All language subtitles for Strange.Evidence.S06E08.Russian.Car.Bomb.1080p.MAX.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-BETHELL_track3_[eng]

[glitch sounds]

[narrator] Worldwide,
36 billion cameras

are watching us,

on our street,

at work, and in our homes.

They capture things
that seem impossible.

Science says
this shouldn't happen.

[man] Do you see that?

[narrator] Experts carry out
forensic analysis

of these unusual events.

Wow, what a blast.

[woman shrieks]

This doesn't make sense.

There has to be
some sort of explanation.

What else is going on here?

[narrator] Coming up...
On a rush hour highway,

a bizarre backseat blast.

Oh, my God.

[narrator] Can Matt Kutcher
discover how it happened?

Let's get this car out
to the yard

and get ready to blow
the crap out of it.

[narrator]
A river monster rises.

What is this giant creature?

And are there
more of them out there?

[narrator] And in the remote
Southern Pacific,

has a man filmed
a secret test

of a doomsday weapon?

If nitrogen atoms
could be made to explode,

it would vaporize
the atmosphere.

[glitch sounds]

[narrator] Bizarre phenomenon.

Oh, my God. [gasps]

[narrator] Mysteries caught
on camera.

What's the truth
behind this...

strange evidence?

[suspense music playing]

[narrator] Moscow, Russia.

April 21st, 2014.

6:15 pm.

A dash cam films
as cars drive along

one of the city's
main freeways.

It looks like a normal
Russian beautiful summer day,

driving along,
moderate traffic.

[narrator] But then...

Oh, my God.

All of a sudden, boom.

There's this explosion.

[narrator] This is
no ordinary explosion.

The mysterious blast
has no flames,

but still blows out
the car's back seat

and windows,
sending the spare tire

and debris flying
30 feet into the air.

Man, this explosion
comes out of nowhere.

One minute, these guys
were driving along

and then, bam!

Car parts go everywhere.
It's anarchy.

[narrator] The car's driver
and passenger escape

but their car is destroyed.

That's terrifying. We have
to find out what that is.

[narrator] Russia's
capital city of Moscow

where this footage was shot,

is regularly rocked
by explosive assassinations.

The Russian Mafia
is estimated to be worth

over eight billion.

And there's 300, 000
operatives

across the globe including
in the United States,

and that's larger
than some standing armies.

So, this really
is a global threat.

[narrator] And the main tool
of their trade

is horrific violence.

Car bombs were used
with a surprising frequency

when rival factions
within the Russian Mafia

were attempting
to take out the leadership

of another faction.

[narrator] In Russia
as the Cold War ends,

the mafia war heats up.

In 1994, Sergei Timofeev,

karate expert and kingpin

of a Moscow-based
criminal gang

is killed by a car bomb
in broad daylight.

He was blown to pieces
in a Moscow street

with no consideration
for the safety of other people

just in order
to settle a score.

[narrator] Less than
10 years later,

two car bombs explode
on a main road

in the Republic of Dagestan
in Southern Russia,

killing four people
and injuring 44 others.

That gives you a real idea
of the bloodthirstiness

of these criminals.

[narrator] The mafia's
tentacles are said

to reach deep
into the Russian State.

And the threat of violence
goes right up

to Premier Vladimir Putin.

In 2016, Putin's chauffeur
is killed in a car crash.

Some believe
it's a targeted assassination

and a direct threat
to the President himself.

It's quite something to say
that President Putin

doesn't even feel safe
in his own country.

But he spent millions on
a fleet of bulletproof cars

just to make sure
that he's not targeted

for assassination.

So could we be looking
at a similar attack now?

[narrator] But when
Engr. Brian Wolshon

examines the footage,
he suspects a car bomb

cannot be to blame.

In a typical car bomb,
what we would expect to see

is just a total annihilation
and destruction

of the vehicle.

But in this footage,
we see something different.

The explosion
is very localized.

It's small. It's to the rear
of the vehicle.

I don't think
this is a car bomb.

I think we're looking
at something else.

[glitch sounds]

[mysterious music playing]

[narrator] Former NYPD
analyst Conor McCourt

considers that
the features of the car

could be significant.

It's different
than the other cars.

It's smaller.

It's boxy,
has blacked-out windows.

It rides very low.

Is this a custom-built car?

[narrator] Wolshon recognizes
the make of the vehicle.

So given the shape of the car,
the size of the car,

this to me looks like
it's a modified Lada.

[narrator] The Lada
was supposed to be

a communist supercar,

produced from 1970
by the Russian State,

in an attempt to prove
it could rival General Motors

or Ford in the United States.

They were notorious
for poor quality

and for safety problems.

Despite the fact
that these vehicles

were involved in numerous
breakdowns and crashes,

they were nevertheless
very popular

because they were cheap

and they were very easy
to modify.

[narrator] These simple cars
modern day fans

are so called modders,

amateurs who tinker
with vehicles

to improve their looks
and performance.

And so this whole craft market
has emerged of people

buying cheap Ladas,
refurbishing them,

restoring them,
modifying them,

and turning them
into dune buggies,

and sports cars,
and making them flashy.

[narrator] Craig Gottlieb
believes the owner of the car

may have added
a dangerous performance

boosting gas to the tank
of this modified Lada.

Nitrous oxide is something
that used to inject

into the gas system
of a vehicle

and makes the cars go
really, really fast.

So it's very explosive.
And it's the kind of stuff

you see in
Fast and the Furious movies
and so on.

[narrator]
In the United States,

nitrous oxide is outlawed
on public highways.

That doesn't stop
illegal street racers

from sometimes using it.

There's a very high potential
that installing

a canister
of highly compressed gas

right inside your engine
could cause an explosion

similar to what
we're seeing in this footage.

[techno music playing]

[narrator] Matt Kutcher
has over 20 years' experience

as a top Hollywood
explosives expert.

[Matt] Go!

Wow. Right?

I mean, now
that's an explosion.

But you don't see
any ignition source, right?

There's no flames, only smoke.

I think
it's a pressure vessel.

Some kind of bottle
exploded and created that.

You've heard the old saying,

"There's no smoke
without fire."

But that's not always true
when it comes

to the world of explosives.

We know these gas bottles,

the nitrous bottle
can be pressurized up

to 3,000 PSI,

3,000 pounds per square inch.

That's a massive amount
of potential energy

that's absolutely ready
to blow at any moment.

If the bottle
was to fail or rupture,

you could get a powerful
explosion without the flame.

[narrator] Kutcher wants
to know if nitrous oxide

caused this bizarre
flame-free explosion.

So we're gonna take
a pressure vessel,

mount it inside the car

and grab a tire
and a bunch of other debris

and stuff it in there
and see if we can make
that video happen.

Let's get this car out
into the yard

and get ready to blow
the crap out of it.

I wanna make that video.

[glitch sounds]

[narrator] Coming up,
can Matt Kutcher recreate

the backseat blast?

[Matt] Three, two, one!

[narrator] And filmed
near a world-famous tech hub,

is this
a secret robot designed

to enter the human body?

This is not the kind
of thing that would climb

onto your face and wanna
crawl down your throat.

[Matt] Push it already.

[narrator] Explosives expert,
Matt Kutcher,

wants to know if a mysterious
car explosion in Moscow

was caused by a ruptured
nitrous oxide pressure vessel

that was fitted
into the engine.

He rigs the trunk of a car
with a pressure vessel,

a tire, and debris
to try and match

the blast in the clip.

All right, guys, so we got
the system all replicated

to make this pressure
vessel blow, right?

Tickety-boo.
Let's get outta here.

All right, guys.
Let's get ready to go hot.

And in three,
two, one, blow it!

Yeah!

Now that's an explosion, man.

Come check that out. Yep.

So I guess seeing a tank
blew up inside of the car,

there's no flame,
but there sure is

one hell of an explosion.

Yeah?

You could really see
how much force is contained

inside of a bottle, isn't it?

And look at the damage it did.

It just goes to show you,
you don't need a big fireball

to get one big boom.

[narrator] The driver
and passenger in the clip

may have been able
to walk away after the blast.

But not everyone is so lucky.

On Christmas Day 2019
in Florida,

a man's car explodes
after he loses control

of his vehicle
and hits a tree.

He and his girlfriend
die instantly.

Officials believe the man
was speeding at the time

and that his modified car
was fitted

with a nitrous oxide
canister.

When you modify a car
like that,

you have visions of how
awesome you're gonna be.

And your visions of awesome
don't include sitting

in traffic and your car
suddenly blows up.

One thing's for certain,
the warranty on that car

has definitely been voided.

[glitch sounds]

[narrator]
Now Hsinchu, Taiwan.

August 2017.

A woman on a city street
comes across what looks

like a tangle of wires.
But then...

What?

What is that?

[narrator]
The thin black cable

appears to be moving
on its own.

[Rachel] Where does
this thing start

and where does it end?

And more importantly,
why is it wiggling around?

[narrator] The terrifying
twisted object

moves with
a robotic jerkiness.

I can't get my head around
what this thing is.

Where did it even come from?

[glitch sounds]

[narrator]
Engr. Rachel De Barros

finds a cutting edge
tech laboratory

near to where
the video was shot.

Just a few miles away
is Hsinchu Science Park.

[narrator] The park
specializes in making parts

for the robotics industry.

It makes me wonder
whether this is some sort of

manmade machine.

What if it's a tiny robot?

[narrator] Science historian,
Ashanti Davis,

believes the object
and the clip could be a robot

designed around
an organic body shape.

Biomimicry is all about
designing robots

that are modeled after nature.

You could have something
that looks like a fish

or even a bug,
but it's still a machine.

[narrator] In 2000,
NASA revealed

that they are developing
a snake bot,

a snake-like research probe

that will be able to dig
into extraterrestrial soil

and slither into cracks
in the rocks.

Maybe if this is a robot,

it's wriggling
like a worm bot,

in the same way
that snake bots have been

designed to wriggle
like snakes.

Worms have been found
in every region

explored by scientists.

This even includes deserts,

tundras, and the deep ocean.

If you were to build a robot
that can survive

all conditions,
a worm would be a good choice.

[narrator] But a worm robot
may not be native

to Taiwan at all,
but to the country

just a hundred miles away

across the Formosa Strait.

Taiwan has
a very powerful neighbor

that wants to keep an eye
on what they're doing.

[narrator] China has made
no secret of its desire

to take control of Taiwan,

and tensions
have never been higher.

[Rachel] China and Taiwan
are bitter enemies.

China believes that Taiwan
is part of its territory,

whereas Taiwan thinks
it should be independent.

[narrator]
China leads the world

in surveillance technology.

They like to spy
on everything

to detect any sign
of dissidence.

[narrator] Cybernetics
engineer, Ian Pearson,

believes that China

may develop
hyper-human-looking,

state-controlled robots

to send out into society
and spy on the public.

[Rachel] You could end up
with super intelligent

robot design.

Rubbing elbows
with everyday people,

constantly listening
and monitoring

what everyone's doing.

[narrator] But a robot
shaped like this thin

and spindly object could have

an even more
sinister purpose.

A robotic worm designed
to enter a person

and take control of them
like a mechanical parasite.

Imagine a device
that's created to interface

with the spinal column,

and override signals
from the brain.

You end up with a sort
of slave person

who could be
remotely controlled.

They'd be the ultimate
unwitting robo-fusion spy.

Technology like this

gives a whole new disturbing
meaning to being bugged.

[glitch sounds]

[narrator] Coming up.

Is this wiry entity
responsible

for a weird spade of deaths
in a nearby housing project?

These mind-controlling worms

could be taking
over human bodies in Taiwan.

[narrator] And, is this
evidence that the Chinese

are testing a missile
that can zigzag

past America's defenses?

It was fiery red,
white, and it looked hot.

[narrator] In Hsinchu, Taiwan,

a woman films a bizarre mass
of knotted wires

which seemed to be moving
on their own.

Maybe this is something
organic, but what is it?

[narrator] Entomologist
Kevin Kasky studies the clip

and notices weird unusual
features that point

to this being one

of nature's
most disgusting predators.

It's long, it's thin,
it's wriggling around.

The way that
it's all wound together,

this looks very reminiscent
of the Gordian worm.

[narrator] When these wiry
parasites are still babies,

they invade their host
in the most gruesome way.

The larvae of these worms
once they're swallowed

by something like a cricket
or a praying mantis,

they'll actually penetrate
out of the gut,

into the body cavity,

and that's where
they'll slowly grow

over the course
of several months.

When they are fully grown,

they can be up
to a foot in length,

and take over the host body.

Zombie insect.

It takes control
of the mind of the insect.

And then the worm forces
the cricket

or the praying mantis
to go towards water,

because the worm needs water
to reproduce.

And then once
they've done that,

they send the bug
on a kamikaze mission,

diving to their deaths.

The worm escapes
from the host body

by boring through its
exoskeleton and swims away

to find another host
to lay eggs in.

Just the thought of that
makes the hair on the back

of your neck stand up,
doesn't it?

[narrator] This creature
looks bigger

than a normal Gordian worm.

This looks like the kind
of thing that would climb

onto your face and wanna
crawl down your throat.

[narrator] Taiwan is already
a paradise for parasites.

Over 50 different
species here

are able to infect humans.

Science journalist
Liberty Vittert

watches the footage
and is reminded of a grim

and mysterious series
of events nearby.

A few miles
from the Shaanxi region,

there lies
and abandoned seaside resort.

And during construction
from 1978 to 1980,

there was a rash
of unexplained suicides

by construction workers.

[narrator] The project
is eventually abandoned

and the authorities
never solved the mystery

behind the spate
of bizarre suicides.

This might have been caused
by a parasitic infection

that afflicted
some of those workers.

Since the construction teams

were living
and working on site,

the worms
could have been ingested

or even burrowed
into their ears at night.

These mind-controlling worms

could be taking over
human bodies in Taiwan,

leading them
to a watery demise.

We think we have full control
over our minds and bodies,

but that's just what
the parasites inside you

want you to believe.

[narrator]
The message to anyone

who comes into contact

with a creature
like this is clear.

When you see a weird,
sinister, pulsating,

black mound on the ground,
leave it alone.

[glitch sounds]

[narrator] Now,

Coromandel Peninsula,
New Zealand.

July 31st, 2017.

It's early evening.

Musician Chris Johnson
notices something unusual

in the sky.

These two extremely
white things appeared

and at the head of these tails

appeared to be
a horseshoe shape.

It was fiery red,
white, and it looked hot.

[narrator] As the fiery trail
begins to change shape,

it looks as though
it's coming to life.

Whoa.

What we saw just amazed us.

We were like,
"Whoa, what the heck?"

And parts of the twist
and the turn.

Oh, my gosh.

Okay, we're not
in Kansas anymore.

[Martin] It's nothing
like a contrail

from a passing jetliner.

It looks to be something
entirely different

and something
that defies explanation.

[Chris] The longer we looked,

it appeared
to change direction.

We just stood around in awe,
watching, filming it.

And there's nothing else
in the sky

except for that, nothing.

What starts out
as a hazy golden line

turns into
a giant fiery monster.

So what's going on with
this fireball in the sky?

[glitch sounds]

[narrator]
Engr. Nick Householder

takes a closer look
at the fire-like streak

in the sky and is reminded

of the Pacific's history
of secret

and dangerous nuclear tests.

Between 1946 and 1962,

over a hundred nuclear
explosions took place here.

The biggest was the 15
megaton Castle Bravo bomb

at Bikini Atoll in 1954.

A nearby fisherman was killed

as the blast was twice as big

as the scientists planned.

Some tests of early
American hydrogen bombs

actually miscalculated
the yield of the bonds

resulting in explosions
larger than anticipated.

[narrator] Scientists working
on the Manhattan Project,

America's nuclear
testing program,

feared the sky itself
would catch fire

just like the footage
captured here.

[Nick] Our atmosphere's
made up of mostly nitrogen.

If nitrogen atoms
could be made to explode,

it would vaporize
the atmosphere.

[narrator] America's nuclear
tests in the Pacific

officially ended
over 50 years ago.

New tests with today's

much more powerful
atomic explosives

could have started secretly

in this remote part
of the world.

Could this be a thermonuclear
chain reaction

propagating through the sky?

[narrator] But authorities
in New Zealand

have no record
of any tests at this time,

suggesting
this bizarre explosion

is the work of someone
or something else.

Does this bode
a war in our future

the likes of which
we've never seen?

[glitch sounds]

[narrator] Coming up...

contrails point

to a revolutionary
zigzagging missile.

This technology
is very sobering.

Move over atomic bombs, are we
entering a new Cold War?

[narrator] And in Texas,
birds seem to have

an uncanny sixth sense
of impending disaster.

How did the birds know
it was coming

and fly away so quickly?

[narrator] In a remote area
of New Zealand,

a man films an eerie fireball

with a glowing trail
in the sky

above the Pacific Ocean.

Military historian
Martin Morgan

examines the clip
and believes this could be

a terrifying new weapon.

If a normal missile moved
to the area,

it would leave
a straight trail of exhaust,

that will be
very identifiable,

it would stand out
in a prominent way.

This however,
appears to be something

that followed
an erratic course.

One possibility
is that we're looking at

the exhaust trail left
by a hypersonic weapon.

[narrator] Hypersonic weapons
are said to be able

to travel
at an Earth-shattering

6,000 miles per hour,

more than seven times faster
than the speed of sound.

They can hit targets as far
as a thousand miles away

in under 12 minutes.

And these missiles
are intelligent.

They have the potential
to react to threats

and outmaneuver them.

That's how the weapon
will survive

anti-missile missile systems
on the ground.

Is this the exhaust plume
of a top-secret hypersonic

missile system streaking
through the sky?

[narrator] China
is currently winning

the hypersonic arms race.

The Chinese Government
released videos

which appear to show tests

using one of their
most advanced weapons.

The DF-17,
a hypersonic missile

that is believed
to reach speeds

of over 7,000 miles an hour.

America is protected
by a shield of anti-missile

defenses designed to
take out enemy projectiles.

But hypersonic missiles would
simply dodge any defenses.

This technology
is very sobering.

Move over atomic bombs, are we
entering a new Cold War?

[narrator] In 2018,
pictures of strange

white plumes
of light over Beijing

and Mongolia appear

on the internet.

Some believe
they are evidence

of the Chinese hypersonic
missile program.

China is known to be testing
its hypersonic weapon systems

even saying
on its social media accounts

that they're making
their own UFOs.

[narrator] And Chinese tests
in the remote South Pacific

would fit
a strategic pattern.

Over the past 20 years,
China has been developing

its relationship
with Pacific islands

north of New Zealand,

in a quest to become
a military superpower.

The Chinese have managed
to convince, for example,

the Island of Bougainville
to side with them.

The island nation,
you know, Kiribati,

is cooperating more
and more with the Chinese,

and it's believed
that Vanuatu,

which is very close
to the area that
we're talking about,

is also cooperating
with the Chinese to the extent

that the Chinese have
effectively established

a secret military
naval base there.

[narrator] New Zealand
is still a key Western ally

in this Pacific region.

But it's increasingly
vulnerable

as China's influence spreads.

Its remote location
makes it an easy target.

[narrator]
China has not revealed

if it's testing
hypersonic missiles

near the New Zealand coast.

But nervous locals
like Chris Johnson,

watch the skies
over the ocean for answers.

To this day, we watch it
over and over and over

and it's still a mystery,

and it's exciting
because it's still a mystery.

[glitch sounds]

[narrator]
Now, Houston, Texas.

January 2015.

It's early evening,

a man films
a huge flock of birds.

So we're seeing a lot of birds
in this gorgeous sunset.

The birds are sitting
on this power line

and flying
in beautiful formation.

[narrator] Suddenly some
of the birds take flight

is though sensing
some imminent peril, then...

[explosion]

Wow!

That is quite incredible.

[narrator] Moments
after the birds take flight,

the power line explodes.

[Kevin] One minute, the skies
are calm and beautiful.

And the next, it's a massive
cluster of birds,

smoke, and mayhem.

How did the birds know
it was coming

and fly away so quickly?

[glitch sounds]

[narrator] Animals have
long been believed

to possess an uncanny ability

to detect things
invisible to humans,

perhaps even able
to predict future events.

A study by researchers
at the Max Planck Institute

found that farm animals
will actually start behaving

very strangely
just before earthquakes.

It follows
from anecdotal evidence,

that household pets
become agitated

before natural disasters
such as earthquakes,

volcanoes, floods,
or tsunamis.

[narrator] Entomologist
Kevin Kasky finds claims

that these animals powers
of premonitions

border on the supernatural.

Cambridge researcher Rupert
Sheldrake investigates

the effect of ESP on cats,

dogs, and even some
intelligent birds.

Artist Aimee Morgana

has an African grey parrot
called N'kisi.

N'kisi has an extensive
vocabulary ranging up

from 700 words
to 7,000 sentences.

Sheldrake tests N'kisi
for telepathy,

and he finds
that there's a statistically

significant result.

In one case,
Aimee goes to call

a friend of hers named Rob.

But N'kisi he said, "Hi Rob,"

before she even dialed
the number.

Sheldrake is convinced
that animals operate

with psychic senses.

[narrator] These birds
seem to have

some mysterious forewarning

that the power line
is about to explode,

and fly off before it blows.

[explosions]

So you have to think about it,
these animals can sense danger

before we ever see it coming,
what else can they do?

[glitch sounds]

[narrator] Coming up...
Engr. David Wallace pits EMP

against ESP
to see what's giving

these birds a nudge.

[David] All right.

So we are energized
at 20,000 volts.

Let's apply ground.

[narrator] And a man films
a weird creature

swimming in China's
biggest river.

Ugh. This, like, just gave me

the creepiest, crawliest...

I don't even know what it is

but, uh, worst nightmare.

[narrator] In Houston, Texas,

a man films a flock
of birds flying away

from a power line moments
before it suddenly explodes.

[explosion]

[narrator] Apparently showing
an uncanny sixth sense.

Biologist Jade Lovell
wonders if the birds

in the clip may have detected

some kind of early warning
signal in the power line

using a heightened
perception of reality.

So there's many species
that has an additional sense

to what we know as humans.

Either they're able
to detect electrical signals

or they're able to hear noises
at pitches that we can't.

[narrator] All living things
experience reality

is a hallucination
created in the brain

from information that comes
in through the senses.

In humans, sight is generally
the most dominant

of the senses.

But other animal's brains

have radically
different skillsets.

Some animals have been
detecting electromagnetism

for millions of years
thanks to their biology.

Many aquatic species
have special cells

that can detect
electrical impulses.

It's called electroreception,

fish use it to detect
other animals.

Anytime another animal moves,

it creates
a little electrical impulse

that detects and allows them
to move accordingly.

[narrator] The animal
thought to have

the strongest
electroreception abilities

of all creatures
on Earth is the shark.

The Great White Shark,

the apex predator
of the ocean,

is able to detect
electrical charges

of up to one millionth
of a volt.

It's possible
that this ability

is not just limited to fish,

but birds as well could detect
electrical fields.

Take the homing pigeon.

It has an incredible sense
of direction,

even the ability
to find its way home

from over hundreds of miles.

[narrator] In 1931,
a bird made what is believed

to be the longest ever flight
taken by a homing pigeon

from Arras, France
to Saigon, Vietnam.

When released, the pigeon
shot straight up like an arrow

over 7,260 miles

to its home in only 24 days.

Pigeons can use
the sun as a compass,

and landmarks as a map.

They even use
the Earth's magnetic field.

So, was it possible
that these birds detected

the electrical surge
before it happened?

[narrator] Electrical
Engineer David Wallace

wants to find out
if the birds may have sensed

an electric signal running
through the power line

before the explosion

forewarning them
of the event.

[explosion]

Also out of the blue,
it was like they all

of a sudden scatter
and they disperse,

and it's right before
we see this big explosion

on the power line.

[explosion]

So would you think
that maybe there is some type

of signal running down
this cable

that these birds can detect?

[narrator] Wallace has
set up a power line

through which he will run
20,000 volts of electricity.

He'll then generate
an electrical power surge

in the line using
a ground stick

to see if it creates
an electromagnetic field

that a flock of birds
could react to

like they do in the footage.

[explosion]

All right. So we are energized
at 20,000 volts.

Let's apply ground.

[narrator] After Wallace
creates the surge,

he checks his oscilloscope.

Okay. Now this is perfect.

[narrator] This shows him
the sudden increase

in electric fault current
that was produced

when he touched the power
line with the ground stick.

If you look on my screen here,

you get a wonderful
representation

of voltage,
which is your blue lines,

everything's going
20,000 volts.

And then right up in here
where I get ready to start

making the contact,
you start getting these purple

pulses coming down.

And you get big spikes.

So right here is where
I'm making my contact.

See this big pulse
of the purple going?

That's an indication

that we're starting
to draw current.

So the electromagnetic field
is going to start

getting greater at this point.

So therefore, this would be
the area that a bird

could possibly sense, "Hey,
something's fixing to happen,"

and give them
a moment's notice to fly away

before disaster hits.

[narrator]
A bird that can sense

the electromagnetic field
getting stronger

would be able to take action
and fly away

before the lethal
power surge hit.

A 2018 study by the
Lund University in Sweden,

found that birds
might sense electromagnetism

through a protein
called cryptochrome

inside their eyes.

Scientists found the sense
seems to get stronger

when there is more blue light
passing into their retinas.

This footage was taken
towards twilight,

if it had been any darker,

they may not
have been so lucky.

And as the old saying goes,
"The early bird gets worms,"

well, maybe if these smart
birds can sense this field,

they get away alive.

If these birds did know
that this explosion

was going to happen
before it did,

I mean, it makes you think

that we really should be
paying a little bit more

attention to what nature
is trying to tell us.

[explosions]

[glitch sounds]

[narrator] Now,
the Yangtze River, China.

September 2019,

a man on a ferry is shocked

as he films a massive
and mysterious object

moving in the river.

Oh. [gasps]

That's freaky.

[narrator] It appears to be
moving against the current

and not with it,
which suggests this could be

a living thing.

This is a very
interesting clip.

It looks to be a creature,

something swimming
through the water.

[narrator] The creature
is far bigger

than anything seen
before in these waters.

Ugh! This, like,
just gave me the creepiest,

crawliest...

I don't even know what it is,

but worst nightmare.

What is this giant creature?

And are there
more of them out there.

[glitch sounds]

[narrator] Coming up...
A nearby engineering

mega monster may have
unleashed a toxic terror.

Is there something
that's in this river

that is transforming
normal-sized creatures

into giants?

[narrator] Along the banks
of the Yangtze River, China,

a man films what looks like
a massive marine creature.

That's very disturbing.

[narrator]
The mighty Yangtze River

is the third longest
in the world.

It stretches
almost 4,000 miles

from a glacier in the
Tanggula Mountains in Tibet

to the East China Sea.

It's nearly twice
as long as the Yukon.

But nothing like this

has ever been seen
in its waters.

Carin Bondar finds
the man who shot the video,

claims it was filmed
in Hubei Province,

which is famous
for another monster,

a manmade monolith.

Upstream from here
is the Three Gorges Dam,

which is the largest
hydroelectric plant

on the planet.

[narrator] Construction
on the dam begins in 1994

and takes almost 20 years
to finish.

One of the most
beautiful places in China

is turned
into an industrial city.

Once complete,
it's over 7,600 feet long

and uses 35.5 million
cubic yards

of concrete to build.

The stats behind this
are gargantuan.

It can handle 22 million
gallons of water per second

and has an output
of 22,500 megawatts.

[narrator] The Chinese
Government spent over

$28 billion
constructing the dam.

But the cost for locals
is far greater.

1.3 million people

are displaced
from areas around the dam

to places
where work is scarce.

There's threats
of landslides and flooding.

And now, there seems
to be a monster.

[narrator] Kevin Kasky
suspects the creature

in the clip
may have something to do

with the disruption the dam
has brought to the area.

Displaced people
from the Three Gorges area

have had to find alternative
ways of making a living.

Some people have found
that snake farming

for meat and medicines
has become more profitable

than normal agriculture.

This creature could have
escaped from a snake farm.

[narrator] Snake farms
are big business in China.

Some people believe
that eating snake meat

or other parts of a snake
can have health benefits.

Parts have been used
for many, many years

in ancient Chinese medicines.

And it's believed
to boost the immune system

or even cure cancer.

In some populations,

cobra blood is actually used

as an aphrodisiac

where men will mix it
with alcohol

as a means by which to score
a little more action

with the ladies.

[glitch sounds]

[narrator] Image analyst
Ben Radford

examines the surrounding
features in the clip

to try and gauge
the creature's size.

One of the things
that we can tell from this

is that whatever it is,
it's big.

Based on the size of the man
standing in the foreground,

it's probably 20 to 30 ft.

[narrator] There is no
native snake in the area

that grows to this length.

[Kevin] Is this
an oversized anomaly?

Is there something
that's in this river

that is transforming
normal-sized creatures

into giants?

[narrator] Over 23 billion
tons of toxic waste

is in the river as a result

of the construction
of the dam.

Reports of creatures
of abnormal shapes

and sizes start to emerge.

One guy caught
a bright gold catfish,

had a bright white belly,
it weighed over five pounds

and was over a foot long.

Another couple of fishermen
caught a bizarre pointy fish,

and it could be
described only

as vicious and carnivorous.

[narrator] Physician
Siobhan Deshaur

wonders if chemical mutagens
in the river

could have supersized
the creature

native to this region.

Gigantism is a condition
usually caused by a tumor

that grows
in the pituitary gland.

This tumor releases higher
levels of growth hormone,

and that's the hormone
that is one of the predictors

of how big a creature
is going to grow.

If a tumor is producing
increased levels

of growth hormone,
you can find creatures

that are much larger
than they should be.

Many fish and reptiles
continue to grow

as long as they live.

So the longer their life,

the bigger they get.

Imagine that growth
being turbocharged

by a mutated pituitary gland.

There are many
supersized creatures

living in the Yangtze River.

And it's possible
that their size may be related

to chemical contamination
of the river.

One of these creatures

is the Chinese giant
salamander,

which is an amphibian
that lives

in the dark mountain streams
of the Yangtze River.

[Liberty] These giant
Chinese salamanders

are known to be very popular
in local markets.

Report show that in 1983,

a giant 10-foot salamander

was recorded in a local market

not from this area.

[narrator] Salamanders
are carnivorous creatures,

feeding on fish,
worms, reptiles,

and small mammals.

If this clip is evidence
that one has grown

to gigantic proportions,

larger mammals
maybe on the menu.

Something so large and strong,

propelling itself
through the water

so close to humans,
makes me wonder,

"Is this river safe?"

[narrator]
Chinese authorities claim

the mysterious object
is shot further away

from the dam
than originally claimed.

The say it's just
a large black mesh bag

that fell into the water.

It's life-like movement

caused by
the powerful currents,

which can flow it over
70,000 cubic feet per second.

If there have been
more secrets spills

of chemical mutagens
in the river

causing marine creatures
to grow to massive sizes,

the danger may not be
limited to animals.

Millions of people in China
rely on the Yangtze River

for drinking water
and to wash their clothes.

It's very possible
they're being exposed

to dangerous chemicals.

Whatever this creature is,

people living in this area
may be in danger

because whatever
is affecting it in the water,

may also be affecting them.