Review: Monster Quest 1-16-08

This was a pretty good episode, about the Orang Pendek (Indonesian for "short person" describing a creature which only reaches heights of about 3 feet tall) seen on the island of Sumatra, which has been witnessed by locals and also by Debbie Martyr, a scientist, as well as tracks of the mysterious but short creature being found and cast, one of which was sent to Dr. Jeff Meldrum, who examines the cast. A team is sent into the area to find evidence of the creature. The creature is also somewhat tied to the real hobbit, the Homo Floresiensis of the island of Flores. Apparently, in Vietnam, similar creatures were seen by American GIs as well. Team member Jeremy Holden who is a photographer wants to get a photo of the mysterious creature. Game cams are set up for just that purpose in the jungle. Food sources are also examined as possible sustenance for not only the mysterious biped, but any jungle animal. It is somewhat speculated that orangutans may be responsible for some of the sightings, but the only problem with that is that orangutans are not known to live in that part of the island. The team also finds bones of a deer and also a pig which was killed by a tiger close to the camp, which concerns the team. Skeptics point out that the munjab or sun bear might be mistaken for the Orang Pendek. Allegedly, when explorer Marco Polo visited Sumatra in 1295, the villagers presented him with a small apelike man. Apparently, Holden has also had a sighting of the mysterious biped. According to Holden, the creature he saw could not have been mistaken for an orangutan because it seemed more at home walking on two legs and not four. Both Holden and Martyr had cameras around their necks in their encounters but did not think to pick them up and take a photo of the creature. The footprints apparently have an opposable thumb as well, which might indicate something more humanlike than apelike. A few prints are found in the same area where prints were found in 2001, and at least three are cast, and they are sent to Dr. Meldrum. It is team member Adam Davies who finds these tracks. Davies had found the tracks in 2001. Two casts appear to be ready for Virtual examination, where Dr. Meldrum will get 3-D perspectives on them. I will not reveal too much more, but it is a rather interesting episode, a step up from last week's on Rods. Next week is the Season Finale about American Werewolves and Dogmen, 10:00 EST/9:00 Central on the History Channel. Check local listings for time and channel.