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Magical creatures have fascinated us

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ever since
we first walked the Earth.

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Whether created entirely
from the imagination

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or inspired by
the animals around us,

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mythical beasts
have captured our attention

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for thousands of years.

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But why, in this modern age
of science and technology,

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are we still so captivated
by these fantastic beasts?

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And what are the truths
that lie behind the myths,

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the magic and the legends?

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Join me on a journey
of exhilarating exploration

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and daring discovery
as we uncover the secrets

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behind some of our best-loved
mythical creatures...

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Oh, my heavens!

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Wow!

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..revealing the real-life beasts

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behind some of the greatest legends
in history...

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You look at some of
nature's extraordinary creations

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and you think,
"Well, CGI will never match this."

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..and finding out
why the world of magical animals

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is more popular today
than ever before.

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These are the extraordinary stories

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of the world's most
fantastic beasts.

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This is one of the greatest treasure
troves of the natural world.

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London's Natural History Museum
is a cornucopia

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of unique and fascinating
collections from across the globe.

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It's also a place where
the worlds of science and fiction

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have been known to overlap.

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I'll be exploring the museum's
labyrinth of corridors and cabinets

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and uncovering the stories
that continue to fascinate

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millions of people today.

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From the legendary creatures
of ancient mythology

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to the magical animals of Harry
Potter and the Wizarding World.

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Stories like these.

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The mythical beasts and
magical creatures within these pages

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appear to be pure fantasy.

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But things aren't always
quite that simple.

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We begin our story

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with arguably the best-known
mythological animal on the planet.

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The dragon.

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NIFFLER SNUFFLES AND CHITTERS

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One of the most ancient
and universal

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of our mythological creatures,

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the dragon has enthralled the
human race for thousands of years.

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But where did the idea for
this creature first take flight?

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Was there a spark of truth
behind the dragon myth?

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Chinese New Year is often celebrated
around the world

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with a traditional dragon dance.

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In the dance, the dragon represents
wisdom, power and wealth,

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and it's believed
that performing the dance

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scares off evil spirits
and brings good luck.

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But why the dragon?

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What is it about this creature
that so excites and mesmerises us?

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Many cultures around the world
have a dragon myth,

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although they often vary
in appearance.

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European dragons
are usually seen as terrifying,

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fire-breathing beasts
with wings and horns.

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Whereas Asian dragons are depicted
as wise, benevolent creatures

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with a more serpent-like appearance.

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In Aztec culture,
the dragon-like god Quetzalcoatl

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was often shown with feathers
and sharp fangs,

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while others,
like the Rainbow Serpent

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from Australian
Aboriginal mythology,

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have a large, reptilian head
and monstrous teeth.

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But if you take a closer look
at the dragon,

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you can see
that many of its features

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are borrowed from real animals.

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Animals that have
a fearsome reputation.

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A dragon's large, powerful talons
are like those of an eagle.

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EAGLES SCREECH

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Its sharp teeth and strong limbs
are like a lion's.

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And its scales and hissing tongue
are similar to a snake's.

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One recent scientific theory
suggests that the dragon

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is simply a combination
of those three animals -

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the animals that our early ancestors
were most afraid of.

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An interesting idea, indeed -
but what lies behind this theory?

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I visited San Diego Zoo
in California

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to meet a little creature
that could help to explain.

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Oh! Now, who have we here?

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So this is our vervet family.

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This chap here
with the blue bottom -

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he's looking rather alarmed.

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So that is our dominant male
in the family.

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There's some new enrichment
in their enclosure

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that they haven't seen before,

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so he's letting everyone know
there's something new.

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When you say enrichment, do you mean
that earthen pot? Correct.

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They've never seen it before?
Never seen it before.

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It has mealworms in there,
it has peanuts,

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so they have to
reach their hand in. Right.

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But because it's something new
in their environment,

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he's started making the alert call.

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And I don't know if you noticed,

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they all started to jump into
the trees. They did, didn't they?

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They were all responding to his,
"Hey, there's something new here!"

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"There is something new,
we don't know what it is.

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"Everyone go to your post."

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Vervet monkeys can be found across
most of Africa,

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and usually live in large groups
known as troops.

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Studies have revealed
that they communicate

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in a highly sophisticated way,

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using different alarm calls
for specific predators

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to warn their troop
of approaching danger.

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MONKEYS CHATTER

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Is it a very particular kind of
warning that they know

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means something on the ground
rather than something on a tree?

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They do. They have three
different calls.

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So they have one for something
that's on the ground, like a snake.

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Oh, right. They have a different
call for something's in the air,

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like a bird of prey. Yeah.

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And then they have another call
for big cats.

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Those are the three things that
are most likely to threaten them.

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Correct. So that was a snake call,
was it?

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Cos they were all looking down.
It was.

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They were all up on their tip-toes,
all looking down at it. Of course.

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It's exactly what they do
for a snake.

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And, you know, I was cleaning
their bedrooms one time

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and they started to do the same call
for the water hose.

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Really? Of course!

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A hose is a green snake, isn't it?
They were like, "What is that?"

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So what does this all mean?

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Well, it's thought that
vervet alarm calls

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indicate a very deep-rooted fear
of these three predators.

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And we humans, as the primate
cousins of the vervet monkey,

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share the same instinctive fears
of big cats,

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birds of prey and snakes.

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And perhaps that primal fear
is what led people around the world

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to combine
these three deadly animals

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into their own unique version
of the almighty dragon.

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But there is another theory
behind the legend of the dragon,

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and it's based on a group
of formidable reptiles

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that walked the Earth
millions of years ago.

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If you've ever wanted
to dig up a dinosaur,

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then this is the place to come.

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I am surrounded by thousands
of dinosaur fossils here.

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I'm in the Valley of Bones.

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Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry
in Utah, America,

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has the densest concentration
of Jurassic dinosaur fossils

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ever found on the planet.

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So have they dug up anything here

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that can help us decipher
the dragon myth?

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I'm meeting with two
of the quarry's top experts,

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Mike Leschin and Casey Dooms,
to find out.

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So, in terms of recent
human history,

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when was this place discovered?

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We know that people
knew about the area

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since probably
at least the late 1800s.

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The first Europeans undoubtedly

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stumbled across
a lot of different finds.

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Dinosaur fossils and all kinds
of things.

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Because they were visible?
Eroding out of the hills,

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eroding out of these formations,
these features.

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Bones poking up through the soil?
Mm-hm.

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And, Mike, the Europeans,
the ranchers in the 18th century,

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they had no reason to suppose
that the creatures

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that were exhibited there
were extinct,

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and some people still kind of get
confused in their head, don't they,

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about the fact that obviously

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we never coexisted
with these creatures?

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Oh, yeah. I've had people
come out here and say,

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"I'm here cos I don't
believe in dinosaurs." Really?

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Yeah, so it's like, "Well, go look
down there and then we'll talk."

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STEPHEN LAUGHS

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What about the non-Europeans,
the Native Americans, the Ute?

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The Ute tribe is the local tribe.

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They knew they were the remains
of a living creature. Yeah.

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And their attitude was to respect
that and leave it alone. Yeah.

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Dinosaur fossils have been found
on every continent on Earth.

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Could they be behind
the dragon story?

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If you take a look at the T-Rex,
with its terrifying teeth,

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sharp claws and enormous size,

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you can see
how the idea could arise.

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Some ancient civilisations
did believe fossils

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were the bones of dragons.

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Over 1,500 years ago,
Chinese medical scholars

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used "dragon bones" in recipes
for many ailments,

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but it's thought these were actually
fossilised dinosaur bones.

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Goodness me, what is this place?

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So this is the actual
Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry.

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And you've enclosed it to show off
these amazing specimens. Yes.

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So over here we have some back
vertebrae from a Camarasaurus.

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From what animal? Camarasaurus.
So it's a herbivorous dinosaur.

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One of the big long necks.

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Right next to it we have a tail
vertebrae of an Allosaurus.

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Oh, yeah. The big predator,
the major predator of the day.

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You can really see here, Casey,
how the dragon myth can arise.

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Yeah, absolutely. Especially if
you're finding stuff like this.

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That is a single tooth
of an Allosaurus. Oh, my goodness!

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I can feel its serrations, saw-like.
Serrations, yeah.

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Like a steak knife,
for cutting through flesh.

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Still, after 147 million years,
you can still see them

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and you can still feel them.

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I mean, that's a dragon's tooth -
there's no question about it, is it?

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It's just... Wow!

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I'll give it back to you. It's
very valuable. Look at that. Wow!

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Indigenous American mythology
features dragon-like creatures,

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such as the Piasa Bird,
with feathery wings,

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elk's horns, and a long spiked tail.

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And the Gaasyendietha dragon,

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00:13:12,680 --> 00:13:15,280
a lake-dwelling,
fire-breathing beast.

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Perhaps these creations
were inspired by fossils

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like those discovered here in Utah.

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If I was here
some thousand years ago or so,

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it's easy to see how, if someone
dug up something like this,

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it could conjure up
the image of a dragon,

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and terrifying it would be.

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Because how could I know
that this was from a species

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that had gone extinct
millions of years ago?

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00:13:45,360 --> 00:13:47,440
As far as I was concerned,

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this was one of a species
that was still very much alive,

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00:13:52,240 --> 00:13:55,320
and might swoop down on me
at any moment.

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00:14:04,600 --> 00:14:06,760
In the world of mythical beasts,

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00:14:06,760 --> 00:14:10,800
there is another creature
that's as universally-recognised

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00:14:10,800 --> 00:14:12,040
as the dragon.

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00:14:19,560 --> 00:14:23,480
You know, there's one mythical
creature whose popularity

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00:14:23,480 --> 00:14:27,320
seems to be even greater today
than it's ever been.

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00:14:27,320 --> 00:14:29,760
And it's one of the few
magical animals

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00:14:29,760 --> 00:14:32,280
that isn't a terrifying monster.

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Indeed, it's famous for its peaceful
and benevolent nature.

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I'm talking, of course,
about the unicorn.

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One more!

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00:14:47,720 --> 00:14:51,480
I'm on my way to a country
which was so convinced

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that this mystical creature
was real,

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that they named it
their national animal.

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TRAIN WHISTLES

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00:15:04,440 --> 00:15:08,120
Often depicted as
a beautiful, horse-like creature

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00:15:08,120 --> 00:15:12,320
with flowing mane
and long, spiralled horn,

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00:15:12,320 --> 00:15:16,160
the unicorn is a symbol of purity
and innocence.

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00:15:16,160 --> 00:15:18,520
Believed to have magical powers,

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the unicorn's horn
was said to heal sickness

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and protect against poison.

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00:15:26,440 --> 00:15:31,160
In recent years, unicorns have seen
a huge surge in popularity.

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00:15:33,360 --> 00:15:36,840
But this adoration
is nothing new in Scotland,

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00:15:36,840 --> 00:15:40,320
where the unicorn has been revered
for centuries.

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So what is this obsession all about?

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00:15:46,880 --> 00:15:51,720
I've come to Stirling Castle to meet
historian Professor Donna Heddle

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00:15:51,720 --> 00:15:53,760
to find out.

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00:15:53,760 --> 00:15:55,400
Professor Heddle. Oh, call me Donna.

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00:15:55,400 --> 00:15:57,200
Donna. What a place.

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00:16:01,280 --> 00:16:04,000
Oh, my goodness!

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00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:07,120
Unicorns absolutely everywhere.

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00:16:07,120 --> 00:16:08,640
I know, it's splendid, isn't it?

243
00:16:08,640 --> 00:16:10,640
And there are more
all round the room.

244
00:16:10,640 --> 00:16:12,920
This tells us the story
of the Hunt of the Unicorn.

245
00:16:12,920 --> 00:16:15,800
So it's an allegorical piece
based on tapestries

246
00:16:15,800 --> 00:16:18,040
we know that were in the collection
of James V.

247
00:16:18,040 --> 00:16:20,560
They're called
the History of the Unicorn.

248
00:16:20,560 --> 00:16:23,600
America has a bald eagle
and France has a cockerel

249
00:16:23,600 --> 00:16:26,480
and we have a lion in England.

250
00:16:26,480 --> 00:16:31,040
You in Scotland don't have a real
animal, you have a mythical animal.

251
00:16:31,040 --> 00:16:32,840
Why is that, do you think?

252
00:16:32,840 --> 00:16:35,040
Well, I think at the time
when it was chosen,

253
00:16:35,040 --> 00:16:37,560
people did think it was real.
They did believe in it.

254
00:16:37,560 --> 00:16:39,680
But it is a kind of a thing
in the 15th century,

255
00:16:39,680 --> 00:16:42,600
lots of kings were adopting animals
as their personal symbols.

256
00:16:42,600 --> 00:16:45,040
And the unicorn
became the symbol of Scotland

257
00:16:45,040 --> 00:16:48,160
because it is untameable,
it is undefeatable.

258
00:16:48,160 --> 00:16:51,560
Oh, so that's a symbol of Scotland's
sense of itself? Absolutely.

259
00:16:51,560 --> 00:16:54,480
It's brave, it's courageous.
What's not to like?

260
00:16:54,480 --> 00:16:56,760
How cool is that
for a national symbol? Yes.

261
00:16:59,160 --> 00:17:04,080
In the Middle Ages, the evidence
used to prove that unicorns existed

262
00:17:04,080 --> 00:17:07,240
came from another
mysterious creature entirely.

263
00:17:09,840 --> 00:17:13,360
A genuine unicorn horn.

264
00:17:13,360 --> 00:17:17,440
Or is it, in fact, a narwhal tusk?

265
00:17:17,440 --> 00:17:19,280
I think it's a narwhal tusk.

266
00:17:19,280 --> 00:17:21,040
In fact, it's a replica
of a narwhal tusk,

267
00:17:21,040 --> 00:17:22,720
cos we wouldn't have such a thing -

268
00:17:22,720 --> 00:17:25,200
obviously they belong on
the narwhal's head.

269
00:17:25,200 --> 00:17:27,280
They sort of grow up like that.

270
00:17:27,280 --> 00:17:31,480
I mean, extraordinary things
on the narwhal.

271
00:17:31,480 --> 00:17:34,960
And you can see
why somebody enterprising,

272
00:17:34,960 --> 00:17:38,560
who unfortunately caught one of
those whales and sawed off his tusk,

273
00:17:38,560 --> 00:17:43,320
would have thought,
"I can sell this as a unicorn horn,"

274
00:17:43,320 --> 00:17:45,160
because that's just what
it looks like.

275
00:17:45,160 --> 00:17:46,760
It's quite beautiful.

276
00:17:49,520 --> 00:17:55,200
The narwhal is an elusive toothed
whale found in Arctic waters.

277
00:17:55,200 --> 00:17:59,560
The spectacular tusk,
usually only found on male narwhals,

278
00:17:59,560 --> 00:18:02,920
is actually an overgrown
spiralised tooth.

279
00:18:04,720 --> 00:18:08,600
Scientists are still unsure
as to what exactly the tusk is for,

280
00:18:08,600 --> 00:18:12,480
but it's thought that it may be used
to break through ice,

281
00:18:12,480 --> 00:18:17,440
help catch fish, or possibly
to impress female narwhals.

282
00:18:19,240 --> 00:18:22,080
I believe I'm right in saying
that these did change hands

283
00:18:22,080 --> 00:18:24,200
for quite astonishing sums of money.

284
00:18:24,200 --> 00:18:25,880
Vast sums of money.

285
00:18:25,880 --> 00:18:28,560
We know that Queen Elizabeth I
paid £10,000

286
00:18:28,560 --> 00:18:30,600
and that's kept in the Tower
of London, for example.

287
00:18:30,600 --> 00:18:32,880
So it's a very high-status object.

288
00:18:32,880 --> 00:18:34,840
Who created this market?

289
00:18:34,840 --> 00:18:36,960
Well, they were mainly people
who were fishing

290
00:18:36,960 --> 00:18:38,960
in the north of Norway
or Greenland.

291
00:18:38,960 --> 00:18:40,680
In the Arctic, Scandinavia.

292
00:18:40,680 --> 00:18:43,520
They would come across the narwhals,
and it was a huge trade.

293
00:18:43,520 --> 00:18:45,720
And the idea was
that it obviously was a symbol

294
00:18:45,720 --> 00:18:47,160
of your own power and wealth,

295
00:18:47,160 --> 00:18:49,040
but also that it would protect you
in some way?

296
00:18:49,040 --> 00:18:51,240
That's right.
The purity of the unicorn.

297
00:18:51,240 --> 00:18:53,200
This was believed to be able
to purify water

298
00:18:53,200 --> 00:18:55,160
and to guard against poisons.

299
00:18:55,160 --> 00:18:56,840
Also, in rather more
mundane fashion,

300
00:18:56,840 --> 00:18:58,480
it could cure boils and plague.

301
00:18:58,480 --> 00:19:01,240
And it was used by apothecaries
up until the 18th century.

302
00:19:01,240 --> 00:19:03,000
It was called alicorn, the powder.

303
00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:06,520
A mere pinch of this would have been
beyond the dreams of ordinary men.

304
00:19:06,520 --> 00:19:07,960
Right.

305
00:19:09,440 --> 00:19:12,800
It's thought the first
written reference to unicorns

306
00:19:12,800 --> 00:19:15,600
dates back to over 2,000 years ago.

307
00:19:17,320 --> 00:19:20,640
Over that time,
many real animals have been linked

308
00:19:20,640 --> 00:19:22,520
with this mythical creature.

309
00:19:25,120 --> 00:19:29,320
The Arabian oryx,
also known as the Arabian unicorn,

310
00:19:29,320 --> 00:19:33,800
has two long, slender horns,
and when viewed in profile,

311
00:19:33,800 --> 00:19:36,240
their horns can appear as one,

312
00:19:36,240 --> 00:19:38,800
making them closely resemble
a unicorn.

313
00:19:42,680 --> 00:19:45,600
But there's another,
rather different animal

314
00:19:45,600 --> 00:19:48,560
that is part of the unicorn story.

315
00:19:48,560 --> 00:19:52,680
One that may have
the strongest connection of all.

316
00:19:56,800 --> 00:20:00,080
There they are.
The little armoured tanks.

317
00:20:06,760 --> 00:20:08,600
The rhinoceros. The rhino.

318
00:20:08,600 --> 00:20:12,200
Surely one of the nature's
most iconic creatures.

319
00:20:12,200 --> 00:20:16,000
With its unmistakable
thick, grey hide

320
00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:18,280
and its signature horn.

321
00:20:19,560 --> 00:20:22,720
I call it one of
nature's masterpieces.

322
00:20:22,720 --> 00:20:25,160
An extraordinary, unique beauty,
aren't you?

323
00:20:25,160 --> 00:20:26,200
RHINO HUFFS
Yes.

324
00:20:31,280 --> 00:20:35,120
These magnificent creatures
are Indian rhinoceros.

325
00:20:35,120 --> 00:20:39,600
And their scientific species
name is, splendidly,

326
00:20:39,600 --> 00:20:43,160
Rhinoceros unicornis.

327
00:20:43,160 --> 00:20:47,560
And they are, in fact, distantly
related to a "real" unicorn.

328
00:20:48,720 --> 00:20:50,400
"Oh, come now, Stephen!"

329
00:20:50,400 --> 00:20:52,800
Well, millions of years ago,

330
00:20:52,800 --> 00:20:57,240
a creature called
Elasmotherium sibiricum,

331
00:20:57,240 --> 00:21:01,920
the Siberian unicorn,
roamed between Asia and Europe

332
00:21:01,920 --> 00:21:05,480
and around for many, many millions
of years.

333
00:21:08,080 --> 00:21:11,560
These prehistoric rhinos wouldn't
have looked terribly different

334
00:21:11,560 --> 00:21:14,400
to the ones we know today.

335
00:21:14,400 --> 00:21:18,520
But they were enormous -
twice the size of modern rhinos,

336
00:21:18,520 --> 00:21:22,840
at around three metres tall,
covered in thick, shaggy hair

337
00:21:22,840 --> 00:21:26,640
and thought to have
a single, large horn.

338
00:21:26,640 --> 00:21:29,920
The Siberian unicorn
is believed to have grazed

339
00:21:29,920 --> 00:21:34,240
almost entirely on grass,
and, despite its large size,

340
00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:37,320
was built to run at speed
across the plains.

341
00:21:38,840 --> 00:21:44,640
They survived until 39,000
years ago, when they became extinct.

342
00:21:44,640 --> 00:21:48,840
But at that time, we were there.
We Homo sapiens.

343
00:21:48,840 --> 00:21:50,240
We had developed language,

344
00:21:50,240 --> 00:21:52,040
and so we were able
to tell each other

345
00:21:52,040 --> 00:21:54,280
about meeting these
incredible creatures.

346
00:21:54,280 --> 00:21:56,560
What would we have thought of them?

347
00:21:56,560 --> 00:22:01,120
Perhaps that's another reason
why the idea of the unicorn

348
00:22:01,120 --> 00:22:03,120
entered the human imagination.

349
00:22:15,680 --> 00:22:19,000
NIFFLER CHITTERS AND SNIFFS

350
00:22:48,440 --> 00:22:51,200
What kinds of creatures lie hidden

351
00:22:51,200 --> 00:22:55,040
in the deepest, darkest depths
of the ocean?

352
00:22:55,040 --> 00:22:59,680
Even today, scientists are making
the most incredible discoveries

353
00:22:59,680 --> 00:23:01,960
about life forms that exist

354
00:23:01,960 --> 00:23:03,920
thousands of metres
below the surface.

355
00:23:07,280 --> 00:23:11,640
But so much about the deep
is a mystery to us.

356
00:23:13,720 --> 00:23:17,240
And it was an even deeper mystery
to the adventurers

357
00:23:17,240 --> 00:23:21,280
who first began to sail
around the world in the 1500s.

358
00:23:24,160 --> 00:23:29,280
These early explorations led to
an explosion of extraordinary fables

359
00:23:29,280 --> 00:23:30,800
about our oceans...

360
00:23:32,320 --> 00:23:34,560
..as sailors returned home

361
00:23:34,560 --> 00:23:38,320
with terrifying tales
of huge sea monsters.

362
00:23:40,920 --> 00:23:44,680
It was also a time in our history
when real-life science

363
00:23:44,680 --> 00:23:49,920
and ancient folklore began
to overlap more than ever before.

364
00:24:02,160 --> 00:24:05,840
Of all the eerie legends
of the ocean depths,

365
00:24:05,840 --> 00:24:10,240
there is one that has enthralled us
more than any other.

366
00:24:11,400 --> 00:24:12,640
The kraken.

367
00:24:15,720 --> 00:24:21,680
Over 500 years ago, sailors first
told of an enormous sea monster,

368
00:24:21,680 --> 00:24:24,960
said to live in the waters
off Norway and Iceland,

369
00:24:24,960 --> 00:24:27,840
which had long, snake-like arms

370
00:24:27,840 --> 00:24:31,120
covered in suckers
for grabbing prey.

371
00:24:31,120 --> 00:24:35,800
Some stories reported the monster
as being two kilometres in length,

372
00:24:35,800 --> 00:24:40,600
with tentacles as thick and long
as ship's masts.

373
00:24:40,600 --> 00:24:44,480
By the 18th century, scientists
truly believed that the Kraken

374
00:24:44,480 --> 00:24:46,320
was a living, breathing animal,

375
00:24:46,320 --> 00:24:49,320
and so it was included
in all the highly-respected

376
00:24:49,320 --> 00:24:54,040
scientific journals of the time,
including the Systema Naturae,

377
00:24:54,040 --> 00:24:57,640
developed by the famous Swedish
naturalist Carl Linnaeus.

378
00:24:57,640 --> 00:25:02,120
Was there really a huge monster
living in the ocean depths,

379
00:25:02,120 --> 00:25:05,400
that overturned ships
and devoured sailors?

380
00:25:09,200 --> 00:25:13,680
This is the Natural History Museum's
Tank Room,

381
00:25:13,680 --> 00:25:18,800
home to thousands of the most
incredible scientific specimens.

382
00:25:18,800 --> 00:25:23,520
And there's one in particular
that may explain our kraken myth,

383
00:25:23,520 --> 00:25:28,320
along with a little help
from museum curator, Jon Ablett.

384
00:25:30,160 --> 00:25:33,400
Hello, there. John. Hello.
How good to meet you.

385
00:25:33,400 --> 00:25:36,240
Thanks for showing me around
your incredible...

386
00:25:36,240 --> 00:25:37,640
STEPHEN GASPS

387
00:25:37,640 --> 00:25:40,520
What the heck is that?!

388
00:25:40,520 --> 00:25:43,200
Well, this is Archie,
our beautiful giant squid specimen.

389
00:25:43,200 --> 00:25:44,560
This is a giant squid?

390
00:25:44,560 --> 00:25:46,160
One hears about giant squids

391
00:25:46,160 --> 00:25:50,880
and one imagines that they are maybe
what people mean by sea monsters.

392
00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:53,240
Is this what they are?
Are these the monsters?

393
00:25:53,240 --> 00:25:55,840
Well... I mean, we don't really know
what people were seeing

394
00:25:55,840 --> 00:25:58,440
when we think of these kind of
old-fashioned sea monsters.

395
00:25:58,440 --> 00:26:00,600
But these are definitely
a great candidate.

396
00:26:00,600 --> 00:26:02,640
I mean, they get up
to about 13 metres,

397
00:26:02,640 --> 00:26:06,040
so Archie here is about 8.6 metres,
so not fully grown.

398
00:26:06,040 --> 00:26:07,760
This is a junior? This is a junior.

399
00:26:07,760 --> 00:26:09,800
So the females, we think,
get to about 13

400
00:26:09,800 --> 00:26:11,760
and the males about 10, 11.

401
00:26:11,760 --> 00:26:13,920
Oh, I can't imagine
what it must be like,

402
00:26:13,920 --> 00:26:16,120
seeing one of those
actually in the water.

403
00:26:18,120 --> 00:26:21,960
One of the most elusive creatures
on the planet,

404
00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:26,440
giant squid are believed
to weigh up to 500 kilos,

405
00:26:26,440 --> 00:26:30,360
and inhabit the deepest oceans
around the world.

406
00:26:30,360 --> 00:26:34,280
This incredibly rare footage
was captured by scientists

407
00:26:34,280 --> 00:26:38,640
in the deep waters
of the Gulf of Mexico in 2019.

408
00:26:38,640 --> 00:26:40,480
Thought to be a juvenile,

409
00:26:40,480 --> 00:26:43,280
and measuring over
three and a half metres,

410
00:26:43,280 --> 00:26:48,480
the squid is attempting to feed on
a decoy bioluminescent jellyfish.

411
00:26:48,480 --> 00:26:51,600
This is only the second time
in history

412
00:26:51,600 --> 00:26:55,120
that a giant squid
has been filmed in the wild.

413
00:26:56,440 --> 00:26:59,680
So that sort of
child's adventure book,

414
00:26:59,680 --> 00:27:01,720
with a huge tentacle
coming into the deck

415
00:27:01,720 --> 00:27:04,920
and wrapping itself around
an unfortunate sailor

416
00:27:04,920 --> 00:27:06,680
is not very likely?

417
00:27:06,680 --> 00:27:09,360
Pretty unlikely. I mean,
these live at really great depths.

418
00:27:09,360 --> 00:27:11,520
We're thinking possibly
down to 2,000 metres.

419
00:27:11,520 --> 00:27:12,880
And it's actually very likely

420
00:27:12,880 --> 00:27:15,080
they can't actually breathe
at the surface. Really?

421
00:27:15,080 --> 00:27:18,600
Oh, look. There's more. You've got
suckers. There - that's wonderful.

422
00:27:18,600 --> 00:27:20,920
This isn't actually part
of a giant squid.

423
00:27:20,920 --> 00:27:23,280
There is something
that possibly gets even bigger.

424
00:27:23,280 --> 00:27:25,360
This is actually from
a colossal squid.

425
00:27:25,360 --> 00:27:27,480
We think they get bigger
than the giant squid,

426
00:27:27,480 --> 00:27:31,160
possibly up to 18 metres.
18 metres?!

427
00:27:31,160 --> 00:27:32,200
Wow!

428
00:27:33,440 --> 00:27:35,880
So shall we have a look inside?
A closer look.

429
00:27:38,120 --> 00:27:39,240
STEPHEN GASPS

430
00:27:40,600 --> 00:27:43,680
Wow! I can see the suckers
so clearly.

431
00:27:43,680 --> 00:27:46,760
So here you can see
just the very tip

432
00:27:46,760 --> 00:27:49,560
of a tentacle of a colossal squid.

433
00:27:49,560 --> 00:27:52,520
And you can see they have these
traditional circular suckers,

434
00:27:52,520 --> 00:27:55,360
with the saw-toothed edge,
just like you see on lots of squid.

435
00:27:55,360 --> 00:27:56,680
Yeah, yeah.

436
00:27:56,680 --> 00:27:59,000
But also, these very sharp,
talon-like...

437
00:27:59,000 --> 00:28:01,080
Oh, yes, I can see them!

438
00:28:01,080 --> 00:28:03,440
Ooh! Goodness, they are,
aren't they?

439
00:28:03,440 --> 00:28:08,800
Two or three in each sucker,
these claws. These thorns.

440
00:28:08,800 --> 00:28:10,280
Even the ones
that don't have thorns

441
00:28:10,280 --> 00:28:12,800
have a certain sort of raspy burr
to them, don't they?

442
00:28:12,800 --> 00:28:15,360
Yeah, they sort of have a serrated,
saw-toothed edge as well.

443
00:28:15,360 --> 00:28:17,320
So, yeah...
I mean, absolutely terrifying.

444
00:28:17,320 --> 00:28:19,480
You wouldn't want to
be caught by one of these.

445
00:28:19,480 --> 00:28:22,600
Even bigger than its giant cousin,

446
00:28:22,600 --> 00:28:26,760
the colossal squid is
the largest invertebrate on Earth,

447
00:28:26,760 --> 00:28:31,160
potentially almost as long
as an early sailing ship.

448
00:28:31,160 --> 00:28:37,040
These mysterious creatures live in
the icy depths of Antarctic waters,

449
00:28:37,040 --> 00:28:41,120
and most of what we know is based
on a small number of carcasses

450
00:28:41,120 --> 00:28:43,600
found by deep-sea fishing vessels.

451
00:28:44,960 --> 00:28:48,880
Images like these are almost
the only evidence we have

452
00:28:48,880 --> 00:28:50,200
of their existence.

453
00:28:51,200 --> 00:28:53,920
Did these enormous squid,

454
00:28:53,920 --> 00:28:57,480
found washed ashore
or caught in nets long ago,

455
00:28:57,480 --> 00:29:00,120
launch the legend of the kraken?

456
00:29:01,600 --> 00:29:04,120
I mean, they really are
so otherworldly, aren't they? Yeah.

457
00:29:04,120 --> 00:29:06,520
And it's hard not to be scared
at the thought of

458
00:29:06,520 --> 00:29:10,120
one of those tendrils
coming out and grabbing you.

459
00:29:10,120 --> 00:29:13,200
It is a pretty primal nightmare.
It certainly is.

460
00:29:17,000 --> 00:29:20,200
Sailors could spin wonderful yarns

461
00:29:20,200 --> 00:29:24,120
about the strange sights
they saw at sea,

462
00:29:24,120 --> 00:29:28,040
but not all the tales they told
were of the terrifying type.

463
00:29:28,040 --> 00:29:30,680
Some took a more appealing form.

464
00:29:33,000 --> 00:29:36,600
Mermaids have featured in legends
from around the world

465
00:29:36,600 --> 00:29:38,440
for thousands of years.

466
00:29:40,400 --> 00:29:45,520
In 1493, the explorer Christopher
Columbus, sailing to the Americas,

467
00:29:45,520 --> 00:29:50,680
saw what he believed to be
three mermaids, describing them as,

468
00:29:50,680 --> 00:29:53,360
"Not so beautiful
as they are said to be,

469
00:29:53,360 --> 00:29:56,160
"for their faces
had some masculine traits."

470
00:29:58,240 --> 00:30:02,000
But some scientists now think
that what he actually saw

471
00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:04,200
was a creature that is still found

472
00:30:04,200 --> 00:30:07,240
along the coasts
of North America today.

473
00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:17,240
Crystal River in Florida
is home to these enigmatic animals.

474
00:30:19,400 --> 00:30:22,560
There's one. This little nose
popped up, saying hello.

475
00:30:28,080 --> 00:30:31,520
These incredible creatures
are manatees, or sea cows,

476
00:30:31,520 --> 00:30:34,560
and they're the ocean's largest
herbivore or grazer -

477
00:30:34,560 --> 00:30:37,440
in their case, on seagrass.

478
00:30:37,440 --> 00:30:40,280
And despite their massive bulk,
unlike me,

479
00:30:40,280 --> 00:30:42,680
they are incredibly
graceful swimmers.

480
00:30:45,520 --> 00:30:49,600
Local manatee expert
Monica Scroggin has studied

481
00:30:49,600 --> 00:30:52,760
the population on this river
for a number of years.

482
00:30:54,400 --> 00:30:56,640
What brings the manatees
to this place?

483
00:30:56,640 --> 00:30:58,880
Do they find it as beautiful
as everyone else does?

484
00:30:58,880 --> 00:31:00,760
So, actually,
it's the water temperature,

485
00:31:00,760 --> 00:31:04,320
but that's because
they have a very small metabolism,

486
00:31:04,320 --> 00:31:09,840
so they have to eat about 10%
of their body fat every single day,

487
00:31:09,840 --> 00:31:14,040
so for 1,000 lb manatee,
that's about 100 lb of food.

488
00:31:14,040 --> 00:31:17,840
My goodness. Yeah.
It is a lot of green vegetables.

489
00:31:19,320 --> 00:31:21,640
Manatees can be found
along the coasts

490
00:31:21,640 --> 00:31:24,520
and rivers of North America,

491
00:31:24,520 --> 00:31:28,720
the Amazon in South America,
and Western Africa.

492
00:31:30,760 --> 00:31:34,080
Though populations
are on the rise in Florida,

493
00:31:34,080 --> 00:31:37,160
manatee numbers
are declining worldwide

494
00:31:37,160 --> 00:31:40,160
and they are considered
vulnerable to extinction.

495
00:31:42,160 --> 00:31:44,920
Measuring over three metres
in length,

496
00:31:44,920 --> 00:31:48,760
these gentle giants
often travel long distances

497
00:31:48,760 --> 00:31:50,680
in search of seagrass.

498
00:31:52,920 --> 00:31:56,800
Manatee tails certainly look
very mermaid-like.

499
00:31:58,360 --> 00:32:01,720
Perhaps it's the graceful way
they move in the water

500
00:32:01,720 --> 00:32:03,760
that has inspired these legends.

501
00:32:05,600 --> 00:32:10,640
Or had the sailors who glimpsed them
simply been at sea for too long?

502
00:32:13,600 --> 00:32:16,040
And when you look at manatees,
do you see merpeople?

503
00:32:16,040 --> 00:32:18,440
Mermen and mermaids? I do!

504
00:32:18,440 --> 00:32:22,200
I think they have a similar shape,
they have a similar tail,

505
00:32:22,200 --> 00:32:23,800
they have flippers.

506
00:32:23,800 --> 00:32:25,720
Yeah, do they use them
almost like hands?

507
00:32:25,720 --> 00:32:28,360
I mean, obviously, they're not
opposable thumbs or anything.

508
00:32:28,360 --> 00:32:31,680
Right, but, they almost are.
Um, you could think of their flipper

509
00:32:31,680 --> 00:32:34,200
like our hands,
but only with skin covering it,

510
00:32:34,200 --> 00:32:37,080
and their bones
look just like ours.

511
00:32:37,080 --> 00:32:42,880
The manatee skeleton could also
hold a clue to the mermaid myth.

512
00:32:42,880 --> 00:32:45,800
Take a look at their arms
and hands,

513
00:32:45,800 --> 00:32:48,800
and you can see
they are similar to ours.

514
00:32:48,800 --> 00:32:53,360
Yet their tail bones
are unmistakably fish-like.

515
00:32:53,360 --> 00:32:58,320
It's easy to see how these skeletons
washing up on shores long ago

516
00:32:58,320 --> 00:33:00,640
could have inspired the idea

517
00:33:00,640 --> 00:33:04,720
of a mysterious half-human,
half-sea creature.

518
00:33:07,240 --> 00:33:10,920
Well, I'm not entirely sure
about these theories,

519
00:33:10,920 --> 00:33:13,160
so perhaps
I'd better take a closer look.

520
00:33:14,360 --> 00:33:15,720
Here goes.

521
00:33:36,400 --> 00:33:37,520
Wow.

522
00:33:37,520 --> 00:33:39,120
They are amazing.

523
00:33:39,120 --> 00:33:40,960
So much bigger underwater.

524
00:33:40,960 --> 00:33:42,840
And yet still so graceful.

525
00:33:44,120 --> 00:33:46,400
They don't seem to mind my presence.

526
00:33:46,400 --> 00:33:50,280
They just gently nibble away
at that seagrass.

527
00:33:51,800 --> 00:33:53,080
Incredible.

528
00:33:59,800 --> 00:34:03,000
It's not hard to imagine, is it,
how a sailor far from home,

529
00:34:03,000 --> 00:34:07,360
after a long voyage and maybe
after a little tot of rum,

530
00:34:07,360 --> 00:34:11,560
looks out and sees a manatee
and, in his mind's eye,

531
00:34:11,560 --> 00:34:14,640
there's a mermaid,
a beautiful mermaid.

532
00:34:14,640 --> 00:34:16,760
All right,
perhaps a large tot of rum!

533
00:34:18,880 --> 00:34:22,640
Meanwhile,
the mermaid myth lives on.

534
00:34:28,400 --> 00:34:33,800
Mythical beasts don't just lurk
on land or slither through seas.

535
00:34:35,160 --> 00:34:38,440
From griffins to thunderbirds,

536
00:34:38,440 --> 00:34:42,520
harpies to hippogriffs

537
00:34:42,520 --> 00:34:46,840
many magical creatures
can be found on the wing,

538
00:34:46,840 --> 00:34:48,800
soaring across the skies.

539
00:35:03,680 --> 00:35:06,480
Oh, good lord. Chris, hello.

540
00:35:06,480 --> 00:35:08,320
Hi.
STEPHEN GASPS

541
00:35:08,320 --> 00:35:10,960
What's the name
of this extraordinary creature?

542
00:35:10,960 --> 00:35:12,480
This is Nikita.

543
00:35:12,480 --> 00:35:14,400
She's a Steller's sea eagle.

544
00:35:14,400 --> 00:35:18,360
A sea eagle. So beautiful!

545
00:35:19,800 --> 00:35:23,440
And that beak,
is it a specialist beak for fish?

546
00:35:23,440 --> 00:35:24,800
That's a serious beak.

547
00:35:24,800 --> 00:35:26,640
It's designed for cutting flesh,

548
00:35:26,640 --> 00:35:30,920
but a fish pulled out of the water
at -40 is going to be a block of ice

549
00:35:30,920 --> 00:35:34,480
within a couple of moments, so
that's what that tin opener is for.

550
00:35:34,480 --> 00:35:36,560
And those trousers, I love those.

551
00:35:36,560 --> 00:35:38,640
Shaggy, shaggy feet.

552
00:35:38,640 --> 00:35:41,720
On the soles of her feet,
she's got almost like Velcro,

553
00:35:41,720 --> 00:35:43,880
to enable her to grab hold
of slippery fish

554
00:35:43,880 --> 00:35:46,480
and pull them off the surface
of the water. Of course. Yeah.

555
00:35:48,480 --> 00:35:53,080
As you can see, Nikita is no myth.
She's all reality.

556
00:35:53,080 --> 00:35:57,480
Steller's sea eagles are amongst
the largest eagles in the world,

557
00:35:57,480 --> 00:35:59,720
and they're formidable predators.

558
00:35:59,720 --> 00:36:02,920
There have been stories
over the years, of course,

559
00:36:02,920 --> 00:36:05,680
of eagles attacking humans,

560
00:36:05,680 --> 00:36:08,000
which is why perhaps
it isn't surprising

561
00:36:08,000 --> 00:36:11,120
that stories through the ages
have been passed down

562
00:36:11,120 --> 00:36:16,120
of mythical winged beasts
with enormous claws and beaks.

563
00:36:17,840 --> 00:36:19,400
In New Zealand,

564
00:36:19,400 --> 00:36:23,280
Maori mythology
tells of a monstrous eagle,

565
00:36:23,280 --> 00:36:27,800
known as the poukai,
that was said to eat humans.

566
00:36:27,800 --> 00:36:32,760
These stories may have been based on
a real bird known as Haast's eagle,

567
00:36:32,760 --> 00:36:36,040
the largest eagle ever
to have lived on the planet,

568
00:36:36,040 --> 00:36:38,640
with a wingspan
of up to three metres.

569
00:36:40,280 --> 00:36:44,080
Haast's eagles were extinct
by the 1400s,

570
00:36:44,080 --> 00:36:47,000
but generations
of Maoris would have witnessed

571
00:36:47,000 --> 00:36:48,960
these enormous birds,

572
00:36:48,960 --> 00:36:51,840
perhaps leading to
the poukai bird legend.

573
00:36:54,000 --> 00:36:55,800
And, with that in mind,

574
00:36:55,800 --> 00:36:59,640
it's time for me to get
a bit closer. So wish me luck.

575
00:37:04,960 --> 00:37:08,400
Right, Stephen, so, essentially,
it needs to be upright.

576
00:37:08,400 --> 00:37:09,480
Oh, like that? Yeah.

577
00:37:09,480 --> 00:37:12,080
And then I'm going to place the bird
on your arm on the top

578
00:37:12,080 --> 00:37:14,360
and then you've got to just
keep your arm nice and level

579
00:37:14,360 --> 00:37:16,160
and just slightly away
from your body.

580
00:37:16,160 --> 00:37:17,400
It's going to be heavy.

581
00:37:18,520 --> 00:37:20,440
So I'm now going to
give you the weight.

582
00:37:20,440 --> 00:37:21,960
Oh, my heavens!

583
00:37:23,040 --> 00:37:24,120
Wow.

584
00:37:25,160 --> 00:37:27,800
Enormous as you are,

585
00:37:27,800 --> 00:37:30,640
you'd be small compared to
some of your ancestors,

586
00:37:30,640 --> 00:37:33,080
both real and mythical.

587
00:37:34,200 --> 00:37:37,760
One flying beast
that appears in ancient tales

588
00:37:37,760 --> 00:37:41,120
from the Middle East
is known as the roc.

589
00:37:41,120 --> 00:37:43,680
Described as an enormous eagle

590
00:37:43,680 --> 00:37:46,560
it was said to be strong enough
to carry off an elephant.

591
00:37:48,000 --> 00:37:50,840
Inspiration for the roc
is believed to have come

592
00:37:50,840 --> 00:37:54,480
from the eggs of
a real bird, Aepyornis,

593
00:37:54,480 --> 00:37:58,800
which lived in Madagascar
over 40,000 years ago -

594
00:37:58,800 --> 00:38:03,520
one of the largest flightless birds
ever to have existed,

595
00:38:03,520 --> 00:38:07,920
at over three metres tall,
and weighing 500 kg.

596
00:38:07,920 --> 00:38:13,400
Also known as the elephant bird, it
went extinct around 1,000 years ago.

597
00:38:13,400 --> 00:38:19,080
But its eggs were so huge -
as large as 150 chicken eggs -

598
00:38:19,080 --> 00:38:22,800
that people thought they must
belong to the legendary roc.

599
00:38:22,800 --> 00:38:24,000
NIKITA KEENS

600
00:38:24,000 --> 00:38:27,000
Aren't you amazing? Well, I think
it's time you had her back!

601
00:38:27,000 --> 00:38:29,120
So I'll hand her over to you.

602
00:38:32,240 --> 00:38:37,160
Perhaps it's the very mysteriousness
of flight itself that has inspired

603
00:38:37,160 --> 00:38:41,800
these stories of legendary flying
creatures over the centuries.

604
00:38:41,800 --> 00:38:45,200
That, and a fear of
the very powerful,

605
00:38:45,200 --> 00:38:48,400
and very real, birds themselves.

606
00:38:51,200 --> 00:38:53,040
NIKITA SCREECHES

607
00:38:53,040 --> 00:38:54,440
Goodness!

608
00:38:54,440 --> 00:38:58,280
Fortunately, nobody's told Nikita
how delicious I am,

609
00:38:58,280 --> 00:39:00,120
so I think I'm safe.

610
00:39:15,000 --> 00:39:20,160
Stories of fantastical beasts
aren't just a thing of the past.

611
00:39:26,320 --> 00:39:29,040
And there's one
world-famous legend

612
00:39:29,040 --> 00:39:32,040
that is alive and well
here in Scotland.

613
00:39:33,800 --> 00:39:35,600
The Loch Ness Monster.

614
00:39:37,720 --> 00:39:41,840
The origin story
of this iconic monster

615
00:39:41,840 --> 00:39:45,560
can be traced back
to around 1,500 years ago,

616
00:39:45,560 --> 00:39:51,880
when Irish missionary St Columba
was said to have encountered a beast

617
00:39:51,880 --> 00:39:53,960
in the River Ness.

618
00:39:53,960 --> 00:39:58,200
Over the years, thousands of people
have claimed to see Nessie,

619
00:39:58,200 --> 00:40:00,000
and there have been
numerous attempts

620
00:40:00,000 --> 00:40:03,320
to find conclusive proof
of its existence.

621
00:40:03,320 --> 00:40:08,000
But none have been as promising,
or as high-tech,

622
00:40:08,000 --> 00:40:09,560
as recent efforts.

623
00:40:13,040 --> 00:40:16,560
I've travelled to the banks
of this legendary loch...

624
00:40:16,560 --> 00:40:18,240
Stephen! Hello. Come aboard.

625
00:40:18,240 --> 00:40:19,960
..to meet Adrian Shine,

626
00:40:19,960 --> 00:40:23,240
a naturalist involved in
this exciting new development.

627
00:40:32,520 --> 00:40:36,640
Why do you think that there's
a special quality to Loch Ness?

628
00:40:36,640 --> 00:40:39,800
I mean, why has it has retained
such mystique over the decades?

629
00:40:39,800 --> 00:40:41,080
Well, it's fascinating.

630
00:40:41,080 --> 00:40:44,920
It is probably, arguably,
the most famous lake in the world.

631
00:40:44,920 --> 00:40:46,840
And it's quite large.

632
00:40:46,840 --> 00:40:49,680
You could put the whole human
population of the world into it

633
00:40:49,680 --> 00:40:51,120
at least three times over.

634
00:40:51,120 --> 00:40:54,160
Seriously?! It is quite deep.
Good gracious! Wow!

635
00:40:54,160 --> 00:40:55,960
And it's hostile,

636
00:40:55,960 --> 00:40:59,240
so, in that respect,
it qualifies as a lost world,

637
00:40:59,240 --> 00:41:01,160
and we need lost worlds

638
00:41:01,160 --> 00:41:04,400
to make our mythical creatures
at least credible.

639
00:41:04,400 --> 00:41:05,560
Or more credible.

640
00:41:05,560 --> 00:41:08,680
Yeah. So it's big enough for...
If there were a monster,

641
00:41:08,680 --> 00:41:12,680
it could have credibly hidden
for all this time.

642
00:41:12,680 --> 00:41:16,640
The story of Nessie
evolved over centuries,

643
00:41:16,640 --> 00:41:20,520
but it was in the 1930s
that things really took off.

644
00:41:21,840 --> 00:41:24,360
That was when
the Loch Ness Monster

645
00:41:24,360 --> 00:41:27,480
that we know
and love today was born.

646
00:41:27,480 --> 00:41:31,920
There's the multi-humped sea serpent

647
00:41:31,920 --> 00:41:36,040
and the plesiosaur,
the idea of a prehistoric monster,

648
00:41:36,040 --> 00:41:38,600
long neck,
four flippers, stumpy body.

649
00:41:45,120 --> 00:41:48,320
We used to spend a lot of time
in trying to work out

650
00:41:48,320 --> 00:41:50,640
what was in Loch Ness
with our fish nets,

651
00:41:50,640 --> 00:41:52,640
towing things like that around,

652
00:41:52,640 --> 00:41:56,360
then we'd spend hours and hours and
hours looking through microscopes,

653
00:41:56,360 --> 00:41:58,840
identifying things, counting things,

654
00:41:58,840 --> 00:42:02,200
but now there is
a much more elegant way.

655
00:42:05,080 --> 00:42:07,200
Listen to this delicious...
SPRINGING NOISE

656
00:42:07,200 --> 00:42:09,280
STEPHEN LAUGHS

657
00:42:09,280 --> 00:42:12,080
Just a minute. What a lovely noise.
There we are.

658
00:42:12,080 --> 00:42:16,320
Using a process called
Environmental DNA Sampling,

659
00:42:16,320 --> 00:42:17,960
or EDNA,

660
00:42:17,960 --> 00:42:21,680
scientists examined
the different types of animal DNA

661
00:42:21,680 --> 00:42:24,080
found in Loch Ness water.

662
00:42:24,080 --> 00:42:26,520
And there we go. That's it.

663
00:42:26,520 --> 00:42:29,640
My very own bucket of
Loch Ness water. That's right.

664
00:42:31,640 --> 00:42:33,440
There are many different theories

665
00:42:33,440 --> 00:42:36,840
as to the Loch Ness Monster's
true identity.

666
00:42:36,840 --> 00:42:41,520
One that Adrian supports is that
it could be an enormous eel.

667
00:42:43,120 --> 00:42:45,360
Eels are an elusive species.

668
00:42:45,360 --> 00:42:49,520
Much of their behaviour,
and exactly how large they can grow,

669
00:42:49,520 --> 00:42:51,840
is still a mystery to scientists.

670
00:42:53,520 --> 00:42:55,800
One of the biggest species
in the world

671
00:42:55,800 --> 00:42:58,240
is the European conger eel,

672
00:42:58,240 --> 00:43:01,080
which is thought to grow
to over three metres long.

673
00:43:04,640 --> 00:43:09,760
But some believe eels are capable
of growing to a much larger size.

674
00:43:11,240 --> 00:43:13,360
Known as eunuch eels,

675
00:43:13,360 --> 00:43:17,080
their existence is
somewhat controversial.

676
00:43:17,080 --> 00:43:21,520
Usually, adult eels swim into
the Atlantic Ocean to breed,

677
00:43:21,520 --> 00:43:23,360
after which they die.

678
00:43:23,360 --> 00:43:27,200
But eunuch eels
are said to be infertile,

679
00:43:27,200 --> 00:43:29,680
leading them to remain
in fresh water,

680
00:43:29,680 --> 00:43:32,840
and continuing to grow
for many years,

681
00:43:32,840 --> 00:43:35,760
potentially to a huge length.

682
00:43:37,840 --> 00:43:43,040
So will the DNA results
confirm Adrian's suspicions?

683
00:43:43,040 --> 00:43:46,320
Now presumably it will take
a few days to get this analysed,

684
00:43:46,320 --> 00:43:48,480
but you've had previous samples.

685
00:43:48,480 --> 00:43:52,000
Well, we certainly think
we know what's in Loch Ness

686
00:43:52,000 --> 00:43:55,040
and there weren't any great
surprises from the DNA.

687
00:43:55,040 --> 00:43:56,480
What have you found?

688
00:43:56,480 --> 00:43:59,320
Bacteria, plankton, lots of fish.

689
00:43:59,320 --> 00:44:00,920
No reptiles.

690
00:44:00,920 --> 00:44:03,640
No reptiles? It's sad, that.
Slightly disappointing.

691
00:44:03,640 --> 00:44:06,400
Didn't really expect them,
to be quite honest.

692
00:44:06,400 --> 00:44:08,160
But there we are.

693
00:44:08,160 --> 00:44:11,640
But we got lots and lots of eel DNA.

694
00:44:11,640 --> 00:44:17,640
But, of course, it would be
the same DNA for an ordinary eel

695
00:44:17,640 --> 00:44:20,680
as for a huge eunuch eel.

696
00:44:20,680 --> 00:44:23,640
An ordinary eel,
which comes into Loch Ness

697
00:44:23,640 --> 00:44:26,280
but likes it so much
that it doesn't go back

698
00:44:26,280 --> 00:44:29,120
to the Sargasso Sea to spawn.

699
00:44:29,120 --> 00:44:31,720
It just grows huge! So it avoids
the famous life cycle.

700
00:44:33,280 --> 00:44:35,120
One of the things
that's so intriguing

701
00:44:35,120 --> 00:44:38,800
is that this latest DNA work
that you've been doing

702
00:44:38,800 --> 00:44:42,120
still leaves avenues open
to believing, doesn't it?

703
00:44:42,120 --> 00:44:43,840
And that's the fun of it. Yeah.

704
00:44:43,840 --> 00:44:47,240
That nature surprises us
all the time.

705
00:44:47,240 --> 00:44:50,360
Exactly right. Exactly right.

706
00:44:50,360 --> 00:44:54,680
And so the mystery of
the Loch Ness Monster continues.

707
00:45:09,120 --> 00:45:11,640
Our passion for all things magical

708
00:45:11,640 --> 00:45:14,520
has never been stronger
than it is today.

709
00:45:15,760 --> 00:45:19,720
Many of the most popular books
and movies of our time

710
00:45:19,720 --> 00:45:23,360
are based on myths, legends
and fantasy worlds,

711
00:45:23,360 --> 00:45:26,360
filled with some of
the most extraordinary creatures

712
00:45:26,360 --> 00:45:27,920
you'll ever see.

713
00:45:30,640 --> 00:45:33,880
And now, with cutting-edge
computer technology,

714
00:45:33,880 --> 00:45:36,640
we can bring them to life
like never before.

715
00:45:40,880 --> 00:45:47,200
Now, behind these doors is something
just a little bit special.

716
00:45:52,400 --> 00:45:53,840
HE GASPS

717
00:45:53,840 --> 00:45:56,840
I've come to
The Making of Harry Potter

718
00:45:56,840 --> 00:46:00,000
at the Warner Bros Studio Tour
near London,

719
00:46:00,000 --> 00:46:03,640
to see how the Fantastic Beasts
of the Wizarding World

720
00:46:03,640 --> 00:46:05,440
are brought to life,

721
00:46:05,440 --> 00:46:08,240
and to discover
how the natural world

722
00:46:08,240 --> 00:46:12,200
has often inspired
these extraordinary creations.

723
00:46:12,200 --> 00:46:13,880
This is quite an honour for me.

724
00:46:15,280 --> 00:46:17,200
They don't usually
let muggles in here!

725
00:46:31,080 --> 00:46:34,480
But where do you start
when trying to create

726
00:46:34,480 --> 00:46:37,440
a Fantastic Beast
for the big screen?

727
00:46:37,440 --> 00:46:41,080
Surely a description in a book
can only tell you so much?

728
00:46:41,080 --> 00:46:44,440
I've come here to find out
some tricks of the trade

729
00:46:44,440 --> 00:46:48,240
from visual effects supervisor
Christian Manz.

730
00:46:51,400 --> 00:46:53,760
Oh, now, hang on!

731
00:46:53,760 --> 00:46:55,920
I think...

732
00:46:55,920 --> 00:46:59,760
..I recognise where we are -
this is Dumbledore's office!

733
00:46:59,760 --> 00:47:01,120
THEY CHUCKLE

734
00:47:02,120 --> 00:47:03,240
Now, Christian...

735
00:47:04,840 --> 00:47:07,680
..I'm sure a lot of people
have heard of CGI, as it's called.

736
00:47:07,680 --> 00:47:10,360
Do you spend your whole time just
looking at the computer screen,

737
00:47:10,360 --> 00:47:12,520
doing mathematical things
to create images?

738
00:47:12,520 --> 00:47:14,320
The brilliant thing
about visual effects

739
00:47:14,320 --> 00:47:16,920
is it's a real marriage
of the creative and the technical.

740
00:47:16,920 --> 00:47:20,600
And our inspiration,
particularly with animation,

741
00:47:20,600 --> 00:47:24,480
is looking at creatures
from all over the world

742
00:47:24,480 --> 00:47:27,600
and make the audience believe
that what they're seeing is real.

743
00:47:27,600 --> 00:47:29,120
Have you got some examples?

744
00:47:29,120 --> 00:47:32,200
Well, in the second film
we had the zouwu -

745
00:47:32,200 --> 00:47:35,240
an elephant-sized,
really colourful big cat.

746
00:47:35,240 --> 00:47:39,440
In the script it said that the zouwu
could travel 1,000 miles a day

747
00:47:39,440 --> 00:47:42,280
and that led us
to that idea of speed.

748
00:47:42,280 --> 00:47:45,320
So here, this is a design that
bedded in for a while, actually,

749
00:47:45,320 --> 00:47:48,400
the cobra-like head...
Yes. ..with a reptilian body.

750
00:47:48,400 --> 00:47:51,280
We got to the point of modelling it
and animating it

751
00:47:51,280 --> 00:47:53,360
but we were never quite
sure about it.

752
00:47:53,360 --> 00:47:55,440
It didn't quite feel of our world.

753
00:47:55,440 --> 00:47:58,720
And then somebody came up
with this design, this concept.

754
00:47:58,720 --> 00:48:02,720
Goodness! And we were like,
"Wow, that feels bonkers,"

755
00:48:02,720 --> 00:48:07,960
and also felt very akin to
some of the Chinese dragon dancers.

756
00:48:07,960 --> 00:48:09,640
Yes! The sort of ribbon...

757
00:48:09,640 --> 00:48:12,440
I've taken a look at those, too,
and I know what you mean

758
00:48:12,440 --> 00:48:16,600
and that exactly suggests it,
that long, sinuous, flowing tail.

759
00:48:16,600 --> 00:48:19,600
And then kind of the catlike face
and then the body

760
00:48:19,600 --> 00:48:23,520
which, in the end, lizards
were a lot of our inspiration.

761
00:48:23,520 --> 00:48:25,760
So from that we'd look at wildlife.

762
00:48:25,760 --> 00:48:28,440
So you've got coral,
and is that a variegated tulip?

763
00:48:28,440 --> 00:48:30,360
Yeah, and then fighting fish.

764
00:48:30,360 --> 00:48:33,920
And also we tried it
with the sea anemone. Yes!

765
00:48:33,920 --> 00:48:35,200
That's so surprising,

766
00:48:35,200 --> 00:48:37,760
cos I can believe that you
might look at lizards

767
00:48:37,760 --> 00:48:41,880
and you might look at large cats
and things, but coral and flowers?

768
00:48:41,880 --> 00:48:45,240
And yet, once you point it out,
you can see that.

769
00:48:45,240 --> 00:48:48,240
What's so interesting
is that the most ancient stories

770
00:48:48,240 --> 00:48:52,600
of mythical creatures
drew their inspiration from nature

771
00:48:52,600 --> 00:48:56,880
and the most modern technological
mythical creatures that you create

772
00:48:56,880 --> 00:48:59,120
also draw from nature.

773
00:48:59,120 --> 00:49:02,080
And I suppose, as long as
the lead times and the process

774
00:49:02,080 --> 00:49:04,280
of doing computer graphics is,

775
00:49:04,280 --> 00:49:06,760
it's nothing compared
to the millions of years

776
00:49:06,760 --> 00:49:09,000
that nature has
to try out new ideas.

777
00:49:09,000 --> 00:49:11,880
I think that's one of our biggest
learning experiences, really,

778
00:49:11,880 --> 00:49:14,320
is that Mother Nature's definitely
better at it than we are!

779
00:49:14,320 --> 00:49:15,720
STEPHEN LAUGHS

780
00:49:15,720 --> 00:49:18,360
But she's had practice.
She's had so much practice!

781
00:49:40,120 --> 00:49:42,920
But where on Earth
did all of this start?

782
00:49:44,400 --> 00:49:49,360
When did we very first create
or imagine these mythical creatures?

783
00:49:51,160 --> 00:49:54,360
When early humans began to draw,

784
00:49:54,360 --> 00:49:56,760
we depicted the world
we saw around us -

785
00:49:56,760 --> 00:49:59,760
landscape, people, and animals,

786
00:49:59,760 --> 00:50:02,880
like this magnificent mastodon.

787
00:50:02,880 --> 00:50:08,000
But we also began to create
entirely imaginary creatures too.

788
00:50:09,520 --> 00:50:12,680
There are examples
of these mysterious creatures

789
00:50:12,680 --> 00:50:16,560
painted in caves
and on rocks found around the world,

790
00:50:16,560 --> 00:50:21,440
some dating back
as far as 44,000 years ago.

791
00:50:21,440 --> 00:50:24,000
No-one really knows
why these images were created,

792
00:50:24,000 --> 00:50:27,200
but perhaps
the most reasonable explanation

793
00:50:27,200 --> 00:50:31,800
is that they were one of
the earliest forms of storytelling.

794
00:50:31,800 --> 00:50:34,880
I wanted to know more
about this instinct

795
00:50:34,880 --> 00:50:37,160
to create mythical creatures,

796
00:50:37,160 --> 00:50:39,840
so I asked someone
who knows a thing or two

797
00:50:39,840 --> 00:50:42,400
about telling stories -

798
00:50:42,400 --> 00:50:44,800
author of the Harry Potter books

799
00:50:44,800 --> 00:50:49,600
and creator of Fantastic Beasts,
JK Rowling.

800
00:50:54,040 --> 00:50:58,160
Why is it that we humans have to
tell everything through stories

801
00:50:58,160 --> 00:51:02,480
and examples? It's our great
creative power, isn't it?

802
00:51:02,480 --> 00:51:04,040
I think about this a lot,

803
00:51:04,040 --> 00:51:06,120
the fact that
we're storytelling creatures,

804
00:51:06,120 --> 00:51:09,600
because, to our knowledge, we are
the only animal that does this.

805
00:51:09,600 --> 00:51:12,120
And obviously it was an attempt,
I think...

806
00:51:12,120 --> 00:51:14,120
Certainly in terms of myth
and folklore,

807
00:51:14,120 --> 00:51:16,320
it's an attempt to explain
the natural world,

808
00:51:16,320 --> 00:51:18,240
things people didn't understand.

809
00:51:18,240 --> 00:51:21,520
I am very interested in story,
inevitably.

810
00:51:21,520 --> 00:51:24,600
I'm not just interested
in writing stories,

811
00:51:24,600 --> 00:51:28,640
I'm interested in
why we write stories. Yes.

812
00:51:28,640 --> 00:51:33,000
I'm even more fascinated by the fact
that discrete cultures

813
00:51:33,000 --> 00:51:37,320
who'd never met
create such similar archetypes

814
00:51:37,320 --> 00:51:39,320
and such similar creatures,

815
00:51:39,320 --> 00:51:44,280
So we see the fire bird -
the Phoenix, as I call it -

816
00:51:44,280 --> 00:51:48,960
you see the creation of a fire bird,
throughout different cultures. Yes.

817
00:51:48,960 --> 00:51:52,800
And what is that telling us
about what it is to be human,

818
00:51:52,800 --> 00:51:55,880
and what lives at the back of
our minds, in our subconscious?

819
00:51:55,880 --> 00:51:58,240
You often see this
in magical beasts,

820
00:51:58,240 --> 00:52:02,520
that very similar beasts
have been imagined by... Yes!

821
00:52:02,520 --> 00:52:07,640
..by, after all, peoples who are
living among different real animals.

822
00:52:07,640 --> 00:52:10,200
We're talking cultures
across different continents.

823
00:52:10,200 --> 00:52:14,080
That fascinates me because it's
clearly telling us about ourselves.

824
00:52:14,080 --> 00:52:16,800
And a perfect example is the dragon.
There you are.

825
00:52:16,800 --> 00:52:19,200
All over the world -
in China, famously, of course.

826
00:52:19,200 --> 00:52:21,440
And what else are there? Mermaids.

827
00:52:21,440 --> 00:52:23,960
Mermaids. It's very interesting,
isn't it,

828
00:52:23,960 --> 00:52:26,280
because where did that myth
come from?

829
00:52:26,280 --> 00:52:27,800
Even in Africa...

830
00:52:27,800 --> 00:52:31,880
These inland countries,
of course, have great rivers.

831
00:52:31,880 --> 00:52:35,680
Yeah. ..there is a form of mermaid,
the Jengu. Ah!

832
00:52:35,680 --> 00:52:38,360
So, again, this is something

833
00:52:38,360 --> 00:52:43,280
that has been created
across these different cultures.

834
00:52:43,280 --> 00:52:48,200
Why where British sailors
imagining fish-tailed women

835
00:52:48,200 --> 00:52:52,000
when people in Africa
were imagining fish-tailed women?

836
00:52:52,000 --> 00:52:54,040
It's just extraordinary.

837
00:52:54,040 --> 00:52:56,280
Do you think it's possible
to invent a creature

838
00:52:56,280 --> 00:52:58,000
that has no basis in nature?

839
00:52:58,000 --> 00:53:00,520
I think it would be exceptionally
difficult. Wouldn't it?

840
00:53:00,520 --> 00:53:06,200
I created a creature in
Fantastic Beasts, the original book,

841
00:53:06,200 --> 00:53:09,320
called a lethifold.
Yes, a nasty piece of work!

842
00:53:09,320 --> 00:53:11,240
Now, that is my worst nightmare.

843
00:53:11,240 --> 00:53:13,880
I had really, there,
gone for something

844
00:53:13,880 --> 00:53:16,600
that would scare the bejesus
out of me. Yes!

845
00:53:16,600 --> 00:53:18,440
Although I was taking

846
00:53:18,440 --> 00:53:21,000
the idea from a cloak,

847
00:53:21,000 --> 00:53:23,360
when I stood back
from what I'd invented,

848
00:53:23,360 --> 00:53:25,240
I thought,
"Well, that's just a manta ray."

849
00:53:25,240 --> 00:53:27,720
And a manta means a cloak,
doesn't it? There you go. Exactly.

850
00:53:27,720 --> 00:53:31,080
So, basically, I've invented
a manta ray that doesn't need water.

851
00:53:31,080 --> 00:53:33,760
And the niffler. Well, I was going
to say, the niffler, exactly.

852
00:53:33,760 --> 00:53:35,600
So the niffler is
a bit of a favourite of mine.

853
00:53:35,600 --> 00:53:38,160
It's a treasure seeker.
It likes everything that glitters.

854
00:53:38,160 --> 00:53:39,560
So it can locate treasure for you.

855
00:53:40,680 --> 00:53:43,760
So, for those who don't know,
a niffler is a curious creature.

856
00:53:43,760 --> 00:53:47,000
I suppose it's a cross
between a magpie in nature,

857
00:53:47,000 --> 00:53:49,400
and a duckbilled platypus
in appearance.

858
00:53:49,400 --> 00:53:51,880
And a mole. And a mole, exactly.

859
00:53:51,880 --> 00:53:57,200
But they used a platypus to get the
snout-like appearance in the movie,

860
00:53:57,200 --> 00:53:59,600
which I adored. I mean,
they ran these things past me,

861
00:53:59,600 --> 00:54:00,840
and I just loved it.

862
00:54:00,840 --> 00:54:04,280
It gave it such an endearing
appearance, I think.

863
00:54:05,920 --> 00:54:10,040
So, it's exceptionally difficult
to invent something,

864
00:54:10,040 --> 00:54:13,160
and, often,
nature got there far better,

865
00:54:13,160 --> 00:54:16,440
because you look at some of
nature's extraordinary creations,

866
00:54:16,440 --> 00:54:19,040
and you think,
"Well, CGI will never match this."

867
00:54:25,000 --> 00:54:27,200
You created your own world

868
00:54:27,200 --> 00:54:32,360
that has its famous and knowable
characters and creatures,

869
00:54:32,360 --> 00:54:34,960
which must give you
an enormous sense of satisfaction,

870
00:54:34,960 --> 00:54:37,400
and you've done it
by examining the real world,

871
00:54:37,400 --> 00:54:39,960
and the world of the imagination
that our ancestors had,

872
00:54:39,960 --> 00:54:42,080
all the way back
through earliest myths.

873
00:54:42,080 --> 00:54:43,720
I was thinking about the creatures,

874
00:54:43,720 --> 00:54:46,200
because we were going to sit down
and talk about this.

875
00:54:46,200 --> 00:54:52,440
And I realised that half the books
fold without those creatures.

876
00:54:52,440 --> 00:54:54,240
You know, they're so important.

877
00:54:55,960 --> 00:54:57,960
Hedwig the owl. Yeah.

878
00:54:57,960 --> 00:55:01,680
And then we move through
the Thestrals and the dragons

879
00:55:01,680 --> 00:55:04,920
and they're key plot points,
and, obviously, thematically,

880
00:55:04,920 --> 00:55:07,720
they work in terms of
life and death and power

881
00:55:07,720 --> 00:55:09,600
and struggle and treasure,

882
00:55:09,600 --> 00:55:12,960
but I realised when I really
focused on those creatures

883
00:55:12,960 --> 00:55:14,760
just how important they were,

884
00:55:14,760 --> 00:55:17,720
and that shows we have a deep need,
I think,

885
00:55:17,720 --> 00:55:19,560
to be connected to the animal world.

886
00:55:40,560 --> 00:55:45,280
Fantastic beasts have been with us
since the dawn of time.

887
00:55:45,280 --> 00:55:50,200
From the first imaginary creatures
sketched on cave walls,

888
00:55:50,200 --> 00:55:52,440
to the state-of-the-art animals

889
00:55:52,440 --> 00:55:55,160
that we see on
our big screens today,

890
00:55:55,160 --> 00:55:59,480
they are a fundamental part
of our own history.

891
00:56:01,920 --> 00:56:06,040
But behind these myths and legends
from fantasy worlds...

892
00:56:07,920 --> 00:56:10,240
..lie the very real

893
00:56:10,240 --> 00:56:13,960
and truly magnificent animals
of our own planet.

894
00:56:16,000 --> 00:56:17,200
On land...

895
00:56:19,200 --> 00:56:20,280
..sea...

896
00:56:22,880 --> 00:56:24,240
..and sky.

897
00:56:27,720 --> 00:56:31,920
The incredible creatures
of this world

898
00:56:31,920 --> 00:56:36,000
have the skills and strengths...

899
00:56:38,000 --> 00:56:41,320
..to outdo even
the most magical beasts.

900
00:56:42,920 --> 00:56:46,280
And whether in the real world,

901
00:56:46,280 --> 00:56:49,400
or the realms of fantasy,

902
00:56:49,400 --> 00:56:53,560
there is so much
that remains a mystery to us.

903
00:56:53,560 --> 00:56:58,520
If we keep our eyes -
and our minds - open,

904
00:56:58,520 --> 00:57:01,560
who knows what might be out there?

905
00:57:07,680 --> 00:57:15,120
NIFFLER SNUFFLES AND CHITTERS

906
00:57:22,880 --> 00:57:25,280
CHITTERING CONTINUES