Original subtitles

I'm Coyote Peterson and that is

the North American porcupine.

As you can see, he's covered in quills.

Get ready, we're about to enter the spike zone.

This morning, the crew and I fueled up and set off

down rugged mountain roads into the high country of Montana,

where we would get the chance to work with one of the most

common and probably the second largest rodent

in North America, the porcupine.

Now, this true porcupine territory right here.

All these tall pines, hillsides--

perfect place for them to be rummaging around

in all this loose soil for roots and berries

and all sorts of delicious porcupine treats.

These black and white forest dwellers

may look adorable and cuddly, but as we all know, and I was

about to experience, they're equipped

with nature's reactive armor.

Just beneath a layer of sensitive guard hairs,

you will find thousands of barbed quills

that will make any would-be predator

think twice about considering the porcupine for an entree.

Now I have never seen a porcupine before in the wild.

I never worked with a porcupine.

So for me, this is going to be a really unique experience.

Now, the reason I'm able to get so close to this porcupine

is because it was actually raised in captivity.

So this little guy is used to being around humans

and, sometimes, cameras.

And this is the second largest rodent

that lives in North America, trumped only

by its aquatic cousin, the beaver.

Now, porcupines have incredible claws.

They got four claws on the front and, actually,

a vestigial thumb, which allows them to quickly climb

up trees to evade predators.

If they can't get to a tree in time,

what they do is exactly this--

show the rump side and all those quills.

You get your nose close to that and it's going

to be a face full of spikes.

Today, my goal is to intentionally

get killed by a porcupine.

Yes, you heard me right.

I'm going to get quilled by a porcupine.

I'm going to show you the right way

to remove these painful barbed quills

from either yourself or, in most cases,

from the snout of your curious pet.

Now I'm being told that when I perform this example,

I'm going to get close to 40 or 50 quills

in the back of my hand.

I hope you guys enjoy this at home.

This will in no way cause any harm to the porcupine.

Their quills are nothing more than modified hairs.

And they continually grow over the life of the animal.

The only one who's going to experience any discomfort

is me.

So, we don't want to get quilled in the face.

That would be pretty bad.

What I want to do is agitate those guard hairs

and then he should thrust his tail up into my hand.

Are you ready?

I love how I get myself into these things.

One, two, oh.

Yep, there we go.

That's a handful of quills.

Now the ones on the top of my hand really aren't that bad.

It's those ones right there--

can you see how deep those are into my finger?

It hurts to move my finger right now.

I mean, I think they touched bone.

It hurts a lot.

I think most of them are going to be pretty easy to get out.

Those two are going to be extremely painful.

Well, I got a handful of quills here from my little friend

the porcupine right there.

I'm going to show you guys how to get these out of you

either your hand or your dog.

I have a feeling this is going to be pretty painful.

Come on, let's go.

The one in my finger hurts so bad right now.

Now it's most likely that your dog is going

to get quilled by a porcupine.

And, you know, you might think, oh, I'm just going to pull

that quill straight out.

That's not going to work.

These have microscopic barbs on the end.

And one of the cool techniques of the porcupine quill

is that once it's in there, it works

deeper and deeper and deeper.

So you want to get these out as quick as you possibly can.

I never recommend that you go out and get yourself

quilled by a porcupine.

And the reason that I did this today

was to show you how to remove quills from your hand.

And the reason that I snipped off the tops of all the quills

is that actually releases pressure inside of the quill,

relaxes the barbs, and now they should release

out of my hand a bit easier.

And what I want to do is gently grab the quills,

twist them, and pull straight up.

I'm going to remove the ones that aren't as deep first.

I want to get all those barbs and those little points

out of there because they can cause an infection.

And that's the last thing that I want to happen.

If you are a mountain lion, a bear, or a coyote

and you got a face for these quills,

I mean, it's debilitating.

I can barely move my hand.

And these animals wouldn't be able to then

go out and continue hunting.

And I can see why eventually, this

could cause a large predator like that to die,

Oh, my hand hurts.

OK, these are the last three.

It's not like a Band Aid.

I mean, you don't just pull it off.

If you just pull these out, it's going

to rip all the skin out with it because

of those tiny little microscopic barbs.

OK, I'm going to twist and pull straight up.

That's the goal.

Geez, oh, that hurt.

You can see the blood pouring out now.

You get that shot with the blood?

Oh my gosh.

Yeah, that really hurt.

OK.

You good?

Oh my gosh!

Oh my gosh, that real--

I like-- that was like, I could feel it pulling all

the way out through the skin.

Ow.

Oh my goodness.

Wow.

I mean, that was buried into my hand up to the white.

That is a serious quill in my coyote paw.

Oh, moral of this story--

do not get quilled by a porcupine.

I hope you guys learned something here today.

If you are ever quilled, snip off

the top to release the pressure, grab, twist, and pull it out.

I'm Coyote Peterson, be brave, stay wild.

We'll see on the next adventure.

I'm Coyote Peterson and hanging out up

in that tree is one of the wiliest members

of the weasel family.

I'm going to climb up there and try to get it down

so you guys can get a closer look.

Exploring the wilds in Montana is unlike any other experience

in North America.

And your odds of seeing animals in their natural environment

are pretty good.

Today, I'm headed into a high altitude pine forest

to work with a member of the weasel family

that you probably have never heard of

and I bet you've never seen.

Get ready, she is adorable but don't be fooled.

She's also one of the most voracious predators

in the forest ecosystem.

Ever since I was a kid, I've been an absolute cat

in climbing trees.

Today is going to be a little different though.

Because I'm going up there with the American pine marten.

And this is a member of the weasel family,

so they're pretty wily.

They're related to the Wolverine,

the badger, and the skunk.

And I see her, she's right up here.

I'm going to go up there and try to get her down

so I can show you guys some of her coolest features.

Now, this tree's dead so it should

give you guys some good shots.

Hopefully, I can get a gentle handle

just around her midsection.

Up a tree, after pine marten.

She's kicking bark down in my face, probably a good defense

tactic if I was a predator.

All right.

I'm going to make a reach for her.

I'm going to be as gentle as possible

so I don't risk taking a bite.

Got her.

Whoa.

Now the real challenge--

getting back down.

I've worked with venomous snakes,

snapping turtles, and a number of different other creatures.

And my heart is racing right now climbing up a tree,

holding onto a pine marten.

All right, here we go. Ready?

I'm jumping down.

Look at her.

How beautiful is that little mustelid?

Now one of the coolest features about the pine marten

is they're the only member of the weasel family

with semi-retractable claws.

And that's how these crazy little slinkies

can jump all over the tree branches up there.

It's very rare that you would ever see

a pine marten on the ground.

They live arboreal lives.

They spend most of their time up there

hunting for squirrels, which is their primary source of food.

What they will do is chase squirrels through the trees,

lunge, actually can grab them out of midair,

and then they want to bite to the back of the neck.

And you see his long little canine teeth

there are perfect for inflicting that death wound.

And then, of course, they have their meal.

See this real light orange discoloration

underneath her throat right there?

One distinct sign that will easily

allow you to identify a pine marten if you

ever see one out in the wild.

I just want to try to stay as calm as I can right now.

If I stay calm, she will stay calm.

Now this is a pine marten that's being raised in captivity.

The only way that I'm able to climb up into this tree,

bring her down, and give you guys an up close look

is because she's used to being around humans.

You could never approach and go after one

of these animals in the wild.

She's an ambassador for her species,

promoting conservation and an all around love of mustelids.

Yeah, aren't you cute.

Look at those ears.

They have incredible hearing.

This is one of the most agile members of the weasel family.

And they do have beautiful coats, unbelievably soft.

They've got a coarser guard here on the outside.

And if you feel up underneath here, really soft and fluffy.

And most of the time, you can find pine martens

in any high altitude environment.

They're sticking to the pine trees,

hence the name pine marten.

And they're able to tough through some of the coldest

temperatures here in Montana.

What an amazing experience, climbing in a pine tree

with the American pine marten.

I'm Coyote Peterson, be brave, stay wild.

We'll see on the next adventure.

Are you ready to go?

Let's get the heck out of here.

I'm Coyote Peterson.

With beauty often comes danger.

And we tend to forget that in the wilderness,

we're no longer at the top of the food chain.

There's no wilderness greater than the back country

of Montana, an epic expanse of untamed beauty

that is home to some of North America's

most incredible animals.

Every year, thousands of adventurous hikers

set off down rugged mountain trails,

escaping the confines of everyday life,

and immersing themselves into the wild.

Being lost in nature, we all hope

to catch a glimpse of something beautiful,

a chance encounter, and an experience

that will never be forgotten.

The scenario we just painted for you is a common instance that

can happen when hiking out here in the back country of Montana.

What you're actually looking at here is Adam.

Now Adam was raised in captivity.

And he's a bear that's used for educational purposes

and as an ambassador for his species to teach you guys what

to do and not to if you ever encounter

one of these beautiful animals in the wild.

So scenario number one, and best case for you,

is you stumble upon a grizzly bear and it doesn't see you.

Stop, stay quiet, back up slowly,

and get yourself moving in another direction.

Now the second scenario you could find yourself

in, you turn a corner and all of a sudden,

it's you and a grizzly bear.

You see the bear, and the bear sees you.

Now this is the most dangerous situation that you can be in.

Grizzlies don't typically want anything to do with humans.

What you want to do is make yourself

look as big as possible.

Whoa bear, whoa bear, whoa, bear.

If that bear feels threatened, it should turn around walk

back up into the forest.

Once you know that the bear is out of eye sight,

you hop into your car or wherever it was you came from,

and get yourself to safety.

Now the third and the worst case scenario

is what happens if that bear dance.

You are never-- I repeat-- never going to outrun a grizzly bear.

So don't even try.

A lot of people think, hey, I've got my hiking pack.

Let me get off my pack, throw it to the bear,

and try to distract it so that you can get away.

This pack on your back--

this is your barrier between the bear's teeth and its claws.

What you want to do is drop to the ground

and get in the fetal position as quickly as possible.

Get down here like this, tuck in,

press your arms against your legs,

and most importantly, get your hands behind your neck.

Now grizzly bears don't typically people.

What they see us is a threat to their territory.

As soon as that bear feels that the threat is eliminated,

it would probably just disappear back up into the wild.

Now you might take a couple of bites,

you might take a couple of swipes,

but using this tactic increases your chances of survival

by about 90%.

Wow, look at that set of teeth.

I just gave you three great tactics

for surviving a bear encounter.

But there is one other thing that could save your life,

bear spray.

Don't ever head off into the back country without it.

If you have a bear encounter and you've got time

to get this off your hip and spray it,

these bears have incredibly sensitive noses.

There's a good chance that bear's going to head off

in the other direction and you're going to escape

the encounter unscathed.

Man, that was intense.

I got swatted at by a grizzly bear.

OK, so now we want to get you guys up close with some

of Adam's incredible features.

Grizzlies these are opportunistic

omnivores-- meaning that they'll eat anything that they come

across from grasses, like you see him chomping on here, all

the way up to a moose.

Bears use their noses to follow their prey.

They can find dead animals.

They can find berries.

They can find just about anything.

And oftentimes, what grizzlies will do

is follow a wolf pack to where they have

killed a moose or a caribou.

And they'll actually be able to scare those wolves away

and then they've got their meal.

That's the opportunistic that I'm talking about.

All he needs to use is his size and mass to drive

anything off of the kill.

One feature about this bear that is incredibly impressive

is those front paws, absolutely enormous.

And at the ends, armed with five massive claws

that average about 3 and 1/2 to 4 inches in length.

A single swipe from that paw can take down a deer.

And one thing beyond those claws is impressive are those teeth.

A bite force of a grizzly bear has about

1,100 pounds per square inch.

That's enough to crush a bowling ball.

You don't want to be within the grasp of a grizzly bear.

Grizzlies also have incredible hearing.

And that's why you don't often see bears in the wild

because they can hear you coming for miles away.

Now the grizzly is the largest brown bear species that we

have here in the United States.

And at one point in time, their territory

range from Central all the way through the Western United

States.

Unfortunately, as humans encroach upon their territory,

they've been pushed to near extinction

here in the lower 48.

Only 800 grizzly still live here Montana and about 600

in Wyoming, all of whom live in Yellowstone.

National Park.

Completely awe-inspiring to be in the presence of a bear

the size of Adam.

And the scenario that I showed you guys today

is something that hopefully you never find yourselves in.

But I hope that you learned a little something

in case you ever find yourself in that worst case scenario.

I'm Coyote Peterson, be brave, stay wild.

We'll see on the next adventure.

I'm Coyote Peterson.

Today, I'm working with Steve Kroschel.

And he's got with him one very special member

of the weasel family.

Get ready to meet the Alaskan mink.

If there's one thing I learned about Alaska while exploring

this beautiful state, it's that with every step you take,

the wilderness only becomes more vast.

As a human, you were small in Alaska.

And the grand scale of this wild place

really brings you in tune with nature.

For me, getting in touch with nature

usually means having an encounter with an animal.

However, many animals can be difficult to see in the wild

and trying to interact with them can be dangerous.

Check that out.

Those are grizzly prints right there.

Today, I'm getting the incredible opportunity

to work alongside animal expert Steve Kroschel who's

going to help me get up close with one wily little creature

that has been raised in his wildlife

sanctuary, the Alaskan mink.

Right now, I'm in an enclosure with the Alaskan mink,

one of the wealthiest predators in the weasel family.

And it's right here in front of me.

Want to come up here?

Oh, getting real close to my leg there.

You may wonder why I'm barefoot.

That's because Steve told me that by being barefoot,

it would help me connect with the Earth and in turn,

help me connect with the animals.

These are little mink games.

And I have to be careful because a mink's

teeth are unbelievably sharp.

They're like little tiny needles.

Where you go?

It's so cool how they are able to just

turn around inside their skin.

And that's one unique feature of all members

of the weasel family.

Like if I were to hold that mean by the scruff of its neck,

it could completely spin its body.

So let's say a predator, like a golden eagle,

swoops in and grabs that animal with its talons.

The mink can actually wrap its body

around and attack the eagle as it is being attacked.

That is one incredible defensive maneuver.

Where did you go?

There you go.

Is that fun to play with?

Biting on my sleeves, biting on my bracelet.

And if I was one of her litter mates,

this is exactly how I should be playing.

Even adult minks are incredibly playful in the wild.

All members of the weasel family love to play.

Would you like to go down to the river and have splash?

What do you think?

Would that be fun?

You lead the way.

Ready?

Let's go.

Steve is incredibly connected to the planet.

Part of this connection is his ability

to communicate with animals, which he has

been doing most of his life.

Now Steve, I heard you earlier making a noise.

Were you talking to this mink?

- Yeah, yeah they-- - How'd you-- do that again.

Do that again.

They make a little chuckling sound

when they're happy or during the mating season,

which is in March.

OK.

And I'm just trying to get him familiar with this area here.

And he's-- Now, mink, they just got to bite.

They communicate with their mouth.

Let me see if I can get on face

to face with this little one.

Oh, face to face, buddy.

Hey there.

Look at how cute that face is.

One thing that I love about mink is how adorable they are.

I see you.

And they have that little white chin, just like a Wolverine.

All wild men have that, basically.

Would you say it more likely--

It's got-- it wants to go down and bite your toes.

Oh, I bet it does. Should we see--

Is that OK? Can I let it go?

Yeah.

Well, should we take it over into a natural pool of water--

Well, yeah.

- to see if it will splash around,

Let's start here. Oh God, here it goes.

Look at how frisky it is.

Now can I try to hold it?

- No, not-- not now. - Not yet?

I can't even hold it now. Oh, gosh.

- I see that it's got pretty-- - Let's just let it go here.

Let's let it go. - OK, see what happens?

Ready? - All right.

Just stay right-- stay put.

OK.

This is going to find a little hole there.

Let's see if--

if we just don't do anything, let's see what it will do.

He loves this-- loves this log.

Look at that.

You are actually calling the mink back.

You are so brave.

This guy is--

Going underneath you there.

Well, there's lots of places to move.

This is a miniature Wolverine in some ways.

Sure, absolutely.

They're related to them in a way.

In my opinion, I think next to the Wolverine,

the mink is the most perfect predator in the weasel family.

Their ability to not only go in the water also

their ability to climb.

Let me see.

Come here.

You're OK.

You're OK.

It's going to bite you. - It's OK.

It's biting you.

Watch your-- you can't hold on to him.

You can't. They're so squirmy.

And in the length of the body--

let me see you.

That's about as much time as you can get

going face to face with a mink.

Just like that, I blew a little air at his face.

And it's like, did you brush your teeth this morning?

And he's like, I'm out of here.

Let's see if we can bring it over to the water.

Do you think if we put it in the water,

it would kind of splash around like

in the natural environment? - Let's try it.

That would be awesome.

Then we could show you guys just how hydrophobic that coat

really is.

Hey, you want to go into the water?

I think so.

There he goes.

Let's go.

OK, so what we're doing here, Coyote, is a test.

The animal I say that it's imprinted on me--

and this is what I do with a lot of the animals that I have,

most of the animals that I have at the Wildlife Center--

is that they have freedom, freedom to go,

freedom to come back.

When the relationship is strong--

this is a mink.

This is it's home is this, you know, kind of an environment.

Will it just take off down the river or will it stay with us?

Here's the test.

Loves water, this is its home.

What I'm doing right now is trying

to just call the mink in.

Once it gets comfortable with me,

I have a good feeling it's going to kind of just buddy up to me

and we'll be right here splashing around in the water.

Oh, look at that.

Look at that.

It's coming right at me.

Call him in.

Call him.

Just like that, you see that?

That was an awesome shot.

It ran right past to go for-- where you going?

You're developing a relationship, Coyote,

with this semi-aquatic animal.

He's getting pretty comfortable with me now.

Look at that.

Right in on my hand, just rolling around.

Oh, splash, and look at that.

Look at how he's just able to-- there's

no water actually sitting on his fur.

I think it actually likes my bracelet.

Look at that.

You see the water just flicking off of the mink's coat?

How awesome is this?

Laying on a river bed, splashing around with a little mink.

I'm Coyote Peterson, be brave, stay wild.

We'll see on the next adventure.

I'm always excited to see a mink.

And over the course of my life, I

have been lucky enough to catch glimpses of them in the wild.

They're incredibly elusive.

So to spend a morning getting up close with one

was an interaction that I've always dreamed of.