Original subtitles

Boy, do I have a slimy treat for you guys today.

I'm Coyote Peterson, and this is the banana slug

The California Coast is home to one

of nature's most epic giants--

the Coast Redwood.

Rooted like skyscrapers across northern California,

these beautiful works of nature have existed on the planet

for over 20 million years.

Exploring this ancient landscape is an incredible experience.

Man, this tree is absolutely enormous.

As crazy how big these trees are.

Unbelievable.

And if you look down at your feet,

you realize that the forest floor is alive with some very

interesting looking creatures.

One of the coolest we came across--

the California newt.

Such a rich ecosystem down here in the Redwood forest.

Look at that little guy, how pretty is that.

Newts have a drier skin and they're usually found on land.

They will go into the water but unlike salamanders,

they require less moisture to survive.

And while I could have hung out with this little newt all day,

we were on a mission to find another giant of the Redwoods,

the beautifully bright yet wildly slimy

California banana slug.

This lightning quick gastropod can

inch along at a whopping six feet a minute.

Not exactly the most challenging to catch but boy,

were things about to get sticky.

It's not too moist out here.

I thought we'd find more.

Oh, right there. Huh.

There it is. Look at that.

OK.

He's tucking back into that hole.

This is exactly what we were hoping

to come across but it's real dry up in this part of the forest.

I was literally, before the camera came out,

I was talking about how we weren't

really seeing any slugs.

Just caught this out of the corner of my eye.

Shoot.

He is disappearing back into his hole.

I'm going to have to be very gentle

getting him out of there.

Come here, buddy.

Look at that.

There he is.

That is the banana slug.

All right.

Let's get him down here into the light

so that we can get a better look at him.

Oh, I'm so glad we came across one of these guys.

I was just saying, before we had the cameras rolling

that it's so dry out here.

I didn't think we'd come across one today.

This is the banana slug.

And I'm pretty sure that it's a California banana slug.

There's also the Pacific banana slugs that are out here

in these forests, but the Pacific ones

usually have real dark blotches and they

look like a rotten banana.

And this guy just looks pretty much like a perfectly ripe

banana.

And that's how they get their name

this bright coloration, which was really easy for me

to detect.

Just as I was walking past the tree there, popped out to me.

I was like holy cow.

There's one right on the side of that tree.

And what you see here, these tentacles that are sticking up,

these top two are called the eye stalks.

And that's how when they're out in the environment,

they can sense light, they can sense movement.

And these bottom two tentacles here,

those stalks allow them to sense chemicals that

are on the ground that helps them find their food,

helps them follow their trails throughout the forest.

So pretty high tech little animals.

He is unbelievably sticky.

Look at this slime, and these slugs

are covered in a real thick mucus,

which prevents them from dehydrating

out here in the forest.

And this is like the nastiest, snot you can possibly imagine.

It's almost like melted marshmallow,

sticking your fingers together.

That doesn't really smell like anything

but he is getting stickiness all over my hand.

He's like glued to the side of my finger.

And look at what a cool design the body of this animal has.

And these guys are pretty speedy.

They move at about six feet a minute.

So it's not exactly a tough one to catch

like a lizard or a snake.

And one really interesting feature If I can--

can you see him OK like that?

Yeah.

You see that little hole

on the side of his body there?

That is the slugs lung.

That's called a pneumostome.

And this is how this guy is taking

in his oxygen and breathing.

Can be like us having a hole on the front of our body

and being able to breathe through it,

just like we have nostrils.

I would consider this a pretty good sized slug.

They can't grow quite a bit bigger,

almost 10 inches in length.

And this is the second largest slug species on the planet. .

So cool.

And I'm used to seeing the little garden

slugs in my backyard near the guys that are about this big.

But I bet fully stretched out, this guy

is close to five or six inches.

What an awesome experience, getting slimed by banana slug.

You really got it.

Dude, my hands are like, they're

glued together right now.

And this so-- this slug slime, it's a scent trail.

So he pretty much marked me.

There's slugs might come after me at some point

but we're going to get him back up on his tree

and keep hiking here in the Redwood forest.

I'm pretty sure this is the California banana slug

because it's completely yellow.

The Pacific version has dark brown and black blotches.

If we got a slug experts out there,

why don't you tell us which one you think it is.

I'm Coyote Peterson.

Be brave.

Stay wild.

We'll see you on the next adventure.

I'm Coyote Peterson.

And I'm about to free handle a giant desert centipede.

Exploring the desert under the cover of night

is often the best way to come across animals.

And we have had a lot of luck filming the majority

of our Sonoran desert episodes in this fashion,

including an episode in breaking trail season

one, which was titled The Giant Desert Centipede is

a Living Nightmare.

They are fast, they are powerful,

and they have a venomous bite that

is said to be one of the most painful experiences you

could ever imagine.

Whenever I walk the nighttime desert,

I hope to avoid these elusive predators.

However, our wildlife biologist, who

has absolutely no fear of centipedes

manage to find and capture one.

Bad news for me but good news for you

as this capture will allow me to face my fears,

when it comes to free handling a giant desert centipede.

For me, this is super crazy and super creepy.

But what I'm going to try to do right now

is gently pin the centipede's head

so that I can pick it up and get it close to the cameras.

Oh, OK.

I think I'm ready for this let the nightmare begin

and bring in the centipede.

Oh, there you go.

All right.

Got his head gently pinned here.

Holy mackerel.

That requires more nerve than you can possibly imagine.

And there it is.

Oh, my hands are shaking.

That is free handling the giant desert centipede.

Oh, my gosh.

Is it strong.

Every single one of these pairs of legs has a little hook on it

and they're digging into my fingers right now.

Oh, wow.

I never thought that in a million years,

I'd be free handling a giant desert centipede.

You're shaking, dude.

I am definitely shaking.

I don't particularly care for scorpions or solpugids,

but nothing gets my heart racing faster

than a giant desert centipede.

Now, I know someone who has been bitten

by one of these creepy crawlies, and they

told me it was the worst pain that they had ever felt.

I was bitten by heel monster on this trip

and it was pretty bad.

I don't think I want to end the trip by being bitten

by the giant desert centipede.

OK.

Now, this is a voracious predator.

They will go after pretty much anything here in the desert.

A centipede of this size can take lizards,

it can take small snakes.

They eat baby birds, and can even take

things as large as rodents.

I see each one of these little segments on this centipedes

back is like armor plating.

And don't worry.

I'm not hurting this centipede in any way, whatsoever.

This is one of the toughest creatures

that we have on the planet.

And I'm doing everything I can right now to just

keep him under control and keep those fangs away

from my fingers.

Now, what's really interesting about the giant desert

centipede is that it has a pseudo head at its rear.

Look at that.

Those last three segments are dark just like the head

and the two rear appendages, which

are nothing more than modified legs,

look just like its antenna.

So something comes in and tries to attack this creature

and goes for the back end.

It's able to grip with those modified feet

and then it can swing around and give whatever is attacking it

one nasty bite.

Wow.

That was pretty crazy-- free handling

the giant desert centipede.

Something I never thought I'd be able to build up

the courage to do.

Now that he's in my hands and pretty calm down,

I truly have a new appreciation for one

of the creepiest crawlies out here in the Sonoran desert.

I'm Coyote Peterson.

Be brave.

Stay wild.

We'll see you on the next adventure.

All right.

I'm I'll let him here down on this log

and we're going to get out of the Sonoran desert.

Ready?

I'm sure many of you were hoping I

would be bitten by this desert predator, sorry guys.

That's one painful experience that I don't think any of us

would ever want to go through.

However, on a lighter note, they are incredibly elusive.

And your chances of ever running into one of these walking

nightmares is next to none.

So I'm going to do right now is intentionally

get stung by a giant desert hairy scorpion.

1, 2, 3.

Scorpions.

Scorpions.

Scorpions.

The name alone causes most people,

including myself to cringe.

Armed up front with lobster looking pincers

called pedipalps, and from the back,

a quick striking tail tipped with the venom

injecting stinger.

These arachnids definitely command respect.

This is the part where I get stung by a scorpion.

I've never been stung by a scorpion

but today, I'm going to intentionally take

a sting to prove that not all scorpions are

capable of killing you.

Hopefully by demonstrating this first hand,

you will take away a more understanding

perspective of this overly vilified arachnid.

Yeah.

Well, hopefully it's the last time.

I've done a pretty good job not being stung by insects

and arachnids my entire life.

So this is one of those forced situations

and we'll see what happens.

We like to take all measures

to make sure that all safety concerns are addressed.

There is a small--

very small minor chance that you could have an allergic reaction

to this thing.

In the event that-- that does occur,

we have secured the EpiPen pack here.

Great.

And that's-- that's sort of like the last line of defense.

If he does go into anaphylactic shock,

we will squeeze the EpiPen after removing

the sheet to expose the needle.

A very long--

Let's not talk about it.

- needle.

And then, boom.

Now, this in no way

will cause any harm to the animal.

The only person who's going to pay for this little experience

is me.

Some of you probably think this is ridiculous.

Some will think it's crazy.

And those of you that know about scorpions

will say it's no big deal.

It's just a giant desert hairy.

It will be like a bee sting.

And that's the point I'm trying to make.

Not all scorpions are as dangerous as advertised.

Ready? Yeah.

Go ahead.

I'm Coyote Peterson.

And I'm entering the strike zone.

1, 2, 3.

Ahh!

Jeez. Yeah.

He got me.

And that went that bad.

But that was it.

Close your hands, like, tell us.

Yeah.

What's like? - Hold on a second.

I'm sweating like crazy.

Can I ask where the scorpion went?

Sweating like crazy.

The scorpions right here.

I think he just wanted to get into the shade.

All right.

Well, that was a lot of nerves.

But it really didn't hurt as bad as I thought.

The giant desert hairy scorpion is supposedly like a bee sting,

I don't think he even heard as much as a bee sting.

Definitely, didn't hurt as much as a hornet or a wasp sting.

I think he was just scared.

I mean, I had my hand on him so he wanted to get away,

just a defense tactic.

And now, he's down in the shade.

And hopefully, you guys don't have to use that EpiPen.

Fortunately, I had no major adverse reaction

to the venom, just a little swelling and tenderness.

The giant desert hairy scorpion is not very dangerous

but there are about 25 species of scorpion

in the world that do have a potentially lethal venom.

So no matter what, never attempt replicating what you just

witnessed me do here today.

The moral of the story is give scorpions their space

and show them respect, even if they are totally creepy.

I'm Coyote Peterson, and I'm about to free

handle the most lethal scorpion species in the United States.

Are you ready?

Here we go.

1, 2, 3.

That definitely gets your nerves going.

There's an old saying that things go bump

in the night, which usually refers to anything mysterious,

and more often than not, frightening.

Here it is, the desert millipede.

1,000 legs.

Awesome.

Now, imagine yourself out walking alone

in the darkness of Arizona's Sonoran desert, a wild place

that comes alive in the dark with spiders,

snakes, and the one creature that personally

makes my skin crawl--

the scorpion.

Armed with a set of pincers and a venom injecting stinger,

they're about as creepy as nature gets.

I love being out in the desert at night.

The temperatures are so much cooler,

animals are moving all over the place.

But it's a little creepy.

I mean, I can see up ahead of us here with the flashlight,

but as soon as these lights go off,

and the black lights come out, it

becomes much more difficult to see anything

other than the scorpions.

Now, the black light is just what

you need for finding scorpions because the UV actually

causes them to eliminate a bright yellowish green.

What we want to do is kind of comb the edges of the wash,

get up into some rock piles, and see

if we can get our hands on one of these creepy crawlies.

But what if I told you that these creatures, which most

consider living nightmares were actually more afraid of us

than we should ever be of them.

So tonight, I'm going to prove that scorpions,

despite being creepy are not out there to get us.

And in fact, really just want to be left alone.

There we go.

Right there, right. Wow.

Look how quick that is.

And that is definitely striped of scorpion.

The most common scorpion in the Sonoran desert

is the striped-tailed.

Got him.

Nice.

Oh, boy.

That makes you nervous.

Oh, boy.

OK.

That takes a lot of nerve to pick

up a scorpion that's small.

Now, the sting from this specific scorpion--

the striped tail is no more potent than that of a honeybee.

But even still, this is not something

that you ever want to go out and try to pick

up like you just saw me do.

But they're so quick that they run all over the place.

And I kind of figured that the only way

I could get them up close for the camera

was to actually pick him up.

Now, it's really difficult about handling a scorpion the small,

is that when I tailed it, I had actually grabbed

the knuckle that's right where the tail meets the vesicle.

Now, the vesicle is what's holding all of the venom

and then of course, they have a stinger right on the end.

See If I can get him to walk up on this rock here.

All right.

You got shot? I'm going to let go.

Ready? Yep.

1, 2, 3.

Don't get too close.

But to identify this little arachnid,

just look for a series of dark stripes on the tail.

My favorite part of any scorpion encounter

is always the release.

And with one species down, our search

continued into the night.

John, desert hairy right here.

Oh, look at the size of that one.

Wow.

That is a big scorpion.

I'm just going to tail him.

These ones are a lot easier to tail than the little ones.

Got him.

Awesome.

Woo hoo, hoo.

But this is the largest species of scorpion

that we have in the United States

and here in the Sonoran desert.

That is the giant desert hairy scorpion.

And he also has his dinner in his mouth.

Look at that.

He's eating a moth.

Now, the way to easily tell the giant desert hairy apart

from the other scorpions here in the Sonoran desert,

aside from how large they are is they

have all of these little hairs.

See those little hairs on the vesicle around the stinger?

That's why they call them "hairy."

Now, scorpions, like all arachnids have eight legs.

And these ones up front here-- the pedipalps with the pincers

on the end, that's actually just a modified set

of legs that helps them hunt.

Now, scorpions are perfectly designed for this environment

but they do have quite a few predators.

Rodents will eat them.

Lizards will eat them.

So a scorpion of this size is much easier for a predator

to pick off than some of the smaller species.

All right.

Let's get this guy back on his log

so he can finish his moth dinner.

Of the nearly 1,500 scorpion species in the world,

only around 25 have a sting that is potentially

dangerous to humans.

And in the United States, the only one that packs such

a punch is the bark scorpion.

Right here.

Huh.

Look at that.

There is a bark scorpion right on the underside

of this branch.

Are you sure it's dark?

I am 100% positive

that's a Bark scorpion.

They have a very long tail and extra long skinny pincers.

You don't need a robust set of pincers

when you have a venom that's so toxic,

all it takes is one sting and that prey is instantly doomed.

Now, the other way that I can easily

tell this is a Bark scorpion is that this is the only species

that likes to climb.

And they actually practice what's

called "negative geotaxis," which is hanging upside down.

And this scorpion, as you can see,

is just perfectly balancing there, which means,

it can move on the top of this branch

to the bottom of this branch regardless, and catch its food.

So if a moth comes in close, boom.

He's going to snatch out with those pincers,

and inflict a lethal sting, and then he has his dinner.

All right.

Now, scorpions are something that you would never

ever, ever want to handle.

But what I'm going to do now is gently

get this guy onto my hand to prove that scorpions aren't

out there just to sting you.

If I handle this scorpion gently,

I'm pretty confident that it's not going to sting.

But if I am tagged, this is going to be extremely painful.

I'm Coyote Peterson, and I'm about to free

handle the most lethal species of scorpion

in the United States.

Are you ready?

Here we go.

1, 2, 3.

OK.

There we go.

That is the most venomous species of scorpion

in the United States.

And he's on my hand. All right.

It makes me a little bit nervous.

I want to see if I can get him to just sit still.

That definitely gets your nerves going.

Now, as long as I handle this creature gently

and don't apply any pressure, I believe

that I will be just fine.

Scorpions sting people when they feel threatened.

So let's say this specie specifically,

they love to hang upside down underneath things.

It could be a piece of wood, it could be your lawn chair.

You come outside, and you grab on to that,

and you squeeze down on the scorpion.

If it feels pressured like it's going to get squashed,

it's going to sting as a defense.

As you can see right now, he doesn't

have his tail or his stinger in a defensive position.

He's just curious.

He's looking around.

He says, this is not a tree.

This is different.

And for me, this is also different and extremely nerve

wracking.

But the reason I'm doing this is to prove

that these scorpions aren't just out there to sting you.

How bad would it be if the scorpion were to sting you?

OK. There you go.

It just stopped.

If this scorpion were to stick me right now,

I would be in incredible pain for the next 48 hours.

I don't know how my body would react to the venom.

I could go into anaphylactic shock.

Not likely, but at the very least, extreme pain

for 48 hours, depending how far the venom spread into my arm.

I could use of my arm for a couple of days.

My tongue could swell up.

I could foam at the mouth, cramps in the stomach,

all sorts of bad stuff that you don't

want to have to deal with.

But I just want to do right now is stay as still as possible.

The scorpion has found a spot where he feels comfortable.

I feel comfortable.

And as you can see he doesn't feel agitated.

I'm being as gentle as I can with him.

And I must tell you right now, this

is never ever anything I recommend

someone go on and try and do.

This is the most venomous species of scorpion

in the United States.

And is getting a little too close to the edge of my sleeve.

Come on, buddy.

Come back up this way.

All right.

At this point, I think he's getting a little agitated.

So what I want to do is get him back up into the tree

so he can continue hunting.

This has been one extreme experience

with the most venomous species of scorpion

in the United States.

I'm Coyote Peterson.

Be brave.

Stay wild.

We'll see you on the next adventure.

Arizona is home to the only scorpion antivenom program

in North America and they only administer treatment

to around 100 people a year.

What's even more incredible is that no scorpion related deaths

have been reported in Arizona for more than 40 years.

So the next time you see a scorpion,

remember, these arachnids are more afraid of us

than we should ever be of them.

As long as you give a scorpion space and respect,

there's virtually no chance it's going to sting you.