River Monsters (2009–2017): Season 3, Episode 7 - Jungle Killer - full transcript

My name is Jeremy Wade,

and I hunt monsters...

river monsters.

I'm always on the alert
for new information,

new leads,
and new investigations.

I've received
a tantalizing report.

It's a story about a fish
apparently attacking a diver.

Now, there are frustratingly
few details.

And that's no wonder,

because this story
comes from a remote country

in South America...
A country called Suriname.



But from what I've heard,

this is not the work
of South America's

most notorious river monster,
the piranha, so what is it?

Can there really be a fish

that pound-for-pound
can challenge the piranha...

Here we go.

For the title of the most
ferocious river monster

of South America?

There's only one way
to find out.

Wade:
In pursuit of river monsters,

I travel to the four corners
of the globe.

Suriname is one place

I've never had cause to visit
until now.

I've come to investigate
the possibility



that although everyone knows
the notorious piranha...

there may be a fish out here

that has an even more
fearsome reputation.

Suriname is South America's
best-kept secret.

It is the smallest country
on the continent,

with a population of only
half a million people,

but it can boast the largest
continuous area

of unspoiled rainforest
in the world.

Once a Dutch colony,

it is a true melting pot of
nationalities and cultures.

The majority
of the sparse population

live along the coast,

so the deeper
into the country you go,

the further you are
from the civilized world.

I have been
to remote places before,

but this is of a new order.

If things go wrong out here,

there is little hope
of being rescued.

But first, I have to meet
the victim in the story...

The man who was attacked
by this mystery fish.

I've arranged to meet him
where the attack happened,

at the dam two hours out
of the capital, Paramaribo.

Wade: The dam was built
on the Suriname River

and completed in 1964,

creating one of the largest
man-made lakes in the world,

called Brokopondo,

on the banks of which
I meet Morris Gantz,

a local man of Dutch decent.

What was your job on the dam
at the time?

This was definitely not
a piranha attack.

They rush in, snatching quick,
savage bites.

They don't cling onto their
victims like a dog with a bone.

Morris' mutilated hand
needed over 100 stitches,

and even though
it was 20 years ago,

he still very much
bears the scars.

That's the scar here?

It's hard to believe
there's a freshwater fish

that would launch
a solo attack on a diver.

Did you know what fish it was?

Wade: Anjumara,
also known as the wolffish,

so-called
for its wolf like teeth.

These fish can grow
to nearly 4½ feet

and weigh 80 pounds.

They are serious predators.

But I had until now

never heard of one
ever attacking a person.

I wonder if Morris

ever had any other kind
of close encounter

while he was diving.

Did that make you
slightly nervous?

They never came and took a nip
out of any...

No, no, no, no. No.

So Morris often saw piranhas,

but they never, ever came
close, unlike this lone wolf.

Wade: This fish attacked,

and if Morris hadn't
had his knife,

who knows
what could have happened?

Could it be that the wolffish
is more dangerous

than the more notorious
South-American horror,

the piranha?

To find out,
I need to confront one myself.

I wonder if Morris' monster
still haunts this river.

From experience,

many river monsters have little
regard for our modern world.

I've caught them near dams
and in cities.

Would this monster
be any different?

The attack on Morris
was 20 years ago,

and as far as I'm aware,

nothing like that has happened
in this place since.

And also, this place seems to be
comparatively developed.

So I'm not really sure if this
is where I should be looking.

I persevere through the night,
but with no luck.

Wade: In the morning,

I head back into town
to Paramaribo,

Suriname's capital city.

I need to find out
where wolffish can be found.

I head downtown to the
fish market to try my luck.

This looks like
a small anjumara...

Small wolffish.

Small, is it? Ah, yeah, yeah,
I understand. I understand.

This one isn't actually
the anjumara.

This is a small relative
called here the pataka.

I've caught something
very similar to this...

Maybe actually the same
as this... in brazil.

Those teeth are probably almost
as vicious as a piranha's,

and they're also very slippery.

It's like a bar of soap
with teeth.

The big one is a sort of
scaled-up version of this,

which is what we're looking for.

The wolffish I'm hunting
are 10 times larger than these.

There are no wolffish here,

but I don't leave empty-handed.

I've been told of an old,
retired anjumara fisherman

who lives in town.

Maybe he can tell me where I
can find one of these monsters.

His name is Fritz Van der Bosch.

He shows me
his old wolffish gear.

So this is very strong line.

It may be outdated,
but it's an impressive rig.

And as we settle down to chat,

he tells me of
his own strange experience

of being attacked by a wolffish.

Yes.

So, your leg
was out of the water.

Wade: This story really
puts the wolffish

into a different league.

I have never heard of a fish

trying to attack someone
on land before.

And there's another,
more chilling story.

Reptilian monsters
like anacondas and gators

are known to snatch dogs
from the water's edge.

But a fish?

Now I'm even more determined
to find a wolffish.

But it sounds like
what you need to do now

is go a long way away.

So now you can't just do
a short fishing trip.

You have to make an expedition.

Sure.

Okay.

Wade:
It seems that people have
driven out this aquatic wolf.

It now exists
only beyond civilization.

To take it on, I'm now preparing

to travel deep into
Suriname's wild interior.

Usually, there are signs

of human habitation
dotted around,

but out here, there is nothing.

I once survived
a plane crash in Brazil

and was lucky enough
to walk to a nearby town.

But out here,
I wouldn't stand a chance.

The landing strip is the only
clear patch of forest

I have seen
for nearly two hours.

I wonder just what
I've got myself into.

Pieter Sonneveld has a European
name but is 100% Surinamese.

He will help me talk
with the local people

so I can collate any wolffish
stories from this area.

Wade: On the ground,

the rainforest is as impressive
as it is from the air,

but our isolation
is even more apparent.

Not only are the heat
and humidity oppressive,

but our little group are
possibly the only human beings

in thousands of acres
of tangled rainforest.

At night, this place takes on

an even more sinister character.

Well, it looks like
we're just about here,

but I'm not totally sure
where here is.

But it does sound like

there's some serious water
over here somewhere.

But I'm gonna have to wait
until the morning

to see exactly
what I'm up against.

In all my years of fishing,

this could be the most
unspoiled and remote river

that I've ever fished.

The mighty Corentyne River
is 450 miles long,

and Suriname's largest.

For most of its length,

it is completely uninhabited
and rarely explored.

Wade:
The river is punctuated

by frequent crushing rapids
and deep, turbulent pools.

There are vast
granite boulders everywhere,

some just under the water,
others creating waterfalls.

There are so many different
fishing holes

that I take every opportunity

to get a bait or lure
in the river

to cover as much water as I can.

Different types of fish prefer
different parts of the river.

Having never hunted
for wolffish here,

I need to explore
every likely fishing spot

to see if I can discover
the monster's lair.

I'm using my short
bait caster rod for accuracy

to get my eye in.

Although it looks lightweight,

this beauty with
its strong, braided line

is capable of landing fish
over 100 pounds.

But there are more
than just wolffish here.

The Corentyne is also home
to the red-eye piranha,

one of the largest of its kind.

This river really is
the best place

to compare these two toothy
South American monsters.

That's a fish on.
Fish on.

Hey, fish off.

Suddenly, I'm getting action
every cast.

Aah!

When you get these things in,
they are just so well-hooked,

and yet sometimes you hook one,

and somehow, it just manages
to get rid of the hooks.

That's quite dramatic, though.
Short, but very, very dramatic.

That's one on.
That's one on.

Let's see if I can
keep this one.

But is this a wolffish?

I haven't seen the fish yet.

That is a piranha in the back.

Foul-hooked always feels bigger.

Monster piranha.

That is black in color.

Wade:
Just by looking at one,

you can understand
the piranha's reputation.

But I've done experiments
using myself as a guinea pig,

and I've concluded

that they're only dangerous
to people

in extreme circumstances.

For piranhas, the mob rules.
It's death by 1,000 cuts.

And for that,
they have no equal.

But I'm comparing wolffish
with piranhas one against one,

and having now seen the piranhas

they have to compete with,

I'm even more wary
about meeting a wolffish.

I wonder if, like wolves,

the fish I'm after
are nocturnal hunters,

so I continue
fishing into the night,

but it's too risky
to move around.

There are too many hazards
and dangers

that could send me
into the dark water.

So I change tactics
and stick to the shore.

I'm fishing with a big bait
cast into the stream.

Fish on.

But it's just
another monster piranha.

He's supposed to be asleep now,
but there's always one.

There's always one.

Eh.

It's November, and the rainy
season is fast approaching.

Carbon-fiber rods make
excellent lightning conductors.

I don't know how long
I can stay out here.

Luckily,
something picks up the bait.

It feels big...

Much bigger than anything
I've hooked so far.

The question is, do I have
one on the end of my line?

All right,
this is a new species for here.

That's a red-tailed catfish.

That's about the size
of what I want,

but it's the wrong species.

The local name for these fish
is the motro tejalie,

which translates as "motor car"

on account of all the noises
they make

when out of the water.

Oops.

Red-tailed catfish.

It's another species
that's active at night.

Not what I was after,

but it's quite interesting just
to see a bit of variety here.

It's a familiar species to me,

but in a different part
of South America.

Bit of excitement.

But the wrong kind
of excitement.

Wade: After several more days
of trying with no success,

my guide, Pieter, suggests
we visit the only village

in the area

and talk with the locals

to see if they can give us
the information that we need.

The Tiriyo tribe's village
at Amatopo

has no more than 20 huts.

It is their only settlement
on the Corentyne River.

They live with the wolffish,

so they know it better
than anyone.

I'm hoping they will share
some of its secrets with me.

How dangerous exactly
is the anjumara?

Yateo was hunting,

and he came to a creek near here
called Mosquito Creek.

And there was a troop of monkeys
crossing the creek.

They were going to the furthest
branch on one side,

jumping across onto the furthest
branch the other side,

and the whole group of monkeys
had jumped,

apart from the last one.

One missed the branch,
landed in the water.

As soon as it hit the water,

it was attacked by a wolffish
and killed.

Suddenly the stories
come thick and fast.

So, somebody was actually
bitten on the arm.

That speaks of a real sort
of aggression.

Yateo's uncle was hunting
one day with his dog.

The hunting dogs,
when they're hunting,

they're barking,
barking, barking.

Yateo's uncle found his dog
dead in the creek

with its stomach ripped open.

And there's now another incident
of somebody getting bitten...

In this case, on the thumb.

So it's another two animals
to add to the list...

Snakes swimming on the surface
and just being taken from below.

There's a type of bird
called an anamu.

This is a bird that comes
to the water to drink,

and likewise, that's just
grabbed by one of these fish

just lurking there in ambush.

He's sort of, you know,

wary about getting
in the water sometimes.

People outside South America...
They know all about piranhas.

Now, locally, wolffish...

This is a fish
with a very big reputation.

It's known to be
very aggressive,

and there are
certain circumstances

where they will literally
rip anything apart

that goes near them...

Reptiles, birds, primates,
even people.

Wade: After listening
to the Tiriyo tribe,

it's clear that having
the weaponry is one thing,

having the attitude
is quite another.

The wolffish is well equipped
with both.

But one thing still eludes me...

Where do you find them?

Salamoni agrees
to take me fishing,

but it's like no fishing
I've done before.

Straightaway, we do something
I wasn't expecting.

Salamoni leads me
to a narrow creek...

One that no one has been
through for some time.

We then take to the land
and creep through the jungle.

Looks like
we're following the course

of sort of a dried-up subcreek,

so the chances are there's going
to be a bit of a junction here.

That does look like the kind of
place where you might find fish.

Wade: He fishes with
a bow and arrow,

the way his ancestors have
for centuries.

He's stringing the bow.

Just getting the tension
in the bow.

Wade: This is mimicking
the sound of a water bird,

so there's a little bit of
disturbance on the surface,

a little bit of whistling.

The idea is
this calls the wolffish in.

I don't know if
it's coincidence or what,

but I've just seen movement
on the surface,

which looked very much
like a wolffish.

Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes.

Oh. It's on.

Wade: He missed it,

but it has given me the last
piece of this puzzle.

One thing very, very striking.

That fish, when it came in,
that was in very shallow water.

Not just that...
Very, very tangly water.

So this isn't a monster
of the deep.

This is a monster
sometimes of the shallows.

The fishing with a line is
gonna be very close quarters,

and also these snags are going
to present a real problem...

Not just in terms
of getting a bait

to a place where the fish
can take it,

but also,
if I get a heavy fish on,

extracting it from
all this stuff, you know.

It's going to be
very challenging.

And who knows?
That might even be at night.

So this is going to be
quite some fishing.

I decide to have a go myself

using the gear
I'm accustomed to.

Wade: I'm now using
my larger fixed-spool reel

and a big chunk of bait

with a wire trace

to stop any sharp teeth
from biting through.

I'm also trying to make some
disturbance on the surface

like Salamoni did

to see if it will attract
any hungry wolffish.

No takes on the bait.

No reaction to the popper.

Looks a good spot,

but doesn't seem to be
anything at home.

We've reached the end
of the navigable stretch

of this creek now.

It's just this impenetrable
tangle of branches now.

So if we were to hack our way
through there,

we'd just disturb everything,

and you could hardly get a bait
into the water.

Anyway, very,
very interesting fishing.

On our way back to the village
on the main river,

conditions are changing.

It may be nothing
to worry about,

this black cloud here,

because the weather
in the tropics,

it can be very localized.

You can see a storm over
in one direction.

Maybe it comes your way...
You get wet...

Maybe it goes somewhere else.

But it seems to have passed us
by, or so I think.

Wade: With nothing for the pot,

Salamoni takes me on a detour
to catch some fish for dinner.

Think this could be
our spot here.

So, off the rocks,
there's gonna be a nice slack

with eddies happening
on the other side.

But out on this exposed island,
in the middle of the river,

we are about to discover

just how changeable
and dangerous

conditions are
in the rainforest.

This is a classic example
of pure fishing, in a way.

It's starting
with absolutely nothing...

Just coming down with
a couple of rods, no bait,

and just poking around
in these cracks to find crabs.

And a crab is pulled to pieces,
and that's where we start from.

Hopefully, we turn that...

Man: me!
Should I take this off?

Wade: I would.
I would.

That lightning strike...

Salamoni was standing
in the water.

He actually felt a shock,
got a shock through the water.

Abandoning...

We're getting into the boat,
and we're going.

I thought we'd all escaped
that lightning strike.

The sound man on my crew didn't.

Our sound recordist
has been hit...

Was actually struck on the head
by that bolt of lightning.

Chris, are you okay?
Are you responding?

Good, good, good, good.

We might need some
first aid here. Let's go.

Quick, quick, quick.

How are you feeling?

All right.

We're moving away
from the storm.

That's good.

Right.

Rubber soles, rubber soles,
rubber soles. Good.

Wade: I've got a bit
of a headache.

James, who is behind the camera
at the moment,

has got a headache.

I think it might have actually
hit all three of us.

Chris definitely
got the brunt of it.

Very, very lucky for him

he was actually wearing
thick, rubber-soled boots.

So he's conscious,
which is a huge relief.

We're arriving back at the camp.

Wade: I suspect that
the lightning bolt

actually struck very close
to where we were all standing.

We all felt the effects
of the strike,

but Chris was obviously
the closest.

The remoteness of our location
is now even more apparent.

But thankfully, Chris'
condition continues to improve,

and within 12 hours, he is
once more back on his feet

and eager to get me
fishing again.

If you just tell me again
how far from here we're going.

That night,
Pieter lays out his plans

for us to head even deeper
into the jungle

to try and reach some creeks

that he believes will be
the best places

for us to catch a wolffish.

But it will mean camping
and being self-sufficient

for several days
in a place even more remote.

With all that has happened,
it is a brave plan,

and we decide to sleep on it.

But I discuss it with the crew,

and there's really
only one decision.

I'm actually going
even more remote,

if such a thing is possible.

I figure that if I'm gonna
find a big wolffish,

I'm gonna need to go somewhere

where even the Tiriyo
don't normally go.

The sheer size of the
Corentyne River is humbling.

In places,
it is over two miles wide,

a confusion of
tangled islands, channels,

rocky outcrops,
and narrow rapids.

We are using a local boatman
called bona

who knows the river well.

Without him,
I would quickly become lost

in this watery maze.

The jungle echoes
with eerie calls and cries,

but it is too impenetrable

to reveal the creatures
making the noise.

Three hours later,

and with nothing but endless
rainforest on either bank,

we arrive at our new base camp.

It's a collection
of small tents on a sandbar

on an island
in the middle of nowhere.

From here, I will carry out

my campaign to catch a wolffish.

I waste no time getting ready.

And before the sun sets,

we head out to the nearest
creek to get our bearings.

Wolffish, it seems, head up
creeks during the wet season,

dispersing
into the flooded forest.

But as the water recedes,

they are forced back down
towards the main river.

It is then that they are
their easiest to find.

I'm here in what should be

the lowest water levels
of the year,

but straightaway,

it is apparent the conditions
are not ideal.

Very much mixed feelings
on arriving at the camp.

The thing that
struck me immediately

was that the water level
is probably about two foot up

on what we'd hoped for,
what we'd expected,

and what is ideal
for catching the wolffish.

Basically, what that means is

that the creeks are gonna be
that much fuller,

so the fish aren't
gonna be concentrated.

They're gonna be
spread up the creek.

They won't be as hungry.
They won't be as aggressive.

So catching them is likely to be
harder than I expected.

Wade: I have now heard
incredible stories

of how fearless wolffish are.

I have caught the huge piranha

that they compete with
in these rivers.

I have traveled so far
and risked so much

that to fall at the last hurdle
would be a disaster.

This creek is
a really eerie place...

A pool enclosed by rainforest
in the heart of nowhere.

I have never felt
so tiny and remote.

The fragility of my safety
has never been so clear.

And to make matters worse,
I'm not alone.

A caiman...
South America's alligator.

Large ones have been known
to attack people.

Although normally quite wary,

this one is
completely unafraid of me...

Testament to how far
from people I've traveled.

I don't want him
to come too close.

But it's no wonder he has made
this creek his home.

It's piranha.

Buzz off. Aah.

It's alive with piranhas.

Actually very frustrating.

Every bait I'm throwing out
is getting attacked.

But unfortunately,
it's by piranhas.

Ah, piranha again.

I'm hoping
that as the light fades,

they will become less active.

But at the moment, I've got
a dwindling supply of bait,

because the piranhas are just
attacking it every time.

My best chance is to wait
until night.

Wade: Salamoni told me
that once the sun sets,

the piranhas run and hide,

because that's when
the wolffish come out to hunt.

It seems that piranhas know
who the real river monster is.

Fish on!

Oh, yeah.

I finally got a wolffish
on my line,

but I'm not the only one
with an eye on my catch.

There's a caiman
right in front of me.

I do the only thing
I can think of...

I'm gonna try and just pull
this up on the side.

With the worst possible result.

Oh

I was trying to pull
the fish up on the side

because the caiman was after it,
and I've lost it.

I've lost it!

Damn!

Should have had that fish.

If that caiman
hadn't been there,

I'd have probably had that fish.

What I was trying to do was just
slide it out on the side here.

Hook came out.

Damn!

I can't risk going back,

even though I know wolffish
are there.

Caiman are territorial,

and it was certainly
not afraid of me.

It will be there again
tomorrow without doubt,

and next time, it might not
just go for the fish.

A 7-foot caiman
could easily attack,

and a severe injury out here

would have serious
ramifications.

But morning gives us
another problem... rain.

The storm makes me
and the whole crew nervous.

We are nearing the end
of the dry season.

When the rainy season starts,
two things will happen...

First, the creeks will flood,

and the fish,
already hard to find,

will disappear
into flooded forest,

making them impossible to catch.

Second,
and possibly more important,

we could become stranded.

The airstrip is upstream,
and it's our only way home.

If the water
gets too high and fast,

we will not be able to get out.

It's a sobering thought,

and it makes me look as much to
the sky as I do to the water.

And I certainly don't want
to test the theory

that lightning never strikes
the same place twice.

The new creek that I'm
targeting is much narrower

and even more surrounded
with snags and tangles

than the previous one.

Oh, it's off.

Nothing seems to be
going my way.

All my previous luck
seems to have run out.

Just putting bait on here.

Not getting any response
to artificial,

so I'm putting a lump
of piranha on.

There's been a couple of fish
actually moving in here...

One right underneath
this tangle of branches,

so it's fishing right
in the middle of snags.

In a place like this,
if it gets even a few feet,

it's wrapped itself
around a branch,

so I give it just enough line
to take the bait properly,

and then it's just
try and haul it to the boat.

There's been nothing moving here
now for quite a while,

so I think what I'll do,

I'll go further up the creek
and maybe drop in here later.

Nothing doing here
at the moment.

Wade: The only option left is to
enter this creek at night.

With half-hidden roots
and fallen trees,

navigating this waterway is
a disaster waiting to happen,

and it seems every creek
has its caiman.

To make matter worse,
I hear a rumble of thunder.

My window of opportunity
is about to slam shut.

This could be my last chance
to catch a wolffish.

Oh, wait, wait, wait,
wait, wait.

Oh, off, off, off.

No, that could have been
a piranha

that took it into a snag.

I think it could be time
to call it a night.

These things are very active
at the moment.

Wade: With the storm
edging ever closer

and hungry piranha

seemingly beating any wolffish
to my bait,

I'm considering
calling it a night.

But then I make a discovery.

Wait a minute.
I've got a scale here.

I've got a scale.

That looks like
a small wolffish.

The storm is closing in,

but so are the wolffish.

I decide to fish on.

Here we go.
Here we go.

Finally, a strong take.

It's a wolffish.

The monster I've spent the past
three weeks trying to catch...

And it's a big one.

Over she comes.

Ah!

Fantastic. Here we go.
There's the result.

That's lovely.

So, here we are.
This is the wolffish.

The stories I've heard about
these... absolutely fearless.

Anything comes near them...

Dogs, people...
They'll go for it.

It looks quite gap-toothed.

But actually,
pull those lips back,

and you see there are very spiky
fangs underneath there.

The other thing about it
is the fishing

is just unlike anything
I've done before.

It's real guerilla,
close quarters,

hand-to-hand combat, almost.

Wade: My quest for the wolffish
has pushed me to my limits.

Damn!

It seems appropriate

that I've had to
push deeper and deeper

into the greatest rainforest
in the world

to find the most savage and
untamed river monster to date.

The piranha
gets all the press...

but this guy delivers the goods.

It's well-armed with
a fearsome set of teeth,

but it's also fiery
and fearless,

attacking animals and people
even out of the water.

And I'm convinced
this is the fish

that possibly pound for pound

is the toughest, most monstrous
fish of South America.

There it is... the wolffish.