60 Minutes (1968) s45e22 Episode Script

Since he's been in power in Russia, Vladimir Putin has steadily cracked-down on democratic freedoms and the protesters who support them - a crackdown that intensified after his reelection as president a year ago.
Nothing symbolizes this better than the arrest last March of a group of young feminists after they staged a protest against Putin in Moscow's largest cathedral.
It got a lot of attention, since the Orthodox Church is one of the most revered institutions in post-Soviet Russia.
The young women have become the poster girls of Russian dissent, unlikely considering they're a punk band on YouTube that makes lewd gestures in cartoonish get-ups.
Most of what they do is deliberately offensive; it might offend you -- like, for starters, their obscene, but attention-grabbing name: Pussy Riot.
This is what got them arrested.
Five girls in the church, in their trademark masks called balaklavas praying to the Virgin Mary to drive Putin away.
Using vile obscenities, they blast Putin for limiting freedoms and jailing protesters.
The whole thing lasts only 51 seconds before they're shut down.
It looked silly like a prank, which made the harsh punishments seem so out of proportion: two of them were sent to labor camps for this.
Now a year later, we tracked down the other three who were at the church.
Two are in hiding; Katya Samutsevich isn't.
She was put on trial and convicted, but released after seven months because she never actually danced on the altar.
That's her that day in white.
Lesley Stahl: Do you have any regrets about what happened that day? Katya Samutsevich: No, of course not.
Look what's happened.
Since the election, Putin has brought in a new level of repressive government measures in Russia.
She says they chose Moscow's biggest Russian Orthodox cathedral because in last year's election the patriarch called Putin a miracle from God.
Katya Samutsevichl: The elections weren't legitimate.
There was vote rigging.
There was false counting.
It was clear that the president put himself in power.
Lesley Stahl: But are you advocating the overthrow of this government here? Katya Samutsevichl: Yes.
We want the government to leave power, because we consider it illegitimate.
But we're advocating for a peaceful overthrow.
The band members are idealistic and braveand well-educated.
Katya is a computer engineer.
She was living at home with her dad and working in a government arms plant when she decided to become a political provocateur.
She began with anti-authority stunts, like surprising female cops by kissing them, then posting the video online.
Her partner in crime was Nadia Tolokonnikova, a philosophy student and seasoned agitator.
They formed their punk band as Moscow was boiling over with protests in 2011, after Putin announced his bid for reelection.
It was Russia's "Arab Spring" and the band, made up of 12 or so feminists who call themselves girls or "devooshky" - set out to change the world.
They staged public disturbances like this one in the middle of Red Square, right under the Kremlin, howling, "Riot! Riot!" Shouting a profanity: that Putin was so scared of protesters - quote: "he peed in his pants.
" Lesley Stahl: Here you girls are, you're clearly really intelligent and you put on these crude, almost juvenile acts.
Katya Samutsevichl: This is the language we've chosen, the language of punk.
It's not highly intellectual.
It's intentionally lowered, dumbed-down.
We've chosen this specific kind of language to attract attention.
The Kremlin didn't pay much attention until the church performance, because that went viral.
Katya, Nadia and another girl, Maria Alyokhina were arrested, and they quickly became a cause celebre.
South Park, Amnesty International, Madonna pled for their release.
Their supporters, like chessmaster Garry Kasparov who's been arrested many times for protesting against Putin, thought the case was trumped up.
Lesley Stahl: A lot of people I know who you would respect think that to be obscene in a church on the altar was a step too far.
Garry Kasparov: It was not a blasphemy.
They asked Virgin Mary to kick out the dictator.
I believe it was an act of civil courage.
And they were exercising their rights.
Lesley Stahl: But the words were offensive.
They cussed.
Garry Kasparov: The words were offensive for Putin and for patriarch, and I believe they both deserved it.
But what exactly was the crime the band committed? Sergei Markov, an academic who serves as a political spokesman for Putin, says authorities had trouble coming up with one.
Lesley Stahl: What exact law did they break? You know, some people say all they did was sing a song.
They didn't even sing it.
They lip-synced it.
Sergei Markov: On this issue, that's right.
It's the problem with-- to find the law.
Finally, the court found the law.
What they found was the charge of "hooliganism motivated by religious hate" because the girls were disrespectful to the church and Markov says if they had not been given a substantial sentence believers would have rioted.
Lesley Stahl: Did the authorities intervene and say, "Give them a harsh penalty, much harsher than they deserve because of a fear of violence?" Sergei Markov: Absolutely.
Lesley Stahl: But is that right? Do you think that's right to stretch the law? Sergei Markov: It's duty of authorities to stop the violence.
Lesley Stahl: But there hadn't been any violence.
You're predicting-- Sergei Markov: No, no.
It's a very clear prediction.
In their trial the girls were defiant, Nadia pumping her fist as she was led into court.
If Putin gave them a stage, they were going to use it.
Lesley Stahl: Did you ever consider begging for forgiveness, throwing yourself at the mercy of the court? Katya Samutsevichl: No.
The whole process was so unfair to us from the beginning.
It's strange when you're innocent.
Are you supposed to ask for forgiveness from the judge who's ready to put you away for several years? No, this wasn't even discussed.
Lesley Stahl: Were you in the courtroom? Pyotr Verzilov: Yes.
Lesley Stahl: All the time? Pyotr Verzilov: Basically every day.
Pyotr Verzilov, Nadia's husband and fellow political activist, saw his wife and the other two on display, in a cage, an eerie echo of a Soviet show trial.
When the verdict came, it was a jolt: two years in prison.
Pyotr Verzilov: For me, it was obviously shock.
Lesley Stahl: That's the last thing you expected.
Pyotr Verzilov: Yes.
Lesley Stahl: What about the girls? Pyotr Verzilov: Well the girls were smiling when it happened.
Lesley Stahl: They were smiling? Pyotr Verzilov: When you're really put in a helpless situation, when you understand that your life is decided by political motives and a lot of people really do understand that you're fighting for the good cause, the best thing you can do is actually smile.
Katya was released, but Maria and Nadia, both young mothers of toddlers, were sent to faraway penal colonies.
When the verdict was read, protests erupted outside the courtroom, Garry Kasparov and two dozen others were arrested.
Lesley Stahl: Is this case of this punk rock group, is it really significant? Is it important? Garry Kasparov: I think it is.
Any attack on Putin is now a crime.
Russia is now it's-- you may call it a modern dictatorship because, you know, attacking the ruler becomes-- can be punished by the criminal court.
Lesley Stahl: And they represent that shift.
Garry Kasparov: Yes.
They exposed it.
Lesley Stahl: What was it about them that drew so much attention? Garry Kasparov: You may say whatever you want about their performance, but it was innocuous.
It was not threatening.
And the state machine, KGB, Church, you know, all going after them.
I think it's just, you know, there's some sort of a version of-- it's not even David - Goliath.
Just you know, Goliath versus girls.
That was not lost on those close to Putin.
Lesley Stahl: It looked like a very heavy-handed action against these weak, little girls.
Way over-reaction.
Sergei Markov: Ya, we know this.
Lesley Stahl: And no one cares? Sergei Markov: No no no.
We care about this.
Lesley Stahl: The image-- Sergei Markov: Yeah, we doesn't like such awful image of Russia because it create problems for us.
This image doesn't allow millions of Russians who want to travel to Germany, Italy, France and to have vacations there easily, they don't allow to do this.
It stops investments to Russian economy.
Lesley Stahl: All because of the trial? Sergei Markov: Yes of course because bad image.
Lesley Stahl: All 'cause of the trial of those girls? Sergei Markov: Of course, but we have to do because we have to protect ourselves because if we will be weak, our image will be even worse.
It doesn't help the image that Nadia and Maria are suffering in harsh prison conditions: Maria is in perm, where temperatures can dip to 50 below zero.
Back in Moscow, her husband is raising their 5-year-old son alone.
We accompanied Nadya's husband Pyotr on a 7-hour drive to Mordovia to see her.
He says she works grueling shifts sewing uniforms and that she's seen their 5-year-old daughter Gera only once.
Lesley Stahl: Did you and Nadia talk about your child and the consequences? I'm talking about beforehand, the consequences of this little girl being raised without her mother.
Pyotr Verzilov: Well, obviously we did talk about that enormously.
But if you really want to change history, you have to be able to put everything you have on the line, and then you do have a chance of changing it.
I mean, changing history is not a hobby.
It's not something you can take part-time.
But there were four girls on the altar that day: what happened to the other two? Well, they went into hiding, we found one of them still hiding in Moscow a year later.
Lesley Stahl: So what do they call you? Kot: Kot.
Lesley Stahl: Kot.
You're the drummer in the group.
Are you good? Kot: Ynnhha.
Kot agreed to go on television for the first time, though only in disguised voice and balaklava.
She wanted to show us that the band still exists, so she led us into a netherworld where some members of the band get together.
She says very few people know her identity.
Lesley Stahl: Do your parents know that you're in the protest? Kot: They know.
They're not really happy about it.
My dad, he's religious.
He thought what we did it was sort of an anti-Christ kind of act.
She had managed to dodge the authorities after the performance by hiding in the rat-infested music studio where they had recorded the song that got her band mates arrested.
Kot believes she will be left alone now, as long as she keeps a low profile.
Lesley Stahl: Are you at all worried that just giving us this interview will be seen as a protest? Kot: I'm a little worried.
It's a feeling similar to what I had before the performances we did.
Lesley Stahl: Do you want it to be seen as a protest? Kot: I do.
I want this.
I'm here to say you shouldn't give up.
What happened to us is unacceptable.
It's been a year.
President Putin is firmly back in power with solid public support.
As for the opposition: several organizers of last year's protests are facing prosecution.
Nadya and Maria are soon up for parole, but the band has not staged a single action since the trial, and their videos are now banned.
Lesley Stahl: Mr.
Putin seems stronger than ever.
There are new laws against dissent.
It sounds like it was David and Goliath and Goliath won.
Katya Samutsevichl: I don't think it's like that.
It's a fight, it's an ongoing fight.
Just because there was a court case doesn't mean that we're going to stop and shut our mouths.
We have a lot of things to say.
We're going to continue to work, continue to do what we do.
So the battle of Goliath and the girls goes on, but like a Russian novel, it's complicated.
The polls show that most Russians were offended by that dance on the altar, but most also think the punishment was way too severe.
A little more than a decade ago, Brian Banks was a star linebacker at Poly Tech High School in Long Beach, California.
A well-known football powerhouse that's sent dozens of players to the National Football League.
He was being recruited by the best college teams in the nation, dreaming of an NFL career of his own.
But then, in the course of a single afternoon, his life changed forever and eventually the for raping and kidnapping a female classmate.
However, even though he pled no contest, we now know that Brian was innocent.
It's a story that 60 Minutes has been following for close to a year, and as you're about to hear, almost nothing about Brian Banks' story -- beginning, middle, or end -- is what you'd expect.
Last May, like every other team in the National Football League, the Seattle Seahawks held a spring mini-training camp for players with hopes of making the roster in the fall.
[Ken Norton, Jr.
: Let's go, quick, quick, quick! Run it time, let's go!.]
Amid the many long shots, one player, in the number 43 jersey, stood out because Brian Banks had not played organized football in Brian Banks: To have my name on the back of this jersey, to be a part of this team for a day, it was more than I could ever imagine.
The last time Brian played football, he was in high school.
And he was so good, that as a sophomore, scouts from USC had spotted him at a camp, and soon, the team's head coach, Pete Carroll, got in touch.
Brian Banks: I received a phone call from Coach Carroll.
"We're offering you a chance to come play for us.
" And I gave 'em a verbal agreement saying, "I'd love to.
" Everything seemed to be lining up for Brian.
Until one day at school, he was hanging out with a girl he'd known for years.
Her name was Wanetta Gibson.
What happened next changed the course of Brian Banks' life forever.
Brian Banks: We made our way to this area, and pretty much began making out.
You know, we kissed.
We touched.
But we never had sex.
James Brown: No argument? No-- Brian Banks: No argument-- we actually ended on a good note, where, you know, I was making jokes, and, you know, she smiled.
And everything just seemed normal.
Everything seemed OK.
But it wasn't.
By the end of the day, Brian Banks was sitting in jail, charged with two counts of forcible rape and kidnapping Wanetta Gibson.
He was kicked off the football team and expelled from school with all hope of a scholarship, and NFL career, suddenly vanished.
The only thing he could do was fight for his innocence and the only person who was in his corner was his mother, Leomia Myers, who sold her house and car to pay for a lawyer.
Leomia Myers: I consider it doing what a mother should do.
Initially, Brian's prospects appeared to be looking up: DNA samples from the L.
A.
County Sheriff's Office came back negative - as he insisted they would.
Unable to make a million dollar bail, Brian waited for a trial for a year behind bars.
As his day in court approached, Brian says that his lawyer feared that he wouldn't get a fair trial, based on his age, size & race.
So she, an African-American herself, convinced Brian to plead no contest to a crime he insisted he didn't commit.
His plea meant he'd avoid a possible 41 years in jail, but he was agreeing to a deal that included a sentence of anywhere from 18 months to five years, and Brian received the maximum.
Brian Banks: I remember leaving that courtroom and going back into a holding cell and just being angry at the world.
In addition to the criminal prosecution of the case, Wanetta Gibson sued the school system for a lack of security, winning a $1.
5 million settlement.
In 2007, after five years at Chino State Prison, Brian finally got out of jail at age 22, after serving 85 percent of his sentence.
But, he was still required to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet and, for the rest of his life, register as a sex offender wherever he lived.
Then last year came a turn he never could have expected when one day, searching for work online, he got a friend request on his Facebook page.
It was Wanetta Gibson, the same woman who had accused him of raping her.
Brian Banks: And I immediately just-- I froze.
And I didn't accept the request.
Instead, I sent a message to her.
And my message asked her, "Why would you friend request me?" And she replied back that she was hoping that we could allow bygones to be bygones.
She was really adamant about wanting to see me and wanting to hang out.
It wasn't about wanting to help.
It was more of wanting to reconnect.
James Brown: Hang out? Brian Banks: Yep.
"What you been up to? What are you doing tonight? What are you doing tomorrow? Let's hang out.
" Brian was in disbelief.
But he also knew instantly what kind of opportunity this might be.
And with the help of a friend's father, a private investigator, they set up a meeting with hidden cameras.
James Brown: You were surprised that she showed up? Brian Banks: Very much surprised.
With the cameras rolling, Brian asked for her for help in getting exonerated, and here's how she responded.
[Wanetta Gibson: I mean, I will go through with helping you, but at the same time - all that money they gave us - I mean, gave me - I'm not going to give back that would take a long time.
.]
Though Wanetta admitted to not wanting to give back the money she won in her civil lawsuit against the school, she was willing to meet a second time and it was then that Brian and the investigator worked to get the ultimate admission on tape.
[Detective: He's accused of rape, he's accused of kidnapping Wanetta Gibson: A lot of stuff.
Detective: Yeah, and I just need to hear from you that those things -- and I'll put it all in the piece of paper -- and I'll meet up with you and we'll go from there Wanetta Gibson: You want me to say it now? Detective: Just so I could- did he rape you? Wanetta Gibson: No, he did not rape me.
Detective: Did he kidnap you? Wanetta Gibson: No.
.]
Brian Banks: "We got it.
" Just, "The truth is out.
The truth is out.
" I honestly wanted to stand up and walk out of there, there was nothing else to talk about.
[Judge: Brian Banks, Case number NA05491.]
And with the help of the California Innocence Project, Brian took the taped confession to the district attorney's office, who viewed the new evidence, met with Wanetta Gibson, and agreed to recommend to the judge that Brian be exonerated.
[Daniel Ferreira: The people's motion to dismiss this case pursuant to Section 13 Judge: Anything else? Daniel Ferreira:: Nothing.]
At that moment, a 10-year nightmare was over for both Brian and his mother.
Leomia Myers: I wanted to scream and shout for joy.
I just slouched in my chair and cried.
I was just so happy, so happy.
That he was free.
Because he wasn't free before.
You're not free when you have an ankle bracelet on your ankle.
It was like your shackle.
You're not free when you can't go to a park, or you can't go to your niece's birthday party because of other kids are around.
You're not free.
Just to see him in the courtroom and the way he responded, it was the best news I've ever had.
The best news that I've-- that I've ever had.
And I'm just so thankful to God that he's free.
Outside the courtroom, Brian and his defense team celebrated and Deputy District Attorney Daniel Ferreira explained the court's decision Daniel Ferreira: We believe the recantations of the witness, we do not believe Mr.
Banks did the crime that he plead guilty to, and therefore, justice has been served.
Banks went straight home that night where, as this cellphone video shows, he wasted no time in getting rid of the device that he had been wearing for five straight years.
Brian Banks' original defense attorney, Elizabeth Harris, declined to talk to 60 Minutes as did Wanetta Gibson who has not returned the money she won in her lawsuit.
For its part, the school district has not reached out to get it back.
James Brown: You still have no hopes or desires that she be gone after aggressively? Brian Banks: No.
None whatsoever.
James Brown: Why not? Brian Banks: My main focus has just been on me.
And from day one, that focus meant football - even if now, playing in the NFL was more of a long shot than ever.
But the next turn his story took was another dose of the improbable.
Brian Banks: A few days after I was exonerated, I got a phone call from a 213 number.
I'm, like, "Hello.
" And the voice on the other end goes, "Yeah, I'm looking for a linebacker.
You know where I can find one?" I said, "Yeah, yeah, you got the right number, but who is this?" And he says, "It's Coach Carroll.
" The same Coach Carroll who'd been interested in Banks ten years earlier as head coach at USC.
Now, Pete Carroll was coaching the Seattle Seahawks and he had a crazy idea: extend an invitation to Brian - who hadn't played football since his junior year of high school - to try out for his NFL team.
Pete Carroll: Well I told him how I-- what a shot in the dark this was for him, such a long shot.
You know, our guys have prepared their whole lives and never missed a beat and he missed 10 years.
But Carroll felt Banks deserved a chance which is how - just 14 days after leaving the California courtroom - he found himself in Seattle this past June alongside dozens of other Seahawk hopefuls under the watchful eye of Pete Carroll and his staff, which included former NFL all-pro Ken Norton, Jr.
[Ken Norton, Jr.
: Spin out when you come at me!! You can't be in the back of the group!.]
The hurdles weren't just physical, there was also the matter of making up for lost time in the film room.
[Ken Norton, Jr.
: You cheat to the offset back really good.
.]
[Ken Norton, Jr.
: It's all about the eyes.
Once a running back sees you running real fast to the left, he's going to cut back, he's not going to run right to you.
Seattle was one of six NFL teams that gave Banks a tryout, but ultimately, he didn't make it onto any NFL rosters.
Pete Carroll: I was hoping-- I was really hopeful that something good was going to happen.
But in the workout, you could see that he just couldn't make up the ground.
And those He may not have been able to get past an NFL practice field, but that wasn't the end of Brian Banks' football season.
Because there was another pro team interested in giving him a shot: the Las Vegas Locos, part of the fledgling "United Football League.
" And that's how in September, there was Brian Banks on the Locos opening kickoff of the season.
Brian Banks: I ran down the field and got blindsided and got knocked out of bounds.
And I got up and I was just like, "Yeah, I'm playing football.
" The United Football League ended up folding in October and Brian Banks still hasn't gotten a paycheck.
But that didn't put "too much" of a damper on the experience of being a professional football player.
Today, at 27, Brian Banks hasn't given up on his hope to play someday in the National Football League.
And, at this moment, Banks is in negotiations with several NFL teams for this upcoming season.
Brian Banks: If it doesn't happen, it doesn't define me.
If it does happen, it doesn't define me, regardless of how things end, I'm good.
I've already won.
Of all the different species of crocodiles in the world, Africa's Nile crocodile is the most dangerous and deadly.
They can grow up to 20 feet long, weigh as much as a car, and bite as hard as a Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Crocodiles are prehistoric creatures that have been around since the time of dinosaurs, but we still don't know a lot about them because studying them up close on land is treacherous, and underwater has always thought to be impossible.
Now two wildlife filmmakers in Botswana in Southern Africa have found a way to get up close to crocs in the murky water of the Okavango Delta.
The images they've captured are some of the most remarkable wildlife scenes we've ever seen.
The Okavango Delta has been called one of the last Eden's on earth.
The hundreds of miles of winding waterways and untouched islands are home to some of Africa's most exotic and enchanting wildlife.
It's also home to thousands of Nile crocodiles.
For the last five years, Brad Bestelink and his wife, Andy Crawford, have been risking their lives filming these man-eaters in the most daring way imaginable: following the crocodiles into their underwater lairs.
It is a dark and foreboding world down there, visibility is sometimes only a few feet and you can't even see the crocodiles until you catch a glimpse of their long rows of razor sharp white teeth.
Anderson Cooper: How did you know you could do this? Brad Bestelink: We were next to a ledge.
And this crocodile swam out.
And actually swam between us.
And then settled on the ground next to us.
Anderson Cooper: What first went through your mind? Andy Crawford: Well, just lots of bubbles? Brad Bestelink: Bubbles.
Andy Crawford: And just panic.
The panic was understandable.
Nile crocodiles are Africa's largest and most feared predator but surprisingly this one didn't attack.
Brad and Andy have been getting closer and closer to these creatures ever since.
Brad Bestelink: You do get a different sense of them.
They look very beautiful underwater.
They're dappled and gold and black.
And you see them as more timid I think.
Beyond the teeth and the terror there's this incredible creature that is actually an amazing animal in its own right.
Anderson Cooper: You actually think they're beautiful.
Andy Crawford: I do think they're beautiful.
I never used to think they were beautiful.
But this is a whole different view of them.
This is the view most people have of Nile crocodiles.
Patient and stealthy killers, they grab their prey, drag them into the water then drown and dismember them.
And it's not just animals they eat, hundreds of people in Africa are killed each year while bathing, laundering clothes, or fishing along the waters' edge.
Nile crocodiles are now protected in Botswana, but Brad and Andy believe more needs to be known about their behavior in part so that humans can better avoid them.
They've invited Dr.
Adam Britton, an Australian zoologist, to dive with them.
Anderson Cooper: When you first heard about what they were doing here, what did you think? Adam Britton: Look, I'll be honest.
When I first heard about this, my instant, immediate reaction was "That sounds crazy.
" Doctor Britton has been studying crocodiles for more than 18 years.
Adam Britton: I describe crocodile like Ferraris.
They're just extremely finely honed creatures.
They are just perfectly adapted to do what they do.
They're, you know, the smartest of all the reptiles.
Britton is building a genetic database on Nile crocodiles in the Delta to better understand how to protect them.
For years the only way to study them up close was to capture them.
Brad Bestelink: Croc on.
So once I've got him by the mouth It is difficult, dangerous work.
Adam Britton: Sit on him, get his legs back.
Pin his legs between his knees as well.
He's got no leverage.
Anderson Cooper: So what are you doing now? Adam Britton: I am just going to cover his eyes so that he can't see what we're doing.
Anderson Cooper: So he's not injured at all? Adam Britton: No, no, he's not injured at all, apart from his pride perhaps.
This crocodile is not sedated.
It's simply trying to conserve its energy.
Anderson Cooper: Why are you doing this? Adam Britton: If we can get a sample of all the DNA from every single crocodile across the Delta then we can start to build up a picture then of exactly, not only where these crocodiles came from, but how they're moving within the Delta.
Anderson Cooper: Because right now you don't really know that? Adam Britton: No one knows anything about that.
Anderson Cooper (on camera): When you actually see the crocodiles up close, there is a beauty to them.
Often in pictures they're covered in mud.
They look very drab.
But up close, you see the variety of color not just on the top, but also on the bottom.
And to the touch it's really-- there's a softness to them, particularly on the feet like this.
The claws are about an inch, an inch and a half.
But the pads of the feet are actually incredibly soft.
Capturing crocodiles is stressful for the animal and for us.
Putting them back in the water is just as hard.
Adam Britton: Keep pressing down Anderson on the top of the skull.
That's good.
Anderson Cooper: Noose ready to go.
Adam Britton: OK.
Three, two, one go.
Diving with Brad and Andy has given Dr.
Adam Britton a whole new understanding of crocodiles and their underwater world.
Adam Britton: You're in the water.
You've got the current washing over you.
You can feel the changes in temperature.
And you suddenly think, "This is what it's like to be a crocodile.
This crocodile is experiencing these same things.
" Britton has actually begun to take DNA samples from crocodiles underwater, cutting off pieces of their tales and, incredibly, they don't seem to mind.
Diving with Nile Crocodiles is only possible in the winter months when the water is chilly, and the animals are sluggish.
These cold blooded reptiles are far too dangerous to dive with in the summer.
Brad Bestelink: The crocs are much more active.
They're much more inclined to want to predate.
You know, I don't-- Anderson Cooper: Predate, attack.
Brad Bestelink: Attack, yeah.
They want to go and eat something.
Anderson Cooper: So, two months from now, three months from now, you would not dive in these waters.
Brad Bestelink: No.
No.
No, and I don't.
I don't want to die.
Make no mistake.
I do this because I get an understanding as to how these predators work.
Brad has spent his whole life around these predators.
He grew up here in the Delta, these home movies show his grandfather who was a legendary crocodile hunter.
Brad Bestelink: He hunted up here for 25 years, and I believe shot in excess of 30,000 crocodiles.
Anderson Cooper: Your grandfather killed about Brad Bestelink: Yup, more than what they estimate the entire population is today.
Brad and Andy offer to take me diving with them, explaining it's crucial to get off the surface of the water as quickly as possible because that is where crocs attack.
Andy Crawford: That's the most important thing.
Because as soon as you're underwater we believe the crocodiles don't know what we are.
They don't recognize us as prey.
Anderson Cooper: You say, "We believe.
" Do you know? Andy Crawford: We don't know it for sure.
We can never know how they're perceiving us.
We're trying to establish how they perceive us.
Anderson Cooper: You're not really building my confidence here by saying you're not sure.
What do I need to know before going in? Andy Crawford: Well, you need to know we believe you're safe.
With all that uncertainty, we believe you're safe.
Safe? Take a look at a recent encounter they had with a crocodile.
Brad Bestelink: You see how close he comes to me? Anderson Cooper: And look at the eye.
Brad Bestelink: Yah.
Anderson Cooper: And look at those teeth.
Those are huge.
Brad Bestelink: They are.
This crocodile was 12 feet long and weighed about 14 hundred pounds Brad Bestelink: And there's a diver.
And watch what he does.
Anderson Cooper: Oh my gosh.
Anderson Cooper: So but because the croc's moving, it doesn't even really sense that diver there.
Brad Bestelink: It didn't even know that he was there.
And you'll see how it just goes, it hits his light and squashes his light.
Anderson Cooper: So it just thinks that some-- Brad Bestelink: Yep.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Anderson Cooper: --debris or tree or something? That's amazing.
We set off early the next day.
It's an hour up river to a spot that has a lot of underwater caves.
Three divers will go in with me: Brad, cameraman Richard Uren and Andy.
She will be the safety diver watching our backs.
Male voice: I'll let you know that there's a croc if I see it first.
Andy Crawford: The sign of crocodile is that.
That's the sign-- Anderson Cooper: It's the international sign for crocodile? Female voice: That's the sign for-- well, it's a sign for crocodile.
Anderson Cooper: OK, OK, good.
Female voice: Brad does this.
Anderson Cooper: I didn't learn that in SCUBA school, they didn't teach that.
Andy Crawford: We're gonna give you one of these to dive with.
It makes you feel better.
It also gives you some barrier-- Anderson Cooper: Makes you feel better? That's really all it's for is just to make me feel better? Andy Crawford: Well, mainly that, and actually-- to actually anchor yourself in the current.
Anderson Cooper: Because no matter what, you do not want to drift onto -- Andy Crawford: You don't want to drift onto the crocodile.
As soon as the crocs see our boat they disappear.
We hope they've gone to the bottom to hide in underwater caves, but they might still be floating near the surface waiting to attack.
It's a very strange feeling before you go diving because you know there are crocodiles in the area but you don't see any on the surface.
The problem is as the boat comes in any motion on the surface does tend to attract crocodiles so you want to try to get here and into the water and to the bottom as quickly as possible.
We suit up, do our final checks and then take the plunge.
Brad Bestelink: Anderson good? OK.
We get to the river bottom as quickly as we can.
It's only about 15 feet deep.
Thankfully, the visibility is good and we find ourselves in a stunning underwater garden with overhanging ledges, walls of papyrus, submerged trees and lilies.
Anderson Cooper: We know there's at least one crocodile in this area because we saw the ripples on the water.
We believe it's gone into a nearby cave system and we are going to go into the caves right now to try to see if we can find it.
It's eerie and intimidating down here.
The only light comes from our cameras, and it's easy to lose your way.
Brad signals that he sees a crocodile.
At first I can't see anything, but then out of the darkness, on the floor of the cave, just as Brad warned, I see that gleaming row of white teeth.
Anderson Cooper: To finally see one.
It's amazing there's a beauty to it, but it's also incredibly intimidating.
You really have a sense when you're so close to it of just how strong it is.
And it looks right at you, and you know and it knows that it could attack you at any moment.
And there is nothing you can do about it.
The crocodile disappears into the darkness.
We push further into the cave.
It gets narrower and more claustrophobic as we move deeper into the gloom.
Then, lurking on a nearby ledge there's another crocodile.
Anderson Cooper: This crocodile is about nine feet long.
Its tail though makes up half its length.
Crocs have the amazing ability to actually slow their heart rate down and they can close off one of the valves in their heart, to stop the blood flow to some of its organs and allows them to stay underwater for hours at a time.
Anderson Cooper: It's amazing how close the crocodile is.
You can't tell if it's watching you or not.
Suddenly the crocodile backs away.
It's not taking its eyes off me.
I have no idea what it's going to do.
My heart is pounding.
Neither of us moves.
Then with a flick of his tail, he's off.
We move further through the undergrowth and find yet another crocodile.
This time it's facing me head on.
On the stick I'm holding I have a small camera and I move it closer to try and get a better shot.
I know I should be terrified but the truth is it's actually thrilling.
Anderson Cooper: It's extraordinary that I can get so close.
I'm literally looking at it right in the face, staring at it face to face.
The crocodile's front vision is not very good so this is actually a relatively safe place to be.
The crocodile is also laying low, which is a good sign.
If it felt threatened, it would rise up on its feet.
That would be an indication it might be ready to strike.
When it finally takes off, we start following it.
The crocodile is kicking up so much sand and sediment, we can't see where we're going.
Anderson Cooper: We are trying to pursue the crocodile right now, but I can't tell how large it is.
Its tail is so powerful I am almost right on top of it.
I can reach out right now and just touch the tail, but I am worried if do that it will somehow turn around.
It just doesn't seem like a good idea.
But I got to say it's so tempting.
The croc is moving so fast, we can't keep up for long.
It's time to surface and find the boat.
Anderson Cooper: Wow that was amazing.
I was right on top of it.
Brad Bestelink: Hey? Anderson Cooper: I was right on top of its tail.
I mean, I could have touched it.
Brad Bestelink: Yah, I know.
And then he turns around.
Anderson Cooper: And then he turns around! I swear there was a moment where I thought, "Jesus, he could just attack.
And there's nothing I could do about it.
" Brad Bestelink: Absolutely.
But did you ever feel like he was going to attack? Anderson Cooper: No.
Well, maybe a little bit actually.
I've dived with Great White sharks before, but in terms of numbers of people killed each year, Nile crocodiles are far more deadly.
Once ruthlessly hunted, still vilified as mindless killing machines, we can finally observe them as they really are: perfectly evolved denizens of the dark, ancient creatures, now for the first time, fully visible in the light.