was a shark.
Yet he only glimpsed
the white shape
for a fraction of a second.
I want to take a
logical approach
to discover exactly
what happened here.
My first strategy is to
measure the salt content
of this stretch of
the Brisbane River.
The water's saltiness lessens
the further upriver you go.
I've taken a reading of
seawater with this machine,
and the reading
I get is about 17.
Down the other end of the scale,
anything less than
about 1 is freshwater.
So the fact that I've just
got a reading of less than .5...
This is freshwater.
I know bull sharks
can get into freshwater.
Everything points to
this being a shark attack.
Except for one thing.
There's a good
reason why I don't think
they could be responsible
for this particular incident.
Look at this...
Just five miles down the
river is this man-made barrier,
and it just goes
right across the river.
Mount Crosby Weir is a dam
that has been in place
for over a hundred years.
The difference in height
between the water
on the ocean side
and the upriver side is 12 feet.
Now, I can understand
how something
might possibly get up
from the sea to here,
but how's it gonna
get over that?
So, what else could it be?
I think there might be a clue
in something Alan
Treadwell told me.
Although on the surface,
the wound to Glen-burns
Arm has healed,
underneath the skin,
there is such profound
muscle damage
that he can no longer race.
That is exactly the case
with attacks made by
another animal entirely...
The saltwater crocodile.
When a crocodile
bites its victim,
it deposits bacteria
in the wound
that cause long-term
muscle damage.
The most distinctive
thing about a saltwater croc
is that big, gnarly head
with those big, actually blunt
but long, penetrating teeth.
Saltwater crocodiles will live
in freshwater, salt water,
brackish water, mineral water.
They don't care.
Once a crocodile
reaches 13, 14 feet and up,
you're dealing with an animal
that can take down a
one-ton water buffalo.
It seems more likely
that the creature which
attacked Glen-burns Arm
is not a shark but a crocodile.
What they prefer is
deep, dark, murky water
because they are the
masters of camouflage.
That's how they get their prey.
They will launch from
an invisible position
up out of the water, grab
whatever they're targeting,
drag it back into the
water in the blink of an eye.
Just the kind of water
where the attack happened.
There's one problem
with this idea.
While crocs were once
found this far south,
none have been seen any
closer than 150 miles away
in the last 20 years.
I would be surprised
that a crocodile who is big
enough to take on a horse,
"A," would go unnoticed
for long periods of time,
you know, way
outside its range...
and, "B," in that
situation, would miss.
You know, if it's in deep water,
it's a large animal, and it's
going in to really have a go...
you'd be the
luckiest horse alive.
When all avenues seem closed,
I turn to the least
unlikely option
in my pursuit of the truth.
If the attacker
wasn't a crocodile,
it has to be a shark.
Yet I need to be certain.
If this is the truth, it has
far-reaching repercussions.
It would show conclusively
that savage bull sharks
can and will launch
attacks in freshwater.
It would mean there
is no kind of water
that's safe from
these predators.
My suspicion is
that a bull shark
has made its way far
up the Brisbane River
to launch an attack
on a half-ton horse.
But I'm looking for proof.
I want to show
scientist Vic Peddemors
the wounds inflicted
on this racehorse.
He's one of the world's
leading experts on shark bites.
So, what do you make of that?
Well, I would definitely say
it looks like a shark
bite of some description
because of these
gaps between the tooth
and the way that it seems
to have scratched down
the hindquarter of the horse.
That is the bite
in more context.
Wow.
I think this is just a
hit with the upper jaw
and a slip down.
Can you get any idea from that
roughly how big the
shark might have been?
This isn't much of a crescent,
which suggests that the
jaw must have been fairly big.
Assuming that that
was the sort of...
This part of the jaw
- that hit it like that.
- So the curve is quite gentle.
The curve is very gentle.
So if you think of it
as hitting like that...
Mm-hmm.
Now, if you look
at this tooth there,
- that tooth there...
- It's a fairly close match.
That's not too far off a match.
And this is 2.75
meters in length.
8 or 9 foot.
It's a very similar
sort of curvature.
And it links in with our
knowledge of bull sharks.
One would expect
a bigger bull shark
up in a very freshwater
component of the river.
This evidence suggests
that the creature that
attacked Alan Treadwell's horse
is a bull shark...
Over 8 feet long.
And by hunting through
the government archives...
I know now how these animals
managed to get over the Weir.
The Brisbane River
has flooded repeatedly,
with one extreme
occurrence in 1974.
The city itself was inundated.
But so too was the
surrounding area...
including the Mount Crosby Dam.
It seems that as
the flood subsided,
a colony of bull sharks,
some growing to
over 8 feet long,
were locked in far upriver.
And if this can happen here...
it can happen anywhere
that bull sharks roam.
The danger they present
isn't restricted to Australia.
Bull sharks have been observed
moving up the Mississippi
River as far as St. Louis.
And there has even
been an attack reported
in Lake Michigan.
To fully understand this threat,
I want to get my hands on
one of these big predators
in freshwater.
But to do that, I need to learn
some specialist techniques
from an expert in
catching big sharks.
Hello, there. You Terry?
- How you doing? Terry.
- Nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you. I'm Ben.
On March 14, 2007,
just here in the river
mouth, Terry Hessey caught
a 9 1/2-foot-long
female bull shark
estimated to weigh
over 500 pounds.
This all looks like
pretty serious stuff.
Yeah, well, for our rods and
reels, we use one of these.
Right.
Completely blown away
with the idea of using a...
Needing to use that in a river.
These guys are
serious. I'm impressed.
They're fishing in
this busy working port
on the frontier between
sea and freshwater.
One thing I'm noticing
already is the attention to detail.
They've got a comprehensive plan
to outwit the supersensory
capacity of this shark.
Bull sharks, like all sharks,
have tiny pinholes
in their snout
called the ampullae
of Lorenzini,
used for detecting
electrical fields.
They're so sensitive
that they can detect
the electrical impulses
of a fish's heartbeat.
Sharks with wider
heads, like the bull shark,
have more of these pinholes,
and therefore, they can lock
on to prey more accurately.
Another one there, or...
To avoid giving off
any electrical signals
to the shark,
Terry masks all but the
metal hook point in plastic
and cable-ties this to the eel.
Next, Terry's making
sure he capitalizes
on the shark's smell
sense by using fresh bait.
Two-thirds of the shark's brain
is devoted to sniffing out prey.
And by fishing at night,
we're choosing the most likely
time for sharks to go hunting.
It's in the dark when the
supersensory bull shark
has the edge over fish
that rely more on vision.
Terry begins the journey
across the river mouth
to place the baits.
Bull sharks have been
reported to ram kayaks,
taking the paddle splash
and rudder movements
for the thrashing
of a fish in distress.
Terry's okay, but in getting
these baits set in the dark,
I've injured my index finger.
It's going to make
things difficult.
I'm just hoping that this
and the disturbance
from the busy port
doesn't damage my chances.
Pick it up! Pick it up!
At 2:30 a.m...
Fish on!
With the tide high,
the line begins to run.
It's all right.
Yep.
Starts slowing down.
At the moment, it just feels
like there's a boat on the end.
There's just a dead weight.
I'm just changing
the ratio there.
Yeah, that's pulling,
that's pulling, that's pulling.
It is coming my way.
And with nearly 200
yards of line taken in,
whatever it is
reaches the shore.
Holy
- What is it?
- That is huge!
One of the best
beasts I've ever seen.
Like something from "20,000
Leagues Under the Sea,"
it certainly isn't a shark.
But what on earth is it?
It's just remarkable.
That is something, isn't it?
I've never seen anything
like this in my life before.
It's what they call a
Queensland groper.
This is a monster.
It's not the monster I was
after, but this is a monster.
We're looking at 6
feet and 3 inches.
- What about the girth?
- Yeah.
2'1". Its girth is 4'3"... 4'3".
This is a protected marine fish
normally found on reefs.
But they're known to come
into river mouths like this
on rare occasions.
Look at that.
This fish... Even Terry and Ben
haven't seen anything like this
anywhere like
this size, you know.
So it's just an amazing catch
and particularly from a river.
Just, you know, this thing
really is a river monster.
Groupers have an
extraordinary trick.
This 250-pound male
actually started life as a female.
When there are too few
males in a spawning group,
a female will switch sex to
keep breeding numbers up.
Oh. Ha!
Time, though, for this gender
bender to head back home.
To me, that just underlines
even more than before
that, you know, we
just have no idea at all
what is down
there in our rivers.
It feels amazing to
catch a fish like that,
but it's not what I'm here for.
Armed with the knowledge
I've gained from Terry,
I'm driving 50 miles upriver
from brackish
water to freshwater.
I'm fishing at night.
I'm fishing with
the freshest bait.
So...
And I'm putting out two rods.
Here we go. Look.
Something... Something had that.
But it didn't have
the hook in its mouth.
So whatever it was,
it's still out there,
and I'm running out of bait now.
It's annoying.
Finally, I'm in luck.
I've got a take
on the other rod.
Keep it away from some
trees and stuff on the side there.
Yeah, it's a
shark. It's a shark.
Up we come.
This is a shark
in a river. Okay.
This may be a
small one, but for me,
this is, in some
ways, more unsettling.
Up onto the grass.
I already know there are
big females in this river.
Catching one like this
implies they're breeding here.
That body is just solid
muscle. You just feel it.
When it decides to flex,
that's just got so
much strength there.
This one didn't swim all
the way from the ocean.
It was most likely born in
brackish water just downstream.
And while only 18 months old,
it seems to be
thriving in freshwater.
It's a scary thought
that this river
will be its hunting ground
for life... another 15 years.
At 3'6" long and
15 pounds in weight,
this one could triple in length
and become 30 times heavier.
I'm just trying to
imagine this thing
two or three times
the length in this water.
It's quite a
frightening prospect
in a river, a small river.
Anyway, this one's going back.
Well, I've been able to
prove, without question,
that bull sharks are
trespassing on my patch,
in freshwater,
more than 80 miles
up an Australian river.
But critically,
what I've learned
is that they have the
capacity for brutal attacks
in freshwater almost anywhere.
There are few limits to
where this shark will operate.
More and more, it seems
that this freshwater Jaws
is bringing its savagery
into our once-tame backyard.
Along metropolitan
canals... up quiet rivers...
and on tranquil lakes,
the bull shark is
looking for its next meal.
It's just a question
of who and when.
same terror as the shark.
You're in the monster's
mouth getting thrown around.
Somebody's like a
rag doll in its mouth
getting thrown all over.
We've got sharks in
Australia that hit hard.
They don't leave anything.
But at least these killers
are confined to the oceans.
Or are they?
It seems one species of
shark has been trespassing
from salt water into my
territory... freshwater...
Operating where people
thought no danger existed.
Alan!
As an angler and biologist,
my aim is to work out
how this is possible
and just how far inland
these sharks will bring
their reign of terror.
My mission is to find out
whether it's safe to
get back in the water,
even if you're
miles from the sea.
I'm a specialist in hunting
down giant freshwater animals.
Using a combination of logic,
local intelligence,
and intuition,
I've faced shoals of
piranha in South America
and man-eating catfish in Asia.
Sharks, though, are a
different target altogether.
These creatures are
the stuff of legend.
"Jaws," the iconic '70s story,
describes ferocious man-eaters
with a taste for human flesh.
But the report of a shark
operating in an inland lake
is truly terrifying.
To investigate, I'm
heading to Australia.
Midsummer on a brackish lake.
The temperature...
Over 80 degrees.
A 23-year-old postdoctorate
student, Beau Martin,
and his friend David
are planning a cooling
swim in Miami Lake.
I'm gonna flog you. I'm
gonna absolutely slay you.
Put some money where it is.
- 50 bucks?
- 50 bucks. Give me this.
Yeah, you need it.
You need that
for the race, yeah.
Going down. Gonna beat you.
Whoa.
Hey... keys, keys. Need keys.
Let's go.
Shirts off... less drag.
We're going. We're going.
They begin a swimming race
across the 500-yard-wide lake.
Dave takes the lead...
and reaches the
safety of the shore.
Beau, however, is
still out on the lake.
In trying to catch up, he
strays into deeper water.
In an instant, he disappears.
Dave returns to the water,
but there is no
sign of his friend.
Beau's sudden disappearance
had all the hallmarks
of a shark attack.
But few could imagine this
apparently safe backwater
to be a hunting
ground for sharks.
Even here, where there
are the deadliest snakes,
massive crocs, the
most poisonous spiders,
this incident rang alarm bells.
We just don't expect to
be attacked by a shark
on an inland lake...
in an urbanized area
like the Gold Coast.
In Australia, there are
three species of shark
commonly responsible
for attacks on people.
Australians know Vic
Hislop as the Shark Man.
Like Quint from "Jaws,"
Hislop has fought a series
of battles with sharks...
including this 2
1/2-ton great white.
We've got sharks in
Australia that hit and hit hard.
They don't leave anything.
They're so good at what they do,
they pull somebody under,
you don't see any more.
Someone's got to be
looking at that exact spot
to see it happen.
The great white is a
notorious man-eater,
but some experts
think the bull shark
is a far more deadly
threat altogether.
It's a very robust animal,
very rough and tough.
Because of the
structure of its teeth,
it can't just bite through
a big chunk of meat.
It has to bite and
start shaking like crazy.
And, of course, somebody's
like a rag doll in its mouth,
getting thrown all over.
And that immediately
also instigates
all sorts of fear reactions.
You're in the monster's
mouth getting thrown around.
Stocky in shape,
savage in character,
the bull shark is built
like a street fighter,
with a level of
raging aggression
that gives it its name.
Pound for pound, it's top
of the league of man-eaters.
Statistically, a
bull shark's attack
is more likely to result in
death than a great white's.
And the authorities
believe that it's a bull shark
that killed Beau Martin
in this canal system.
This complex of waterways
was built during the '70s and '80s
and is bigger
than Venice, Italy...
160 miles of canals
and over 30 lakes.
This is an area with just
thousands of apartments,
houses right down
on the waterfront.
And most of the people
here just think of these canals
as a perfectly
safe place to swim.
What puzzles me
is how any shark could
have made its way here,
so far from where
we expect to find it...
The open ocean.
To work that out, I'm heading
60 miles south to the coast.
There were 15 shark
attacks in Australia in 2008.
But there's one, well
reported in the press,
that is central to
my investigation.
16-year-old Brock Curtis-Mathew
is setting off with his
friend Peter Edmonds
for some early-morning
bodyboarding.
We got there maybe
quarter to 8:00, 8:00-ish.
They've chosen a location
next to the mouth of
the Richmond River.
This is a popular surfing spot,
often used by
these close friends.
But this morning, after
several days of heavy rain,
they have the
beach to themselves.
We were maybe halfway to where
we were gonna go in the water.
I turned around
and came back in.
And he kept going.
While Brock covers
their possessions
in case of more
rain, Peter heads out.
He's around 35 yards
from the surf line.
But as Brock goes
to rejoin his friend,
he glimpses a dark shape.
I saw this big, round,
weird circle thing.
What Brock had seen was a shark.
He has no idea it is
attacking his friend.
All he can see from 25
yards away is some splashing.
I was just thinking,
"Oh, what's he doing?
Something's not right."
Brock approaches
as quickly as he can.
When I got, like, really
close, I couldn't see any blood.
And then, once I grabbed
him and stuff, I noticed his leg.
Risking his own life,
Brock carries his
now-unconscious friend
towards shore.
He had taken a
first-aid course at school.
There was a slight pulse
when I first checked it,
like a beat...
beat...
beat.
Come on, Pete!
In a state of shock, he
calls the emergency services.
- Emergency service.
- He's gonna die.
I just said, "Can you
come down here quickly?
My friend's been
attacked by a shark."
From the shape and the size
of the wound to Peter's thigh...
the attacker appears
to be a bull shark...
some 9 feet long.
At first sight,
this would seem to carry
all the brutal hallmarks
of a classic shark
attack on the coast.
But is there anything more
that could be learned
from what happened?
After the attack,
lifeguard Stephen Leahy
was one of the
first on the scene.
It was obvious that it was
high-impact, hard-hitting,
and there was just a
large amount of flesh
removed from his upper thigh.
Leahy has worked to
save lives on these beaches
for over 15 years.
But in this case, tragically,
Peter had lost too much blood.
There was just
absolutely nothing
that we were going to do
that would save this boy's life.
Dr. Vic Peddemors
is the first person
medical teams turn to
when they believe
there's been a shark attack.
It's estimated that a
shark bite applies a force
of over 4 tons per square inch.
The most important
thing for a shark
is to get that lower jaw in
because those are
the hooking teeth.
That sort of latches in.
So once it's got
its lower jaw in,
the upper jaw can clamp down.
If that lower jaw
has got in properly,
it only needs one bite,
and it'll take the
muscle straight off.
Because of the
site of this incident,
the lifeguard already had
this attacker's identity in mind.
Knowing that the attack's
happened just here,
we always had, in
the back of our mind,
that this was going to
be a bull-shark incident.
It's likely that the shark
had confused Peter
for its common
prey... A large fish,
perhaps even another shark.
Nothing can ever
compensate a family and friends
for such a cruel loss.
But if there is
anything to be salvaged
from this terrible episode,
it might be in identifying
the warning signals
that accompany
a bull-shark attack.
Bull sharks have been observed
congregating around river
mouths after heavy rain,
attracted by the
supply of freshwater fish
being washed out to sea.
We know that bull sharks
will always hang around
the river mouth after
periods of heavy rain
and when there are
lots of fish around.
The beach where
the attack occurred
is only 60 meters away
from the entrance
of that river mouth.
The bull shark that
killed Peter Edmonds
had been attracted
to this shoreline
because of its
proximity to freshwater.
We're well and truly aware
that there's just so much
for the bull shark to live on
in our freshwater systems.
And that's part of the
uniqueness of the bull shark...
It can easily cope in salt
water and in our oceans,
but it's just as comfortable
in our river systems.
Perhaps this knowledge might
prevent others being caught,
like Peter, in the wrong
place at the wrong time.
As a biologist, I want
to better understand
the physiology and
particular affinity
bull sharks have for freshwater.
I need to catch one.
I must have fished literally
thousands of destinations
all over the world.
But this time, I think
I'm out of my depth.
I've never tried to
catch any kind of shark,
let alone a bull shark.
100 miles north of
where Peter was killed,
in sight of land,
I join a fishing charter
boat out after sharks.
With four rods set, I know
I'm in with a good chance.
Oh, yeah. Right. There we go.
There we go.
That is a bull shark.
Hammered quite big mullets...
Couple-of-pound mullets...
And just took off.
I think we're ready to bring
it in the back of the boat.
Okay.
This one's none
too happy to see me.
But after the hook's out, he
becomes easier to handle.
It's 4 1/2 feet long,
around 1/3 of the
length they can reach.
Boat's rolling around a
little bit at the moment,
side on to the tide
and rolling a little bit.
So with something like
this, mouthful of teeth,
got to be a wee bit careful.
The teeth are partially
obscured by thick gums.
But the tips are as
sharp as scalpels.
That's good to actually see
one of these animals close up.
Get my hands on one.
That's what I wanted.
But what sets this
species of shark apart
is its extraordinary ability
to operate in both
salty and freshwater.
The bull shark is the
only species of shark
that can do this.
Some scientists speculate
that the bull shark is
capitalizing on this adaptation
to dominate new
feeding grounds inland.
The bull shark is unique
because it's actually much
more capable than other sharks
in regulating the amount
of salts and urea
in its body tissues.
Bull sharks constantly test
the salt content of the water
with tiny sensors
mounted all over the body...
similar to the way
we use our taste buds.
Then, a special
organ, the rectal gland,
acts like an on/off valve,
releasing or retaining
salt as required.
It's really incredible how
capable they are at doing that.
But it's obviously,
energetically, very costly.
And that's why we tend
to find the bigger animals
capable of changing
very quickly,
whereas the smaller animals
tend to stay within a relatively
narrow band of salinity.
This amazing adaptation
gives the bull shark
a deadly access-all-areas
freedom to roam,
bringing its violence
to our once-peaceful
inland waters...
a predator that can operate
in rivers and adjoining
lakes all around the world,
responsible for fatal attacks
from Australia to South Africa,
from Florida to New Jersey.
Here, in 1916, four
people were killed
and one was severely mutilated
in a 10-day spree of attacks.
This provided the inspiration
for the most famous
shark story of all, "Jaws."
But what is so terrifying
is that two of these deaths
occurred 15 miles up an estuary,
at Matawan Creek...
in a place that everyone
thought was safe.
Man-eaters are supposed to
be found in untamed places.
But this unstoppable predator
seems to be
bringing its savagery
into the very heart
of our civilized world.
Aah!
I'm hunting down the
creature responsible
for the brutal attack
on Beau Martin.
And that sends a
shiver down my spine.
Bull sharks seem to be
heading in from the ocean
towards where people are
most likely to swim and play
in the belief that
they are safe.
Is there nothing in place to
stop these deadly predators?
I'm here to meet Tony Ham.
G'day, Jeremy. How you going?
He manages the
shark control program
on the Gold Coast in Australia.
Got the bait on board.
We're planning to
make an inspection
of the shark nets just
off the main beach.
This section of the beach
is called Main Beach
on the other side of the Spit.
That's a fairly heavily
populated beach.
In summer, you'd have anywhere
upward of 50,000, 60,000 people
between here and
Surfers Paradise.
And then, from
Surfers down further,
probably double that number.
It's a big beach just running
up with sort of all the hotels
and sort of tourist amenities.
Exactly.
But branching off here are
a number of canal estates
and large lakes.
And what's happened is
it's basically extended
the river habitat.
And so we have bull
sharks here pretty constantly.
Right up inland?
Yeah, bull sharks will
actually live all the way up
and including into freshwater
reaches of some rivers.
So they're definitely in there,
and when you get in
the water, if you go in,
you could only be just a
matter of yards away from one.
Literally feet, and you
wouldn't know they were there
unless, you know, you actually
see it or it bumps into you
or actually does
have a bite at you.
Around the Spit, at about
500 yards off the beach,
the swell has picked up.
This shark net is pretty
much the only line of defense
along a 2 1/2-mile-long beach.
The idea is to remove sharks
that come in close to the shore.
But looking at it, I
can see no reason
why bull sharks wouldn't
easily go under it or around it
and then head on,
relentlessly, into the canals.
After all, the net is
only 200 yards long
and just 20 feet high.
Some think that these measures
are in fact literally
worse than useless.
Shark nets in Australia
are a false sense of
security for tourism.
They kill everything
we love out there.
They kill dolphins,
turtles, dugong.
But more important,
the big sharks
have learned to
feed off those nets.
They're now a feeding ground.
Cost millions of taxpayers'
dollars for a waste of time.
Just a false sense
of security. It's a joke.
If Hislop is correct,
bull sharks are being
lured towards the shore
and then inland, into
the canals and lakes.
And because inevitably
they'll meet more people inland,
this species has to
be a far greater threat
than other man-eating
sharks which remain out at sea.
On Miami Lake, the day after
Beau Martin's disappearance,
the search begins,
led by Beau's father.
Exhaustively, he combs
the perimeter of the lake.
For two days, there
is no sign of Beau.
On the morning of the third day,
after the police have
given up the hunt,
he begins to search
from his kayak.
He happens upon
the body of his son,
part in and part
out of the water.
The only reason his
body had surfaced...
The gases resulting
from decomposition
causing his body to inflate.
The autopsy revealed that Beau
had been struck three times...
by a bull shark...
one devastating bite on
his left thigh proving fatal.
This predator had slipped
with ease from the sea
into the brackish
water of Miami Lake.
Once inside, it had been free
to go about its business unseen
until the killing of Beau Martin
revealed its deadly presence.
But just how much further
inland into freshwater
are these predators
capable of going?
80 miles inland from the
ocean, trainer Alan Treadwell
is taking his finest trotting
horse, Glen-burns Arm,
for exercise in the river.
I'd swum there for eight,
nine years, never a problem.
It's a very popular picnic spot.
This part of the river
is a secluded oasis,
popular with families
as a swimming hole.
But on this day, Treadwell
has the river to himself
for his training program.
He wants to build up his
horse's muscle strength
without straining its legs.
Glen-burns Arm,
a 6-year-old gelding
weighing 1,000 pounds,
has won seven times
over a three-year career.
With the help of his
stable hand, Alice Holden,
Treadwell ties a half-inch
rope to the horse's halter.
With it, he can control
the horse from the bridge.
As far as Treadwell can see
from 20 feet up on the bridge,
everything appears
to be going to plan.
The horse was swimming.
I had control of the horse.
But suddenly,
something startles it.
The horse looks
like it's gonna drown.
Then, all of a sudden,
I saw something hanging
off the back of him.
Alan!
As the horse rolled
over, the color lightened,
and it went to a white
underneath, whatever it was.
Whatever this creature is,
it has the force to hold on to
and the power to submerge
a 1,000-pound horse.
The horse is in trouble.
We had a problem.
I've got to get this
horse out of there.
Whatever's wrong, if I
can get him out of the water,
I can control it...
He won't drown.
If we hadn't have got him out,
I don't believe he
would have survived.
Trainer Alan Treadwell was
able to pull his horse to safety.
If the victim had been a human,
a fifth of the
size of his horse,
there would be no hope
of surviving the attack.
The horse, Glen-burns Arm,
was treated by a
veterinary surgeon,
who photographed the wound.
I want to meet up
with Alan Treadwell
to find out if this attack can
be attributed to a bull shark.
Hello, Alan.
- G'day. How are you?
- I'm well, thanks.
- This is the boy, is he?
- Yeah, this is him.
- Can I say hello?
- Say hello.
Hey.
So he's not just an
ordinary horse, is he?
- He's a bit of an athlete.
- He's a bit of an athlete.
- Yeah, he has been.
- Or used to be.
- Yeah.
- Can we see the wound at all?
- Can you show me where it was?
- Yeah, I can do.
- It's healed pretty well.
- Yeah.
That's where it
was, on the flat there.
So, looking at him now...
- He looks fine.
- He looks fine.
- Did he recover fully?
- No, I don't think so.
Actually, he swells up in
the fetlock after a hard run...
Right.
Which virtually makes
it impossible to race him.
So in effect, this actually
finished his career.
It has done, yes.
It still seems to be a bit
awkward in that one back leg.
I don't know what
happened to it.
It's impossible to say.
So possibly, there's some sort
of deep muscle
damage, something.
Yeah, it could be.
That's exactly right, yeah.
Although there had
been no reports of sharks
this high up the
Brisbane River before,
Alan Treadwell believes
that what he saw was a shark.
Yet he only glimpsed
the white shape
for a fraction of a second.
I want to take a
logical approach
to discover exactly
what happened here.
My first strategy is to
measure the salt content
of this stretch of
the Brisbane River.
The water's saltiness lessens
the further upriver you go.
I've taken a reading of
seawater with this machine,
and the reading
I get is about 17.
Down the other end of the scale,
anything less than
about 1 is freshwater.
So the fact that I've just
got a reading of less than .5...
This is freshwater.
I know bull sharks
can get into freshwater.
Everything points to
this being a shark attack.
Except for one thing.
There's a good
reason why I don't think
they could be responsible
for this particular incident.
Look at this...
Just five miles down the
river is this man-made barrier,
and it just goes
right across the river.
Mount Crosby Weir is a dam
that has been in place
for over a hundred years.
The difference in height
between the water
on the ocean side
and the upriver side is 12 feet.
Now, I can understand
how something
might possibly get up
from the sea to here,
but how's it gonna
get over that?
So, what else could it be?
I think there might be a clue
in something Alan
Treadwell told me.
Although on the surface,
the wound to Glen-burns
Arm has healed,
underneath the skin,
there is such profound
muscle damage
that he can no longer race.
That is exactly the case
with attacks made by
another animal entirely...
The saltwater crocodile.
When a crocodile
bites its victim,
it deposits bacteria
in the wound
that cause long-term
muscle damage.
The most distinctive
thing about a saltwater croc
is that big, gnarly head
with those big, actually blunt
but long, penetrating teeth.
Saltwater crocodiles will live
in freshwater, salt water,
brackish water, mineral water.
They don't care.
Once a crocodile
reaches 13, 14 feet and up,
you're dealing with an animal
that can take down a
one-ton water buffalo.
It seems more likely
that the creature which
attacked Glen-burns Arm
is not a shark but a crocodile.
What they prefer is
deep, dark, murky water
because they are the
masters of camouflage.
That's how they get their prey.
They will launch from
an invisible position
up out of the water, grab
whatever they're targeting,
drag it back into the
water in the blink of an eye.
Just the kind of water
where the attack happened.
There's one problem
with this idea.
While crocs were once
found this far south,
none have been seen any
closer than 150 miles away
in the last 20 years.
I would be surprised
that a crocodile who is big
enough to take on a horse,
"A," would go unnoticed
for long periods of time,
you know, way
outside its range...
and, "B," in that
situation, would miss.
You know, if it's in deep water,
it's a large animal, and it's
going in to really have a go...
you'd be the
luckiest horse alive.
When all avenues seem closed,
I turn to the least
unlikely option
in my pursuit of the truth.
If the attacker
wasn't a crocodile,
it has to be a shark.
Yet I need to be certain.
If this is the truth, it has
far-reaching repercussions.
It would show conclusively
that savage bull sharks
can and will launch
attacks in freshwater.
It would mean there
is no kind of water
that's safe from
these predators.
My suspicion is
that a bull shark
has made its way far
up the Brisbane River
to launch an attack
on a half-ton horse.
But I'm looking for proof.
I want to show
scientist Vic Peddemors
the wounds inflicted
on this racehorse.
He's one of the world's
leading experts on shark bites.
So, what do you make of that?
Well, I would definitely say
it looks like a shark
bite of some description
because of these
gaps between the tooth
and the way that it seems
to have scratched down
the hindquarter of the horse.
That is the bite
in more context.
Wow.
I think this is just a
hit with the upper jaw
and a slip down.
Can you get any idea from that
roughly how big the
shark might have been?
This isn't much of a crescent,
which suggests that the
jaw must have been fairly big.
Assuming that that
was the sort of...
This part of the jaw
- that hit it like that.
- So the curve is quite gentle.
The curve is very gentle.
So if you think of it
as hitting like that...
Mm-hmm.
Now, if you look
at this tooth there,
- that tooth there...
- It's a fairly close match.
That's not too far off a match.
And this is 2.75
meters in length.
8 or 9 foot.
It's a very similar
sort of curvature.
And it links in with our
knowledge of bull sharks.
One would expect
a bigger bull shark
up in a very freshwater
component of the river.
This evidence suggests
that the creature that
attacked Alan Treadwell's horse
is a bull shark...
Over 8 feet long.
And by hunting through
the government archives...
I know now how these animals
managed to get over the Weir.
The Brisbane River
has flooded repeatedly,
with one extreme
occurrence in 1974.
The city itself was inundated.
But so too was the
surrounding area...
including the Mount Crosby Dam.
It seems that as
the flood subsided,
a colony of bull sharks,
some growing to
over 8 feet long,
were locked in far upriver.
And if this can happen here...
it can happen anywhere
that bull sharks roam.
The danger they present
isn't restricted to Australia.
Bull sharks have been observed
moving up the Mississippi
River as far as St. Louis.
And there has even
been an attack reported
in Lake Michigan.
To fully understand this threat,
I want to get my hands on
one of these big predators
in freshwater.
But to do that, I need to learn
some specialist techniques
from an expert in
catching big sharks.
Hello, there. You Terry?
- How you doing? Terry.
- Nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you. I'm Ben.
On March 14, 2007,
just here in the river
mouth, Terry Hessey caught
a 9 1/2-foot-long
female bull shark
estimated to weigh
over 500 pounds.
This all looks like
pretty serious stuff.
Yeah, well, for our rods and
reels, we use one of these.
Right.
Completely blown away
with the idea of using a...
Needing to use that in a river.
These guys are
serious. I'm impressed.
They're fishing in
this busy working port
on the frontier between
sea and freshwater.
One thing I'm noticing
already is the attention to detail.
They've got a comprehensive plan
to outwit the supersensory
capacity of this shark.
Bull sharks, like all sharks,
have tiny pinholes
in their snout
called the ampullae
of Lorenzini,
used for detecting
electrical fields.
They're so sensitive
that they can detect
the electrical impulses
of a fish's heartbeat.
Sharks with wider
heads, like the bull shark,
have more of these pinholes,
and therefore, they can lock
on to prey more accurately.
Another one there, or...
To avoid giving off
any electrical signals
to the shark,
Terry masks all but the
metal hook point in plastic
and cable-ties this to the eel.
Next, Terry's making
sure he capitalizes
on the shark's smell
sense by using fresh bait.
Two-thirds of the shark's brain
is devoted to sniffing out prey.
And by fishing at night,
we're choosing the most likely
time for sharks to go hunting.
It's in the dark when the
supersensory bull shark
has the edge over fish
that rely more on vision.
Terry begins the journey
across the river mouth
to place the baits.
Bull sharks have been
reported to ram kayaks,
taking the paddle splash
and rudder movements
for the thrashing
of a fish in distress.
Terry's okay, but in getting
these baits set in the dark,
I've injured my index finger.
It's going to make
things difficult.
I'm just hoping that this
and the disturbance
from the busy port
doesn't damage my chances.
Pick it up! Pick it up!
At 2:30 a.m...
Fish on!
With the tide high,
the line begins to run.
It's all right.
Yep.
Starts slowing down.
At the moment, it just feels
like there's a boat on the end.
There's just a dead weight.
I'm just changing
the ratio there.
Yeah, that's pulling,
that's pulling, that's pulling.
It is coming my way.
And with nearly 200
yards of line taken in,
whatever it is
reaches the shore.
Holy
- What is it?
- That is huge!
One of the best
beasts I've ever seen.
Like something from "20,000
Leagues Under the Sea,"
it certainly isn't a shark.
But what on earth is it?
It's just remarkable.
That is something, isn't it?
I've never seen anything
like this in my life before.
It's what they call a
Queensland groper.
This is a monster.
It's not the monster I was
after, but this is a monster.
We're looking at 6
feet and 3 inches.
- What about the girth?
- Yeah.
2'1". Its girth is 4'3"... 4'3".
This is a protected marine fish
normally found on reefs.
But they're known to come
into river mouths like this
on rare occasions.
Look at that.
This fish... Even Terry and Ben
haven't seen anything like this
anywhere like
this size, you know.
So it's just an amazing catch
and particularly from a river.
Just, you know, this thing
really is a river monster.
Groupers have an
extraordinary trick.
This 250-pound male
actually started life as a female.
When there are too few
males in a spawning group,
a female will switch sex to
keep breeding numbers up.
Oh. Ha!
Time, though, for this gender
bender to head back home.
To me, that just underlines
even more than before
that, you know, we
just have no idea at all
what is down
there in our rivers.
It feels amazing to
catch a fish like that,
but it's not what I'm here for.
Armed with the knowledge
I've gained from Terry,
I'm driving 50 miles upriver
from brackish
water to freshwater.
I'm fishing at night.
I'm fishing with
the freshest bait.
So...
And I'm putting out two rods.
Here we go. Look.
Something... Something had that.
But it didn't have
the hook in its mouth.
So whatever it was,
it's still out there,
and I'm running out of bait now.
It's annoying.
Finally, I'm in luck.
I've got a take
on the other rod.
Keep it away from some
trees and stuff on the side there.
Yeah, it's a
shark. It's a shark.
Up we come.
This is a shark
in a river. Okay.
This may be a
small one, but for me,
this is, in some
ways, more unsettling.
Up onto the grass.
I already know there are
big females in this river.
Catching one like this
implies they're breeding here.
That body is just solid
muscle. You just feel it.
When it decides to flex,
that's just got so
much strength there.
This one didn't swim all
the way from the ocean.
It was most likely born in
brackish water just downstream.
And while only 18 months old,
it seems to be
thriving in freshwater.
It's a scary thought
that this river
will be its hunting ground
for life... another 15 years.
At 3'6" long and
15 pounds in weight,
this one could triple in length
and become 30 times heavier.
I'm just trying to
imagine this thing
two or three times
the length in this water.
It's quite a
frightening prospect
in a river, a small river.
Anyway, this one's going back.
Well, I've been able to
prove, without question,
that bull sharks are
trespassing on my patch,
in freshwater,
more than 80 miles
up an Australian river.
But critically,
what I've learned
is that they have the
capacity for brutal attacks
in freshwater almost anywhere.
There are few limits to
where this shark will operate.
More and more, it seems
that this freshwater Jaws
is bringing its savagery
into our once-tame backyard.
Along metropolitan
canals... up quiet rivers...
and on tranquil lakes,
the bull shark is
looking for its next meal.
It's just a question
of who and when.