BEAST HUNTER: Mongolian Death Worm

National Geographic Channel - Original Air Date: 3/25/11

Pat Spain heads to Mongolia to check out the legendary Death Worm.  Mongolia is about the size of Alaska, but with a population of only 3 million, it's the most sparsely populated country on earth.  Basically, there's a lot of empty ground to cover.  Pat talks to the locals and hears the legends of the worm; lots of eyewitness accounts -- even one from close range -- but no actual bodies or other evidence.  As pointed out earlier, Mongolia is big and has a history of mysterious creatures -- including a toad that lives underground 300 days a year -- and amazing paleontological finds, such as the first dinosaur eggs.

Pat pokes around with the local fauna, and hangs with the nomadic peoples, and speculates about what might lie at the bottom of the fantastic myths about this creature.  Could such a poisonous and/or electric creature exist?  His camera traps, set in hopes of catching the creature, show something very mysterious -- which, once viewed completely, turns out to be a close-up of a cow.  "A perfect example of seeing a common animal from a different angle, out of context, and being totally confused by what it could be."  Pat speculates this is what is happening with the local people, though there may be some kind of creature that's causing these legends to spring up.  Whether the creature exists in modern times remains in question.