- There was a presence of a snake there,
the reason that no one got injured or hurt
was in fact that there was a good spirit there,
the rainbow serpent.
Could this be proof
of the elusive monster of Lake Van?
Certainly the man who shot this footage thinks so.
- We thought it was just an accidental attack,
but we kept on receiving information
that more and more child were being attacked.
- Is there a monster in Turkey's
Lake Van and have of India's wolves turned to baby killers?
Animal X investigates the weird world
of animal mystery, first we head to Australia,
home to the intriguing rainbow serpent.
- Andrew White and his wife Liz
had an ambitious dream, to dive in one of Australia's
driest and most inhospitable deserts.
There is water out here, lots of it,
but you have to go deep into the largest, underground
water system in the world.
Animal X traveled to Outback, western Australia,
to the Nullabor Plain to relive an incredible tale
of survival, one linked to an ancient, mythical creature.
- Nullabor's basically a large, featureless plain
and it's dotted by these large sinkholes
and they were the things that we were mostly interested in
because they led to the water tables
some hundred meters below the Earth's surface.
- Cave diving is not safe.
Lots of things can happen.
It can be a hazardous dive, even for experienced divers
like Andrew and Liz, makers of the internationally acclaimed
Quest and Deep Probe Dive documentary series.
But as they and the team prepared,
they had no way of knowing that their fate
would be decided by a creature from the dream time,
an Aboriginal myth, the rainbow serpent.
- The rainbow serpent is common
across Indigenous Australia and there's a different name
for it in every language, but ultimately,
the symbolism is the same, it symbolizes the creative
and the destructive power of nature.
- The Aboriginal tribes of this area
are closely tied to this land.
Land is spiritual to them, it has personality,
it must be respected.
The rainbow serpent is a mysterious force
to be reckoned with.
- We had some of the tribal elders with us
on the expedition and they did venture out with us
to basically give us the okay to go diving
on their land.
- The caves had particular significance.
To them, they were part of the beginning of life itself
and the rainbow serpent was an inexplicable part
of the legend.
- A star fell from the heavens and hit the Nullabor plain
and bounced into the ocean and then from that emerged
two spirit people and as they swam towards the cliffs
they found some entrances to caves which they swam through
and then they emerged on the land as man and woman.
And so that was their way of explaining the creation of
their people that lived in that area.
- They all noticed something unusual
on their way in, a strange snake, brown and green,
about a meter and a half long.
If they'd realized its true significance,
the expedition would've gone no further.
- We had one of the tribal elders with us on the expedition,
and prior to starting the diving,
she felt a very strong spiritual presence.
And we offered for her to come down
and there was no way on earth that we were gonna get her
into the cave, 'cause to her not only did it have some
spiritual significance, but there were spirits down there
and we didn't think anything of it at the time
because we were there to explore this thing
and most of the things we were doing were scientific
in nature and to us it was just a dreaming story.
- Snakes are often seen as messengers
of the rainbow serpent and of course snakes live
underground in holes and cracks in the rock,
in places associated with the underworld
and all that's associated with the underworld,
so that to come across a prominent snake at the beginning
of an expedition could be interpreted
as a warning to be careful.
- After almost a month of diving,
the expedition came to the end of the tunnel
blocked by a massive rock fall, but they'd swum
nearly five kilometers into the Earth, a major achievement.
The team gathered in the base camp cavern
to remove nearly two tons of gear.
As they started to work, the rainbow serpent struck
in a way that was totally unexpected.
On the surface, a gigantic storm suddenly appeared.
The storm broke with frightening intensity,
a hundred million liters of water gushed through the caves
onto the team far below.
Without warning, the cave system collapsed.
In the blackness, millions of tons of rock fell into
the tunnels, trapping 13 team members including Andrew.
- The cave collapse was totally unexpected
and it turned from a small trickle into just
a cascading torrent and as that happened,
boulders and our equipment started charging down
into the cave, the ledge that we were on moved
and all the netting broke away, and it was obvious
that whoever was below us was gonna get killed
just from boulders and water and debris
going down into the cave.
And I really thought that was gonna be my last day on Earth
and it got to a point where the water started to
subside enough that we made a decision.
We said, well if we stay here, we're probably gonna die,
if we go, we may get injured
or get killed but it's worth the risk.
- The rock was highly unstable,
boulders weighing several tons
precariously balanced on mud and debris.
But one by one, the team came to the surface.
It was a miraculous escape but for a local Aboriginal elder,
there was more to it.
- He said to us, and it was rather curious at the time,
there wasn't a snake there by any chance?
And we said well matter of fact there was.
And all the time that we'd been going in and out
of the cave on that last day, there was a presence
of a snake there, well at that point,
you could sort of feel the hair coming up
on the back of your neck, and he said the reason
that no one got injured or hurt
was the fact that there was a good spirit there,
the rainbow serpent, and there was a physical presence
of the snake, we were being prevented from seeing anymore,
that's why the spirits collapsed the cave
and it made sure we got out.
- The Aboriginal rainbow serpent
remains a myth.
A symbol from an ancient culture, difficult to understand,
but the the Aborigines of the Nullabor Plains,
the rainbow serpent is among them,
guiding their spiritual path and protecting their land.
Just as there have been
many reported encounters with Australia's rainbow serpent,
there have been hoards of documented sightings
of a monster in Turkey's Lake Van.
In this case, though,
some claim to have pictures to prove it.
- Beneath these shiny waters,
it's said there lurks a creature unlike any other.
Huge and mysterious, it haunts the depths
of the world's biggest salt water lake,
rarely breaking the surface.
The people here in this remote Turkish village
believe there's a monster in Lake Van.
This man says he saw what he thought was the monster's back.
When the creature dived underwater,
it revealed a large tail.
According to this eye witness,
the monster is about 15 meters long
with humps along its back.
Animal X traveled far into eastern Turkey
to the vast expanse of Lake Van,
the fourth biggest lake in the world.
The people of this ancient region are convinced
that Van is home to a creature
beyond the comprehension of science.
A creature that may have even been sighted
in centuries gone by and immortalized in stone
on the walls of this thousand year old church.
Local fishermen are among those
who've witnessed the monster.
Hasann Mollaoglu says he saw it about 35 years ago.
He was coming to work one morning
when he noticed something out on the lake,
about 150 meters away.
He says the strange creature was moving through the water.
Before the sighting, this fisherman was like many others
here, believing the monster existed only in folklore.
Now there's new evidence that has not only the locals,
but the whole world talking about Turkey's lake monster.
Could this be proof of the existence
of the elusive monster of Lake Van?
Certainly the man who shot this footage thinks so,
he's a teaching assistant at Van University
and has been studying the creature for many years.
Unal Kozak says he set up his camera
at a well-known location where the monster
has been seen before, he waited there and eventually
got more than he bargained for,
as the creature appeared not once, but three times.
As part of his intense research,
Unal says he's interviewed at least 1,000 people
who claim to have had a sighting of the lake monster.
And he admits over the years,
his quest to find it has become somewhat of an obsession.
But the 26 year old is not the only one
who claims to have captured moving images of the creature.
Nesimi Dede says he was walking along the lake's edge
taking shots with his video camera
when he noticed something moving out in the water.
He says it was only by chance that he was able to film it.
He says it moved along the lake, eventually ending up
near an island, the island of Akdamar.
Astonished by what he was witnessing,
Nesimi recorded these images of the monster
apparently swimming near the surface of the lake.
He says it only disappeared from view
when a plane flew overhead.
What makes the existence of such a creature
even more extraordinary
is how it manages to live here at all.
You see, Lake Van is so salty, there are very few fish
that can survive.
Dr. Osmam Cetinkaya is the head of
the Turkish fishers department.
He says only one type of fish and various plankton
have been found in Lake Van.
Tests with rainbow trout showed
that they only survived for 15 minutes
when released into the water.
But he admits that when it comes to the lake monster,
no scientific research has been conducted
to see whether or not there is such a life form.
He says the main reason is that there isn't the right
equipment, and as well there is no researcher in Turkey
experienced enough to do the job.
There's little sign of the legendary lake monster
losing any of its appeal, as people from all walks of life
clamor to explain its mysterious appearances.
Is it some type of fish monster,
a breed never before recorded in science?
Could it be an apparition caused by shadows on the lake?
Or is the monster simply the work of charlatans,
a clever hoax?
As long as the rumors persist that something is lurking
in these remote waters, the people of Van will be watching,
hoping, for another sign that out there in the black depths
swims the monster of the lake.
- From unexplained monsters of the deep
to those that stalk the land, after the break, Animal X
investigates whether wolf men or wolf packs are on the prowl
for children in India.
- 76 children were attacked, 45 of them killed
and then 31 left wounded.
It's unrecorded, essentially, anywhere else in the world.
Welcome back to Animal X.
In childhood, big bad wolves are something we imagine
in fairy stories like Little Red Riding Hood
and the Three Little Pigs, but in India,
there's a real fear of these cunning predators
after an astonishing number of child killings.
But just what's out there, a wolf pack or wolf men?
In northern India,
nightfall brings with it a certain terror.
All ears are tuned for the sound of hungry predators
in search of young, vulnerable victims.
A killer wolf pack that so far has been blamed
for attacking more than 70 children.
Animal X traveled to the impoverished district
of Raebareli in the state of Uttar Pradesh
to investigate the incredible reports
of man-eating wolves.
It's a story that's made headlines around the world
and has grown bigger in the telling.
Now, entire villages are barricading their doors
against these so called devils of the night.
- Initially, we thought it's just an accidental attack,
but we kept on receiving information that more and more
child are being attacked.
- Dr. Ram Lakhan Singh says
the first attack occurred in March, 1996.
Most of the victims have been between one and three
years of age, although the wolves have gone for
older children, too.
Some mother's claim their babies were snatched
right out of their laps and dragged off into the night.
- 76 children were attacked, 45 of them killed and eaten,
31 left wounded, it's unrecorded, essentially,
anywhere in the world.
- 11 year old Sumitra Singh
is one of the lucky ones, a survivor
of this terrifying phenomena.
Her frightening ordeal happened one hot August night
at 2 A.M, the family had moved outside to sleep
because of the heat, little did they know
their daughter would now become easy prey.
No one heard the wolf approach,
it was only when Sumitra screamed
that her parents and grandmother flew into a panic.
The animal grabbed her once, dropped her,
then grabbed her again.
Her father eventually manged to scare it off
into the forest.
For the rest of her life, Sumitra will carry
a stark reminder of her brush with death,
teeth marks made by a fierce predator
who left still hungry.
Mysteriously, Sumitra wasn't the only person
to be attacked that night.
In a village just a few kilometers away,
two wolves had gone on another feeding frenzy.
Sarjo Devi says she learnt of the attack at a hospital
where Sumitra was being treated.
She spoke to a father whose daughter
had been mauled to death by wolves.
He had the baby's head with him.
This is the man she met at the hospital,
Mohammed Ishmal, father of two year old Rusanna.
He has vivid memories of the shocking event.
It also happened outside while the family were sleeping.
Mohammed says he saw two wolves in the bush
after the attack, the one that had snatched his daughter
was moving slowly, the other was further ahead.
Despite a frantic search soon after the baby was taken,
nothing was found.
The situation changed, though, in the morning.
- Mohammed says the search party spread out to cover more
ground to look for the killers as well as his child.
At 6:30, they made a horrific discovery.
They found the lower half of the baby's body.
Further on, they found the baby's head.
Her torso was missing.
For Rusanna's grandmother, the memory of that night
is an extremely painful one.
She was there when her granddaughter was snatched
from her bed and remembers how helpless
everyone felt when they could not stop the wolves
from taking her.
Now, families have been told to take precautions,
not to leave children outside after dark.
Villagers have also organized groups of night watchmen
so that someone could always be on the lookout
for stalking wolves.
The reality of it all is that locals here
have virtually become prisoners in their own homes
after nightfall.
For some, though, the warnings have come too late.
Badrunissa Ismail says of course
people have changed their ways,
but nothing will bring back her only granddaughter.
The government meanwhile, has set up teams of wolf catchers.
Every night, the hunters search for any signs
of the wayward predators and if they find them,
they shoot to kill.
To coax the wolves out into the open,
team members have tried everything from playing a tape
recording of a crying child to using live bait.
But more often than not, they're outwitted
by the cunning animals.
So why have the wolves in India turned to man eaters?
Ironically, they're classified as an endangered species here
and since changes were made to conservation laws
in the 1980's, their numbers have increased
up to four times in some areas.
The government is now accused of making a good will gesture
that's gone disastrously wrong.
This official says the other problem is that over time,
the wolves natural habitat has decreased due to cultivation.
In desperation, they've been forced to look for
other sources of food.
As people move in, their children become an easy target,
and so the attacks occur.
Local shepherds in particular have come in for criticism,
accused of blatantly moving their flocks closer
to the wolves natural environment.
With the situation in crisis point,
the government has waived its conservation laws,
allowing people to kill dangerous wolves in self-defense.
Villagers are told to shoot at it with a rifle
or hit it over the head or spine.
Such incredible stories of invincible beasts
snatching children have led to rumors
that it may not be the work of a wolf pack,
but of wolf men.
- When it's standing and leaping,
its height becomes almost five, six feet.
- Certainly in ancient folklore,
there have been many bizarre tales of wolf men
eating and attacking children.
In India, some people's fear has turned to hysteria.
This elderly resident says he certainly doesn't think
the baby snatching is the work of a wolf.
After all, he says, wolves are shy creatures
and they wouldn't have the courage to do such a thing.
He says word is needlessly being put around
that a wolf is responsible, but in reality,
it's a different story.
So, could there be wolf men lurking in their midst?
Those who believe in the werewolf theory
claim to have seen a creature with superhuman powers,
capable of changing its form.
And stopping the rumors has proved all but impossible,
despite official announcements that the wolves
are definitely not human.
Those who've gone tired waiting for the wolf catchers
to get lucky have taken the law into their own hands.
Several people have been attacked by lynch mobs
for supposedly being the wolves in disguise
and the villagers primeval fears, fueled by superstition,
have led to the deaths of three men.
One of them, incinerated in a vehicle.
Wolf men or wolf pack?
Whatever the locals beliefs, there appears to be no easy
solution to the problem with the government sticking to
its plans to make wolves an endangered species,
their numbers will continue to increase
just as northern India's population continues to grow.
As civilization creeps a little bit further
into the wolves' natural habitat,
the baby snatchers may well be around for some time yet.
- It's said there are stranger things
in heaven and Earth that we can think of.
- Ultimately the symbolism is the same, it symbolizes
the creative and the destructive power of nature.