1 00:00:02,002 --> 00:00:05,048 They fly. 2 00:00:05,092 --> 00:00:06,180 They creep. 3 00:00:07,877 --> 00:00:09,835 They claw at everything in sight. 4 00:00:11,054 --> 00:00:13,665 And some even have a taste 5 00:00:13,709 --> 00:00:15,232 for human flesh. 6 00:00:20,107 --> 00:00:24,328 All over the world, legions of cryptozoologists 7 00:00:24,372 --> 00:00:27,462 insist that somewhere out there 8 00:00:27,505 --> 00:00:29,986 are hundreds of weird, 9 00:00:30,030 --> 00:00:32,380 bizarre, nightmarish creatures 10 00:00:32,423 --> 00:00:36,514 that hide in the shadows and terrorize small towns. 11 00:00:36,558 --> 00:00:38,516 They give them names like Mothman, 12 00:00:38,560 --> 00:00:41,258 chupacabra, the Jersey Devil and... 13 00:00:41,302 --> 00:00:43,086 the Goatman. 14 00:00:43,130 --> 00:00:45,610 But can they be dismissed as mere figments 15 00:00:45,654 --> 00:00:48,352 of the public's overactive imagination? 16 00:00:48,396 --> 00:00:52,008 Or could they actually be... 17 00:00:52,052 --> 00:00:54,010 real? 18 00:00:54,054 --> 00:00:57,187 Well... 19 00:00:57,231 --> 00:01:00,234 that is what we'll try and find out. 20 00:01:16,511 --> 00:01:19,905 SHATNER: Eyewitness descriptions of cryptid creatures 21 00:01:19,949 --> 00:01:22,778 are as varied as they are vivid. 22 00:01:24,780 --> 00:01:26,999 Point Pleasant, West Virginia. 23 00:01:27,043 --> 00:01:29,611 April 1967. 24 00:01:29,654 --> 00:01:31,526 LINDA SIGMAN: A boyfriend and I 25 00:01:31,569 --> 00:01:34,964 decided to pull in off the country road, 26 00:01:35,007 --> 00:01:38,576 and I noticed off of my right shoulder it was a creature. 27 00:01:40,665 --> 00:01:43,973 And, uh, we sat there in awe of what we were looking at. 28 00:01:44,016 --> 00:01:47,977 It came right over in front of the car, 29 00:01:48,020 --> 00:01:51,154 and we looked up, and I could make out the shape 30 00:01:51,198 --> 00:01:52,982 of a winged man. 31 00:01:59,467 --> 00:02:01,077 SHATNER: Cuero, Texas. 32 00:02:01,121 --> 00:02:04,646 August 2007. 33 00:02:04,689 --> 00:02:07,170 Something was sucking the blood out of my chickens. 34 00:02:08,345 --> 00:02:10,565 The first time I saw it, 35 00:02:10,608 --> 00:02:13,437 -the color of it was different, 36 00:02:13,481 --> 00:02:17,572 the physique of the animal was different. 37 00:02:17,615 --> 00:02:21,141 It has absolutely no hair on it, 38 00:02:21,184 --> 00:02:24,796 and all of these different, bizarre features on it. 39 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:26,189 What is it? 40 00:02:27,973 --> 00:02:29,714 SHATNER: High Falls, New York. 41 00:02:29,758 --> 00:02:33,805 October 2015. 42 00:02:33,849 --> 00:02:35,851 My wife and I were staying at this cabin. 43 00:02:35,894 --> 00:02:37,592 There was a stream behind the cabin 44 00:02:37,635 --> 00:02:39,637 and a very steep ridge. 45 00:02:39,681 --> 00:02:41,857 Middle of nowhere. 46 00:02:41,900 --> 00:02:44,947 I was exploring the woods behind the cabin. 47 00:02:44,990 --> 00:02:47,515 And then I noticed some movement. 48 00:02:47,558 --> 00:02:49,734 Black, hairy figure, 49 00:02:49,778 --> 00:02:51,736 at first I thought was a black bear, 50 00:02:51,780 --> 00:02:53,434 but this figure was much bigger. 51 00:02:53,477 --> 00:02:55,262 Looked like it was standing upright. 52 00:02:55,305 --> 00:02:58,482 At this point in time, I still don't know what it was. 53 00:03:01,311 --> 00:03:03,618 Most people generally have heard of Bigfoot, 54 00:03:03,661 --> 00:03:06,055 the Yeti, the Loch Ness Monster, 55 00:03:06,098 --> 00:03:09,276 but what they aren't aware of is that there is a whole world 56 00:03:09,319 --> 00:03:12,670 of really unusual creatures out there, lesser-known things, 57 00:03:12,714 --> 00:03:17,066 many of them quite otherworldly and strange. 58 00:03:17,109 --> 00:03:20,809 When it comes to animals that are known as cryptids, 59 00:03:20,852 --> 00:03:23,464 there's a huge number of them. 60 00:03:23,507 --> 00:03:27,598 We actually find reports and cases all around the world 61 00:03:27,642 --> 00:03:29,731 of strange creatures. 62 00:03:29,774 --> 00:03:32,124 For example, one of them being Mothman, 63 00:03:32,168 --> 00:03:34,910 which is this huge humanoid-type figure 64 00:03:34,953 --> 00:03:37,956 with bat-like wings and fiery red eyes 65 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:40,698 that's perceived as kind of like a grim reaper 66 00:03:40,742 --> 00:03:43,614 that surfaces when bad luck or disasters 67 00:03:43,658 --> 00:03:45,529 are about to happen. 68 00:03:45,573 --> 00:03:49,490 If you go to Africa, there are reports there of creatures 69 00:03:49,533 --> 00:03:52,188 that look just like something out of Jurassic Park. 70 00:03:52,232 --> 00:03:55,670 We're talking about something very much akin 71 00:03:55,713 --> 00:03:59,151 to a gigantic lizard or a monitor lizard. 72 00:04:01,066 --> 00:04:03,721 The phenomenon of what's become known as the Dogman 73 00:04:03,765 --> 00:04:08,509 in recent years is a genuinely weird, odd one. 74 00:04:08,552 --> 00:04:12,948 People talk about seeing these huge, bipedal wolves 75 00:04:12,991 --> 00:04:15,472 that seem to look like the closest thing 76 00:04:15,516 --> 00:04:17,561 you could imagine to a werewolf. 77 00:04:19,259 --> 00:04:21,130 You have hellhounds, or devil dogs, 78 00:04:21,173 --> 00:04:23,611 that are thought to be omens of death. 79 00:04:23,654 --> 00:04:26,570 You have thunderbirds. 80 00:04:26,614 --> 00:04:29,965 You have creatures like the Van Meter Visitor. 81 00:04:30,008 --> 00:04:33,142 You have creatures like the skunk ape. 82 00:04:33,185 --> 00:04:38,800 You have all these creatures that defy what we know as... 83 00:04:38,843 --> 00:04:41,237 flesh-and-blood creatures here on this planet. 84 00:04:43,979 --> 00:04:45,807 J. NATHAN COUCH: Some of these creatures 85 00:04:45,850 --> 00:04:49,419 seem to possess abilities that are borderline supernatural, 86 00:04:49,463 --> 00:04:53,031 and they have qualities that can harm you. 87 00:04:53,075 --> 00:04:56,296 Creatures like the Goatman and the Mongolian death worm. 88 00:04:56,339 --> 00:04:59,951 The wendigo is said to possess people 89 00:04:59,995 --> 00:05:03,825 and cause them to go mad and often crave human flesh. 90 00:05:03,868 --> 00:05:06,436 They terrorize people, 91 00:05:06,480 --> 00:05:08,699 cause harm to other animals. 92 00:05:08,743 --> 00:05:10,005 They prey on other animals. 93 00:05:10,048 --> 00:05:12,660 They're essentially predators. 94 00:05:12,703 --> 00:05:15,837 There have been countless stories of cryptid creatures, 95 00:05:15,880 --> 00:05:20,320 and they exist throughout all different cultures, 96 00:05:20,363 --> 00:05:22,887 all periods of time in history, 97 00:05:22,931 --> 00:05:25,760 even right up to the present day. 98 00:05:25,803 --> 00:05:30,199 But there's a shocking lack of actual evidence that they exist. 99 00:05:30,242 --> 00:05:32,419 Skeptics would say that the sightings 100 00:05:32,462 --> 00:05:34,377 of all of these cryptid creatures 101 00:05:34,421 --> 00:05:37,641 are to be related to some kind of hallucination 102 00:05:37,685 --> 00:05:40,688 or psychological projection or whatnot. 103 00:05:40,731 --> 00:05:43,255 When you look at folkloric tales of monsters, 104 00:05:43,299 --> 00:05:45,649 sometimes they turn out to be 105 00:05:45,693 --> 00:05:47,782 hoaxes or legends, 106 00:05:47,825 --> 00:05:49,784 to the point where we're just not able 107 00:05:49,827 --> 00:05:53,440 to confirm what they actually were. 108 00:05:53,483 --> 00:05:55,746 Many people simply make up stories. 109 00:05:55,790 --> 00:05:57,879 You can't rule out the possibility 110 00:05:57,922 --> 00:05:59,489 that people, for example, 111 00:05:59,533 --> 00:06:01,709 are creating some of these colorful legends 112 00:06:01,752 --> 00:06:04,364 simply to garner attention 113 00:06:04,407 --> 00:06:06,931 or to propagate their own motives. 114 00:06:08,193 --> 00:06:09,717 KIRSTEN FISHER: As a scientist, 115 00:06:09,760 --> 00:06:11,588 I don't discount that there is some animal 116 00:06:11,632 --> 00:06:13,547 or some creature that's been sighted. 117 00:06:13,590 --> 00:06:15,984 If there are organisms that we haven't found yet, 118 00:06:16,027 --> 00:06:19,466 it probably speaks to the fact that the Earth is a vast place 119 00:06:19,509 --> 00:06:21,990 with many types of habitats, and it's possible 120 00:06:22,033 --> 00:06:24,514 that we haven't explored them all completely yet. 121 00:06:25,733 --> 00:06:27,648 SHATNER: We tend to think 122 00:06:27,691 --> 00:06:30,868 that everything in the world we live in is pretty much known, 123 00:06:30,912 --> 00:06:33,871 Every tree, every insect, 124 00:06:33,915 --> 00:06:36,961 every species has been photographed, 125 00:06:37,005 --> 00:06:39,747 studied, cataloged. 126 00:06:39,790 --> 00:06:42,358 But it isn't true. 127 00:06:42,402 --> 00:06:45,230 According to mainstream scientists, 128 00:06:45,274 --> 00:06:47,755 there are still literally thousands of species 129 00:06:47,798 --> 00:06:50,061 that have yet to be discovered. 130 00:06:50,105 --> 00:06:52,673 So is it far-fetched to believe 131 00:06:52,716 --> 00:06:56,067 that wild, possibly hybrid creatures 132 00:06:56,111 --> 00:06:58,287 could exist out there? 133 00:06:58,330 --> 00:07:01,116 Strange so-called cryptids 134 00:07:01,159 --> 00:07:03,466 that have been seen by average people 135 00:07:03,510 --> 00:07:05,729 but haven't yet been officially recognized 136 00:07:05,773 --> 00:07:08,471 as being real? 137 00:07:08,515 --> 00:07:12,867 While mainstream scientists might say yes, 138 00:07:12,910 --> 00:07:15,565 cryptozoologists argue that we've already found 139 00:07:15,609 --> 00:07:17,480 such an animal 140 00:07:17,524 --> 00:07:21,353 and even have the photographic evidence to prove it. 141 00:07:23,878 --> 00:07:26,663 One of the most compelling cryptids that we investigate 142 00:07:26,707 --> 00:07:28,883 is something known as the Tasmanian tiger, 143 00:07:28,926 --> 00:07:30,885 or the thylacine, 144 00:07:30,928 --> 00:07:33,844 which were considered legendary or mythological 145 00:07:33,888 --> 00:07:36,151 until living specimens were discovered 146 00:07:36,194 --> 00:07:38,414 and documented by scientists. 147 00:07:38,458 --> 00:07:41,199 This is definitely a known animal. 148 00:07:41,243 --> 00:07:45,726 The last verified specimen died off in 1936. 149 00:07:45,769 --> 00:07:47,989 However, since that time, there has been 150 00:07:48,032 --> 00:07:51,993 thousands of sightings of Tasmanian tigers, or thylacines, 151 00:07:52,036 --> 00:07:55,518 on both the island of Tasmania and mainland Australia, 152 00:07:55,562 --> 00:07:57,477 since its presumed extinction. 153 00:07:57,520 --> 00:08:00,088 And there have been some fairly compelling photographs 154 00:08:00,131 --> 00:08:03,265 that have never been fully explained. 155 00:08:03,308 --> 00:08:06,007 The thylacine was a very weird-looking animal. 156 00:08:06,050 --> 00:08:08,313 It looks like a large dog, 157 00:08:08,357 --> 00:08:12,883 like a German shepherd, but it's actually a marsupial, 158 00:08:12,927 --> 00:08:14,624 like a kangaroo. 159 00:08:14,668 --> 00:08:17,540 In other words, it carries its young in its pouch. 160 00:08:17,584 --> 00:08:20,195 And it has these stripes down its head and neck, 161 00:08:20,238 --> 00:08:23,285 which give it sort of, like, a tiger-type appearance. 162 00:08:23,328 --> 00:08:25,896 And it could almost open its jaw 163 00:08:25,940 --> 00:08:28,203 to about 180 degrees, 164 00:08:28,246 --> 00:08:30,727 kind of like snakes. 165 00:08:30,771 --> 00:08:35,427 COUCH: If someone just saw it running through the woods, 166 00:08:35,471 --> 00:08:38,169 they would think it was some sort of monster. 167 00:08:38,213 --> 00:08:40,955 The peculiar qualities of the thylacine, 168 00:08:40,998 --> 00:08:44,001 or the Tasmanian tiger, are a great example 169 00:08:44,045 --> 00:08:47,178 of how evolution can provide 170 00:08:47,222 --> 00:08:51,661 some amazing mutations and hybridization. 171 00:08:51,705 --> 00:08:55,012 Just having the thylacine as a hybrid 172 00:08:55,056 --> 00:08:57,058 increases the possibility 173 00:08:57,101 --> 00:08:59,930 that there are other of these hybrids out there 174 00:08:59,974 --> 00:09:01,802 lurking in the shadows. 175 00:09:04,065 --> 00:09:06,458 SHATNER: But what are the other cryptids? 176 00:09:06,502 --> 00:09:11,159 The legions of strange, hybrid creatures that fly, swim 177 00:09:11,202 --> 00:09:14,031 and suck their victims dry of blood? 178 00:09:15,946 --> 00:09:19,341 Is there similar photographic evidence out there 179 00:09:19,384 --> 00:09:21,517 that can help prove their case? 180 00:09:21,561 --> 00:09:25,086 There are those who believe the answer is yes... 181 00:09:26,914 --> 00:09:29,612 ...and that better than a photograph, 182 00:09:29,656 --> 00:09:31,832 there's something even more compelling 183 00:09:31,875 --> 00:09:34,051 and harder to disprove: 184 00:09:34,095 --> 00:09:37,228 actual samples of a monster's DNA. 185 00:09:44,975 --> 00:09:46,716 SHATNER: Cuero, Texas. 186 00:09:46,760 --> 00:09:49,023 August 2007. 187 00:09:49,066 --> 00:09:50,764 After purchasing a brood of chickens 188 00:09:50,807 --> 00:09:52,809 from a neighboring ranch, 189 00:09:52,853 --> 00:09:56,639 Phylis Canion makes a series of gruesome discoveries 190 00:09:56,683 --> 00:09:59,468 inside her brand-new henhouse. 191 00:09:59,511 --> 00:10:01,731 I brought the chickens home, and I had them 192 00:10:01,775 --> 00:10:03,428 for about two weeks. 193 00:10:05,126 --> 00:10:07,955 And I went outside, and... 194 00:10:07,998 --> 00:10:10,131 one of the chickens was dead. 195 00:10:12,568 --> 00:10:13,917 What makes it unusual 196 00:10:13,961 --> 00:10:16,398 is the chicken was still laying there. 197 00:10:16,441 --> 00:10:18,226 And with the amount of predators 198 00:10:18,269 --> 00:10:22,230 that we have in the state of Texas, 199 00:10:22,273 --> 00:10:26,277 any predator would have taken the chicken and eaten it. 200 00:10:29,280 --> 00:10:30,847 SHATNER: Over the next few weeks, 201 00:10:30,891 --> 00:10:32,327 Phylis collected the remains 202 00:10:32,370 --> 00:10:35,243 of 27 more of her chickens, 203 00:10:35,286 --> 00:10:40,378 each one killed in the same inexplicable fashion. 204 00:10:40,422 --> 00:10:43,425 Every one of them had been opened up 205 00:10:43,468 --> 00:10:46,646 in the thorax area, the feathers missing, 206 00:10:46,689 --> 00:10:51,607 and what appeared to me to be no blood on the ground. 207 00:10:51,651 --> 00:10:56,612 So that told me then, whatever it was 208 00:10:56,656 --> 00:10:59,049 was not interested in the meat 209 00:10:59,093 --> 00:11:01,965 but interested in the blood. 210 00:11:02,009 --> 00:11:04,141 And when I was talking to friends 211 00:11:04,185 --> 00:11:06,013 and neighbors about it, they all immediately said, 212 00:11:06,056 --> 00:11:08,363 "Oh, my gosh, that's the behavior of a chupacabra. 213 00:11:08,406 --> 00:11:10,234 It's gonna kill the animal and suck the blood." 214 00:11:13,585 --> 00:11:15,718 SHATNER: Chupacabra. 215 00:11:15,762 --> 00:11:18,068 To those who claim to have encountered one, 216 00:11:18,112 --> 00:11:20,897 it is a fearsome monster. 217 00:11:20,941 --> 00:11:23,944 Chupacabra means "goat sucker." 218 00:11:23,987 --> 00:11:26,468 And it's a really creepy-looking creature. 219 00:11:26,511 --> 00:11:28,557 Some people say it looks like some kind 220 00:11:28,600 --> 00:11:31,516 of strange, hybrid-like dog. 221 00:11:31,560 --> 00:11:34,781 The continental North American chupacabra, 222 00:11:34,824 --> 00:11:38,567 uh, is a four-legged or quadrupedal animal 223 00:11:38,610 --> 00:11:42,136 about the size of a dog, completely hairless, 224 00:11:42,179 --> 00:11:46,096 with a bluish-gray elephant hide-type of covering. 225 00:11:46,140 --> 00:11:49,317 They also display a number of abnormal characteristics-- 226 00:11:49,360 --> 00:11:52,407 oftentimes their limbs are disproportionate lengths-- 227 00:11:52,450 --> 00:11:55,932 so they're very grotesque, odd, weird-looking animals. 228 00:11:57,978 --> 00:11:59,631 SHATNER: Certain that what was preying 229 00:11:59,675 --> 00:12:01,764 on her chicken coop was not a coyote, 230 00:12:01,808 --> 00:12:06,638 or any other known canine, Phylis began to consider 231 00:12:06,682 --> 00:12:08,989 whether it might be a chupacabra. 232 00:12:09,032 --> 00:12:14,211 And then, one morning, she got her answer. 233 00:12:14,255 --> 00:12:18,738 One Saturday morning, I got a very early call, 7:00. 234 00:12:18,781 --> 00:12:20,565 My neighbor rancher called 235 00:12:20,609 --> 00:12:24,091 and said, "Oh, my gosh. The strangest animal 236 00:12:24,134 --> 00:12:29,357 has been hit and killed in front of the Canion ranch. 237 00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:32,795 So I got in the truck, drove over there, 238 00:12:32,839 --> 00:12:34,492 and I brought it back, 239 00:12:34,536 --> 00:12:38,192 and I took a 50-pound feed sack, 240 00:12:38,235 --> 00:12:41,543 and I cut it in half and laid it on the ground, 241 00:12:41,586 --> 00:12:44,851 and I laid the animal on it to give everybody 242 00:12:44,894 --> 00:12:48,071 a perspective of the size of the animal. 243 00:12:49,725 --> 00:12:53,598 I have seen mangy coyotes all of my life, 244 00:12:53,642 --> 00:12:58,168 and this had no hair on it and no indication at all 245 00:12:58,212 --> 00:13:02,259 that the skin was infested with any type 246 00:13:02,303 --> 00:13:05,828 of skin disorder, from mange or anything else. 247 00:13:05,872 --> 00:13:09,005 It just did not have any hair on it at all. 248 00:13:09,049 --> 00:13:11,529 SHATNER: Phylis sent tissue samples 249 00:13:11,573 --> 00:13:14,402 from the dead creature out for analysis. 250 00:13:14,445 --> 00:13:17,884 After waiting expectantly for weeks, 251 00:13:17,927 --> 00:13:21,278 she was surprised by the results. 252 00:13:21,322 --> 00:13:25,979 So, when they called me, they said, "Well, it's coyote 253 00:13:26,022 --> 00:13:28,503 "on the maternal side 254 00:13:28,546 --> 00:13:33,290 and Mexican wolf on the paternal." 255 00:13:33,334 --> 00:13:36,816 The DNA tests indicating that the... the animal was a... 256 00:13:36,859 --> 00:13:38,208 was a hybrid, essentially, 257 00:13:38,252 --> 00:13:41,472 between a Mexican wolf and a coyote 258 00:13:41,516 --> 00:13:43,823 is a little surprising in the fact that those species 259 00:13:43,866 --> 00:13:45,259 don't typically hybridize. 260 00:13:45,302 --> 00:13:47,217 But it's not entirely impossible. 261 00:13:47,261 --> 00:13:50,264 We do know that the ranges of those two species do overlap 262 00:13:50,307 --> 00:13:53,354 in Arizona, Texas and northern Mexico, 263 00:13:53,397 --> 00:13:55,356 so it's at least physically possible that they could 264 00:13:55,399 --> 00:13:58,011 encounter each other to form hybrids. 265 00:14:01,623 --> 00:14:04,756 SHATNER: With such conclusive DNA results, 266 00:14:04,800 --> 00:14:07,411 many considered the case closed. 267 00:14:07,455 --> 00:14:09,761 But, according to Phylis, 268 00:14:09,805 --> 00:14:13,896 something was not quite adding up. 269 00:14:13,940 --> 00:14:16,116 The mystery of the whole thing was the manner in which 270 00:14:16,159 --> 00:14:17,813 every chicken was killed. 271 00:14:17,857 --> 00:14:20,207 It would suck all of the blood out. 272 00:14:20,250 --> 00:14:23,993 So we know that it's coyote and Mexican wolf. 273 00:14:24,037 --> 00:14:27,344 But neither of those animals suck blood. 274 00:14:27,388 --> 00:14:32,567 So, even though this animal has that DNA, what is it? 275 00:14:32,610 --> 00:14:35,222 Why would it have that behavior? 276 00:14:35,265 --> 00:14:39,356 When the taxidermist mounted it for me, 277 00:14:39,400 --> 00:14:44,492 he had to get a coyote mold and a wolf mold 278 00:14:44,535 --> 00:14:49,714 and blend them together to make the hide fit. 279 00:14:49,758 --> 00:14:53,022 The tail is longer than a wolf tail or a coyote tail. 280 00:14:53,066 --> 00:14:54,415 The neck, the ears. 281 00:14:54,458 --> 00:14:57,897 Everything was so extreme, 282 00:14:57,940 --> 00:15:00,290 it took him forever to get it mounted. 283 00:15:01,857 --> 00:15:06,775 We had about 13 different specialists 284 00:15:06,818 --> 00:15:10,257 from around the world come and look at it, 285 00:15:10,300 --> 00:15:14,174 and to date, they've all left scratching their head 286 00:15:14,217 --> 00:15:15,958 like the day they came in 287 00:15:16,002 --> 00:15:19,353 because they just cannot figure it out as well. 288 00:15:19,396 --> 00:15:23,879 The only higher vertebrate that has evolved 289 00:15:23,923 --> 00:15:26,403 to suck blood is the vampire bat. 290 00:15:26,447 --> 00:15:30,625 And this particular process of adaptation 291 00:15:30,668 --> 00:15:32,453 has taken millions of years. 292 00:15:32,496 --> 00:15:36,022 It involves highly specialized characteristics. 293 00:15:36,065 --> 00:15:39,590 For example, an anticoagulant in their saliva 294 00:15:39,634 --> 00:15:44,378 and a very, very distinct liver, kidney digestive system. 295 00:15:44,421 --> 00:15:47,816 So, to assume that an animal would simply develop 296 00:15:47,859 --> 00:15:52,734 a vampire-like predation pattern would be really unexpected. 297 00:15:55,041 --> 00:15:57,521 SHATNER: If they really exist, 298 00:15:57,565 --> 00:16:02,091 are chupacabra merely the result of natural selection gone wrong, 299 00:16:02,135 --> 00:16:06,269 or could this grotesque monster be the result of 300 00:16:06,313 --> 00:16:09,838 not natural causes, but man-made ones? 301 00:16:09,881 --> 00:16:14,843 There are some who believe the answer is a disturbing yes. 302 00:16:16,279 --> 00:16:18,151 Through the course of my research 303 00:16:18,194 --> 00:16:21,850 on the Texas chupacabras, I found a direct correlation 304 00:16:21,893 --> 00:16:25,680 between sightings on Phylis Canion's property and elsewhere, 305 00:16:25,723 --> 00:16:28,465 and coal-burning power plants. 306 00:16:28,509 --> 00:16:32,513 Coal-burning power plants, in fact, emit huge amounts 307 00:16:32,556 --> 00:16:35,168 of sulfur dioxide and other hard metals, like lead, 308 00:16:35,211 --> 00:16:37,039 into the atmosphere. 309 00:16:37,083 --> 00:16:39,128 And in recent studies, scientists have found that 310 00:16:39,172 --> 00:16:42,131 sulfur dioxide is, in fact, a mutagen. 311 00:16:42,175 --> 00:16:44,394 It altered the cellular makeup, or genetic makeup, 312 00:16:44,438 --> 00:16:46,396 of laboratory mice. 313 00:16:46,440 --> 00:16:49,965 So, in fact, this pollution could be having a similar effect 314 00:16:50,009 --> 00:16:53,925 on these Texas coyotes or other canids. 315 00:16:53,969 --> 00:16:57,277 Chemicals in the environment can absolutely cause mutations 316 00:16:57,320 --> 00:16:59,975 to animals in-in the wild. 317 00:17:00,019 --> 00:17:03,457 We saw this in Minnesota when a classroom, 318 00:17:03,500 --> 00:17:06,199 out on a field trip, discovered a pond 319 00:17:06,242 --> 00:17:09,463 with frogs that had extra legs or missing limbs 320 00:17:09,506 --> 00:17:13,075 or body features in the wrong position. 321 00:17:13,119 --> 00:17:15,643 And these were most likely caused by some type 322 00:17:15,686 --> 00:17:18,733 of environmental contaminant. 323 00:17:18,776 --> 00:17:21,257 There is a actually a type of chupacabra that's been reported 324 00:17:21,301 --> 00:17:22,737 from parts of Puerto Rico. 325 00:17:24,652 --> 00:17:27,524 The Puerto Rican chupacabra is described as about 326 00:17:27,568 --> 00:17:30,049 three and a half to five feet tall, 327 00:17:30,092 --> 00:17:34,227 standing on two legs, fangs, claws, 328 00:17:34,270 --> 00:17:37,621 and strangely, a row of spikes going down its back. 329 00:17:37,665 --> 00:17:41,016 Why are there so many different versions of the chupacabra, 330 00:17:41,060 --> 00:17:42,887 and why are they so radically different-looking 331 00:17:42,931 --> 00:17:45,064 in terms of the Puerto Rican version 332 00:17:45,107 --> 00:17:47,631 versus the North American version versus other versions? 333 00:17:47,675 --> 00:17:51,200 So, in fact, pollution could be having a similar effect 334 00:17:51,244 --> 00:17:54,943 to create all types of strange creatures. 335 00:17:54,986 --> 00:17:57,554 I think it's possible that there are mutations out there 336 00:17:57,598 --> 00:18:01,689 that science has yet to discover or to understand. 337 00:18:01,732 --> 00:18:04,474 Not only what nature is constructing, 338 00:18:04,518 --> 00:18:08,783 but also what mankind may be constructing, too. 339 00:18:11,438 --> 00:18:15,877 SHATNER: Are creatures like chupacabra merely freaks of nature, 340 00:18:15,920 --> 00:18:18,314 a rare but nonetheless disturbing consequence 341 00:18:18,358 --> 00:18:21,361 of natural selection run amok? 342 00:18:21,404 --> 00:18:23,232 Perhaps. 343 00:18:23,276 --> 00:18:26,409 But there are those who believe these monsters 344 00:18:26,453 --> 00:18:30,718 are actually the products of deliberate experimentation. 345 00:18:30,761 --> 00:18:34,678 Experimentation that has gone too far. 346 00:18:43,209 --> 00:18:46,560 SHATNER: According to legend, it hunts in the darkness. 347 00:18:49,389 --> 00:18:52,653 A monster, seemingly drawn from a nightmare. 348 00:18:54,133 --> 00:18:56,961 It walks on two legs, like a human, 349 00:18:57,005 --> 00:18:58,789 but has the head of a beast. 350 00:19:01,314 --> 00:19:04,839 It is a creature so horrifying, it is rarely spoken about 351 00:19:04,882 --> 00:19:06,188 above a whisper. 352 00:19:07,537 --> 00:19:09,800 The Goatman. 353 00:19:09,844 --> 00:19:12,020 LEWIS: The Goatman is terrifying. 354 00:19:12,063 --> 00:19:15,545 It's something striking that strikes fear in the witnesses, 355 00:19:15,589 --> 00:19:17,417 and it's certainly something you would not 356 00:19:17,460 --> 00:19:19,332 want to meet in the dark. 357 00:19:19,375 --> 00:19:22,465 LOREN COLEMAN: From my understanding of the Goatman, 358 00:19:22,509 --> 00:19:27,601 it seemed to start up, really, in 1971 in Maryland. 359 00:19:27,644 --> 00:19:31,561 It looks like an upright, human-like creature, 360 00:19:31,605 --> 00:19:35,478 but has a goat-like head, with glowing red eyes 361 00:19:35,522 --> 00:19:38,220 and huge horns, and looks like the devil 362 00:19:38,264 --> 00:19:39,917 and is very frightening. 363 00:19:39,961 --> 00:19:41,876 I think one of the most intimidating things 364 00:19:41,919 --> 00:19:45,880 about the Goatman is that it reportedly resembles 365 00:19:45,923 --> 00:19:47,447 the Christian devil. 366 00:19:47,490 --> 00:19:50,232 I mean, it's half man, it's half goat. 367 00:19:53,104 --> 00:19:56,499 SHATNER: For decades, tales of this grotesque creature 368 00:19:56,543 --> 00:20:00,024 have been told wherever cryptozoologists gather. 369 00:20:00,068 --> 00:20:04,551 Particularly in and around suburban Maryland. 370 00:20:04,594 --> 00:20:07,510 It all started following a shocking incident 371 00:20:07,554 --> 00:20:10,426 that took place in the small town of Bowie 372 00:20:10,470 --> 00:20:12,950 in October of 1971. 373 00:20:17,912 --> 00:20:20,436 COUCH: A young teenage girl was having a sleepover 374 00:20:20,480 --> 00:20:22,264 with some of her friends. 375 00:20:24,310 --> 00:20:25,833 -What was that? -I don't know. 376 00:20:25,876 --> 00:20:27,313 COUCH: They looked out the window, 377 00:20:27,356 --> 00:20:30,272 and to their horror, they saw this strange, 378 00:20:30,316 --> 00:20:34,450 hairy creature skulking around outside. 379 00:20:34,494 --> 00:20:36,844 LEWIS: It scurried into the woods. 380 00:20:36,887 --> 00:20:40,500 A few days later, their new puppy went missing. 381 00:20:40,543 --> 00:20:43,329 Eventually, it was discovered along the railroad tracks. 382 00:20:45,331 --> 00:20:48,464 It had been decapitated and ripped apart. 383 00:20:51,511 --> 00:20:54,644 Skeptics claim it was just run over by a train. 384 00:20:54,688 --> 00:20:57,299 Others believed it was killed by the Goatman. 385 00:21:00,259 --> 00:21:03,131 Usually, these kinds of stories of creatures 386 00:21:03,174 --> 00:21:04,959 have some starting point. 387 00:21:05,002 --> 00:21:08,658 For the Goatman, in 1971, 388 00:21:08,702 --> 00:21:13,446 everybody got hysterical and started reporting it. 389 00:21:13,489 --> 00:21:15,796 LEWIS: This case really spawned terror 390 00:21:15,839 --> 00:21:17,406 in the entire community. 391 00:21:17,450 --> 00:21:20,191 The fever reached a pitch when some teenagers 392 00:21:20,235 --> 00:21:22,411 thought they had the Goatman trapped. 393 00:21:22,455 --> 00:21:26,502 COUCH: People were so scared of the Goatman 394 00:21:26,546 --> 00:21:27,938 during those initial sightings 395 00:21:27,982 --> 00:21:30,332 that a posse of teenagers had actually 396 00:21:30,376 --> 00:21:31,942 closed off an entire road, 397 00:21:31,986 --> 00:21:33,553 claiming that they had captured the animal. 398 00:21:33,596 --> 00:21:35,381 And when police arrived, though, 399 00:21:35,424 --> 00:21:37,557 whatever it was that they had cornered had escaped. 400 00:21:41,300 --> 00:21:43,432 When you hear people's accounts of a goat-like, 401 00:21:43,476 --> 00:21:47,523 man-sized creature, you have to stop and think for one minute, 402 00:21:47,567 --> 00:21:49,046 you know, is it possible 403 00:21:49,090 --> 00:21:51,222 for a creature like this to even exist? 404 00:21:51,266 --> 00:21:53,964 It defies understanding. 405 00:21:54,008 --> 00:21:57,881 However, people have been seeing this creature for decades. 406 00:21:57,925 --> 00:21:59,927 REDFERN: Some cryptozoologists 407 00:21:59,970 --> 00:22:02,843 suggested that possibly it was the creation 408 00:22:02,886 --> 00:22:04,888 of some sort of secret lab, 409 00:22:04,932 --> 00:22:07,543 and that some experiments had been going on, 410 00:22:07,587 --> 00:22:10,241 and the creature had escaped 411 00:22:10,285 --> 00:22:12,374 from that same secret lab. 412 00:22:14,855 --> 00:22:16,987 RIHERD: And as far-fetched as that may seem, 413 00:22:17,031 --> 00:22:21,078 in 1959, Soviet scientists were able 414 00:22:21,122 --> 00:22:23,385 to transplant the head 415 00:22:23,429 --> 00:22:27,520 and forelimbs of a small dog onto the body of a large dog. 416 00:22:30,653 --> 00:22:33,352 The Russian scientist Vladimir Demikhov was actually, 417 00:22:33,395 --> 00:22:36,093 uh, something of a pioneer of organ transplant. 418 00:22:37,791 --> 00:22:40,315 In the 1950s, he decided 419 00:22:40,359 --> 00:22:44,450 he wanted to attempt to attach two dogs. 420 00:22:44,493 --> 00:22:48,279 He and his team actually went through a series of surgeries 421 00:22:48,323 --> 00:22:51,500 to try to accomplish this. 422 00:22:51,544 --> 00:22:56,462 He took the, uh... the head and front torso of a small dog, 423 00:22:56,505 --> 00:22:59,334 um, removed it and attached it 424 00:22:59,378 --> 00:23:02,250 to the body of a much larger dog, 425 00:23:02,293 --> 00:23:05,558 so it was basically able to be supported 426 00:23:05,601 --> 00:23:10,127 off of the heart and-and vessels of the big dog. 427 00:23:10,171 --> 00:23:12,695 We tend to believe that we figured out everything 428 00:23:12,739 --> 00:23:14,828 with modern science and technology, 429 00:23:14,871 --> 00:23:19,093 but being that the Goatman combines both goat and man 430 00:23:19,136 --> 00:23:21,095 makes you think, was it some sort 431 00:23:21,138 --> 00:23:23,271 of Frankenstein experiment gone wrong? 432 00:23:25,752 --> 00:23:28,668 Or was it purposely constructed 433 00:23:28,711 --> 00:23:32,019 and built and almost born this way? 434 00:23:34,021 --> 00:23:35,849 RIHERD: It's interesting to note 435 00:23:35,892 --> 00:23:39,026 that there's important research going on to produce 436 00:23:39,069 --> 00:23:41,898 something called a "chimera," which is a combination 437 00:23:41,942 --> 00:23:46,207 of two different types of DNA. 438 00:23:46,250 --> 00:23:48,601 The way this is performed is 439 00:23:48,644 --> 00:23:52,561 to introduce human genetic material into pig embryos. 440 00:23:52,605 --> 00:23:56,391 And what they found when they analyze the DNA of these embryos 441 00:23:56,435 --> 00:24:01,831 is that they're actually 1/100,000 human. 442 00:24:01,875 --> 00:24:03,964 So this is kind of the basis 443 00:24:04,007 --> 00:24:06,967 for how to create different creatures or mix and match, 444 00:24:07,010 --> 00:24:09,926 uh, the DNA from two different species. 445 00:24:12,320 --> 00:24:14,322 SHATNER: A chimera? 446 00:24:14,365 --> 00:24:16,455 A creature comprised of the DNA 447 00:24:16,498 --> 00:24:20,502 from two entirely different species? 448 00:24:20,546 --> 00:24:24,680 Could such a frightening notion help to explain a beast 449 00:24:24,724 --> 00:24:28,249 as bizarre and disturbing 450 00:24:28,292 --> 00:24:30,338 as the Goatman? 451 00:24:33,950 --> 00:24:37,388 With the recent advances in DNA science, 452 00:24:37,432 --> 00:24:39,521 it's not completely implausible 453 00:24:39,565 --> 00:24:41,088 that some of these creatures are the result 454 00:24:41,131 --> 00:24:42,872 of these types of experiments. 455 00:24:45,701 --> 00:24:48,965 If the Goatman does exist, 456 00:24:49,009 --> 00:24:52,578 could it be the product of some unholy scientific experiment? 457 00:24:52,621 --> 00:24:54,188 There are those who believe 458 00:24:54,231 --> 00:24:57,539 that not only is such a disturbing notion true, 459 00:24:57,583 --> 00:25:00,890 but that mankind has opened a virtual Pandora's box-- 460 00:25:00,934 --> 00:25:03,850 one that may now be too late for us to close. 461 00:25:03,893 --> 00:25:07,244 And the monster they cite as proof of their theory 462 00:25:07,288 --> 00:25:09,899 is the one that doesn't only walk on two legs 463 00:25:09,943 --> 00:25:13,424 but flies on two wings. 464 00:25:14,730 --> 00:25:20,606 The Mothman. 465 00:25:20,649 --> 00:25:22,695 SHATNER: Point Pleasant, West Virginia. 466 00:25:22,738 --> 00:25:24,653 April 1967. 467 00:25:27,134 --> 00:25:29,440 Linda Sigman and her boyfriend 468 00:25:29,484 --> 00:25:32,095 head out for a quiet nighttime drive. 469 00:25:34,228 --> 00:25:36,317 Far beyond the city lights, they pull over 470 00:25:36,360 --> 00:25:38,232 to do some amateur stargazing. 471 00:25:39,755 --> 00:25:42,062 After a few minutes, they realize 472 00:25:42,105 --> 00:25:43,759 they're not alone. 473 00:25:43,803 --> 00:25:47,458 We got out, and we sat on the car, 474 00:25:47,502 --> 00:25:49,504 and we're sitting there talking for a little bit, 475 00:25:49,548 --> 00:25:53,813 and I noticed a bright star over to my right. 476 00:25:53,856 --> 00:25:56,772 And all of a sudden, it started to get bigger. 477 00:25:56,816 --> 00:25:59,601 And it turned bright red, and it started to glow, 478 00:25:59,645 --> 00:26:01,821 and, like, it burst through the clouds. 479 00:26:01,864 --> 00:26:04,867 And it came right over in front of the car, 480 00:26:04,911 --> 00:26:08,567 and we looked up, and the object was so big 481 00:26:08,610 --> 00:26:12,571 that we couldn't see the night sky or the stars or anything. 482 00:26:12,614 --> 00:26:16,400 My boyfriend tried to start the car, and it wouldn't start. 483 00:26:16,444 --> 00:26:19,665 Finally got the car started, and we started to pull forward, 484 00:26:19,708 --> 00:26:22,232 and I saw him. 485 00:26:22,276 --> 00:26:26,976 And he appeared to be a large flying man with wings. 486 00:26:27,020 --> 00:26:31,024 It was the creature that I perceive to be Mothman. 487 00:26:33,679 --> 00:26:36,333 His wings were back, and he was anywhere 488 00:26:36,377 --> 00:26:38,640 between eight and nine feet tall, 489 00:26:38,684 --> 00:26:40,381 and as we were going around a turn, 490 00:26:40,424 --> 00:26:44,690 the Mothman flew and flew into the trees. 491 00:26:44,733 --> 00:26:46,605 I don't know what else it could have been. 492 00:26:47,736 --> 00:26:49,738 SHATNER: The Mothman? 493 00:26:49,782 --> 00:26:55,396 A large, red-eyed, human-sized creature that flies? 494 00:26:55,439 --> 00:27:00,531 But if such a creature exists, where could it have come from? 495 00:27:00,575 --> 00:27:04,274 GERHARD: Mothman is one of the most enigmatic creatures 496 00:27:04,318 --> 00:27:06,712 in the annals of the unexplained. 497 00:27:06,755 --> 00:27:08,670 And it first gained public notoriety 498 00:27:08,714 --> 00:27:11,064 in November of 1966, 499 00:27:11,107 --> 00:27:13,588 and within a matter of days and weeks, 500 00:27:13,632 --> 00:27:16,330 there were dozens or perhaps hundreds of sightings 501 00:27:16,373 --> 00:27:18,680 of this creature around the Point Pleasant area, 502 00:27:18,724 --> 00:27:21,335 causing a mass hysteria situation. 503 00:27:23,946 --> 00:27:25,687 Skeptics have attributed the Mothman sightings 504 00:27:25,731 --> 00:27:27,820 to a misidentification 505 00:27:27,863 --> 00:27:31,911 of giant owls, or even a crane that is local to the area. 506 00:27:31,954 --> 00:27:33,652 There's all kinds of other explanations 507 00:27:33,695 --> 00:27:35,654 that have been given, but when you interview 508 00:27:35,697 --> 00:27:38,221 the people that actually saw and experienced this, 509 00:27:38,265 --> 00:27:39,962 they're not talking about anything 510 00:27:40,006 --> 00:27:41,964 that is conventionally known. 511 00:27:42,008 --> 00:27:45,794 SPINKS: West Virginia people are outdoorsy people. 512 00:27:45,838 --> 00:27:48,231 They know all the animals in the woods. 513 00:27:48,275 --> 00:27:51,713 Most are avid outdoorsmen, hunters, fishermen. 514 00:27:51,757 --> 00:27:53,715 They know the difference between an owl 515 00:27:53,759 --> 00:27:56,239 and a Mothman-type creature. 516 00:27:56,283 --> 00:28:00,243 GERHARD: We have to consider that the Mothman's behavior, 517 00:28:00,287 --> 00:28:03,812 which involved chasing cars at over a hundred miles an hour, 518 00:28:03,856 --> 00:28:07,120 taking straight up off the ground like a helicopter, 519 00:28:07,163 --> 00:28:11,124 none of those would indicate any type of flesh-and-blood animal. 520 00:28:11,167 --> 00:28:15,824 SHATNER: Chasing cars at over a hundred miles an hour? 521 00:28:15,868 --> 00:28:19,219 If true, then this thing is no owl, 522 00:28:19,262 --> 00:28:22,788 at least not a normal one. 523 00:28:22,831 --> 00:28:27,096 There's no animals anywhere on this planet that even resemble 524 00:28:27,140 --> 00:28:31,753 a giant man-sized creature with ten-foot wings anywhere. 525 00:28:31,797 --> 00:28:34,234 And to me, that would lead to the fact 526 00:28:34,277 --> 00:28:36,802 that it's definitely not of this world. 527 00:28:39,674 --> 00:28:42,895 SHATNER: Not of this world? 528 00:28:42,938 --> 00:28:46,768 According to a growing number of mainstream scientists, 529 00:28:46,812 --> 00:28:51,425 such a profound notion is, in fact, possible. 530 00:28:52,818 --> 00:28:55,081 In 2018, a fascinating study 531 00:28:55,124 --> 00:28:58,301 was published on the DNA of the octopus. 532 00:28:58,345 --> 00:29:01,087 The octopus is a really unusual creature here on earth. 533 00:29:01,130 --> 00:29:04,917 They can rewrite their own DNA, they can camouflage themselves, 534 00:29:04,960 --> 00:29:06,570 and they are considered the most intelligent 535 00:29:06,614 --> 00:29:08,572 of all invertebrates. 536 00:29:08,616 --> 00:29:12,489 What these researchers concluded was that the DNA of the octopus 537 00:29:12,533 --> 00:29:14,709 had traveled here on a comet. 538 00:29:14,753 --> 00:29:17,625 In other words, this DNA didn't start off on Earth. 539 00:29:17,668 --> 00:29:19,801 It came from somewhere else. 540 00:29:19,845 --> 00:29:22,978 FISHER: There are many instances of organisms, 541 00:29:23,022 --> 00:29:25,372 particularly extremophiles, that can occur 542 00:29:25,415 --> 00:29:28,244 in extremely inhospitable conditions. 543 00:29:28,288 --> 00:29:31,204 And there are even cases of organisms like these 544 00:29:31,247 --> 00:29:34,555 being able to survive exposure to-to space. 545 00:29:34,598 --> 00:29:36,644 So, it's not completely out of the question that something 546 00:29:36,687 --> 00:29:39,865 like a microorganism might be able to survive spaceflight 547 00:29:39,908 --> 00:29:43,433 on a comet that was coming to Earth, for example. 548 00:29:43,477 --> 00:29:46,306 One of the most intriguing theories for Mothman 549 00:29:46,349 --> 00:29:49,657 is that possibly, it could have reached the Earth 550 00:29:49,700 --> 00:29:54,749 via an asteroid, and the DNA developed on our planet 551 00:29:54,793 --> 00:29:57,839 to the point now we're actually seeing creatures 552 00:29:57,883 --> 00:30:00,059 that ultimately became Mothman. 553 00:30:02,888 --> 00:30:06,282 SHATNER: Could the Mothman's DNA have hitched a ride to Earth 554 00:30:06,326 --> 00:30:08,937 on an interstellar comet? 555 00:30:08,981 --> 00:30:12,158 For the residents of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, 556 00:30:12,201 --> 00:30:14,508 the more pressing question is whether the Mothman 557 00:30:14,551 --> 00:30:19,643 is a friend or a foe. 558 00:30:19,687 --> 00:30:23,169 It's been seen a lot of times right before tragedies happen. 559 00:30:23,212 --> 00:30:25,736 That's the only common thing we know. 560 00:30:25,780 --> 00:30:27,695 It seems to show up at tragedies. 561 00:30:29,566 --> 00:30:32,004 JEFF WAMSLEY: On December 15, 1967, 562 00:30:32,047 --> 00:30:34,571 the Silver Bridge, which spanned from Point Pleasant 563 00:30:34,615 --> 00:30:36,835 over to Kanauga, Ohio, 564 00:30:36,878 --> 00:30:41,013 collapsed at about 5:00 on a Friday evening. 565 00:30:41,056 --> 00:30:43,929 Uh, it was the worst bridge disaster in U.S. history. 566 00:30:45,147 --> 00:30:46,845 46 people died. 567 00:30:46,888 --> 00:30:49,369 I was six when the bridge fell. 568 00:30:49,412 --> 00:30:51,980 And I remember, at that time, there were people that claimed 569 00:30:52,024 --> 00:30:54,983 that they'd seen a large bird flying back and forth, 570 00:30:55,027 --> 00:30:57,899 you know, across the-the river before the bridge fell. 571 00:30:57,943 --> 00:31:01,381 REDFERN: The official story is that it was just wear and tear, 572 00:31:01,424 --> 00:31:03,818 and the 46 people who were killed 573 00:31:03,862 --> 00:31:05,994 just didn't really stand a chance. 574 00:31:06,038 --> 00:31:09,911 There are rumors that the Mothman was seen 575 00:31:09,955 --> 00:31:13,393 around the time that the bridge collapse 576 00:31:13,436 --> 00:31:16,875 so there was inevitably talk around town 577 00:31:16,918 --> 00:31:20,966 that somehow the Mothman had either caused the tragedy 578 00:31:21,009 --> 00:31:23,011 or, in a strange way, 579 00:31:23,055 --> 00:31:26,058 was kind of like a grim reaper for many people. 580 00:31:29,496 --> 00:31:32,020 GERHARD: To this day, residents of Point Pleasant 581 00:31:32,064 --> 00:31:34,196 draw a connection between the Mothman 582 00:31:34,240 --> 00:31:35,937 and this bridge collapse, 583 00:31:35,981 --> 00:31:38,157 perhaps perceiving the Mothman's appearance 584 00:31:38,200 --> 00:31:41,812 as some type of premonition or omen of the tragedy. 585 00:31:44,772 --> 00:31:47,557 HIPES: I would say, probably, in Point Pleasant it's 50/50. 586 00:31:47,601 --> 00:31:49,646 50% of the people believe that Mothman 587 00:31:49,690 --> 00:31:51,083 caused the Silver Bridge tragedy, 588 00:31:51,126 --> 00:31:53,041 and the other 50% believe that he may have 589 00:31:53,085 --> 00:31:55,174 been here as a warning to get everyone on guard 590 00:31:55,217 --> 00:31:56,871 that something terrible may happen. 591 00:31:58,742 --> 00:32:00,614 SHATNER: Mothman, a force for good? 592 00:32:00,657 --> 00:32:03,051 A protector from harm? 593 00:32:03,095 --> 00:32:06,576 Is it possible that some crypto-creatures, 594 00:32:06,620 --> 00:32:08,927 like the Mothman, are just... 595 00:32:08,970 --> 00:32:11,190 misunderstood? 596 00:32:11,233 --> 00:32:16,456 It's an interesting and even comforting notion. 597 00:32:16,499 --> 00:32:19,546 But if such creatures exist, 598 00:32:19,589 --> 00:32:21,983 they would be just as likely to attack us 599 00:32:22,027 --> 00:32:24,551 as we would be to attack them. 600 00:32:24,594 --> 00:32:30,078 For we appear as strange and menacing to them 601 00:32:30,122 --> 00:32:36,998 as they do to us. 602 00:32:37,042 --> 00:32:38,913 SHATNER: Lake Shelbyville, Illinois. 603 00:32:38,957 --> 00:32:41,394 July 1977. 604 00:32:41,437 --> 00:32:44,397 While on a fishing trip with his son, 605 00:32:44,440 --> 00:32:47,008 construction worker "Texas" John Huffer captures 606 00:32:47,052 --> 00:32:52,057 incredible footage of two giant creatures taking flight. 607 00:32:52,100 --> 00:32:54,624 LEWIS: In Huffer's film, we see what appears to be 608 00:32:54,668 --> 00:32:57,279 two large birds perched on a tree 609 00:32:57,323 --> 00:33:00,369 and then flying off into the sky. 610 00:33:00,413 --> 00:33:04,069 He actually honked his boat horn to get their attention, 611 00:33:04,112 --> 00:33:06,201 and that seemed to startle them, 612 00:33:06,245 --> 00:33:11,293 and they flew off out of his sight before he ran out of film. 613 00:33:11,337 --> 00:33:13,992 A lot of people in the field still talk 614 00:33:14,035 --> 00:33:17,038 about Huffer's footage because it's so remarkable. 615 00:33:17,082 --> 00:33:19,171 The birds are large. 616 00:33:19,214 --> 00:33:24,828 COUCH: They appear to be a very unique-looking animal, 617 00:33:24,872 --> 00:33:28,049 particularly in that their tail feathers seem larger 618 00:33:28,093 --> 00:33:32,053 than any type of raptor that I am, uh, personally aware of. 619 00:33:32,097 --> 00:33:35,143 LEWIS: These creatures were gigantic 620 00:33:35,187 --> 00:33:38,581 compared to your normal turkey vulture. 621 00:33:38,625 --> 00:33:42,107 Whatever they are, they're actually there, and they're big. 622 00:33:42,150 --> 00:33:45,545 SHATNER: Gigantic flying birds? 623 00:33:45,588 --> 00:33:47,895 Larger than turkey vultures? 624 00:33:47,938 --> 00:33:51,942 But if so, what kind of bird is it? 625 00:33:51,986 --> 00:33:55,250 And why haven't we noticed anything like it before? 626 00:33:57,861 --> 00:34:00,342 One of my specialties within the field of cryptozoology 627 00:34:00,386 --> 00:34:03,824 is investigating accounts of what are known as thunderbirds. 628 00:34:03,867 --> 00:34:08,394 Thunderbirds are creatures from Native American mythology, 629 00:34:08,437 --> 00:34:12,180 and they are essentially giant raptor types of birds, 630 00:34:12,224 --> 00:34:14,617 similar to an eagle with a hooked beak, 631 00:34:14,661 --> 00:34:16,184 enormous wingspans 632 00:34:16,228 --> 00:34:18,926 ranging anywhere from 15 to 20 feet across, 633 00:34:18,969 --> 00:34:21,102 basically the size of a small airplane. 634 00:34:23,278 --> 00:34:25,237 We consider them very sacred 635 00:34:25,280 --> 00:34:28,805 because they do have the power to take a life. 636 00:34:30,285 --> 00:34:33,375 And they also have power to give life. 637 00:34:33,419 --> 00:34:35,029 And we see them all over, 638 00:34:35,073 --> 00:34:37,727 all over the skies, 639 00:34:37,771 --> 00:34:41,731 so you'll get many descriptions of the thunderbird. 640 00:34:41,775 --> 00:34:46,519 In the beginning, they're the ones that protected us, 641 00:34:46,562 --> 00:34:51,176 and in the future, they said they will protect us again. 642 00:34:51,219 --> 00:34:53,656 That's power. 643 00:34:53,700 --> 00:34:55,919 These things were said to be able to swoop down 644 00:34:55,963 --> 00:34:58,096 out of the sky and carry off grown adults. 645 00:34:58,139 --> 00:35:00,402 LEWIS: In fact, many claim 646 00:35:00,446 --> 00:35:04,145 that when these gigantic birds flap their wings, it sounds 647 00:35:04,189 --> 00:35:08,410 like thunder in the sky, hence the name "thunderbirds." 648 00:35:08,454 --> 00:35:11,283 Oftentimes, the old legends tell 649 00:35:11,326 --> 00:35:13,198 of great wars in the Midwest 650 00:35:13,241 --> 00:35:16,114 between the thunderbirds and other creatures. 651 00:35:20,509 --> 00:35:22,337 SHATNER: Thunderbirds. 652 00:35:22,381 --> 00:35:26,080 Giant flying creatures from Native American folklore. 653 00:35:26,124 --> 00:35:30,737 Could such supernatural beings actually exist? 654 00:35:30,780 --> 00:35:35,655 Or could they be something that has, until now, 655 00:35:35,698 --> 00:35:37,961 been considered extinct? 656 00:35:40,181 --> 00:35:42,923 They could be a teratorn, 657 00:35:42,966 --> 00:35:45,447 which is a giant condor-like beast 658 00:35:45,491 --> 00:35:49,321 that existed during the last ice age. 659 00:35:49,364 --> 00:35:52,498 We know that they existed at the same time as humans 660 00:35:52,541 --> 00:35:55,892 because there are burials of humans and teratorns. 661 00:35:58,156 --> 00:36:00,201 SHATNER: According to paleontologists, 662 00:36:00,245 --> 00:36:05,119 teratorns had wing spans which measured up to 12 feet wide. 663 00:36:05,163 --> 00:36:06,729 They're also believed to have been extinct 664 00:36:06,773 --> 00:36:08,905 for at least 10,000 years. 665 00:36:08,949 --> 00:36:12,039 But given the incredible size of the creatures 666 00:36:12,082 --> 00:36:13,910 in John Huffer's footage, 667 00:36:13,954 --> 00:36:18,393 is it possible the teratorns survived extinction? 668 00:36:18,437 --> 00:36:23,746 According to cryptozoologists, the answer's yes, 669 00:36:23,790 --> 00:36:28,011 and for evidence, they point to the rediscovery of a creature 670 00:36:28,055 --> 00:36:32,538 that was thought to be extinct, not just for thousands of years, 671 00:36:32,581 --> 00:36:34,714 but for millions. 672 00:36:39,284 --> 00:36:41,677 South Africa. 1938. 673 00:36:41,721 --> 00:36:44,680 A group of fishermen returning home notice something 674 00:36:44,724 --> 00:36:47,770 much larger than normal in their daily catch. 675 00:36:47,814 --> 00:36:51,861 It measures five feet long, weighs 200 pounds, 676 00:36:51,905 --> 00:36:55,256 and is covered with strange, silver markings. 677 00:36:55,300 --> 00:36:58,825 After careful examination, 678 00:36:58,868 --> 00:37:01,262 the creature is finally identified 679 00:37:01,306 --> 00:37:05,005 as a coelacanth, a large saltwater fish 680 00:37:05,048 --> 00:37:07,007 that was thought to be extinct 681 00:37:07,050 --> 00:37:11,359 for the past 65 million years. 682 00:37:11,403 --> 00:37:14,232 It was supposed to have died out 683 00:37:14,275 --> 00:37:17,278 with the mass extinction of the dinosaurs, 684 00:37:17,322 --> 00:37:21,064 and it became a fantastic discovery. 685 00:37:21,108 --> 00:37:24,938 It's essentially a living fossil. 686 00:37:24,981 --> 00:37:27,288 LEWIS: What strikes me is that this creature 687 00:37:27,332 --> 00:37:30,726 wasn't a small insect or a bug that was thought to be extinct. 688 00:37:30,770 --> 00:37:32,902 It's five feet long, 200 pounds. 689 00:37:32,946 --> 00:37:34,904 It looks prehistoric. 690 00:37:34,948 --> 00:37:36,819 When you see this creature, 691 00:37:36,863 --> 00:37:39,169 if you were to catch it on your fishing pole, 692 00:37:39,213 --> 00:37:42,303 you would immediately know that it was a relic from the past. 693 00:37:42,347 --> 00:37:46,438 SHATNER: But if this coelacanth, recently caught and killed 694 00:37:46,481 --> 00:37:50,311 in a fisherman's net, could survive 65 million years 695 00:37:50,355 --> 00:37:53,575 of presumed extinction and evolution, 696 00:37:53,619 --> 00:37:56,665 why not the teratorns? 697 00:37:56,709 --> 00:38:00,408 It seems very naive to believe that the coelacanth 698 00:38:00,452 --> 00:38:02,541 was the only survivor out there. 699 00:38:02,584 --> 00:38:05,195 If we discovered one of these creatures 700 00:38:05,239 --> 00:38:07,676 thought to be in the realm of folklore, 701 00:38:07,720 --> 00:38:10,113 it would change our complete understanding 702 00:38:10,157 --> 00:38:12,377 of evolution, science 703 00:38:12,420 --> 00:38:15,336 and the field of what's known and unknown. 704 00:38:15,380 --> 00:38:20,298 SHATNER: Just because physical evidence of certain strange creatures 705 00:38:20,341 --> 00:38:22,691 has not yet been recovered, 706 00:38:22,735 --> 00:38:25,825 why do we assume that eyewitness accounts, 707 00:38:25,868 --> 00:38:29,394 and even filmed footage, is not enough to convince us 708 00:38:29,437 --> 00:38:32,614 that they can and do exist? 709 00:38:32,658 --> 00:38:35,487 And not only exist, 710 00:38:35,530 --> 00:38:38,794 but are out there hiding, not only in the skies 711 00:38:38,838 --> 00:38:41,057 above our heads, 712 00:38:41,101 --> 00:38:44,017 but deep in the ground beneath our feet. 713 00:38:50,284 --> 00:38:52,504 SHATNER: Mongolia, the Gobi Desert, 714 00:38:52,547 --> 00:38:54,419 an arid wasteland, 715 00:38:54,462 --> 00:38:58,466 almost completely devoid of life-- almost-- 716 00:38:58,510 --> 00:39:01,600 because there are those that believe the area 717 00:39:01,643 --> 00:39:04,690 is home to a creature so deadly 718 00:39:04,733 --> 00:39:09,042 that just catching an accidental glimpse of it can kill. 719 00:39:10,478 --> 00:39:12,828 This creature's name in Mongolian 720 00:39:12,872 --> 00:39:14,830 actually means "large intestine worm." 721 00:39:14,874 --> 00:39:17,964 It appears as if it's lacking a head 722 00:39:18,007 --> 00:39:20,488 and maneuvers by traveling under the sand, 723 00:39:20,532 --> 00:39:23,839 and it's often referred to as the Mongolian death worm 724 00:39:23,883 --> 00:39:27,103 'cause it can kill its victims in a number of ways. 725 00:39:27,147 --> 00:39:32,108 Mongolian death worm is a hideous-looking creature, 726 00:39:32,152 --> 00:39:34,197 one to two feet long. 727 00:39:34,241 --> 00:39:36,722 People talked about it for generations. 728 00:39:36,765 --> 00:39:39,768 It can shoot out electricity for miles on end 729 00:39:39,812 --> 00:39:42,597 that can be felt by anyone traveling through the desert. 730 00:39:44,033 --> 00:39:45,644 It's even more terrifying 731 00:39:45,687 --> 00:39:48,821 because you can't see it till it's too late. 732 00:39:48,864 --> 00:39:51,345 -It is said to pop up 733 00:39:51,389 --> 00:39:53,739 and shoot venom on its victims 734 00:39:53,782 --> 00:39:57,482 where the tiniest bit will cause the victim to drop dead. 735 00:39:57,525 --> 00:40:01,616 RIHERD: Biologists know of large species of worms, 736 00:40:01,660 --> 00:40:05,968 and they know of species of animals that can spit venom 737 00:40:06,012 --> 00:40:08,449 or that can electrocute their prey, 738 00:40:08,493 --> 00:40:10,582 but to find all of these features 739 00:40:10,625 --> 00:40:14,150 in one species of animal is highly unusual. 740 00:40:14,194 --> 00:40:17,371 COUCH: People who live near the Gobi Desert in Mongolia 741 00:40:17,415 --> 00:40:19,678 are deathly afraid of this creature, 742 00:40:19,721 --> 00:40:21,680 and, actually, uh, there are descriptions 743 00:40:21,723 --> 00:40:24,422 given by the prime minister of Mongolia 744 00:40:24,465 --> 00:40:26,728 saying that this is what the creature looks like 745 00:40:26,772 --> 00:40:29,165 and that it's out there in the Gobi Desert. 746 00:40:31,472 --> 00:40:33,300 COLEMAN: There's many science-fiction movies 747 00:40:33,343 --> 00:40:37,304 that has copied the real stories of the Mongolian death worm. 748 00:40:37,347 --> 00:40:40,612 Some people say they're scared to death when they see it. 749 00:40:42,657 --> 00:40:44,572 People were seeing something. 750 00:40:44,616 --> 00:40:48,358 I don't think it's a simple case of it being an allegory 751 00:40:48,402 --> 00:40:50,622 or a cautionary tale of avoiding things 752 00:40:50,665 --> 00:40:52,667 that can kill you in the desert. 753 00:40:52,711 --> 00:40:55,017 I think they were actually seeing something 754 00:40:55,061 --> 00:40:57,585 that terrified them. They witnessed it 755 00:40:57,629 --> 00:40:59,805 killing their friends and loved ones, 756 00:40:59,848 --> 00:41:02,285 and they wanted to avoid it at all costs. 757 00:41:04,200 --> 00:41:06,333 SHATNER: A creature so lethal that a drop of its venom 758 00:41:06,376 --> 00:41:09,292 can cause instant death? 759 00:41:09,336 --> 00:41:12,905 And if you somehow managed to avoid its venom, 760 00:41:12,948 --> 00:41:14,646 it could still electrocute you? 761 00:41:19,738 --> 00:41:22,523 Remind me to think twice before planning that trip to Mongolia. 762 00:41:22,567 --> 00:41:25,265 So, what do you think? 763 00:41:25,308 --> 00:41:28,007 Are creatures like the chupacabra, Goatman 764 00:41:28,050 --> 00:41:29,965 and the Mothman real? 765 00:41:30,009 --> 00:41:33,099 Or are they figments 766 00:41:33,142 --> 00:41:36,189 of overactive imaginations? 767 00:41:36,232 --> 00:41:39,235 Perhaps mankind is so good at creating its own demons 768 00:41:39,279 --> 00:41:42,021 that they become real. 769 00:41:42,064 --> 00:41:45,938 And we say we want to find them, capture them, study them, 770 00:41:45,981 --> 00:41:50,899 but perhaps all we really should do is leave them alone. 771 00:41:50,943 --> 00:41:53,511 Let them stay in the shadow. 772 00:41:53,554 --> 00:41:56,557 Let them remain The UnXplained.