River Monsters (2009–2017): Season 2, Episode 2 - Death Ray - full transcript

I'm Jeremy Wade,
biologist and extreme angler.

From the depths of the Amazon
to the suburbs of Berlin,

I've been busy tracking down

the world's most frightening
freshwater fish...

and uncovering the truth
about their evil reputations.

It's taking line.
It's taking line.

I've tangled
with man-eating catfish...

This is the one that goes
after people as well.

Swum with piranhas...

and grappled with ferocious gar.

My next assignment
is a beast of terrifying power.



It's spinning the boat.
It's spinning the boat.

It's taking the boat down.

Some people say this is the
world's biggest freshwater fish.

If my line jams,
it could pull me in.

Aah!

This is a monster that can stab
you with an 8-inch bayonet.

Its flesh-dissolving venom
has no known antidote.

Just catching this fish
will test me to the limit.

But my aim isn't simply
to measure one of these giants.

I also want to know
where it lives

and how dangerous it really is.

I have a feeling
this could be...

Aah!

My toughest challenge yet.



Here it comes.
Here it comes.

I think we're gonna need
a bigger boat.

In just the past few years,

a strange
and possibly deadly creature

has come out of the shadows.

I've read dramatic accounts
of epic six-hour battles

and heard that this predator
can inflict horrendous wounds.

Aah!

Some people are even claiming
that this little-known beast

is the world's
biggest freshwater fish.

The name of this monster
is Himantura chaophraya...

The giant freshwater stingray.

Shaped like a UFO,
this Southeast Asian giant

is said to grow to 16 feet long
and 7 feet across.

Some sources put its weight
at over 1,300 pounds.

Even this basic information
is very hard to verify.

It all sounds
incredibly impressive,

but how much of this stuff
can I really believe?

It seems that no one knows how
big this thing actually grows

or why.

I've encountered
river stingrays before,

1,000 miles up the Amazon.

Here they're known
as wish-you-were-dead fish

because of their
agonizingly painful sting.

But these stingrays
are relatively small.

The thought of a 16-footer

sends a real shiver
down my spine.

These are some examples
of the wounds

caused by marine stingrays.

And typically
what you're talking about

is a very deep puncture wound,

normally to the foot
or the lower leg,

but sometimes higher up.

And the people
generally talk about this

as being extremely painful.

And as well as
the actual immediate wound,

you have this very long-lasting
effect of tissue necrosis.

I mean, it's just
a very painful, messy wound.

This is the barb
from a stingray,

actually quite a small one,
but you get the general idea.

The barb sits on top
of the tail, and what it does,

it whips it over its back,
a bit like a scorpion,

or it can also whip it 'round
to either side.

And, you know, looking at this,

you can just see just how
wickedly sharp that point is.

The second thing is you've got

these grooves
running underneath,

and that is for delivering
the venom

from the gland at the base here,

but also for making it a more
efficient stabbing weapon.

You'll see
exactly the same thing

on a bayonet or a combat knife.

And the third thing,
looking closely at this,

you can see these serrations
along the edge here,

and what that does,

it works on the same principle
as an arrowhead.

It goes in very cleanly,
but, you know,

it's gonna make a real mess
when you pull it out.

Imagine being stabbed
by a large steak knife,

only this one's smeared
with poison,

and it really shreds your flesh
when it comes out.

Yeah.

I've heard that
the giant freshwater stingray

has a barb
that is 8 inches long,

which is
a really sobering thought.

I'm quite curious to have a look
at one of those...

Hopefully not too close...

And it's certainly not something
I want to bring back

as a souvenir in my leg.

My quest for the giant
freshwater stingray

takes me to Southeast Asia.

First to Thailand's capital,
Bangkok.

Surprisingly, this huge
and potentially lethal monster

lives right under our noses.

Normally when you're looking
for underwater monsters,

you're thinking
hundreds of miles upriver,

in the middle of remote
wilderness, but not this time.

I'm literally taking a short
cab ride from the airport,

and I'm slap-bang
in the middle of Bangkok

and just a few miles
away from the sea.

Even more incredibly,
scientists only discovered

the giant freshwater stingray
a mere 20 years ago.

Its species name, chaophraya,
comes from this very river,

running through
the heart of Bangkok.

And yet this monster
in our midst

is still cloaked in mystery.

I want to find out
how big it really gets.

I also want to know how far
this animal travels inland.

In most peoples' eyes,

stingrays are sea creatures,
not river fish.

Barely an hour's drive
from the capital,

I track down a story
that puts me on edge

and reminds me that the venom
of this creature

has no known antidote.

Four months ago,
local fisherman Pung San

was surprised to hook one
of these rarely seen giants.

For people here,

such a huge fish is
a potentially lucrative catch.

What happened, the stingray came
to the side of the river

and then wouldn't come
any further, actually.

Basically, he'd got buried
in the mud.

So what he had to do
was actually get in the water,

and it was about chest-deep,

and then completely go
underwater with a rope,

feed the rope
through the spiracles,

the water intake
of the stingray, knot the rope.

He had managed
to pull it off the bottom,

and it was actually
as it rose in the water

that he then felt this pain.

Aah!

Aah!

The wound was actually
just numb to start with.

And then just
this incredible pain,

and, in fact, so painful

that he collapsed
from the intensity of the pain

and actually had to crawl

the remaining distance
to the house.

This was something that wasn't
gonna go away on its own.

It did need
urgent medical treatment.

As he races for help, Pung San
continues to bleed heavily

and almost passes out with pain.

With no antidote available,

his chances of survival
are anyone's guess.

By the time he arrives
for treatment,

his condition
is deteriorating fast.

What happens
at the medical center?

His heart rate spikes
alarmingly,

and despite anesthetic,
he remains doubled up in agony.

The wound, in fact, is no more
than a glancing blow,

and yet the pain proves
so intense

that Pung San is unable to work
for the next four weeks.

He still has the very barb
that impaled him.

Can I have a look at that?

Okay.

Right.

Well, seeing that really does
concentrate the mind.

An absolutely vicious point
on that

and these horrible barbs
down the side.

And I think, you know,
this is a fish

I've got to really treat
with some respect.

Evidently, even a quick jab
from this fish

can land you in serious trouble.

Whatever it contains, the venom

seems every bit as potent
as in marine stingrays.

Okay.

So that actually went in about
getting on 3 inches there,

but it was at an oblique angle.

And so although he probably
doesn't feel very lucky

to have had this experience...
But if that had gone in straight

and that had punctured
the femoral artery,

you know,
that could have killed him.

Tragically, Steve Irwin,
the Crocodile Hunter,

was not so lucky.

He was struck clean
through the heart and died.

While this freak accident
happened way out at sea,

the chilling fact about
the stingray I'm looking for

is that it swims up rivers

into some of the most densely
populated parts

of Southeast Asia.

And it's in
these crowded waterways

that I'm about to try and meet
this monster face-to-face.

I head to a town
called Samut Songkhram,

50 miles west of Bangkok
and just a few miles inland.

This tidal stretch of river
harbors

some of the largest freshwater
stingrays ever caught.

This fish...
The giant stingray...

Was only described by scientists
just 20 years ago.

But presumably the people
on these rivers

have known about it
probably for centuries.

The problem the scientists had

was just getting their hands
on enough specimens to study.

And what this means

is that either it's a very,
very rare animal

or it's just very, very hard
to get one out of the river.

To try and catch
one of these elusive giants,

I'm teaming up with
an experienced fishing crew,

led by stingray enthusiast Boy.

Live bait is essential.

Its muscle movements will give
off the electrical signals

that stingrays use
to detect their prey.

These animals
are active hunters,

prowling over the riverbed
in search of a meal.

Their faces are packed
with sophisticated sensors

that penetrate the mud and murk.

Potentially eight times my size,

this fish
is in a different league

from anything
I've tackled before.

It calls for the heaviest gear.

I'm using ultra-strong
braided line with 30 yards

of thick nylon monofilament
at the business end.

To take some of the strain,
I'll be wearing a harness.

Good news for my arms,

but if the line digs in
and jams, I could be pulled in.

Normally what would happen,

the fish can't take line,
and the line will break.

But when you're using
160-pound line,

that line isn't gonna break.

I'm gonna go over the side
or the boat's gonna flip.

After Pung San's account,

I'm anxious to avoid
this nightmare scenario.

If that's dug in
for some reason,

I've got to have plan "B."

I'm gonna be strapped to that.

I'm gonna have a harness
locked into that.

So what I'm gonna do, I'm gonna
have a knife in my pocket.

If I'm going over the edge,
the knife comes out

and just cut that line.

This fish can go.
I don't care about the fish.

It's better than drowning.

With everything prepped,
we head for the chosen spot...

a deep pocket in the
riverbed they call Area 51

because, as they say
'round here,

it's crawling with aliens.

My battle boat is rigged
with four big-game rods,

including
my own marlin-class outfit

that I've brought
for the occasion.

If a line goes,
I'm ready to hunker down,

strap in, and lock horns.

To improve the odds,

Boy's put out a dozen or so
extra lines tied to floats.

This isn't regarded
as true sportfishing,

but my mission here isn't to
beat my chest or win prizes.

I simply want to see one
of these incredible animals

in the flesh.

And within minutes,

there's something big
mauling our baits.

That didn't run off
with the bait,

but there's definitely
been a stingray on that.

Something's come along
and actually crushed that there.

But then, instead of taking the
bait, it's actually spat it out.

Stingrays have
crushing mouth parts

that leave
an unmistakable imprint.

Disappointing in one sense,
but also good news.

I mean, I'm in the right place.
They are definitely down there.

The next bite's a clean take,
and we're game on.

As I race to clip in,

something powerful
rips out several feet of line,

then decides to tow us upriver.

It's spinning the boat.
It's spinning the boat.

It's pulling the boat.
It's taking the boat down.

I think we're gonna need
a bigger boat.

Okay. Right.

Oh, yeah. That is...
Oh, look at that rod.

That rod is now
springing back slowly.

This line shouldn't go.

The rod's always a bit
of an unknown quantity.

Ah.

It's my own marlin-class outfit
taking the strain.

I just have visions of this rod
suddenly shattering

and getting a face full
of fiberglass and carbon fiber.

That's pulling down.
That's pulling down.

There is quite
a real possibility

of this thing pulling me in.

I feel like I'm trying to pull
the plug out of the river.

All I can do is dig in
and keep the pressure on.

After 30 exhausting minutes,
I haven't gained an inch.

This isn't like any fishing
I've ever experienced,

and I start to wonder
if I can cope.

Most fish, it's all over
in 5, 10 minutes,

half an hour
at the extreme, you know?

In freshwater, something
like this is just unheard of.

With neither of us
willing to give in,

it becomes a war of attrition.

Give or take the odd foot of
line, we're in total deadlock.

I've just been told it's
one hour, five minutes so far.

We're into about round 8 now.

Oh, look at that.

It's taking line.
That is taking line fast.

This thing does not like
being bullied.

I just decided I was gonna,
you know, show it who's boss.

And the fish is saying, "No, no.
You are not the boss."

Ah.

Oh! That's about half an hour's
worth of work that's just gone.

I've just gained about 3 foot
of line,

and it's just taken that.

But sometimes when it does that,

the fish then takes a bit
of a breather,

and I can maybe capitalize.

For another 40 minutes,

we slug it out
in a grueling tug-of-war.

Right.
I've got the initiative.

Whoa! Aah!

Then, after almost two hours,
a breakthrough.

I think it's come off the
bottom. There was a sudden...

Aah!

A sudden sort of break
of suction.

It does feel like it is
actually...

Yeah, that's definitely
coming my way a lot faster

than it has done
at any time until now.

My arms are cramping up, and
I'm close to breaking point.

But I've finally got the
measure of this gigantic fish.

It's about a meter and a half
below the surface.

Here he comes.
Here he comes.

I'm just seconds away
from seeing what must surely be

one of the world's
greatest river monsters.

Oh!

Right.
Look at that.

The rod went.
The rod went.

I actually saw the fish.

We nearly,
nearly had it in the net,

but an almighty bang...

Oh!

My gear was built to deal
with sharks and marlin.

Whatever broke this rod

could have weighed
as much as 700 pounds.

I thought it was my shoulder
going for a minute,

- but it was actually the rod.
- Rod's too long.

Rod's too long.

Yeah.

Oh, dear. That was so close.
The fish nearly came in.

We saw it

Eventually,
after two hours or something,

it was off the bottom.

We were trying
to get the net 'round it.

The rod went,
and the fish escaped.

It wasn't quite in the net.

And to make matters worse,

the fight has left me
with a torn bicep.

All that suffering.

I saw the fish, and it's...

Oh.

All that for nothing.

All that.

It's score one to the stingray.

But my close encounter
with this giant

has got me wondering,

why does this creature
grow so huge?

Perhaps it's no coincidence
that the rivers here

are also home
to another gigantic fish.

Growing up to 9 feet long
and weighing over 600 pounds,

the Mekong giant catfish
is a class-A monster.

Conceivably,
the stingray's immense size

could be a defense strategy.

To get a close-up look
at a giant Mekong,

I've come
to a stocked fishing lake.

These animals are all
but extinct in the wild.

This is a strong fish.

Have the line
grate against there.

This one's giving me
the runaround.

Huge tail.
Huge tail on that.

Yet it's probably
just a small one.

Very powerful,
sort of throbbing fight.

You can almost feel
the beats of the tail.

That's a Mekong catfish.

My catch is only 1/10 the size
of what they can reach.

Nonetheless, I can see
it's no ordinary catfish.

Being a catfish,
it's got no scales.

But what's interesting, as well,

although it's a catfish,
it hasn't got feelers.

It hasn't got barbels.

And the other thing
that's actually interesting here

is there's no teeth in there.

There's not even
anything approaching

sort of one of these raspy pads
in there.

Although this does grow
very big,

well over 600 pounds,
it's not really a predator.

This thing is a vegetarian.
It's a gentle giant.

If I'm looking down from here,
I can't see any eyes.

The eyes are actually on
the underside of the head there,

very close to the corner
of the mouth.

And that's something
that just points to it

being a bottom-feeder,

just sort of rooting around
vegetable matter on the bottom.

So this gummy oddball
isn't a killer,

which leaves me still wondering

why the stingrays here
have evolved into such giants.

I've yet to see a chaophraya
stingray... dead or alive.

But with Thailand's biggest
fish market just down the road,

I'm back on the hunt.

This is a vast clearinghouse
for everything

that comes out of the sea
for hundreds of miles around.

Stingrays first evolved
in the oceans,

and it could be that
the giant freshwater stingray

occurs in the sea
as well as rivers.

Ooh.

So, we have got rays here.

I'm finding some rays.

That's not the one I'm after.

This is an eagle ray of sorts.

Yet another species of ray.

These are all marine species,

but the thing
that this is bringing home...

There's a huge diversity
of ray species.

Lots of variations on the theme.

Stingrays are clearly one
of nature's

more successful designs.

But their origins
some 200 million years ago

may come as a surprise.

A quick lesson
in evolution here.

Here's a shark.

And that is the classic
shark mouth,

classic shark teeth, shark tail.

Come to this fish here.

Shark tail, shark dorsal fin.

But something very different
going on

at the front end of the fish.

It's flattening.
It's becoming squashed.

Let's flip it over.

And suddenly we've got a very
different type of mouth there.

Crushing plates
but very different.

Gills here
on the bottom of the body.

Come to this fish here.

And here we have same mouth,
same gills.

Flip it over,
and there we have it.

A ray is basically a flattened
shark with this long tail.

This flattened body plan,

with the eyes and water intakes
on top,

is an adaptation for life
on the ocean floor.

Whatever its origins,

the monster I'm after
continues to elude me.

After three hours of trawling,

I haven't found
a single specimen.

Back at Area 51,
our lines are set,

and I'm hoping
my luck's about to change.

As we wait for a bite, Boy
tells me an unnerving story.

The heart here.

My heart is just...
"pound, pound, pound."

I sweat.

And that's the scar of it there?

Yeah. Just here.
Right.

I've just been asking Boy
about stingray wounds,

this kind of thing.

And he told me a story
about how a small one

just scratched him
on the finger,

and he thought,
"That's gonna be fine."

15 minutes later,

the entire left side
of his body's gone numb.

The heart is pounding away.

He was actually thinking,
"Blimey.

This could be like a snakebite.
This could be fatal."

But actually,
after three hours, it passed,

and I'm just thinking, "Yeah,

you've just got to obviously
be so careful

when handling these things."

With plenty of floats out,

it's not long
before I'm back in the ring.

This time,
I've learned my lesson

and switched to a shorter rod.

It's my arm that worries me.

I'm not sure it'll take
another 12 rounds.

To my relief,
it's barely 20 minutes

before this one
starts to surface.

Fish is coming up.
Fish is coming up.

Okay.

Okay, you ready, boys?

So, we got the fish
here in the net.

I've finally caught one...
My first chaophraya stingray.

I keep well clear, though.

Until its sting is strapped up,

this fish is still a loaded gun.

So this is just binding
the barb,

which sits in a bit of a groove.

And that is binding the barb
to the tail.

Once it's disarmed,
we head for the bank.

Most of the body of the fish
is actually in the water.

I haven't really properly seen
this fish.

I'm really looking forward now
to getting it in

and having a proper look
at this animal.

This species is said
to top 1,300 pounds.

Yet, as I now discover,
this is only half the story.

We got a male.
This one's a male.

The entire team is on hand

to help measure
and weigh the fish.

So, this one's
about 4 1/2 foot across.

It's not particularly big
as they go,

but it is very big for a male.

Its sex explains why this one
came up so fast.

Astonishingly, females
can be up eight times bigger

than this full-grown male.

We've weighed it accurately,

which is quite a hard thing
to do.

We've done it very quickly.

175 pounds... around 80 kilos.

For sheer weight,

this is one of the largest fish
I've ever caught.

And yet, incredible as it
sounds, it's a mere minnow.

It's been out of the water
long enough now, I think.

Definitely time to get it
back in the water.

This is an animal

that completely warps
your normal sense of scale.

- So, is it coming under here?
- Yeah.

All right.

Despite catching
a good-sized male,

I know that my quest
is far from over.

Since it was first
scientifically described,

there have been
occasional reports

of large chaophraya stingrays
from far inland.

I'm leaving the tidal waterways
around Bangkok

and heading up-country.

Could this be where I'll
finally find my monster?

150 miles north, to a town
called Nakhon Sawan,

I meet a fisherman
with a tantalizing tale.

And this was what,
just here in Nakhon Sawan?

This is interesting.
This is a recent capture.

This was only a few months ago.

I'm imagining that
that wasn't easy to get out.

How long to get this
out of the river?

Clearly a very big fish, this.

Apparently 320 kilos,

which converts to something
like 700 pounds.

Seriously large fish.

And the story is it took
10 people in two boats

four hours to get it in.

And it actually dragged the boat

well over a mile
during that time.

So I think a bit of
an epic battle and a big fish.

Looking at the man's tackle,
I'm amazed he got it in at all.

Ah, we got a video clip
someone took.

This was obviously
big local news.

There's people all around.

I'm no stranger
to fishermen's yarns,

but the figure of around
700 pounds does ring true.

This fish was cut up and
weighed accurately for market.

It seems they only kept
one piece of it.

Whoo.

Is this from the same fish?

Yeah.
Same fish.

Ooh. Right.
Okay.

Even with its tip broken off,

this barb is by far
the biggest I've seen.

If there are
giant stingrays here,

then how much further upriver
do they go?

I'm starting to wonder,
could these creatures

have penetrated
deep into the river systems,

just like
their distant Amazon cousins?

Getting on for 3,000 miles long,

the mighty Mekong is Southeast
Asia's greatest river.

Until just the last 150 years,
its upper reaches

remained largely cut off
from the outside world.

Even today, it still feels
like a land of secrets.

If anyone can help me
unlock them,

it's the fishermen who make
their living along its banks.

I'm now 1,000 miles upriver,
and I wonder if anyone here

will know about the creature
I'm looking for.

I wonder if you, fishing here,
see any grabaehn.

The big-sized grabaehn,
or these were small fish?

Any really big ones?

What happened there

was that the stingray
got wrapped up in the net,

and this big one
just broke its way through.

It sounds promising,
but I want a positive I.D.

Will they recognize the fish
from Nakhon Sawan?

Same fish?

So the same fish as this
was here?

Right.
This is very interesting.

So, I've shown the picture

of the ray that was caught
at Nakhon Sawan.

And not only is it
the same species,

it was also about the same size.

And this was a big animal here,

so that's a very, very
encouraging bit of information.

And it does bode well.

You know, I'm gonna be putting
a bait in water

where these things are.

With a confirmed
eyewitness account,

I'm eager to take a look
for myself.

I'm at a place called Nong Khai,

right on the border with Laos.

25 years ago, I was actually in
this very same bit of river...

A little bit upstream, in fact.

And I was arrested by the police
on suspicion of spying.

And that cut short
my entire trip.

End of fishing,
end of everything.

They locked me up for the night
and confiscated all my photos.

This time 'round, I'm using

some sophisticated sonar
equipment to scan the riverbed.

What I'm doing now,
I'm looking down into the water.

I've got the sonar here.
I've got about 20 foot of water.

And I'm trying to get
sort of a mental picture

of the underwater geography

as my first step
in looking for the stingrays.

I've actually got fish symbols
straightaway,

but they're middle of the water.

They're unlikely
to be stingrays.

Although if there's something
close to the bottom,

it could be a ray.

I do think that they don't spend
all the time necessarily

just stuck right down.

I think sometimes they do,
actually, rise off

maybe 3 or 4 feet
and glide away.

I'm convinced there are
giant stingrays down here,

but before I can unpack my rod,
there's a nasty surprise.

One problem about here...

It's the border between two
countries, Thailand and Laos.

I might have possibly strayed
over the border.

I'm just gonna carry on,
acting normal.

I suppose I have got
some sort of fairly

high-tech-looking gear
on the boat.

I'm spying
on the bottom of the river.

Okay. Okay.

Go in?

Okay.

Okay.

They probably don't see
that many foreigners

on the river here.

I've been waved into the side.

I've been waved into the side.

They are still, obviously, very,
very keen on keeping an eye

on people who do things
by this border.

Border area is just
very sensitive.

That's another difficulty

in trying to find this stingray
here... the political situation.

I avoid jail, at least.

But I've no choice
but to cut short my mission

and head back south.

I'm starting to wonder if I'll
ever see this elusive monster.

With one last throw of
the dice, I return to Area 51.

I'm back at Samut Songkhram,

where I've already caught
a full-grown male

and come painfully close to
landing a truly massive female.

We should get the rods on first.

This time,
the stakes are even higher.

A team of scientists has arrived

from Chulalongkorn University
in Bangkok,

and they're counting on me

to provide a live stingray
for their research.

So little is known
about this animal

that every catch offers
a rare chance to learn more.

The scientists will settle
for any stingray I can catch.

But for me, this is all about
seeing a true giant.

To hell with my sore arm.

I'm just hoping
we've hooked a big female.

I haven't come this far
to miss out.

I get the illusion now

that I'm actually bringing
the fish to me.

What's actually happening is
I'm taking the boat to the fish.

The fish isn't actually
going anywhere at the moment.

What do you think?
Is it a fairly good fish?

Oh. It's just actually
come off the bottom.

It's a worrying sign.

Any monster worth its salt

isn't going to give up
so quickly.

But then the stingray
sinks back down, switches gear,

and takes off upriver.

Oh!

The drag on this reel,

it's a little bit like
a hand brake on a car.

And I've got that
almost fully on,

and the fish is basically
just taking that line.

As I watch at the moment,
it's just going out one inch,

two inches, three inches.

After half an hour, my opponent
stops for a breather,

and I do the same.

Then we're back for round 2,

and it's looking like
a big fish.

Seven of us on two boats

are dragged half a mile
against the tide.

Right. It might surface.
It might surface.

It might surface over there.

Now I've got the fish
on the ropes.

For the first time, it feels
like I'm driving the bus.

It's under the boat.
The fish is under the boat.

I don't want to be lifting it
while it's under the boat.

I think it's coming
this way again.

Aah. It's squashing my fingers.
It's squashing my fingers.

It's coming this way.
It's coming this way.

See the water boiling there?
I haven't seen the fish yet.

It's near the surface. I've just
actually seen the lead.

It's up in the water.

I think we've got it.
I think we've got it.

Back of the net.

And this one looks pretty big,

with an impressive
10-inch sting.

Head of the science team
Dr. Ning

first secures the barb.

She's asked me to help her
collect some venom

before we release the fish.

It takes six people

to heave this huge animal
onto its front

into a position
where we can measure it.

Okay. 180 centimeters,
the nose to the tail.

Okay.

Head down.
Head down for a while.

Head down for a while.

Going for the wingspan.

1 meter, .91.
Nearly 2 meters across. 1.91.

At around 6 feet across
and roughly 400 pounds,

this female stingray is by far

the largest river fish
I've ever seen.

Little did I realize,

she was about to produce
the mother of all surprises.

So we've just got the fish in
to where the scientific team is.

And, literally, as we sort of
pulled in on the net,

it's actually given birth
to two live young.

Dr. Ning uses ultrasound

to see if there are any more
babies still inside.

This is the first time
scientists have been able

to collect data from the fully
formed pups of these stingrays.

Here, here.

On the ultrasound,
there's the dark line,

which is the cavity, and there
is a lighter shape inside it.

So apparently that is
the baby stingray still inside.

For me, this fish
is a real first,

and not just for its size.

I thought I had one fish
on the end here.

It looks like I've got one, two,
three, and another one inside.

Four fish, one hook.

Like many sharks, stingrays
give birth to live young.

When they emerged,
these babies had

what looked like a small cap
on their stings,

presumably to prevent
internal injury to the mother.

However, these safety catches
soon drop off.

Within minutes,
these twins are armed

and ready to defend themselves.

It has been known before
for these fish

to eject young
when they're caught.

And if they are
not very well developed,

there's a worry that
they're not gonna survive.

But the great thing about
these fish here... these two...

Is that they are pretty well
fully developed.

They might be being born
a little bit early,

but I think they are definitely
gonna survive in this river,

particularly with that 2-inch
prong on their tail.

There's not a lot
that's gonna come near them.

The scientists return

to what I can only describe
as the mother ship.

No one really knows
why this animal grows so huge.

Could size, I wonder, be the key

that allows a marine fish
to invade rivers?

Most sea fish die quickly
in freshwater.

It's the larger ones

that are best able to cope
with the stress and survive.

There's one final sample
to extract.

- Okay. I'm holding it.
- Be careful.

Right.
We're now gonna take the toxin.

Okay.
I'll help you.

Collecting this thick, toxic
mucus will help the scientists

to discover in more detail
how the venom works.

It's time for me to bid
farewell to this river monster.

Though the jury's still out,
if further research confirms

that this fish does live
exclusively in freshwater,

then it probably is the biggest
freshwater fish on the planet.

What's certain
is that this is the biggest

and strangest catch of my life.

Reunited with her babies, the
mother stingray is set free,

and she returns to the dark
depths of her hidden world.

So, there she goes.

I think she's probably gonna go
back to all her friends

with all these stories
of alien abduction.

You know, "They did experiments
on me and all sorts."

But personally, I feel like I'm
the one who's seen the alien.

I mean, just what an amazing,
totally un-fishlike fish.

I mean, a real monstrous beast.