MonsterQuest IV ~ 2010
Posted by: Loren Coleman on December 29th, 2009
In a Cryptomundo Exclusive, here is breaking news about what is in store for Season IV on the extremely popular program, “MonsterQuest,” on History, from Executive Producer Doug Hajicek and Senior Producer Will Yates.
The season kicks off with a very special two hour season premiere on Wednesday January 13th 2010 at 9pm eastern (8pm CST).
This fourth season is one of their most exciting to date, they report, and has more encounters with monstrous creatures than ever before. From deadly and giant great white sharks that the team encounter up close to a mystery beast whose howls are recorded on tape just moments before it attacks a MQ crew, this year will be a rollercoaster ride, they tell me.
Here is an exclusive overview of the first five programs.
JAWS: THE SILENT KILLER
Great white sharks are the ocean’s deadliest killers and as they swim closer to our beaches, attacks against humans are on the rise. MonsterQuest leads an expedition to tag the first great white in the Atlantic and divers attach a camera to a live great white shark to examine why these monsters are becoming more aggressive predators.
HILLBILLY BEAST
Legends of a terrifying monster lurking in the back hills of Kentucky date back to the days of frontiersman Daniel Boone, but encounters with this mystery beast are increasing. Witnesses report alleged attacks by the creature and the sounds of ferocious screams from the wilderness. New photographic evidence may hold the key to uncovering the mystery. The MonsterQuest team goes on location to analyze the evidence, and heads deep into the dark forests, where they have their own frightening encounter.
GIANT KILLER BEES
More than 50 years ago, South American scientists attempted to cross-breed bees that would produce more honey than ever before possible. But instead, they created a monster. Today, these giant bees are on the loose, spreading northward and invading US cities. MonsterQuest examines how these killer bees attack with an unseen ferocity and discovers that the bees may be adapting to colder temperatures, making them an even greater threat.
MOTHMAN
In 1967, a giant winged monster reportedly terrorized the skies over a small town in West Virginia, ending in a tragic bridge collapse that claimed forty-six lives. Since then, the Mothman, as the beast was known, has become an omen of doom and death. With new sightings across America today, this creature may be returning. In a search for answers, MonsterQuest will use night time surveillance, perception tests and forensic sketching to determine if the beast is myth or frightening reality.
GIANT PYTHONS IN AMERICA
A deadly, slithering menace is taking over Florida and may be heading north. For more than 100 years, giant pythons have been discovered in parts of the Sunshine State, but since Hurricane Andrew in 1992, their territory has rapidly spread. Now, MonsterQuest searches for incursions in the outskirts of Miami, a population hotspot that is just moments from schools and homes. The team investigates whether pythons could hybridize and adapt, enabling them to threaten every state in the US.
About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct).
Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015.
Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.
Great White Sharks? Really?
Face>Palm.
Ditto with the snakes. The rest sounds interesting.
I can’t wait!!!!!! So excited! Just got seasons 1-3 on DVD for xmas.
I just wanted to add a note about the invasive boids in the Everglades. There is a more and more increasing panicmongering, especially in the internet, that the most common invasive species, burmese pythons and rock pythons, could interbreed and produce giant offspring. Actually this will most probably be not the case. In some interspecific crossbreeds hybrids show heterosis effects which lead to an increased growth, which is for example known from ligers (male lion X tigress). But this is not always the case. Hybrids of donkeys and horses for example generally stay smaller than the parental species, or in the case of tigons (male tiger X lioness) they stay even much smaller than the parental species. Hybrid vigour which results in increased size is actually not that common for crossbreeds at all. In hybrids between rock pythons and burmese pythons this is the case too. Both species were already crossbreed in captivity, and the hybrids stay much smaller than both rock pythons and burmese pythons. Actually this needed only some minutes of research in the internet, so I ask me why so many journalists seems to unable to find this information too. Perhaps they are not willed to find it.
Since when did killer bees – more correctly, “Africanized honey bees” – become “Giants?” Everything I’ve read indicates the hybrids, while admittedly more aggressive in the protection of their hives, are nearly indistinguishable, in terms of size, from native bee species.
Guess you can always count on MQ to Supersize the hype…
I have to say, I’m a little disappointed. If I wanted to watch a show about sharks, I’d watch Animal Planet. The same goes for the snakes and the bees. Isn’t the snakes episode, re-hashed material anyway? I could swear they already did an episode about pythons in Florida. I am looking very forward to the “Hillbilly Beast” and the “Mothman”. I would just like to see more episodes about true cryptids like Memphre, Isshii, Nahuelito and the Honey Island Swamp Monster. To me, the sharks, bees and snakes are just glorified nature programs.
Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but hasn’t MQ already done an episode about giant snakes? And I’m with arewethereyeti (great username, btew): I haven’t heard anything about “giant killer bees”.
The Mothman episode sounds like it might be interesting, but otherwise, the new season doesn’t do much for me.
It seems like they’re going for some more mundane(relatively speaking) creatures in an effort to get some actual results, as opposed to the wild goose chase that usually leads nowhere.
The previous snake episode focused on the anaconda in the Amazon and lightly paid attention to the out-of-place pythons in Florida. This newer episode is a spin-off I guess. Their Sharks in Illinois episode was great, but I don’t quite understand the hook for this Great White episode. What’s so unusual about Great whites attacking people. Sounds pretty mundane to me. I’m actually looking forward to the killer bee episode, but I’m also confused by how they are giants.
Finally,the Mothman! Of course yet another Bigfoot episode, but they can be fun too. This sneak peek is frustrating. What “real” cryptids are going to be on this season? Is it more already known animals or will they finally focus on some more obscure cryptids like Lizardman, hibagon, and the ahool?
He, guess I wasn’t the only one who cringed at the thought of calling a great white shark a ‘monster’. After all we’ve done to those poor fellows, and all we owe to them in terms to keeping a healthy balance in the marine diversity, and we’re still calling a shark a monster, in this space year of 2010?
Yes, I know the Monsterquest folks need to sell their show, but still…
Oh, and I agree that the Mothman episode looks as the most exciting one so far.
PS: and all that hype about the Burmese pythons almost makes me want to wish Jack Black makes a comedy movie about a gang of Mexican traffickers that try to use those big reptiles to move their dope, ‘mary-full-of-grace’ style. Now THAT would be the Homeland Security’s worst nightmare!! 😛
Looking forward to MQ in 2010—but I have to agree with AREWETHEREYETI (And I agree—Great Name)—I’ve never heard of “Giant” Africanized Bees—must have missed my radar and other people’s. The Sharks episode also sounds like something more appropriate to Animal Planet than MQ. So I agree with you there, CRYPTIDCRAZY.
Still—
The Mothman episode is long overdue. More “Fortean” than truly Cryptozoological, but I’m not complaining. The rest sounds Great as well. 🙂
How about some of the smaller critters or lesser well known ones like Vietnamese Bat People or killer mermaids or even the Seattle Kangahippomouse?
I swear, sharks and giant snakes are going to do to Monsterquest what too many UFO episodes did to the X-Files.
MQ must be running out of cryptids to search for. I’ve had my fill of Great Whites on “Shark Week”, “Mythtbusters” and “Survivorman” just to name a few. Of course the supposedly long extinct Megalodon showing up would prove to be very interesting. “Mothman” and “Hillbilly Beast” should be worth watching. Anyway I hope 2010 turns out be decent year for cryptid investigations. Happy New Year everyone!