NARRATOR: On this episode of "Destination Truth,"
the team races across Thailand chasing sightings
of a giant ghost called the Phret.
NARRATOR: At the ruins of a jungle temple,
Josh has a close encounter of his own.
I got something! I got something!
NARRATOR: And Rex feels the grip
of what could be a paranormal presence.
[ Coughs ]
It felt like somebody grabbed me by the neck.
NARRATOR: Next, Team Truth journeys through the African wilderness
in search of an unidentified monster.
[ Roars ] Watch out, right there.
Everybody freeze.
Guys, there's something in the tree.
♪♪
Hold on!
- I'm Josh Gates. - [ Piglet squeals ]
In my travels, I've seen some unexplainable things,
and I've done some things I can't quite explain.
Aah!
Now, I've pulled together a team
armed with the latest technology in the search
for answers to the world's strangest mysteries.
I'm not sure what's out there waiting for me,
but I know what I'm looking for —
the truth.
Here at D.T. headquarters, reports of ghost sightings
filter in from around the world,
but there's a spirit in Thailand known as the Phret
that is unlike anything I'd ever heard of.
Phrets are spirits of the damned stuck in this world
as punishment for their sins,
but for some inexplicable reason,
these spirits manifest at towering heights
of 30 feet or more,
and now, scores of frightened citizens are coming forward
to share their own encounters with the Phret.
The epicenter of sightings is far from Bangkok
at the 1,000-year-old Phanom Rung Temple.
With new sightings reported daily here,
the legend of the Phret was growing larger
than the ghost itself.
So I assembled my team, and we packed up our gear for Thailand
in hopes of learning whether this tall ghost
is more than just a tall tale.
We took off from Los Angeles and headed west,
flying 8,300 miles across the Pacific
to Bangkok, Thailand.
As we waited for our luggage to arrive,
I became aware of an unfortunate fashion faux pas.
Oh, here it is, the old everybody-in-my-shirt episode.
Your shirt?
I specifically sent out an e-mail saying —
Match. [ Speaks indistinctly ]
No, saying I was wearing a green shirt this time around.
No. No. You said you weren't wearing green this time
so we could wear green.
Well, Rex got the memo and went with a full khaki ensemble.
We made a quick wardrobe change and boarded Bangkok's Skytrain,
where we found ourselves in close quarters.
Boy, it is tight in here, isn't it?
- Sardines. - Yeah. It is packed.
God.
You know, actually, we have a bit more room
than I thought... - You sure?
- ... now that I look around. - You sure?
Yeah, we could actually probably spread out a little bit.
We got plenty of room here.
We eventually reached our stop in the city center.
Thailand is a highly religious country
whose king has sat on the throne for more than 60 years.
The capital is papered with hundreds of images
of this beloved monarch, showcasing everything
from his royal attire and business look
to his hipster years and stylings on jazz saxophone.
Down the street, we pass through an eclectic open-air market
with thousands of amulets.
These sacred medallions are used to ward off evil spirits,
including the Phret,
and are said to bring good fortune in love,
gambling and anything in between.
Ryder, what do you need, money, luck, love?
Is there anything that's going to make me fall down less,
maybe hurt myself less?
I do not believe they make an amulet for coordination,
But they might. But they might.
If they do, this is the spot. We'll find it.
I decided to test out their selection
of supposedly magic rings.
Ryder, am I invisible?
No.
Can you even tell where my voice is coming from?
You are not the Lord of the Ring.
Okay. Let's go.
Still visible, we ducked into a nearby arena
to see some Muay Thai fighting,
the national sport of Thailand.
Wait a second.
There we go.
Boxers wear floral Buddhist necklaces
and cleanse away ghosts with holy water
before beating each other senseless.
First rule of Fight Club is don't fight that guy.
Oh!
Oh, my god.
♪♪
[ Boxing ring bell dings ]
GATES: Once I came to, we headed back outside and boarded a form
of transportation unique to Bangkok —
a river taxi.
Taxi!
With crushing gridlock in most of the city,
these rickety boats are an effective way
to get around town.
♪♪
All right, guys. We gotta change boats.
You have to move fast, though,
since these floating cabs wait for no one.
Ryder?
Oh, there she is!
After three boat changes and a high-speed trip
through narrow canals,
we finally reached our stop.
It's a system.
It's a crazy system, but it's a system.
Back on terra firma, we walked over to meet with Orawon,
an eyewitness who saw a Phret
at the remote temple of Phanom Rung.
Did other people see or just you?
What did it look like? Does it look like a human?
And when you saw it, were you scared?
Yes. Sure.
GATES: Orawon seemed genuinely afraid of whatever it was that she saw,
and I wanted to visit the location of her encounter,
so we wrangled up a car and left Bangkok in the dust.
We drove on toward the location
of the most recent Phret encounters,
300 miles to the north
in the vicinity of the Phanom Rung Temple
near the Cambodian border.
All right, guys.
We've got about a 7-hour drive ahead of us,
so everybody try not to be annoying.
Boop. Boop!
♪♪
GATES: After several hours of driving,
we pulled in at a strange temple complex dedicated to the Phret.
Towering over the complex were statues of the Phret.
Below, the sculpture depicted the horrible punishments
that awaited sinners in the afterlife.
The only thing more disturbing than the temple
was their get-lucky-quick scheme.
- Hello. [ Speaks Thai ] - [ Speaks Thai ]
"Let the birds freedom. Good luck to you."
So let me make sure I understand this.
I pay you 50 cents, and you let one of these birds go?
Sir, I would like to release every bird in this cage.
Is that possible?
I'm buying the whole cage, sir.
Okay, you guys ready for this?
It's going to be like the "The Great Escape,"
except you're not all going to get gunned down at the end.
Here we go. Go, go, go!
♪♪
You're free!
You're free from this crazy Thai business model.
Ohh.
That's it.
Oh, now, come on.
I never counted on a reload.
Having bought myself a lot of luck,
I spoke with the monk that curates the temple
to hear about his own experiences with the Phret.
I understand that he has seen a Phret.
Does he have a story about his own experience?
[ Speaks Thai ]
And is the Phret dangerous?
[ Speaks Thai ]
GATES: The monk pointed us on to a villager near Phanom Rung
who reported seeing a Phret
just a few days earlier.
We drove on toward the man's village,
but as we got deeper into the Thai countryside,
the narrow trails forced us to switch
to vehicles more conducive for the rough, country terrain.
♪♪
The road was primitive, and we held on tight,
biking over the rough and rocky trail.
Ryder!
♪♪
GATES: The road was primitive, and we held on tight,
biking over the rough and rocky trail.
Ryder!
[ Ryder groans ]
♪♪
- You okay? - Yeah.
REX: Did you get hurt anywhere else?
Ryder is getting some stitches.
Let's get you patched up.
- Let's get you up on your feet. - [ Groans ]
GATES: We carried Ryder to a nearby farmhouse,
where Rex began treatment.
Can you lay down flat on your back?
You've got two really good abrasions.
GATES: The team stood by Ryder and offered moral support.
Ow!
You didn't say that was gonna hurt!
You have to warn me! Give me something to bite on.
♪♪
Josh, did you ever get that coordination amulet for me?
No, I didn't, but I really wish that we'd looked harder for it.
GATES: And luckily, Rex had Ryder patched up
and ready to go in no time.
Just another day's work finding the truth, kids.
♪♪
GATES: We pressed on and met with the villager,
who told us about his recent encounter with the Phret.
Have you seen the Phret?
Many Phret?
And do you believe that these Phret are dangerous?
Oh...
With our preparation complete, we headed to Phanom Rung.
♪♪
Obscured deep in the jungle,
this massive Khmer temple is reached
by crossing a 500-foot-long footbridge,
ending in a steep staircase
ascending the slope of an ancient volcano.
Perched at the top, the Hindu complex is housed
inside a massive retaining gallery.
Inside, several shrines occupy a courtyard,
and in the center stands the inner sanctum,
a more than 50-foot-tall lotus tower
that once contained a divine symbol of Shiva.
Investigating the entire grounds in one evening
would be a significant test.
We set up base camp just outside the perimeter of the complex.
We then deployed I.R. cameras
pointed into the main passageways,
temple structures and along the edge of the forest.
At base camp, Tony would operate the cameras
and scan for any unusual activity.
We have an amazing opportunity tonight to explore
not only a nearly 1,000-year-old temple
but to be the first team to do it.
In terms of division of labor tonight,
I'll lead a team with Ryder and Allie and Gabe.
We'll make our way into the main temple complex.
Chris, why don't you and Rex and Kyle
check out the outlying forest? And then you can make your way
into the lower part of the complex
and try to get eyes in there as well.
All right. Let's get to it. Come on.
♪♪
This whole temple was devoted to Shiva.
They believed that Shiva lived in the top of a mountain,
Mount Kailash.
So the center of the temple is supposed to represent
Shiva's home.
Let's get inside.
The temple is huge.
Okay, let's make our way along
and see if we can get into this outer gallery here.
♪♪
So we've had reports that the Phret have been sited
in the forest around the temple.
Yeah, I mean, according to all accounts, these things are big
so it shouldn't be like we're having too much trouble
trying to find them if they're anything like they say they are.
Exactly.
♪♪
- Base camp to Josh. - Go for Josh.
Hey, Josh. Are you guys in the central temple?
No, we're outside the main walls of the temple.
We're just about to make our way in. What do you see?
I just saw some weird flashes of light
emanating from inside the main temple,
right around where that Shiva statue used to be.
All right. Copy that.
We're going to head inside now and check it out.
You let me know when you think we're at the spot
where the light was seen, okay?
Copy that.
GATES: All right, guys. Be really careful in here.
Okay, Tony, I'm making my way into the very center
of the temple, the main sanctuary.
We're inside now.
I don't see anything in here, though,
that could have produced light.
There's a couple of bats flying around on the ceiling.
Do you think it could have been the infrared light
from the camera bouncing off the bat wings?
Negative, no, the bats are way
too far away from the infrared light
to cause that kind of reflection.
All right. Copy that.
We're going to post up here for a little bit then,
do an EVP session and investigate further to see
if we can get our heads around it.
Copy that.
♪♪
I'm going to put out the geophone.
This will let us know if we're picking up any frequencies
that are too low for the human ear to hear.
Is there anybody in this temple with us?
♪♪
If you're here, can you give us a sign?
Geophone is getting a reading. It's getting a reading.
Something was just recorded at a low frequency
that we didn't hear.
Was that you?
Are you able to make the lights on this machine light up?
[ Loud bang ] - Oh, my god!
♪♪
Something was just recorded at a low frequency
that we didn't hear.
Was that you?
Are you able to make the lights on this machine light up?
[ Loud bang ] - Oh, my god.
[ Loud banging ]
- You hear that? - What is that?
Way too big to be a bat, whatever that was.
[ Loud bang ] - Oh, god, what is that?
♪♪
It almost sounds like something is walking on the roof.
Let's leave the equipment recording in here
and get outside, and check out the outside of this building.
Let's go look at it. Come on.
♪♪
So, Rex, this road should be leading us
due east of the temple.
We're supposed to find
what's called the White Elephant House,
the priests used to robe up
for ceremonies and other rituals.
- Whoa. - Whoa. What is that?
- Did you see that? - Yeah.
What is that?
♪♪
- GATES: I got nothing up there. - No, I don't see a thing.
GATES: I don't know what was on the roof.
I have no idea what Tony saw. It's a mystery.
Oh, you see that?
RYDER: What'd you see?
I just saw, like, a huge flash in the sky.
Josh for Chris, come in.
Chris, I just saw a weird flash in the sky.
It looks like it took up half the sky.
Are you guys seeing that?
Josh, we were just about to call you.
We're seeing the same thing.
We're pretty far from a major city.
I have no idea what that light would be.
I mean, it almost looks like an explosive.
Kyle says he definitely got it on his camera.
Okay, we can compare footage later,
and in the meantime, we'll make sure one of the infrared cameras
is pointed up at the sky.
This place is definitely strange.
♪♪
This is it, Rex.
It's the royal changing pavilion.
This thing is bigger than Ryder's closet.
That's for sure.
♪♪
MAN: This place is massive, Rex.
It definitely has a spooky vibe.
I'm pretty shielded from the wind
and the rest of the forest.
Might be a good chance to break out
some of our more sensitive gear.
Absolutely, I think this would be a great spot
to do an EVP session.
All right. Well, let's set up shop.
Sounds good.
♪♪
This is Rex, Chris, and Kyle.
Are there any Phret with us here?
♪♪
[ Rustling ]
Did you hear that?
Kyle, do you see anything behind us?
KYLE: Yeah, I don't see anything.
It sounded like somebody walking around the corner.
Rex, I'm going to go look around the corner.
Do you want to watch the equipment?
Yeah, I'm going to hang out here.
Okay.
♪♪
Are you one of the people that worked at this temple?
Did you die here?
♪♪
Chris — [ Gags, coughing ]
Chris. [ Coughs ]
Rex!
Chris. [ Coughing ]
- Rex, are you okay? - [ Continues coughing ]
Rex? Rex, are you okay?
- What happened? Rex? - [ Gags ]
[ Groans ] I couldn't breathe. I couldn't breathe.
Rex, let's get you outside. Let's get you outside.
[ Coughs ]
It felt like somebody grabbed me by the neck.
You got red marks all around your neck, Rex.
Like, really light lacerations.
- Chris for Josh. - Go for Josh.
Hey, Josh. We just had a bit of an incident. [ Coughing ]
Rex felt two hands around his neck.
He's had just a very strange and powerful experience.
Josh, I've never had anything like that happen before.
All right, man. Well, you take a break out there.
An experience like that can be obviously really confusing.
[ Sniffles ] Copy that, Josh.
[ Clears throat ]
♪♪
Guys, we're inside the inner courtyard.
Oh, wow, opens right up.
This would have been reserved for,
you know, pretty important people.
Most of the average citizens living around this temple
wouldn't have been allowed in here.
♪♪
- Shh, listen. Listen. Listen. [ Dragging, creaking sounds ]
- What is that? - You hear that?
- Yeah. That sounds like — - [ Whispers ] Oh! Shh, shh.
[ Creaking sounds ]
It's just outside those columns.
GATES: Is it something creaking?
♪♪
- [ Gasps ] - What?
Oh, my god. Oh, my god. Right there.
There's something right behind those columns.
It's on thermal! It's on thermal!
I got something! I got something!
♪♪
[ Dragging, creaking sounds ] - Shh, listen. Listen. Listen.
- What is that? - You hear that?
- Yeah. That sounds like — - Oh, shh, shh!
[ Creaking sounds ]
GATES: Is it something creaking?
It's on thermal! It's on thermal!
I got something! I got something!
♪♪
There's nothing here, dead end.
It's a dead end.
Okay, I saw a distinct heat signature
right at the edge of the column,
like something was right behind it.
Let's do this.
Let's go check out right outside these walls
and just pick up the search there.
Come on.
Hello?
I feel really confident that if something
or somebody had run out here, we would have seen it.
RYDER: We would have been right behind whatever it was.
GATES: Nothing.
♪♪
- Shh. Listen. Listen. [ Creaking sounds ]
That's the noise. That's the noise.
It's this bamboo. That's the noise.
This is the source of the creaking at least,
but it doesn't explain what we just saw.
RYDER: If you didn't get a heat signature on the thermal,
I would have just thought it could have been, you know,
a shadow being cast by our flashlights,
but I saw something, and then you got a hit.
Nothing could have gotten over that wall that fast,
and if someone came out here, we'd see them running away,
or we'd hear them running away.
Well, let's keep making our way
around the outside of the temple.
- Maybe we see it again. - That's a good plan.
GATES: Come on. Let's do it.
We continued to circle the perimeter of the main temple
but found no further evidence
of what we had seen in the inner courtyard.
Concerned for Rex and with the sun approaching the horizon,
we packed up and flew back to Los Angeles,
where we reviewed our findings.
The strange lights in the sky, while intriguing,
could well have been from a far-off firework or explosion
and were therefore set aside.
The light that Tony noticed on our I.R. cameras was enhanced
but ultimately could not be identified.
For additional analysis, we joined forces
with Barry Fitzgerald and Kris Williams.
We began by having them listen to the strange noises
heard on our EVP recordings in the temple.
Did you die here?
[ Indistinct whispering ]
What do you hear in there?
It sounds like a sentence.
To me, it sounds like a child.
You know, I agree with Kris
that there seems to be a good piece of evidence.
Unfortunately, we're not able to make out
what exactly it's saying,
but it has that low tone, that whispering, childlike tone.
Did you die here?
[ Indistinct whispering ]
GATES: Next, we turn to the footage
of Rex's unsettling incident.
- [ Gags, coughing ] - What?
Chris. [ Coughs ]
- Rex, are you okay? - [ Continues coughing ]
[ Groans ]
It looked like he got grabbed.
You could see skin move. It... I... [ Groans ]
It is disturbing to watch, and I'm going to have to ask,
is he okay now? - Yeah. He is okay now.
He was okay shortly afterwards
other than these marks on his neck.
But, for me, it's a reminder
that on these paranormal investigations,
sometimes bad things happen.
GATES: Finally, we turn to our thermal footage.
- [ Gasps ] - What?
Oh, my god. Oh, my god. Right there.
There's something right behind those columns.
It's on thermal! It's on thermal!
I got something! I got something!
What do you think of that?
If this was someone giving off natural body heat,
the whole color range would change.
We would be able to see
that there actually was someone there.
- Mm-hmm. - This is not happening.
Whatever this is or whoever it is,
it's the same temperature as the stone itself,
and that's extremely important with this thermal footage.
I think it's a really good, strong piece of evidence, yeah.
GATES: Whether you believe Thailand is a place of spirits,
it is undeniably a spiritual place.
Along the winding canals of Bangkok,
one can buy amulets that protect against evil forces
or witness a 4,000-year-old sport
rich in religious ceremony.
Outside of the city, modern shrines are devoted to ghosts,
and ancient temples were built as the home of gods.
Our ascension up the time-worn stairs of Phanom Rung
led us into a chaotic and at times terrifying night.
We heard things we could not explain...
[ Loud bang ] - Oh, my god.
and saw things we should not have seen.
But like all things in Thailand, it comes down to belief.
Depending on your point of view,
the mysterious happenings at the Phanom Rung Temple
are either a series of strange but natural occurrences
or, just maybe, a dangerous connection to the other side.
It felt like somebody grabbed me by the neck.
In all my years of investigating the unexplained,
I've encountered countless mysterious beasts
that have an insatiable appetite to kill,
but when I recently read reports
of an outbreak of animal killings
in the African nation of Namibia,
I took notice of something very unusual.
Local farmers have found scores of their goats
brutally slaughtered,
but the carcasses have been drained of blood
and left largely intact.
Telltale puncture wounds on the necks of the animals
serve as the predator's calling card.
Several freaked-out farmers
claim to have seen the culprit firsthand
and have dubbed it the Namibian Night Stalker.
We combed through eyewitness testimony
and news reports to create this 3D model of the beast.
The creature is believed to hide
in the rugged borderlands of Northern Namibia... [ Roars ]
descending into the lower grasslands
and scrub at night in search of prey.
Its compact but powerful body is packed with muscle,
ideal for taking down victims
with unbelievable speed and force.
The Night Stalker is also equipped with massive fangs
and a strong jaw. [ Roars ]
Large claws aid in pinning its meal down
until all the blood is drained from the animal's lifeless body.
With terrified villagers
desperately in search of answers,
I hoped that together we could aid
in unlocking this gruesome mystery.
So I assembled my team for a sweltering trip to Africa
in search of an unknown killer.
From Los Angeles, we flew east across the globe
more than 9,600 miles to the city of Windhoek, Namibia,
where we reclaimed our gear.
Ryder tried to get the bags to the curb in one trip...
Oh, guys! Come on!
Look. He saved it.
and Kyle couldn't find his bags at all.
- Hey, Josh. - Yes.
We've got a little bit of a problem.
What's that?
I lost my umbrella, my bowling bag, and a question mark.
Oh, those are right over there.
Oh, thanks.
GATES: With almost all our possessions,
we exited the airport and headed into the capital.
♪♪
After the long flight, we decided to stretch our legs
and stock up on supplies at an open-air market
on the edge of town.
This is the kind of market where I turn around,
and Rex has bought something really ridiculous.
This is what I'm talking about right here.
Happens every single time.
Meanwhile, the rest of the crew quickly made new friends.
♪ Soldier, ain't no broke-down soldier ♪
Hard to believe, not signed yet by a major record label.
As we walked through stalls,
Tony decided to update his wardrobe.
What do you guys think of this? This is pretty...
- One of a kind. - You know what I mean?
One of a kind. This is definitely a unique look.
- MEN: Oh! - Damn it, Tony.
- Oh, no! What are the odds? - Ryder!
- I mean... Come on! - I hate when that happens.
- I saw it first. - GATES: Look at you two.
With our shopping complete,
we left the country's only major city in the dust
and headed north into the unknown.
We would have to navigate more than 300 miles
to reach Etosha National Park,
where the creature was recently spotted.
Traveling in Namibia is not for the faint of heart.
With less than 2 million residents,
this is one of the emptiest nations on Earth.
With so few citizens, carpooling is obviously popular...
[ Cheering ] - ... and you never know
what you might see in the next lane over.
After hours, we reached the fringe of Etosha.
At over 9,000 square miles, this national park
was once the largest game reserve in the world
and is home to over 500 species,
including massive elephants.
There are so many animals living in the park
that it can occasionally be too much of a good thing.
Oh, zebra traffic.
Oh, we should have left earlier.
Stripe to stripe out there.
MAN: God, what is this, the great migration?
GATES: But as we moved deeper into the park,
we also left behind the safety of the modern world,
and barely an hour into our drive,
we made a shocking discovery.
Oh, my god. Oh, my god. What is that?
♪♪
Oh, my god. Oh, my god. What is that?
RYDER: What is that?
I don't know. Guys, I'm headed over. Hang on.
Looks like a downed giraffe.
MAN: Yeah, that's a giraffe.
All right, guys. Be very, very careful.
Walking around in a watering hole is very dangerous.
Ryder, why don't you fan out with the rest of the gang,
see if we can find some tracks?
Chris, let's check this carcass out and see
if this our Namibian Night Stalker or something else.
- It's a big giraffe. - Yeah. Big boy.
It's got a real severe puncture wound right in the neck.
Josh, definitely got a print over here.
What do you got? What do you got? Real big one.
Looks like it's feline, hard to really tell what it is
but really big, almost the size of my hand.
It certainly looks like a feline predator, could well be a lion,
but, you know, these people are saying
that they're seeing some sort of other large predator out here.
We'll see if this lines up to their reports.
GATES: We photograph the scene for later analysis
and wrapped up our personal segment of "CSI: Namibia."
I don't know why that giraffe...
is lion around.
[ Hard rock chord plays ]
GATES: Once we made it across Etosha,
we powered on toward the remote frontier settlement of Ondangwa,
where a corral of goats was slaughtered just 2 days prior.
It looks like we should be right at the border of Angola.
I'm trying to get into 100 countries.
I'm at 93 right now.
Oh, here we go.
- Hey, man. - GATES: Yeah?
Come.
- Yeah! - There we go!
94! There it is!
- Angola. - Oh, Angola.
God, Angola is beautiful, isn't it?
- Very different from Namibia. - Oh, completely different.
Well, this was a great trip.
I'm really glad we did this.
- Okay, let's go back to Namibia. - Yeah.
You want to go step in some other countries?
GATES: With another notch in my traveler's belt,
we pressed on to the villages and tracked down a farmer
who witnessed the deadly attack on his livestock.
I showed him an artist's rendering of the Night Stalker,
and he confirmed that this was the creature
that killed his sheep.
They're about this tall?
Do you think that this animal is dangerous to people?
GATES: Before leaving, the farmer told me to find
Namibia's native Himba tribesmen.
These people have lived on this land for thousands of years
and could possibly help
unlock the mystery of this unknown creature.
The Himba people live in a remote section
of northwest Namibia
that is difficult to reach by car.
Fortunately, they are still accessible
through an alternate form of transportation.
The rough waters of the river were nerve-racking to navigate,
especially considering
that they're infested with crocodiles.
All right, guys.
Rough waters ahead, everybody hang on.
♪♪
After several hours in turbulent waters,
we arrived at the serene shores of Himba territory.
Dropping in completely unannounced,
we were pleasantly surprised to be greeted
by an impromptu tribal ceremony.
[ Rhythmic clapping, cheering ]
♪♪
Himba women famously cover themselves
in a red mixture of fat and ochre
and quickly initiated Ryder into the tribe.
Now I don't even need to get a tan.
I'm sure this washes right out. It's probably not permanent.
- How does it look? - It looks very natural.
- Yeah? - It looks very natural.
GATES: While Ryder enjoyed her tribal tan,
I sat down with a Himba elder
to ask if his people knew anything
about the storied Night Stalker.
A missionary staying in the village would translate.
What do you know about this animal?
[ Speaking native language ]
GATES: The Himba told me they had last seen the creature
in the mountains just above the recently attacked villages,
and so, with a plausible habitat at hand,
the team and I strapped on our hiking boots
and set a course for the hills.
All right. This looks like a great spot for base camp.
We have good access to the river as well as all the farmlands
where the attacks are taking place.
Let's get everything set up and get the cameras strung out.
We unpacked our gear and began to string out
our equipment into the wilderness.
We positioned four infrared cameras in each direction
around our camp that would allow us to see into the darkness.
We also set up four motion-activated trap cameras
that would begin firing photos if anything crossed their path.
Trap camera four is set and ready.
GATES: Three computerized sensors
created a virtual fence around the camp,
and an alarm would sound if that perimeter was breached.
With darkness upon us and our investigation about to begin,
we set to work. Ryder, Rex, and Kyle
would investigate the hills around camp,
while Jael, Gabe, Allie, and I would set out
to sweep the low-lying banks of the river.
Tony and Chris would remain at base camp
to monitor the surveillance equipment
and relay information to us in the field.
♪♪
All right.
So definitely got to watch our step out here tonight,
no shortage of nasty snakes and real predators,
real large predators out here.
Well, it's a really remote area so I'm not surprised
that not very many people have seen this thing.
This is opening wide up.
Ooh, I got something small on thermal.
- That... - Oh! [ Laughs ]
- GATES: That is a goat. - [ Jael laughs ]
That is a goat.
Dangerous territories, mister goat.
It's a baa-d neighborhood for goats.
- Go. Go. Go. [ Bleats ]
GATES: Okay. Let's get down by the water.
Definitely got some croc prints down here, those guys.
That's great.
I do not need to come across a crocodile right now.
You ever see "Lake Placid"?
Yeah.
Yeah, well, we're all about to be in it.
♪♪
[ Splash ] - [ Gasps ]
- Oh! - GATES: Shh, shh, shh, shh.
Something moved just down by the water.
It might have been fish jumping,
but don't get too close to that water just in case.
Thermal is clear.
Nice and slow, let's head up into the tree line.
♪♪
What do you think of the stories
we've heard on the Night Stalker?
I mean, there very well could be an animal that's known,
or it could be something new.
Well, if what they say is true,
this thing is big and vicious.
Yeah.
♪♪
- Snake! Snake! Snake! - Whoa!
Watch out. Watch out.
Watch out, right there, right there.
Oh, my gosh. That thing is huge.
Actually, looked like a tree python.
- RYDER: Nonvenomous. - Nonvenomous.
All right. Let's continue on. Yeah.
♪♪
Oh, wow. Look at this.
There's a big rocky ledge up here,
looks like there's a little entrance through here.
It looks like it goes back a little ways.
Wait a sec. Are those bones back there?
Yeah. Those are definitely bones.
Let's kind of look around on the perimeter
and see if there's any other signs of...
an animal or a habitat.
Sounds good.
♪♪
- Oh, look at this. - JAEL: Oh, my goodness.
Looks like an old Himba village.
There's still fabrics over the door, some supplies.
JAEL: Josh, it looks like they even left some clothes
and some bottles behind.
Yeah. I don't see any Night Stalker carnage.
Seems like there's some hair right here, though.
- I don't know what it's from. - Let me see.
- That does look like hair. - Yeah.
It doesn't look like human hair.
No. It doesn't. It looks thicker than that.
It's dark brown, too, which certainly fits the color
of the creature we're after.
- That's a good find, Jael. - Thanks.
Let's bag that for analysis later.
- Base camp for Josh. - Go for Josh.
- What's up, Chris? - Hey, Josh.
Perimeter alarm two just went off.
[ Alarm blaring ]
I'm gonna go check that out.
If you guys can get there as quickly as you can,
obviously something just came into camp.
We're on our way. Let's go, Jael. Come on.
- Tony, you good? - I'm good. Be careful.
All right, man.
♪♪
Oh!
♪♪
Hey, Josh. Perimeter alarm two just went off.
[ Alarm blaring ]
- Tony, you good? - I'm good. Be careful.
All right, man.
♪♪
Oh! Oh, my god.
Chris for Josh.
Yeah, go for Josh. What'd you find out there?
Josh, I got what looks like a fresh kill.
It's a goat, and it's got the bite mark in the neck,
and it's pretty much gutted.
Copy that. We'll just keep looking around. Be vigilant.
We're almost there.
♪♪
Hey, Chris. What do you got?
It's a goat.
- JAEL: Ugh! Oh! - Oh, man. What's left of it?
Pretty fresh. I mean, look at that.
- GATES: Good lord. - It smells so bad.
Yeah, but, Josh, take a look
at this big, huge gouge out of the neck.
Yeah, a big bite mark in the neck
and he's been fully gutted.
We'll photograph it.
Photograph the carcass
and do some DNA swabs on the carcass as well.
Maybe we'll get lucky.
The big question, though, is,
where is the thing that killed the goat?
♪♪
Let's keep moving.
Chris, why don't you grab a trap camera?
Let's set it up right here.
That way, if whatever this thing is comes back,
we'll get an image of it.
Jael and Allie and Gabe and I will keep monitoring the area.
Copy that. See you in a few minutes.
Okay, great. You got it, buddy.
♪♪
- Careful. - Watch your step.
This is not welcoming terrain here at all.
♪♪
- [ Gasps ] - What?
There's, like, a dark shape that just went right over here.
Could have just been a shadow, but...
Could have been a shadow,
or it could have been something out there.
It really looked like something was right down there.
Shh, shh, shh, shh.
It sounded like rocks moving.
- Right there. Right there. - Where? Where? Where?
It just went to the right of that rock
and kind of banked to the left.
RYDER: What? What did you see?
It was right here.
What did you see?
It was definitely 100% animal.
It was going on all fours just as fast as it could
around that rock.
This looks like a pretty fresh animal trail right here.
It's hard to make out exactly what they are,
but something went through here.
There's the... Foot pad and toe, toe, toe, toe.
Yep. Let's get a size comparison
and see what this could be comparable to.
Let's see if I can get a good photo.
[ Camera shutter clicks ]
RYDER: Okay. I got some photos.
Let's check this area for any more evidence.
Sounds good.
♪♪
[ Cat growls ] - [ Gasps ]
JAEL: What was that? Did you hear it?
- GATES: What was that? - I heard —
It sounded like a growl.
It sounded to me like it was coming from back in here.
It was, like, a low, deep growl.
Okay. Let's try to get down there and follow up on it.
Yeah, let's go.
Okay, nice and slow through here, guys.
♪♪
Freeze. Everybody, freeze.
Guys, there's something in the tree.
Josh, what is it? Can you see it?
No. I'm going to get out the night-vision goggles
and see if we can get a better look.
Oh, yeah. That's a good idea.
♪♪
- Do you see it, Josh? - I got good eyes on it now.
It looks like some sort of cat, like a lynx.
This might have been what was making that growling sound.
I don't think it's a threat to our group, though.
That guy is definitely too small to be our Night Stalker,
but, you know, just another example
of how much wildlife there is out here.
With a new day approaching, we convened back at camp,
broke down our equipment,
and made the long journey back to Los Angeles
to continue our investigation.
We sat down with Mike Dee, former curator of the LA Zoo,
to get to the bottom of the grisly animal killings
we documented in the field.
So, Mike, the first thing we want to talk about
is a kill site in Namibia in the Etosha pan.
One of the things that you do have in Namibia are lions.
You've got leopards and brown hyenas.
Given the height of this animal,
could a lion or a cheetah do this to a giraffe?
It would be difficult.
Lions in a group effort
would potentially take one of these guys down.
GATES: Subsequent analysis of the footprints in the mud
confirmed Mike's suspicion.
The giraffe was taken down by lions,
but what about the goat that was slaughtered near our base camp?
Does this look characteristic of a known animal?
I can't really tell what this might be.
Would it be uncommon for a lion to kill this way,
or would it typically take the whole thing?
It would potentially take the whole thing
or it would eat the whole thing.
Do you think there's a possibility
that we're seeing something unique here?
We may have an animal that has some type of, uh,
differential in the way it feeds.
Well, what I find curious is that both animals
have a puncture wound pretty much at the same place.
I know of no carnivore
that has a tooth that big around
that would inflict a wound on that.
These carcasses aside, do you think it's possible
that there could be an unknown species in Namibia?
It's always possible.
I mean, it wasn't till relatively recently
that people realized
that there were desert elephants in Namibia.
So it's certainly possible there could be something there.
♪♪
GATES: For now, the true identity
of the Namibia Night Stalker remains a mystery.
Across the dusty plains of this largely unoccupied country,
the denizens of the animal kingdom still reign supreme.
The Night Stalker may simply be a composite
of the many predators that stalk this barren land,
but at the frontier of civilization,
a long-enduring aboriginal people claim
that the beast is something else,
and so we wait for the nocturnal killer
to strike again,
hopeful that its identity will soon be revealed
by the light of day. [ Roars ]