All language subtitles for Expedition.X.S05E05.Alaskan.Lake.Monster.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-SLAG_track4_[eng]

in the Last Frontier, Alaska.

[Jessica cheering]

[Josh] Jess and Phil
investigate new reports
of an aquatic beast

believed to inhabit
these waters.

How big do you suspect
this creature is?

Up to over 50 feet.

She looks at me
and looks back at the lake
and says,

"What the F is that?"

-Nobody has ever laid eyes
on this.
-[Jessica] Mmm-hmm.

[Phil] Ever.

[Josh] Now, my team
is launching an arsenal
of modern technology...

[Phil] All right. Going in.

[Josh]
...to get to the bottom...

[Phil] Tons of salmon
right there.

[Josh] ...of what lurks
in the frigid depths.

Hang on!

It's getting really murky
down there.

[Jessica] What's this,
what's this?

-Oh, my God!
-Oh,[bleep].

That's big, that's dark.

What is that?

[Josh reading]

My name is Josh Gates.

In my travels,
I've experienced
strange things

that defy logic and made me
question everything.

Oh, my God.

Now, I've put together a team
to investigate

the stranger side
of the unknown.

Let's go.

[Josh] Phil Torres
is a scientist

who hunts for
rational explanations.

[Phil speaking]

[Josh] Jessica Chobot's
paranormal research has
made her a true believer.

If you're here with us,
knock again.

[Josh] Together,
we're searching for answers...

[Phil] What is happening here,
Jess?

[Josh] ...to the world's most
extraordinary mysteries.

This isExpedition X.

All right, Phil, Jess,
for your next investigation,

I am sending you to a place
that is as remote as it gets.

-Uh-oh.
-I like the sound of this.

In fact, it is so remote
and so wild that you are
probably going to need this.

And you know what?
Maybe even this.

Bear spray, huh?

-That is a lot of bear spray.
-[Josh] Sure is.

That's because there are
a lot of bears there.

In fact, it's home
to the largest brown bear
population on Earth

and not coincidentally,

the largest red salmon
population on Earth.

Ooh, I think I got this one,
Jess.

-We're going to Alaska.
-[Josh] That's right.

We're going to Alaska!
That is actually pretty cool.

I'm actually surprised
that it took you this long
to send us there,

because it is like a magnet
for the unexplained.

It's true.

There's a lot of weird
stories in Alaska,
but in this particular case,

we're talking about something
that many native Alaskans

and in fact some scientists
even insist
is absolutely real.

A large, unidentified creature
that supposedly lives
in a 1,000-foot deep lake.

[Josh]
Iliamna is the largest lake
in the Last Frontier,

sitting in southern Alaska
and connected
to the Bering Sea.

It has been a life source
to the indigenous people
living along its shores

for nearly 10,000 years,

providing food
and allowing them
to build an economy

around the abundant salmon.

But for generations,
the Alaska Natives
have claimed

there's more than just fish
swimming in Iliamna.

Local Tlingit legends describe
a 30-foot aquatic beast

with a wolf-like head
and razor sharp teeth.

They call it the Gonakadet.

To the Aleut people,
it is known as the Jig-ik-nak,

an aggressive predator
that stalks
these frigid waters,

hunting its prey.

-[groans]
-[Josh] Be it animal or human.

Local lore says the creature
attacks fishermen,

specifically targeting
boats painted red.

[dramatic music playing]

[Josh] In the 1940s,

with increased airplane
traffic over Alaska,

comes a dramatic surge
in sightings by bush pilots,

of a dark-colored
oversized beast in the lake.

In 1963,

a biologist from Alaska Fish
and Game spots
what he describes

as a 30-foot long creature,
cruising below the surface.

In that same decade,
NASA astronauts report
similar sightings

while conducting
training flights
around the lake.

By 1980,

reports of a mystery creature
up to 50 feet long
becomes so prevalent

that an Anchorage newspaper
offers a $100,000 reward

for solid proof
of the Iliamna Lake Monster.

The reward never pays out,
but the reports persist.

Now, a spate of
recent sightings
has attracted the attention

of the state's
fisheries commission.

The office keeps an open file
to document the reports,

and two biologists
are so convinced
there's a unique species here,

they've started
their own investigation

and believe they're close
to solving the mystery.

So does that reward
still stand,

'cause I'll split it
with you?

60, 20, 20. Right?

I said you, Josh.

All right. Cool. Sure. 60-40.

-You watch yourself, Jess.
-What?

[Josh] So what do you guys
think?

Well, I think that legends
like this always
come from truth,

and this is a perfect example.

A lot of eyewitnesses
have seen this over
a long period of time,

so it's not a matter of
if there's something living
in this lake,

it's a matter of us going
out there and finding it.

I agree with you there, Jess.

I think there's something
in the lake,

but that doesn't mean
that something
is a lake monster.

It could be an overgrown fish.

It could be a school of fish
that come up to the surface.
We don't know.

But that's also why I think
it's kind of awesome

that there's a team
of scientists there,

dedicating energy
to try to solve this.

Well, I'm glad you feel
that way,

because you're going to be
joining forces
with those scientists.

They are up at the lake
right now doing research,

trying to figure out
what this thing is,

and they have a limited window

because Lake Iliamna
freezes over in the winter.

Now they've been using
stationary underwater cameras.

What they don't have
is an ROV.

So we're going to help them
with that.

Hopefully the ability
to maneuver around underwater

and get real-time video back
might give us a breakthrough.

Awesome.
I'm all over that ROV.

-Video game
geek gets to drive.
-Yes.

[Phil] No complaints there.

[Josh] So the mission
is simple.

Get to Iliamna Lake
and figure out
what people are seeing.

Could this be some sort
of uncatalogued species

that natives have been
witnessing for generations?

Or is this simply a case
of misidentification
of a known animal?

We're going to find
the lake monster.
I feel it in my bones.

-I like the confidence, Jess.
-[Jessica] Thank you.

I like the confidence.
Also, don't get eaten
by a bear.

-Oh, hold onto these.
-Good luck.

[Josh]
Phil and Jess fly nearly
3,400 miles

to Alaska's largest city,
Anchorage.

There, they connect with
local pilot Tim La Porte,

who's been transporting
passengers and supplies

to and from Iliamna
for 45 years
in his fleet of PC-12s.

To travel more nimbly
to this remote location

and to stay under
our aircraft's strict
2,500-pound weight limit,

we've downsized the gear
and the crew.

[Tim] Hope everybody
had a light breakfast.

[dramatic music playing]

[Phil speaking]

-[Tim speaking]
-[laughs]

[Phil speaking]

[Jessica speaking]

[Josh] Alaska roads
will only take you so far

over this rugged
undeveloped landscape.

So this small plane will carry
our intrepid adventurers
the remaining 200 miles

to Iliamna on their hunt
for a monster.

[Phil speaking]

[Tim speaking]

[Jessica speaking]

[Tim speaking]

[Phil speaking]

[Tim speaking]

[Phil speaking]

[Tim speaking]

[Phil speaking]

[Jessica speaking]

[Josh] Situated on
the Alaska Peninsula,

Iliamna Lake is 77 miles long
and 22 miles across
at its widest point.

The 1,000-square-mile lake
connects to Bristol Bay
and the Bering Sea.

The average depth
is around 150 feet,
but in some spots,

it gets down
to a thousand feet,

water deep enough
to submerge the Eiffel Tower.

[Phil speaking]

[Tim speaking]

[Josh] Phil and Jess land
at the Iliamna airport

and hop on the ground
transportation

I've lined up to get them
across the village.

[engines revving]

[adventurous music playing]

[Josh] Around here,
cars are scarce and the roads
are just a little bumpy.

[Jessica cheering]

[Phil] Living in Alaska means
sharing your backyard
with moose,

caribou and wolves,

not to mention the brown bears
that greatly
outnumber humans here.

[Jessica] It's pretty
beautiful back here.

[Phil] Yeah, it is.

[Phil] At Iliamna,
the power ratio is clear.

Nature rules,
people just try to survive.

And if we get hurt out here,
we're on our own.

[Josh] I've arranged
for Phil and Jess

to meet Bruce Wright
and Mark Stigar
at their base of operations.

They're a pair of real-life
Captain Ahabs, hell-bent on
finding their white whale

or, in this case,
their dark lake monster.

Bruce was a biologist
with Alaska Fish and Game
and continues to study

the state's
ecological habitats.

Mark has a degree
in wildlife biology
and is a retired colonel

and former chief
aviation officer

for the Alaska Army
National Guard.

Nice to meet a fellow
biologist.

Interested to see
what you guys
can teach us about

whatever's out there
in the lake.

How big do you suspect
this creature is?

Well, there's... there's lots
of different reports,
I mean, up to over 50 feet.

[Jessica] That's crazy.
What would something
like that even eat?

We have five million
sockeye salmon

that come up to the lake
on an average year,

and each of the females lays
2,000 to 5,000 eggs.

So now you're looking
at maybe five, six billion
salmon in the lake rearing,

and we know we have
northern pike,
burbot, lake trout,

all these other predatory fish
out there.

[Jessica] Meaning there's
plenty of fish here
to sustain a monster.

So you're saying there's
a top predator in the water

and we don't know
what it is yet.

-We first started off trying
to catch this thing.
-[Jessica] Mmm-hmm.

[Bruce] We thought,
"Well, if we catch it,
we would know."

And we would set down
up to 15 hooks, we were using
a 38-pound anchor

and we'd put it on the bottom,
baited with
a full salmon head.

We had planned to only
leave it out overnight,

but due to the weather,
couldn't get back to it.

When we did come back to it,
as I was slowly coming in
to retrieve the line,

I noticed that the line
was not going out the same way
that we had put it out.

And it actually had
moved quite a bit.

And we started pulling
the lineup, and the line was
just totally tangled up.

Several of the hooks are gone,
and of the 14 fish heads,
ten of them were gone.

And the 38-pound anchor
was dragged 50 yards.

-[Jessica] Oh, wow.
-So...

-So this thing is strong.
-Yeah.

So at that point,
I absolutely knew there was
something in this lake.

[Jessica] So then
what do you think it is?

[Mark] I'm not sure
what it is.

There's large shark predators
out there.
One is the seals.

We know there's
freshwater seals

that live
in the lake year-round.

I think that's something else.

[Phil] I mean,
seals are marine mammals.

That, to me, says that
there's something unique
about this lake.

If the seal
is a resident here,

and essentially shouldn't be
based on the biology we know

of seals around the world,
what else could be
a resident here

that shouldn't be here?

A lot of unknowns up here.

[Jessica] Our plan is to head
towards the eastern side
of the lake,

where Mark says something
sizable destroyed
his bait system.

Locals say the monster
is aggressive and territorial,

so maybe whatever
attacked their rig
could still be in the area.

Summer in southern Alaska
brings about 19 hours
of daylight,

and even when the sun sets,
it'll remain low in the sky.

That should give us a lot
of extra light
for this investigation.

[Mark]
We did a recon a few days ago,

we saw some targets
on our acoustic gear
that were really intriguing.

We're trying to decipher
if they were salmon or
if they were something bigger.

[Phil] Sure,
a tightly grouped school

of fish could look like
one large mass on the sonar,

but with some reports claiming
the mystery creature is
upwards of 50 feet long,

the first place my biologist
brain goes is whale.

Whales can reach that length,
but this is a freshwater lake.

Even if a whale could survive
in fresh water,

could it get here
from the Bering Sea?

People have claimed
to see beluga whales
in Iliamna.

Now they don't grow much
past 15 feet.

But if a beluga could somehow
find its way here and survive,
maybe a larger whale can, too.

So this is close to where Tim,
our pilot, saw it as well.

Getting close.

Little bit of a hotspot
for all the sightings.

[Jessica]
The first thing overboard

is going to be Bruce
and Mark's camera trap.

We attach a waterproof camera
to this baited metal cage
and then tie a buoy to it.

If anything swims
this way looking for a meal,

the camera should
capture images

that we'll be able to retrieve
from the memory card.

All right, well,
let's grab the ROV.

[Jessica] But the ROV
is the main event.

It's got an onboard 4K
ultra high definition camera

and a row of LED lights
to help us see
in the murky waters.

This will be the first time
anyone has used

this tech in these waters
to search for the creature.

And Bruce believes
it's just the tool he needs
to finally get a visual on it.

[Phil] That's a good view.

All the sediments we're seeing
in the water, that's plankton.

All of this is phytoplankton,
it's algae.

That's why this thing
is so productive, this lake.

[Phil] Holy[bleep],
look at all those fish.
Well, that's a good sign.

[Jessica]
That's a very good sign.

[Phil] Where there's fish,
there's something
that eats fish.

[Mark] We got a big
target at 40 feet.

[Bruce] Big target at 40 feet?
How big?

[Mark] It's hard to tell,
but it's moving.

[Jessica] I'm not seeing
anything yet.

-What's that?
-That.

[gasps]

[tense music playing]

-What's that?
-That.

[gasps]

[Phil] Is that what we saw
on the sonar?

[Jessica] Something just hit
the ROV.

What is that?

So what's dragging me?
Look at this.

That is weird.

All right.
Let's let the line go,
and let's see.

Keep going up, keep going up.

[Jessica] I'm pushing it,
it's not going up.

It just keeps dropping.
It's not responding at all.

[Jessica]
The camera's working,
but the motor is shot,

literally dead in the water.

I think it's possible our ROV
was attacked

by something that saw it
as either a threat or a snack.

I don't understand
why it's not going up.

[Phil] Despite Jess's
mad video gaming skills,

I think operator error
might have had

something to do
with the ROV going down.

But for argument's sake,

let's say something near
the lake floor did mess
with it.

Could it have been a sturgeon?

Sturgeon can live 100 years
and grow to 20 feet long,

which makes them
some of the world's oldest
and largest freshwater fish.

These bottom feeders aren't
supposed to be in this lake,

but they can be found in
some southern Alaskan rivers.

If a sturgeon did manage
to make it to Iliamna,

I can see how something
that size in shallower water

could get mistaken
for a monster,

especially from up in a plane,
like many of the reports.

-All right.
ROV's out of the water.
-All right, good.

[Jessica] Before we leave
with our busted robot,

we check Mark and Bruce's
underwater camera.

Maybe it snapped a shot
of whatever was messing
with our ROV, but no dice.

So we drop it back
in the water,
hoping our luck changes.

[Jessica] The next morning,
Mark and Bruce

are setting out more
of their baited cameras
in other parts of the lake.

While they tackle that,
there's an experiment
I want to try.

All right.
You want to head towards
that red box over there?

[Phil] Yeah.

[Jessica] Legend says
the lake monster is drawn
to the color red,

even attacking
red-bottomed boats.

[sinister music playing]

[Jessica] I'm going to put
that part of the legend
to the test

at a section of the lake,

where there have been
recent sightings
from people on shore.

So your idea is that
this is the color that
the locals claim

the lake monster's
attracted to.

-Exactly.
-And that's why they don't use
red boats like this.

And it makes sense,
because the salmon here
are red.

-[Phil] Okay.
-And that's its food source.

So if it's attracted
to that color,
because of its food source,

maybe it'll be attracted
to this kayak,
because it's the same color.

Okay.

[Phil] I'm not saying there's
a lake monster out here
attacking red-bottomed boats,

but research shows that even
though they might not have

the ability to actually
distinguish colors,

some marine life
do appear to gravitate
to certain colors.

Sharks are often drawn
to high contrast colors
like yellow, orange and red.

So who knows?

Jess's experiment might
not be as crazy as it sounds.

So if we put this
in the water,

attach a trail cam
to that red box over there,

maybe we can get it to breach
and we'll be able to capture
it on the game cam.

Yeah.

Yeah. One more thing
you're going to like Phil.

[Phil] What you got?

Mini seismometer.

Ooh!

So that if anything hits this,
as if it was attacking it,

we will be able
to register it on this.

[Phil] Nice.

[Jessica] I figure we can put
this down here

so that if anything hits
from the bottom up,
we'll be able to get it.

Oh, lighting up. Check it.

[Jessica] Yeah, very nice.

[Phil] Yeah.

[Jessica]
If there's any sudden movement
of the kayak,

this device will record it
and send an alert to my phone.

-Cool.
-[Phil] On.

-On.
-[Phil] Okay.

Let's get the kayak
in the water.

Out she goes.

[Jessica] Nice.

Leave it out here overnight
and get it in the morning?

-[Phil] Let's do it.
-All right.

[Phil] Jess's experiment
gets me thinking,

if the mystery creature
is somehow drawn to red,

"Is it possible that
what we're looking for

is some kind of shark
that made its way upriver?"

There are sharks that can
survive in fresh water.

The most common shark
in the Bering Sea
is the Pacific sleeper shark.

Sleeper sharks
are dark-colored

and have been known
to reach upwards of 20 feet
and 8,000 pounds.

They've never been
officially documented
around Iliamna Lake,

but I need to consider
all options.

If a shark is around here,
where's the best place
to find it?

The Newhalen
is a 22-mile river that flows
south into Iliamna Lake.

We're told
it's a major pathway
for a mind-boggling migration

of sockeye salmon
and rainbow trout.

So we've arranged for some
high speed transport to
navigate this epic waterway.

[Phil] I'm guessing
you're Captain John.

Yeah.

-[Phil] Are you going
to take us upriver?
-[John] I am.

All right.

What should we expect?
Are we about to get wet?

Possibly. We'll try not to.

Try not to go overboard.

-[John laughs]
-Yeah.

Try not to push you.

[Jessica] Hmm.

[dramatic music playing]

So have you ever seen
a weird wake,

just naturally,
just like one big wave
coming in?

[John] Absolutely.

You may see something
above the water,

you know, associated
with the wake.

What does that mean?

That's the million-dollar
question.

I guess the question here is,
is it a lake monster
or is it a wake monster?

Oh, my God!

Can we kick him off the boat?

[adventurous music playing]

[Phil] Yes, it is impressive
how much water
is going through here.

[Jessica] Yeah.

[Jessica]
With its sturdy aluminum hull,

unique sled-shaped bow
and high performance engine,

Captain John's
custom-made boat
is perfectly designed

to maneuver through shallow,
rocky waters,

getting us into remote areas
inaccessible
to many other boats.

Rocky rapids coming up,
right ahead.

[adventurous music playing]

[Phil] This is insane.

[Jessica] This is awesome.

[Phil] We've been
flying over the rapid.

We had no idea,
a boat like this could
get up a river like this.

You have done this before,
right?

Yep.

[bleep]. This is insane. Oh!

-[Jessica] Oh!
-[Phil] Whoo!

You're going between that?

Hopefully.

[Jessica] Oh!

[Phil] Oh, my God!

You're going between that?

Hopefully.

[Phil] No way.

Hang on!

Woo-hoo-hoo.

Oh, my God!

That was insane.

If I was a lake monster,
I'd do this for fun.

[Phil] Oh, yeah.

Full of delicious salmon.
You just open your mouth,
you get a bite.

[Jessica] Yeah.

[Phil] As we skim
over the rapids,

I scan for any signs
of a large aquatic predator.

While Jess is looking
for a lake monster
behind the local lore,

I'm trying to stay open-minded
on what known species
it could possibly be,

an overgrown fish
like a sturgeon

or even a rogue shark
or a whale

that found its way up here
from the Bering Sea.

Oh, my God!

-[Jessica] Oh, wow.
Look at them all.
-[Phil] That is all fish.

Tons of salmon right there.

[Phil] No doubt, this river
is an all-you-can-eat buffet.

Just ask the bears.

[Phil] We got a bear!
We got a bear!

Right on the edge up here.

[Jessica] Oh, yeah!

[Phil] So the bears here
get absolutely enormous,

because there's
so much salmon,
so much to eat,

they can get
up to 1,500 pounds.

So that is just
a perfect example of that,

predators get big
in this area.

[Jessica] Ooh, a bald eagle.
Here she comes.

[Phil] Wow. How about that?

[Jessica] That's cool.

[Phil] We've now spotted
two apex predators

that feast
on the abundant fish
in this river.

But I'm not seeing
any signs of anything big
living in the water.

And when that water turns
into Class V rapids...

[Phil] Holy [bleep],
it's insane.

[Phil] ...we decided
to get out and assess

from a different
vantage point.

[Jessica]
Oh, my God, look at this!

[Phil] Whoo!

Wow!

Come on.

[Jessica] Oh, check it out,
you can see
all the salmon over there.

Oh, yeah,
they're all concentrated
right there.

I will say, trying to fight
against something like this,

that'd be tough.

[Jessica] I mean, I think
it's possible it could be
coming up this river to feed,

but it wouldn't stay here
too long.
Not in these rapids.

[Phil] Jess and I agree
that this river is too shallow

and too rough for a big
aquatic creature.

My guess is it lays dormant

in the deep end of the lake
and pops up
when it needs to feed.

Yeah. If something's hiding,
it's going to be hiding
in the depth.

Yeah.

So should we
get out of here
before we get eaten by a bear?

-Yeah, I'd like that.
-Okay.

[Jessica] When considering
the plausibility
of a lake monster,

scientists say it would need
two basic things to survive,

plenty of food
and a suitable environment

where it could stay hidden.

Skeptics of the legendary
Loch Ness Monster
cite the lack of fish

in Loch Ness to sustain
what would be Nessie's
oversized appetite.

But that's obviously
not a problem in Iliamna.

As for a place to stay hidden,

my research reveals stories
told by native elders,

who believe the creature
makes its home
in underwater caverns

found in the deeper
parts of the lake.

But with a broken ROV
and depths that are too great
to dive,

we have no way
to look for those caves.

We're gonna need some help.

[Josh] Hey, guys, how are you?

-Hi.
-Hey, Josh.

How's the Last Frontier
treating you?

It's gorgeous out here.

[Phil] But I'll tell you what,
Lake Iliamna,

there's something special
about this place.

It is giant. It is deep.
It is remote.

It is arguably the most
well-preserved large lake
on this hemisphere.

Yeah, great.
Have you caught
the lake monster yet, Phil?

-Mmm.
-Not quite.

Okay. Any idea what people
are seeing there?

I'd say we have a list
of suspects out here.

It could be a large fish,
it could be a sleeper shark,

or it could be
some other thing.

We're trying
to narrow it down.

Sleeper shark?

Okay, well, I've got something
that might help reel
in your investigation.

I've tracked down a new lead
that I want you
to follow up on.

It's a pair of sisters
that just came forward

claiming they spotted
the lake monster
near their village.

Not only that,

they even managed to capture
a video of what they saw.

[Jessica] Wow, really?

[Phil] We also need your help
with something else.

Bruce and Mark, the biologists
we teamed up with here,

are so excited
that we have an ROV,

and for the first time ever,
they were able to see

a live feed
of what's down below.

[Jessica] Yeah, until
the lake monster attacked it.

[Josh] Wait, what?

[Phil] Either that or Jess
crashed it on the bottom.

[Josh] Chobot!

[Jessica] Here's the thing.

I found stories
that the creature lives deep
in underwater caves,

so if we can find
those caves...

[Phil] Long story short,
we need an ROV now
more than ever.

Well, a replacement
ROV in a hurry,

considering where you are,
bit of a tall order,

also I'm not sure
I trust you anymore,

but I will make some calls,
see what I can come up with.

In the meantime, go talk
to those witnesses, okay?

Sounds good.

-Bye.
-See you, Josh.

[Jessica] The next morning,
we meet sisters,
Christina and Alexanna Salmon,

prominent members

of their Village
Tribal Council

and whose family
has lived on the shores
of Iliamna for generations.

So it was right here,
this is where you saw it?

-Yes, from here.
-Okay.

[Alexanna] It was in the lake.

[Christina] Right
where the boat is right there.

-[Alexanna] Yes.
-[Phil] Okay.

But it was way bigger
than that boat.

Okay.
You got to walk us through
from the beginning.

[Jessica] Yeah.

Okay. I came up
and we're visiting right here.

And, um, just like
right now talking to you,

you could see
something moving.

And she looks at me
and looks back at the lake

and says,
"What the F is that?"

[Alexanna] My mind was trying
to justify what I was seeing.

Pretend it was a submarine
that could bend and turn.

[Phil] So it was just
plowing straight.

So submarine
was coming straight
and then turned.

And at that point,
we saw a big black hump,

as it was like
diving back under

and it's just parted
the water as it went.

[Phil] Now, I understand
you have footage
of this thing.

[Alexanna] Yes.

[Phil] Whoa. Look at that.

Now, I understand you have
footage of this thing.

[Alexanna] Yes.

[Phil] Whoa. Look at that.

[Jessica] Wow,
look at the size of that wake.

[Jessica] The sisters' video
is compelling,

but it's not exactly
the concrete proof

of an aquatic monster
I was hoping for.

According to their testimony,

by the time they whipped out
a phone and hit record
on the camera,

they only managed to capture
the very end of the sighting.

But even that five seconds
of video shows something
leaving an impressive wake.

So you actually saw it
kind of crest, like come out
of the water a little bit?

[Alexanna] Oh, yes.

When we saw it,
it was like a pure black,
shiny, it looked like a whale.

So was it a whale?

There is no way
a whale could have
made it up the river

with no one seeing it.

It was something you've
heard about your whole life.

What have you,
what have you heard?

A lot of the elders
have had sightings of it,

and they've always described
it as big and gray.

-That's cool.
-So there's something
in the water here.

-[Christina] Yeah.
-There's got to be.

[Jessica] I believe
the sisters had a chance
sighting of the creature,

as it made a rare breach
of the surface.

But if we want to see it
for ourselves,

we have to go
to where it lives.

We meet back up
with Bruce and Mark,

who've been busy placing
underwater camera traps
throughout the lake.

We'll check the cameras later,
but right now, we need to find
these legendary caves.

You could see caves
on some of the islands,
as you go around.

So maybe there's caves
down below.

The lake's pretty deep
over here.

And then there's been
sightings all up in...
in this area.

[Phil] Iliamna Lake
sits on the northern edge
of the Pacific Ring of Fire,

meaning the topography here
is the result of earthquakes,

volcanic activity
or glaciation,

any of which could create
caves and tunnels,

AKA hiding spots
for a large animal.

To help us find them,

Josh came through
with a special delivery
from Anchorage,

a state-of-the-art ROV
and a seasoned pilot to boot.

Sorry, Jess.

[Phil] Welcome to the team.

-Yeah, it's a beautiful
day to go on a boat ride.
-[Jessica] Yeah.

You do know
what we're going for here.

I know that it's a monster.

I guess technically
we don't know
what we're going for here.

-I mean, yeah.
-But we know it's big.

But no one's been
able to actually
get this thing on tape,

especially underwater.

So that's where we hope
you and your skills
can help us out.

-Who knows what we'll see?
-I know.

All right. Let's hit it.

[Jessica] We hightail it
across the lake,

traveling about 18 miles east
to the search area
Bruce pointed out on the map.

You don't want direct sunlight
when you're sending down
an ROV,

because that sunlight
bounces off

the particles in the water
and can actually make it
harder to see.

So having this fog overhead,
it's not too hot out,
conditions looking good.

[Jessica] Bruce and Mark
have identified
several small rocky islands

scattered in this corner
of the lake

that could be an indication
of caves down below.

[Phil] Definitely see
what look like
caves over there.

We need to get
our ROV in there.

[Phil] Jess is all in on
the ROV finding caves
where a monster might live,

but I'll be using it to search
for something that could be
mistaken for a monster.

To help with that hunt,
Bruce breaks out
another trick of the trade.

[Bruce]
This little thing right here

is called the Mako magnet,
puts out a low frequency.

-[Jessica] Mmm-hmm.
-Injured fish sound.

So this thing puts out
a low frequency noise
that goes how far out?

More than a mile.

We could potentially bring
in the lake monster.

[Bruce] We don't know.

[Phil] We attach
a waterproof camera
to the Mako magnet's cage.

Let's get this up
on the ledge.

And to maximize our coverage
all around the boat...

All right, going in.

...down go the rest
of our submersible cameras.

If the Mako magnet
attracts something,

we'll get a shot of it,
no matter
where it approaches from.

Now we just got to get
a robot in the water.

[Phil]
With about $45,000 worth

of high-tech features
built into it,

this ROV is one of the most
advanced underwater vehicles
on the market,

hence the need
for a specially trained pilot.

This robot can safely reach
depths of a 1,000 feet.

A lot of other ROVs would be
crushed by the pressure.

How's the video feed looking?

[Jessica] It looks good.

The plan is to navigate
towards the island

in search of rocky caves
and ledges,

where a large monster
could potentially hide.

[Jessica]
It is a little cloudier
over on this side, though.

What is,
what is that back there?

[Jessica]
Looks like a car bumper.

Maybe it's an airplane.

[Jessica] Oh, it could be
a piece of an airplane, maybe.

[Bob] It does look metal.

-I mean, it could also be
a branch.
-I mean, it looks metallic.

-But it's got a...
-It does look like a branch,

but right now,
it looks like...

I think that's a branch.

-[Jessica] You think
that's a branch?
-[Phil] Yeah.

It's getting really murky
down there.

-Big tree.
-[Jessica] A whole
bunch of trees.

[Jessica] Look at that.
That's a cliff's edge.

Wow. This is wild.

Look at that.

I'm going to go out away
from the wall

and then turn around
and look back.

[Jessica] Okay.

[Phil] Wow,
look at that structure.

It's crazy nobody has ever
laid eyes on this.

-[Jessica] Mmm-hmm.
-Ever.

Oh, my gosh.

That's incredible.

Wow.

[Bob] We're at 126 feet.

[Jessica] Twenty-six.

-Let's just keep going.
-[Jessica] Keep going,
because...

-Yes.
-No one has been down here.

[Mark] Big target showing up
on the sonar right now,
about 150 feet down.

[Phil] Let's keep
heading down that cliff.

[intense music playing]

[Jessica] What's this,
what's this, what's this?

[Phil] Whoa!

Looking for a shark
in Iliamna Lake
might not be so farfetched,

because even though sharks
typically live in the ocean,

certain species
have the ability
to retain or recycle salt.

The Ganges shark,
as its name suggests,

inhabits the bustling rivers
of India.

The speartooth shark
can be found in the tropical
riverbeds and estuaries

of Papua New Guinea
and northern Australia.

Then there's the meanest
of the bunch, the bull shark.

This aggressive apex predator
can swim hundreds
of miles upriver.

It's been documented
in the Mississippi,

as far north as Illinois
and in Louisiana's
Lake Pontchartrain.

And some believe it
was a bull shark
and not a great white

that famously terrorized
the New Jersey Creek in 1916

and later inspired
my favorite beach read, Jaws,

meaning they could
be hungrily hanging out

in a freshwater lake
or river near you.

[intense music playing]

[Mark] Big target showing up
on the sonar right now,
about 150 feet down.

[Phil] Let's keep heading
down that cliff.

[Jessica] What's this,
what's this, what's this?

[Phil] Whoa!

That's big, that's dark.

What is that?

[intense music playing]

[Jessica] Do you still see
anything on the sonar?

[Mark] Not anymore.

Down to 170 feet.

[Jessica] Still straight drop,
too.

If we can find
a deep water cave,

we may answer the question
how an aquatic giant has
managed to escape discovery.

[Phil] 200 feet down.

Is that starting
to flatten out?

Yeah, it looks
totally different over here.

[Phil] 220.

240. Keep going.

[Jessica] Oh!

That looks cool.

Just look around.

Look at those lines.

-[Bob] Tracks.
-[Phil] Yeah, tracks.

There's definitely
something living down there.

-[Bruce] That's pretty neat.
-Yeah.

It's really neat.

I mean, I'm surprised
we haven't seen any fish.

It's almost like
they're afraid
of a giant robot

with lasers
coming out of its face.

Lasers. Yeah. Yeah, yeah,
that's a good point.

-[all laughing]
-I would agree.

I'll tell you what,
it is amazing to see
the bottom of this lake.

I think we could safely say
this ROV went

where no man
or woman has gone before.

[Jessica] Yeah.

[Jessica] After another hour
of searching,

whatever we saw on our sonar
seems to have taken off.

[intense music playing]

We've been able to map out
some of the bottom areas,

we've gotten a sense of
where there's potential food,

where there's potential
hiding spots.

[Jessica] The potential
for something to be living
in here, that's massive.

I mean, it has definitely
enough space,

tons of food
and very little interaction
with people.

So if you're ever going
to have a lake monster
living anywhere,

I feel like
this is the best place
for that to happen.

And also,
this is just one island

in the middle
of a gigantic lake.

[Bruce]
I think it'd take us a year

just to survey this little,
this little tiny island.

Yeah.

[Josh] The deep waters
of Iliamna Lake

in the sparsely populated
wilds of Alaska

could indeed be
the perfect place

for a large aquatic animal
to remain undetected.

But is it really
a legendary monster

or some known creature
being mistaken for a monster?

Jess's kayak experiment
to test

if the animal truly is drawn
to the color red

yielded no alerts
from the seismograph
or camera trap.

And even though
there are certain sharks
that can inhabit fresh water,

so far none have been
confirmed here.

Phil also considered
the sturgeon.

They are a huge,
prehistoric looking fish,

but they're also
bottom feeders,

rarely seen at the surface,

and they're undocumented
in lake waters this cold.

We analyzed
the cell phone video captured
by the Salmon sisters.

Even with digital enhancement,
the visual here
is a giant wake.

But there is no proof
of what caused it.

So where does this leave us?

Phil suspects that in a place
so steeped in native lore,

multiple sightings
over decades
of different aquatic species

that aren't known to be here
may have combined
to inspire a monster myth.

And after seeing firsthand,
Iliamna's all-you-can-eat
salmon special,

followed by
a fast-moving shadow
at the rocky overhang,

Jess is doubling down
that there is something
unclassified

growing large in the lake.

But what it is
and where it came from
is still a mystery.

Which brings us to this.

Remember those
underwater cameras

Bruce and Mark
have been placing
throughout the lake?

The data is in
and the results are,
well, adorable.

This is an extremely rare
and very cute freshwater seal.

Iliamna Lake
is one of the few places
in the world

that you'll find seals living
in a freshwater habitat.

And just like a certain
legendary lake monster,

there's a lot that scientists
don't know about them,

like how they got here,

why they came
and why they stay.

The Iliamna seals average
just six feet long,

meaning they're probably
not being mistaken
for any monsters.

But if they can be in the lake
unseen by most,

perhaps some other
mysterious creature

might have found its way here

and could still be hiding
in the depths.

For more information
on Expedition X,

head
to Discovery.com/ExpeditionX.