Dark Waters is a new show that can be found on Animal Planet. It is hosted by the British biologist Jeremy Wade, so it should come as no surprise to learn that it is focused on solving mysteries involving aquatic wildlife in one way or another. Here are 10 things that you may or may not have known about Dark Waters:
1. Hosted By Jeremy Wade
As stated earlier, the show is hosted by Jeremy Wade, a British biologist as well as a TV presenter. Amusingly, Wade’s involvement with TV shows was very much influenced by his personal hobby, which would be fishing in places that are new to him. In fact, Wade was traveling in the Himalayan foothills when he heard about a huge fish that was being blamed by the locals for a number of river-related disappearances, which he believed had the potential to make for an interesting TV show. Judging by the viewership numbers that he has been able to bring in, it seems safe to say that he was right in this regard.
2. Not River Monsters
Said incident is what led to the creation of River Monsters, which remains Wade’s best-known TV show at this point in time. However, it is important to note that Dark Waters isn’t the same show as River Monsters. Certainly, there are some shared elements such as their investigative nature, but Dark Waters is focused on unsolved mysteries involving aquatic wildlife whereas River Monsters is focused on some of the most fearsome freshwater species that can be found out there.
3. Dark Waters Is Focused on Mysteries
Speaking of which, Dark Waters is interested in various kinds of water-related mysteries. For example, one episode might consist of Wade looking into stories of sightings of mythical monster to see if there is any truth to them. In contrast, another episode might consist of Wade investing the oddities as well as other odd occurrences that have been happening to certain species of fish in certain locations.
4. First Episode Focused on Lake Garda Monster
The first episode focused on the Lake Garda Monster. In short, Lake Garda is the biggest of the lakes that can be found on the Italian peninsula. Moreover, it is a very popular tourist destination for people from northern Italy, meaning that there are a lot of people who visit the place on a regular basis. In any case, Lake Garda is one of the numerous lakes that are said to harbor some kind of mysterious monster, which has been compared to bear, serpents, and even dinosaurs.
5. One of the Candidates Was an Adriatic Sturgeon
One of the proposed candidates for the Lake Garda Monster was an Adriatic sturgeon. For those who are curious, Adriatic sturgeons are considered to be critically endangered, so much so that they are actually functionally extinct out in the wilderness. However, Adriatic sturgeons can be bred in captivity, which is why there is a captive breeding program that has been releasing them into the wild in the vicinity of Lake Garda. Since Adriatic sturgeon can reach a maximum length of 2 meter, it is no wonder that it became one of the proposed candidates for the animal behind the Lake Garda Monster stories.
6. Second Episode Focused on the Disappearance of the King Salmon
Meanwhile, the second episode of Dark Waters saw Wade heading to the state of Alaska to look into the disappearance of the King Salmon. Said species is called thus because of a couple of factors. One would be their exceptional size, with some adults managing to reach a length of 1.5 meters. The other would be their flavorfulness, which makes them a very popular catch.
7. The King Salmon Has Been Disappearing Everywhere
With that said, the King Salmon has been disappearing everywhere. In fact, there are some estimates that the species has disappeared from as much as 40 percent of their historic range outside of Alaska. The causes for this phenomenon include but are not limited to overfishing, loss of habitat, and even poor ocean conditions, which have combined to put the King Salmon under serious pressure.
8. Wade Has Spoken About the Element of Desperation in Filming
In an interview with USA Today, Wade spoke about the element of desperation that sometimes showed up in the filming for his shows. Essentially, he might have an idea about what is going on at the places that he is filming, but that isn’t enough because he needs to be able to capture it on film. Moreover, even if he can get it on film, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the whole process is going to proceed perfectly smoothly, meaning that there can be a real element of desperation at times.
9. Wade Believes that Underwater Stories Are Caused By the Unknown
On a related note, Wade has stated that he believes that there are so many stories about what can be found beneath the waves because the underwater world is such a mystery to us. Simply put, when people don’t know what can actually be found underwater, their minds are likely to populate it with the products of their imagination. Sometimes, those products will become mixed up with the short glimpses that people catch of the things that really do exist, which can give rise to even more curious creations.
10. Wade Sees Value in the Cultural Practices that He Has Encountered
Besides this, Wade has observed a lot of common elements in the cultural practices relating to the waters that he come upon in his travels. One would be the idea of protecting people, which makes sense because the water can be very dangerous. Another would be the idea of showing respect to the environment, without which people will lose the protection offered to them by the local spirits. Wade stated that he has been asked about why he shows such encounters on the TV screen, to which he responded that he thinks that they show a kind of wisdom that has been forgotten for the most part by people living in heavily urbanized areas in developed countries.
Follow Us
