Original subtitles

I'm Coyote Peterson, and today, I'm

going to go toe to tooth with the apex predator

of the Florida Everglades, the American alligator.

COYOTE PETERSON Today, we're

near Homestead, Florida, on a private wildlife

preserve in the Everglades.

This environment is perfect for the American alligator

to thrive in.

My goal is to encounter one of these reptiles

so I can show you some of its amazing features up close.

I won't be using snares or ropes to capture it.

I want the interaction to remain as stress-free

on the animal as possible.

- OK, you rolling? - Rolling.

All right, so we've been cruising on the airboat

for several hours now.

We've seen lots of alligators.

We have not seen one that's been in shallow water,

and right by that bush, I can see him from this height.

It looks like a pretty good sized alligator.

Let me go first, you guys just kind of follow close with me.

We don't know how this alligator is going to react.

You have to remember this is an aggressive reptile.

This is a very dangerous situation, OK?

I want you guys to be on point at all moments.

See, this is how we were able to track him.

All of the sawgrass is kind of matted down, and at the end,

we probably have about a 10-foot alligator.

Whew, my heart is racing right now.

Where is he?

OK, here we go, he's right here.

And he's big. - All right.

It is a big alligator.

All right, Chance, come up slow.

This is the apex predator that lives

here in the Florida Everglades.

This reptile has been on the planet for 150 million years.

They have outlived the dinosaurs.

So this is about as prehistoric as it

gets for an animal encounter.

Bit of an aggressive posture here.

So it opened up its mouth, he's saying,

I'm the top predator around here, Coyote,

you better have some respect for me.

And trust me, you have to respect the American alligator.

And that's the first defensive posture

that these gators will use, is to kind

of flip the tail around.

All the muscle mass is in the tail,

and that's what I really need to watch out for.

He can take out my legs with a single swing.

Now, the reason I

want to catch this alligator is so I can get under control,

because it'll be safer for myself, safe for the crew,

and safer for the alligator.

Basically, what I'm going to do is lunge on top of his back

and hold his neck in place.

Now, he's probably going to squirm around a little bit.

So long as I keep my hands away from those jaws,

I should be OK.

Are you guys ready?

Yeah, ready.

Wow!

OK.

You hear that hiss?

He's not exactly happy to have me on his back.

OK, go ahead.

You guys can get in a little bit closer.

I think I've got him pretty well positioned.

Kind of got him in a saddle lock here.

All right.

Whew.

Now that is the American alligator,

and this is one of the reptiles that I

want to show you out here in the Everglades,

because these guys are top dog.

Now, the alligator has a bite force of about 2,000 pounds

per square inch, and that is the highest bite force on record

in the animal kingdom.

They have about 80 teeth in those jaws,

and their teeth constantly are breaking off,

they're constantly losing them.

You can see kind of in his front jaw there,

he's missing a few teeth, and those teeth

will constantly rejuvenate themselves

over the life of the animal.

And just because he's calming down,

does not mean that I need to be any

more comfortable sitting here.

At any second, he could erupt in action,

throw me off, and probably give me a pretty good chomp.

All right, what I'd like to do is

kind of get his jaws under control here,

and show you a real interesting thing about their eyeballs.

All right, so what I'm going to do is close his eyes down.

All right now, this doesn't hurt the alligator in any way,

but you see I've got my finger over his eyeball right

here, my pinky finger.

You see that?

OK, so what's really interesting and unique

about all crocodilians is that they have what's

called a nictitating membrane.

And when I let that go, you're going

to see the nictitating membrane, which

is actually a third eyelid, kind of fold back.

And they use this membrane to protect their eyes when they're

swimming underwater in all this murky sawgrass

and Everglades nastiness.

Ready?

One, two, three.

Now, these reptiles are built like tanks.

Yeah, he said, all right, I've had enough

of the underwater business.

Now any time you come near an American alligator,

you don't want to do what you just saw me do.

Bad idea.

I know exactly what I'm doing.

But if you come out here, Everglades,

your backyard, and you encounter an alligator, give it respect.

Back away slowly.

They want nothing to do with you.

They're actually more afraid of you than you should be of them.

Give them their space, and you'll be just fine.

What a wild encounter with the apex predator

of the Everglades, the American alligator.

I'm Coyote Peterson.

Be brave stay wild.

We'll see you on the next adventure.

See you later, buddy.

Wow!

I'm Coyote Peterson.

He's Mario Aldecoa, and common sense

might tell you, never wander into a nest full of crocodiles.

But tonight, we're looking to do just that.

Tonight, we're in Homestead,

Florida, on the grounds of Turkey Point, which is

a nuclear power plant facility.

This location is home to one very unique conservation effort

that is helping revitalize the population

of American crocodiles in South Florida.

Working closely with wildlife biologist Mario Aldecoa,

our mission is to check nesting sites to retrieve freshly

hatched baby crocodiles so they can

be tagged and recorded, before being released

back into the environment.

The cooling canals are meant to provide

water for the reactor.

However, the property, which is like 4,000 acres

of just canal system, turned out to be

excellent nesting habitat.

Are any of these crocodiles radioactive?

No, no, they're not radioactive.

OK, so we're not going to run into Godzilla

out there tonight?

I'm always hoping to find Godzilla out there.

I don't think it's going to happen,

but there are some monster crocs out there for sure.

This is where Mario found a nest earlier today,

and we just saw a hatchling right along the side here,

but it got away.

So hopefully as we go up by the nest,

we'll find a few that are still unearthing.

This is exactly what I'm looking for.

You see this?

Yeah.

This trail, that's called a crocodile drag,

and it's basically the female coming up to inspect the nest.

So let's follow the trail, and see if we come upon the nest.

Oh, this is interesting.

Unfortunately, hatchlings have a lot of predators.

Fire ants are a big predator.

So we're standing in fire ants?

We're standing in fire ants.

I don't see any dead crocs here, so luckily

the female took them all into the water

before they got preyed on.

Yeah, look at that there's just covered-- ow!

Geez.

Just-- Ow!

Wow, they really burn when they bite, too.

OK.

No more handling of fire ants.

Geez.

So one thing I always

do is, I always want to make sure that there's

nothing inside the nest.

I like how you're just

digging in the fire ants there.

Yeah but I'm also making sure that there's no, like,

hatchlings that were left behind.

OK.

Sometimes a female, she'll try and grab as many as she can,

but she might forget something.

So, I'm just going to check real quick.

Nothing, OK.

We built ponds on some of these islands,

and the ponds fill up the fresh water,

and the females will transport the babies to those ponds.

OK.

That's where we're going to go check.

That's our highest probability of getting some hatchlings.

Sweet, let's go to the pond and find some hatchlings.

Mario gave me the signal

that he's got some hatchlings in this pond,

but there are so many mosquitoes, we're

getting eaten alive.

So we're going to move quick, get in there,

extract the babies, get back on the airboat,

and get away from these mosquitoes.

All right.

Come on, Let's go. Coyote.

Yeah.

I got one here for you.

All right.

Don't go off the edge.

I got you.

Ready?

Got him?

Got him.

Here we go.

Little hatchling.

So what they do, is they usually

stay in clumps for protection.

OK.

Especially when they're just born like this,

that makes it really easy for us to come and just snatch them.

Gotcha.

Baby crocodiles!

Listen to them chirping.

Hopefully they're not calling mom.

So what we're going to do now is head back to the lab,

get the data that Mario needs, and then take

them back out to release them.

Yeah.

Sounds good, all right.

And get out of these mosquitoes, too.

And this is the success of all the work

that the crocodile research team is doing here at Turkey Point.

OK, so we had the adventure in the field.

And now it's time to collect the data.

First, let's put them on that scale there.

Let's get its weight.

Perfect.

What do we got?

All right, 53.8 grams.

53.8.

OK, so this is an important aspect.

So these scutes can be cut off.

They won't grow back.

It's going to be like a little pinch,

but the key is to do it fast and accurate.

Kind of like the Social Security

number for the crocodile?

Yeah.

Yeah, so if we ever capture a juvenile or an adult

out in the system, we could see if it's been recaptured

just by looking at its tail.

OK.

OK, so 1,752.

Now, we've got our AVID chip.

Oh, now this is a little tracking meter

that you put in these guys that we're out there in the field

scanning them, that's what shows us its number?

Yeah.

So that's going to go at the base of the tail

just like that.

Done.

So he's good to go.

We could actually release him now.

So that is a crocodile ready to be

released back into the wild.

Mario, I can't thank you enough for this experience tonight.

This is conservation at its finest, right here.

The American crocodile heading back off

into the wilds of Turkey Point.

You guys ready?

They say, get me in the water we're ready to thrive.

All right a handful of crocodiles, and off you go.

I'm Coyote Peterson.

Be brave, stay wild.

We'll see you on the next adventure.

I'm Coyote Peterson, and you're never

going to believe the encounter I just had with the fastest

lizard in the West.

Ah, he's biting me!

Ow, he's got a hold of my finger.

As we begin our journey

into the second season of Breaking Trail,

I find myself at home in the desert.

The Southwest has always been one of my favorite places

to explore, and if you can withstand the intense heat--

it is about 108 degrees out here today--

spine covered plant life--

oh my gosh, that thing is really wedged into my hand.

Ah, I knew this was going to happen--

and the venomous creatures, you might find yourself

loving it just as much as me.

I find that exploring in a wash or narrow canyon near sunset

almost always yields an animal encounter, some of which

can really keep you on your toes.

Got a snake!

Got a snake!

Yes!

Check this out.

Oh look at that.

Do you know what species that this?

That is a coachwhip, and this is one of the fastest snakes

that you're ever going to come across out here in the desert.

Get this guy on the ground, you have no shot of catching him.

I saw him just dart off that tree branch, sorry I

couldn't even give you any warning,

just had to launch for him.

Look at that.

Look how long and beautiful that snake is.

Now, these snakes are feeding on lizards,

and, you know, any other little rodents might be running

around out here in the desert.

Look at how beautiful those eyes are, though.

Wow, so perfectly streamlined.

That obviously allows them to move incredibly quick.

The reason that they're called coachwhips

is that you can see the snake pretty much looks like a whip.

These snakes are non-venomous, certainly have no interest

in going after humans.

They're just out here to explore the desert and look for dinner.

So cool.

Let's get him back up in his tree

so that he can continue hunting.

That was cool to see him climbing up into the trees.

All right, let's head up towards the base of this mountain.

Some big boulders, let's see if we can find living up there.

COYOTE PETERSON In my book,

any snake encounter has made the day.

But when I explore the desert, my mind

is fixated on one thing, and one thing only: lizards.

And which ones will I try to catch this time?

The Sonoran desert and its expansive, beautifully rugged

ecosystems provides a home to many species, some of which

are safe and simple to catch, like the Regal Horned Lizard.

And some that you should never try to catch,

like the venomous Gila Monster.

He doesn't want anything to do with us right now,

just laying low in the sand saying,

OK, don't get any closer.

COYOTE PETERSON I love

looking for and trying to catch lizards,

because they always pose such a challenge.

The skill of actually making a capture

requires stealth, precision, and a whole lot of luck.

Look, look, look.

That is a collared lizard, see his little yellow head?

Barely see him.

Barely see him?

All right, I'm going to leave my snake stick here.

Come up slow, try not to startle him.

Got him.

Ow, ow, oh, he's biting me!

Oh, ow, he's got a hold of my finger.

I got a hold of him, he's got a hold of me.

Look at that.

Oh, geez.

I guess that's one way to catch a collared lizard.

I can't even believe he let me get that close.

Holy cow.

All right, well, those teeth are super sharp.

He is locked onto my finger.

Oh, geez.

I didn't see that coming.

And as you can see, he kind of said, you're going to catch me?

Well, guess what, Coyote?

I am also going to catch you.

Oh, this is just a totally, totally uncomfortable

situation, but I got him.

And we're going to get the most beautiful and the fastest

lizard in the Southwest up close for you right now.

All right, let me get off of this.

OK.

What does that feel like?

It feels like a bunch of little tiny needles.

Oh, yes, thank you for letting go.

Ouch.

All right, now let's try to get a better

look at this beautiful, beautiful lizard.

Look at him.

Now, this is one of the most aggressive species of lizards

that we have out here, and certainly not

aggressive towards humans.

They're aggressive towards the other animals

that call the desert home.

This is kind of like a little mini T-Rex.

As he's roaming the hillsides here,

he's looking for anything that's unfortunate enough

to get close to those jaws.

And I can tell you firsthand that their bite

is a serious powerhouse.

Now this is probably the fastest lizard species that we

have here in the Southwest.

In fact, they are so quick that when they're running,

their front half will lift off the ground, kind of

like a basilisk lizard, and they'll

use these back feet to project themselves up in the air.

And this long, skinny tail kind of works like a rudder to help

direct them through the environment.

I would put him down and show you what that looks like,

but he is going to take off so incredibly quick,

we would not be able to catch him again.

Look how beautiful the coloration is on this lizard.

He's got this bright yellow head,

and the reason they're called collared lizards

is because you see that double black striped collar

on the back of his neck there?

The teal skin, the yellow and white speckling,

unbelievably beautiful.

And you may be saying to yourself,

gosh, this lizard looks like it would really stick out

in the desert environment, must be easy for predators

to pick this guy off.

Actually, because this lizard is so fast,

it's almost impossible for predators to catch it.

I'd say the only thing that's going to be able to get one

of these lizards and turn it into dinner

would be a roadrunner or maybe a coachwhip.

What an awesome experience.

Getting close, actually catching, and then getting

chomped by the Eastern collared lizard,

one of the most beautiful and fastest lizards

that we have here in the Southwest.

I'm Coyote Peterson.

Be brave, stay wild.

We'll see you on the next adventure.

All right, are you ready to get back up on your rock

and not bite any more coyotes?

I hope so.

This was only the second time in my life

that I was able to capture a collared lizard,

and despite getting bitten, I'd consider this a lucky day.

I'm Coyote Peterson, and right now

I am face to face with the deadliest

rattlesnake in the world.

Dancing with a Mojave rattlesnake.

This is one dangerous dance, my friend.

The heart of rattlesnake territory

is truly Arizona, which is home to 13 different species,

more than any other state.

Tonight, we're in the Sonoran Desert

and the temperature is absolutely perfect

to find snakes.

I got my snake hook ready.

We're going to head out there, and see what we can find.

The rattlesnake, specifically, has

taken an unbelievable amount of negative press.

Holy moly, OK.

Don't get any closer.

COYOTE PETERSON Probably

because if startled or provoked, they

can inflict a very painful, and potentially lethal,

venomous bite.

Check this out.

This environment is absolutely perfect for finding snakes.

You can see how dry and arid all this is.

Oh, I just saw-- look, you got some kangaroo rats

running around over here.

Now, that is a great sign that you're going to find snakes.

Where there are rats, there are definitely going to be snakes.

OK, I got him.

Trying to be as gentle as possible.

I do have him by the scruff of his neck, which

is OK to handle him like that.

Look at that cute little bushy tail.

How adorable is that?

And these big hind feet.

And that's how they move so quickly through the desert.

Look, he's holding on to his toe right now, he's so scared.

This is proof that not everything

out there in the desert is covered in scales and stingers.

You better be careful out there, buddy.

If I can catch you, you better believe that a rattlesnake can.

I'm going to let him go.

You ready?

Hang around in the vicinity

of kangaroo rats long enough, and you

are almost certain to come across a rattlesnake.

Got a snake right here.

Snake, snake, snake.

Western Diamondback.

Come up slow.

I see the tail.

That is a Western Diamondback.

OK, he's rattling.

Oh, wait a minute.

That is not a Western Diamondback.

That is a Mojave rattlesnake.

This situation just went from dangerous

to extremely dangerous.

OK.

He's kind of tucked back in here by this barrel cactus.

Mark, go ahead and come around on this side.

Keep your distance back.

Got it.

That is the most venomous rattlesnake

in the world right there.

He's getting ready to go.

OK, hold on.

I'm going to try to work him up into this clearing here.

Go ahead and come into this open area, here.

Oh, now he's rattling.

Whew, dancing with a Mojave rattlesnake.

This is one dangerous dance, my friend.

All right, now we've got him out in the open.

Keep your distance. Keep your distance.

This is a very dangerous situation.

We're now talking about the most venomous rattlesnake in

the United States right here.

Let me see if I can just get him to calm down.

Holy cow.

All right, my heart is racing.

Mark, keep your distance right there.

We've got the snake calm.

You got an OK shot on him?

Yeah, decent.

These snakes can strike incredibly far.

I'm going to keep him still if I can.

They will actually lunge 2/3 of the length of their body.

Now the way I was able to tell that this was

a Mojave and not a Western Diamondback,

they're so easy to confuse.

It's that the white banding on the tail, the white bands

are thicker than the black bands.

And you can kind of see once the light is on him,

he has a slight greenish tinge.

Can you see that?

Now people often confuse this for Western Diamondback,

because you see the patterning on its back

looks just like diamonds.

They're a little more oval in shape.

When I walked up on it, I thought, oh, yes, sweet.

Western Diamondback.

Until I saw that tail and realized

it's a Mojave, the most dangerous rattlesnake that's

out here in the Sonoran Desert.

It's just, whew.

It is nerve-racking.

Hold on, he's starting to move.

I can hear his rattle.

I can hear his rattle, he's just

got a couple of little buttons.

Now, he is not-- you'll notice she's not striking.

This is good.

Now, snakes do not want to use their venom.

Striking and biting is definitely a last resort.

Hold on, hold on.

Look out!

Talk about what just happened.

OK, so, just like that the snake decided,

OK, I'm going to move.

And he's getting a little agitated.

They're so incredibly strong.

And as soon as he decides, OK, I'm out of here,

it's really, really difficult to get

him to curl back up like this.

See that, he's puffing up his body,

he's getting ready to strike.

Now, a snake will only strike if it feels like that's

its last resort for escaping.

There you go.

There you go, calm down.

Stay calm.

There you go, buddy.

All right Oh, my heart is going about a million miles

a second right now.

That one make me nervous.

He was, like, darting right at the camera.

Were you recording the whole time?

I tried to.

I don't know, I might have turned it off.

All right.

Mark, you can probably come around this way now.

Real slowly.

Go slow, go slow.

All right, keep rolling.

That's OK, go very slow.

He can sense that you guys are coming around his backside.

Stay calm.

Wow, this is about as close as I want to get to this snake.

Let's talk about its venom toxicity.

Now, the Mojave rattlesnake has two

different venom types, depending on what

region the snake is living in.

I cannot tell, just looking at the snake, whether or not

he has type A or type B venom.

The type A venom is a much stronger neurotoxin.

Type B is more hemotoxic.

Either way, you get bitten by this snake, its venom load?

Off the charts.

You get tagged by this snake, you want to get to the hospital

immediately.

Their venom has almost 10 times the toxicity of the Western

Diamondback rattlesnake.

Now you guys have seen me capture

the Eastern Diamondback.

The Western Diamondback, sidewinders, and a lot of times

I do head snakes and show you their fangs.

This snake I just feel is far too dangerous to do that with.

All rattlesnake species are potentially deadly,

but because this is the most toxic rattlesnake in the world,

I'm even more nervous.

And the fact that I can't tell whether or not

it has type A or type B venom, really

makes me want to just keep my distance from this snake.

I don't want to try to handle it.

Don't want to head it.

It commands respect, and that is exactly

what we're going to give it.

What an intense encounter.

Getting face to face with the most venomous

rattlesnake in the world.

I'm Coyote Petersen.

Be brave, stay wild.

We'll see you on the next adventure.