Terror in Paradise is the fourth episode in the eight season of River Monsters.
Episode Description[]
In the West Indies, tales of swimmers being ripped from the surface of the islands' blue holes have been attributed to the Lusca - a half shark, half octopus monster. Jeremy Wade reaches new depths in this dangerous investigation.
Episode Summary[]
Wade travels to Andros, Bahamas after hearing stories of swimmers and divers disappearing with no evidence ever recovered. The disappearances are said to centre around blue holes, including an eight-year-old boy being snatched from the surface while playing with friends in one. Locals immediately identify the attacker as a legendary monster called the lusca, an alleged giant that is said to be half shark, half octopus. Believing a shark to be the true culprit after seeing a lemon shark near the entrance to one of the tunnels connecting the sea to a blue hole, Wade joins a shark research team on a remote island. Wade manages to catch a reef shark before diving among them, then gets up close and personal with a large tiger shark captured by the researchers. However, the tiger shark quickly leaves after being released, prompting Wade to rethink his approach to the mystery. He begins to investigate the octopus half of the lusca legend, realising that octopuses – which lack bones – could easily navigate the narrow tunnels between the ocean and the blue holes, a feat impossible for a large shark. Wade travels to Puget Sound, where he meets a man who survived a terrifying octopus attack after disturbing it while picking up sea cucumbers. Now convinced that his target is a giant octopus, Wade dives to investigate Puget Sound and has a startling encounter with a Giant Pacific Octopus, observing that when an octopus begins swimming instead of "walking" on the seabed, it could easily be mistaken for a hybrid of shark and octopus. This and the extreme flexibility that octopuses possess, potentially allowing them to navigate the tunnels to the blue holes, lead Wade to conclude the lusca legend is at least partially true and the blue hole attacks were carried out by a monstrous octopus.
Animals Featured[]
- TBA
Locations Featured[]
- TBA
Trivia[]
- The only episode to have an octopus as the culprit.