Review: Monsterquest 4-29-09

On Monsterquest, the main focus was what is known as "water apes", Sasquatch on Vancouver Island, which examines the possibility of these creatures swimming from Vancouver Island to the mainland of British Columbia. Several well-known Sasquatch personalities are featured on this episode, such as Dr. John Bindernagel, who lives on the island who gives his assessments of the sightings and the history. Thomas Steenburg and Richard Noll team up to search for evidence on the island. A wildlife biologist talks about his skeptical bent on whether or not such creatures could survive on the island; he also shows a rather interesting video of bears swimming in the Pacific from the island to the mainland, as well as showing apes swimming such as orangutans and monkeys, which somewhat negates the old myth that apes can't swim. Bindernagel is joined by a forensic podiatrist from the U.S. who examines his track casts and is rather open-minded about the possibility of them being from an unknown primate. Noll and Steenburg use different methods to attract some Sasquatch to in front of cameras, such as using fresh clams which the Sasquatch is known to eat. There is also a sighting recounted from 1901 in which a man was going to shoot a Sasquatch which was drinking from a stream because he thought it to be a bear, but when it stood upright, he changed his mind. Several encounters are recounted and witnesses interviewed, more methods of attracting Sasquatch are employed and the results are...well, I won't spoil it for you. A really good episode, I would give it a 4 1/2 out of 5 stars. Next week is a sequel to a Season 1 episode, titled Gigantic Killer Fish II, beginning at 9:00 EST/8:00 Central on History. Check local listings for time and channel.