Original subtitles

So check out what Mark found.

Get out of here!

You are kidding me.

The Costa Rican rain forest

is considered to be one of the most biologically diverse

ecosystems on the planet.

Home to literally thousands of species, the crew and I

have been fortunate enough to encounter some

of its most iconic animals.

From the striking led eye leapfrog

to the adorable Ocelot.

Now, she has found the microphone.

No, no.

When exploring in Central America,

one of our favorite places to visit

is the Costa Rican amphibian research reserve

which is famous for having some incredibly rare and almost

never seen creatures.

Mark, Mark come here.

What is it? Hurry up.

Harry up. Hurry up.

What have you got?

You are not going to believe this.

Oh my God.

And while I have been present for nearly all

of these initial finds, every once in a while,

Mark and Mario stumble upon an animal without me.

And on this rainy evening they just so happened

to encounter what may be considered

the rarest animal we have ever found in the rain forest.

Mario.

Yeah.

Come look what I found.

What?

What did you get?

I've got a giant onychophora.

The rare one.

Oh, man.

Right here on this rock.

This is the one that's on the wall in the cabin.

Yeah that truly is.

What do we do?

Coyote is not even here. What do we do?

We just film it?

Well, certainly, we have to film it.

I've got a container in my backpack.

We can contain it, take it back to the lodge,

have Coyote check it out and we'll get some great big shots.

We have to right? Yeah.

We have to. Yeah.

We'll bring it back.

Yeah. we'll bring it right back after

and that'll be awesome.

Deal.

Great find dude.

OK.

So.

Oh my goodness.

Oh my goodness.

Let's be gentle.

Careful, careful.

Be careful.

You know those things could spray stuff.

Oh.

It was very velvety.

Oh and I got to touch it.

Let me see.

Oh it's so cool.

All right let's go I'm so excited.

I can hardly see it.

Secured.

Yes.

Coyote?

Coyote?

You guys found anything cool to photograph?

Yeah, maybe.

Maybe.

So check out what Mark found.

So.

Get out of here.

You are kidding me.

We found it on the rocks like 4 paces

where we found the brown one.

Yeah.

Get out of here.

I cannot believe that.

Go inside get to get the picture, show everybody.

Oh, my gosh.

I cannot believe you guys found the Holy Grail.

Oh my goodness, guys.

They

Good, good.

That's what we were looking for.

That reaction.

Get out of town.

We've been just like jumping

for joy the whole way home. Look at it.

Yep.

There it is.

So we brought it back What we want to do is we want

to build a little tomb set.

That's a great idea.

Oh, you know we should do like a planet earth type suit

where we set it up on a little table.

I've got a little table up here, we'll get some moss,

get some logs, set it up and do a presentation.

This will kind of be like a mole cricket episode

only with a much rarer animal.

Yeah.

Oh my gosh I can't believe you found onychophora.

This is insane.

So wait, who found it? You found it?

Yeah.

I mean we do just need to film with you.

Yeah.

Wow.

This is crazy.

Not a bad gig, Coyote, when you can do your job

and wear sandals.

I do.

I got my sandals on.

I don't even have my snake boots.

I mean I was working on the orca script

and just kind of lounging so I saw the rain start to come down

I was like man, these guys better

hurry back before those cameras get soaked.

Let me see if I can get it to just

stay totally calm on my hand.

Woah!

You are looking at the velvet worm.

Quite possibly the rarest creature you can come across

in the Costa Rican rain forest.

This creature's ancestors date back 500 million years

to the Cambrian period.

That is before the time of the dinosaurs.

And this was one of the first terrestrial creatures

to ever walk this planet.

And even to this day, they are strictly terrestrial.

Which means that they stay on land.

Now, let's talk about where this animal gets its name from,

the Velvet worm.

Believe it or not this creature feels just like velvet.

And does not have any hard outer exoskeleton like an arthropod.

But in fact has a very soft squishy body.

Almost feels like a gummy worm.

But if you pet it very gently, come on Mark,

put your hand out there.

Tell everybody at home.

Feels just like velvet

Oh wow.

Yeah, like a fresh velvet suit.

So soft.

Yeah, that is so cool.

There's something really cool.

They are actually capable of shutting

the outer layer of skin around once a month just like a snake.

And when they do shed that, they basically walk out

of the skin similar to the way a snake slithers out of its skin.

And then they're even softer and more brilliantly bright.

Oh, it's so cool.

Let's take a look at the anatomy of this animal.

It looks like a mix between a caterpillar,

a worm, and a slug.

But anachophra is actually its own phylum.

And there are close to 200 of them worldwide.

However, scientists don't even know

how many truly exist because they're very rarely seen.

This is a nocturnal creature.

And the fact that Mark you and Mario

just stumbled upon it tonight is why they're so hard to find.

Because oftentimes they're out on rainy nights

when most people aren't out venturing around.

Now despite the fact that this creature is

actually kind of cute, believe it or not

it is a voracious predator.

And the way that they hunt is they

slowly move through the rain forest for foraging

amongst leaves and dead logs.

And they'll use those 2 front sensory organs to kind of tap

on their prey.

And as soon as they sense something to eat,

this is crazy they have 2 glands on the side of their face

that shoot out a sticky slime.

It's like spider man's webbing.

And it is so incredibly strong that it can

immediately pin the prey down.

It actually shoots out on 2 streams

and those streams will cross creating a net.

So let's say it's a small beetle,

it will go shoot out those two streams.

Tangle up the beetle and then slowly walk up on top of it.

And they have a little mouth up front.

I don't know if you'll be able to see that or not.

But inside that mouth is a single tooth

that is like a razor blade.

They insert that tooth into their victim

and then they leak in saliva.

That saliva is similar to the saliva of a giant water bug

and it slowly breaks down the insides of their prey

and they drink it up just like a milkshake.

Are you afraid of being bitten right now?

No.

It's tooth is much too small to potentially bite me.

And they're not aggressive in any way whatsoever.

It's not like a centipede or a water bug.

This is something that is completely safe to handle.

However, it's incredibly fragile.

So as you can see, I'm trying to be just as careful as possible.

And I also don't want it to shoot me with that sticky slime

because it's just like glue.

Is it toxic, the slime.

Is like poison you or what is it?

As far as I know everything I've read no.

The slime is completely harmless.

So if it does get slime on me I'm

going to be absolutely fine.

Now each one of those little stump feet

has 2 little hooks claws.

They almost look like cat's claws.

And they use those to hold onto rigid surfaces

when they're moving over like let's

say a log or a dry branch.

However, if they're walking on something moist

and soft like moss, those claws retract in

and they have these little tiny soft pads

on the ends of their feet.

I can actually feel it gripping onto my hand

and it doesn't hurt at all.

But it feels really interesting because those legs

on each side move in unison with one another.

And just like a worm and remember this

is not related to a worm but like a worm,

it has a very soft body.

And it's the expanding and contraction of the muscles

inside of its body that allow it to get longer if it needs So

like let's say it's moving through some crevices in a log

it can stretch its body out and get itself completely

out of a sticky situation.

Oh, hi there buddy.

I see you.

And look at the strength of its body.

Can completely extend itself out just like we've seen millipedes

do in the past searching for the next move to make.

And there it goes right up on my fingers.

Wow!

Lucky night in the rain forest.

Man, that thing is so cool.

All right well you build a pretty awesome

little stack here Coyote.

Yeah.

I think this is a good opportunity for us

to get this Velvet worm down on the miniature set

and start filming some epic B roll.

You guys ready? Let's do it.

All right.

Let's get the voiceover going.

And turn this into a planet Earth episode.

The red velvet worm is a creature

that is almost never seen in the wild with human eyes.

Their elusive nature and nocturnal lifestyle

combined with their tendency to exist

in other remote areas of the rain forest

make encountering them nearly impossible.

To our knowledge, we are one of the only teams

to have ever captured video footage of this animal.

So having this opportunity was truly a once in a lifetime.

This lucky moment will now be held

near the top of our greatest memories

we as animal enthusiasts will forever carry with us.

And we are incredibly proud that we have now

been able to share this encounter

with each and every one of you.

Wow!

What an absolutely incredible night.

Getting the Holy Grail of bizarre rain forest

creatures, the red Velvet worm.

Up close for the cameras.

I'm Coyote Peterson, be brave.

Stay wild.

We'll see you on the next adventure.

All right, guys.

Here we are.

Back at the rock where we found this amazing rain forest

creature.

The onychophora.

By far the coolest animal I've ever found.

Coyote was pretty impressed.

And jealous.

A little bit jealous.

But man, we had a great night.

All right buddy, right back where we found you.

Just like we promised.

I don't think there's anything that can truly

prepare you for sticking your arm into a container

full of leeches.

My arm is shaking a little bit.

It's the real deal.

I'm not going to lie.

I'm definitely nervous.

Oh my gosh.

They're just swarming all over the place.

This is going to be intense.

I'm Coyote Peterson.

And I'm about to be eaten alive by leeches.

Ready?

1, 2, here we go, 3.

You know, normally on a day like this,

I'd be out there in the lily pads

catch and snapping turtles.

But today we're going to do something a little different.

Now we post these dragon tales episodes, a lot of you write in

and say Coyote, how many times have

you been covered in leeches?

The answer to that question is absolutely never.

In fact in 20 years of catching turtles being in swamps,

ponds, lakes, ankle deep to neck deep,

I have had virtually 0 leeches end up on my body.

The only time I think I've ever actually had a leech on me

is when I've been holding a snapping turtle

and one has actually crawled off the turtle and onto my hand.

And even when they did, they would suction on but they

would never suck blood.

I'm sure a lot of you have seen the movie Stand by me.

You know that scene when the kids wander down into the swamp

and get covered in leeches and they're like,

Oh we're being eaten alive.

That does not happen.

So what we're going to do today is prove that not

all leeches suck human blood.

Now I'm sure you're thinking to yourselves, Coyote,

I thought we were going to see some leech bites.

And you just said, not all leeches suck human blood.

And they don't.

But I wouldn't let you guys down.

So today we are going to test what

happens when my arm goes into a container

with 2 different species.

What I have here are 2 separate containers.

This one has your common freshwater leech.

Once like we would find in the pond right behind me here.

These live in North America.

And in this hand, are European medicinal leeches.

These ones are from overseas and trust me when I say that they

absolutely love human blood.

All right.

What I'm going to do now is dump the freshwater

leaches into the container and I'm

going to put my arm in there.

You guys ready?

You go guys.

Look at that.

They are creepy looking.

But I'm not nervous right now because I

know that these leeches will not suck blood.

Even if they attach to my arm, it's

more of them being curious and testing

out the environment than it is them wanting to get a meal.

A moment of truth.

My arm is about to go into the container

with the freshwater leeches.

Ready?

Yep.

1, 2, 3.

I said I wasn't nervous.

But even still, putting your arm into a container

with any leeches, I think get your heart rate going.

Oh, boy.

That one looks like it's actually going towards my arm

right there.

You see that?

Most species of freshwater leeches especially the ones

that can be found in the United States feed

on small invertebrates or cold blooded species

like reptiles and amphibians.

They are rather intelligent and this is something

new in their environment.

They're going right up to my arm,

they're actually turning away.

Look at that.

I kept my arm submerged in the container for 15 minutes.

And wasn't bitten by a single leech.

OK.

So I think at this point we have proven

that the freshwater leeches have no interest

in sucking my blood.

Let's bring out your pee medicinal leeches

and see what happens with that.

The next type of leeches native to Eurasia.

And is likely the most famous species as they have often

been used in various medical procedures

like reconstructive surgery.

They live in muddy freshwater ecosystems

and are notorious for feasting on blood.

I just went and picked up a container

of European medicinal leeches.

You probably even change, you probably

even noticed the change in the inflection of my voice.

I'm actually nervous at this point.

These leeches are going to adhere to my arm

and they are going to consume my blood.

They haven't eaten in a few days and trust me when

I say that they are hungry.

Are you ready for me to put them into the container Mark?

Right.

Release the beasts.

Here they go. All right.

This is it.

No turning back now.

This is for science.

Oh, boy.

A lot of leeches in there, Coyote.

This is going to be crazy.

All right.

I think it's about time to stick my arm

into a container for leeches.

Oh my gosh.

They're just swarming all over the place.

This is going to be intense.

Are we ready for me to be eaten alive by leeches?

I think so. - You're ready?

Mark you're ready.

I know you're ready.

The camera's ready.

Camera's ready.

Coyote pack?

I feel like you're probably ready.

All right.

There's a lot of leeches in there.

It's a lot of leeches. All right.

So without further ado, I'm Coyote Peterson

and I'm about to be eaten alive by leeches.

Ready?

1, 2, here we go, 3.

That gets your nerves going.

That's for sure.

Look at that.

This one already, boom!

Just like that.

Instantaneous secured to my arm.

Holy mackerel!

They're just like swarming towards my arm.

Look at that.

One on my arm there, that's 3.

In a matter of seconds.

My arm has been in here for the little ones

so I try to build my shirt.

Go this way.

Another one there on my hand.

My heart is racing right now.

Look at that.

They are all over me.

Oh, I can definitely feel something happening.

It feels like sandpaper grinding against my skin.

My hand and arm have been in the water for about 60 seconds.

And all but one leach is now on my arm.

Now the way that the leeches' sucker works is they adhere on

and they release from their saliva an anticoagulant enzyme.

That enzyme not only numbs the skin,

it also doesn't allow the blood to clot.

Now they have teeth that are kind of in the shape of a y.

Here, Mark look at my fingers.

It looks like this.

The three teeth of a leech.

They go like that and they slice into you.

And I can feel them actually cutting into my arm.

And look at that.

Look at how that leech is bent over.

It is holding on with the posterior

sucker which is the tail.

And it is consuming blood from the anterior

sucker which is the mouth.

And holy cow is this uncomfortable.

It has been about 20 minutes so far since my arm

has been in the water.

Pan the camera down, look at how big the leeches have gotten.

They are completely swollen with blood at this point.

At this juncture I think these leeches

have had enough of a feast.

And it's time to get them off of my hand and arm.

Now there is a right way and a wrong way to remove

a leech from your body.

You may think, let me yank it off.

Yanking it off is bad because you can actually pull

their teeth out into the wound.

Those teeth get left in the wound you

can end up with an infection.

Now, you may think to yourself, well maybe

I should put salt on it or put a lighter behind it

and heat it up and it will be like, I'm scared

let me get out of here.

That's also really bad because it will actually

cause the leech to regurgitate some of its food

into the wound.

That also will cause an infection.

Now the best way to remove a leech

is to just use the edge of your finger.

And what I want to do is softly slide the interior sucker off

of the wound. OK.

You ready for that?

How do you know which is which side?

Well, it's obvious that this

is the anterior side as you can see the back end is

not attached to anything.

And look at that leech, that one just popped off.

And that one popped off too.

Look at that.

Well, there's also the instance where

the leech has eaten enough and it's going to just

release itself on its own.

Those 2 leeches are so full of blood.

They're done eating.

Look at how big that leech is.

It is full of blood.

And look at the blood just pouring out of my hand

at this point. Wow!

That leech basically said, OK.

I'm done eating.

Back into the water with me.

What you want to do is just gently slide your finger

over the interior sucker. Here you go.

Look at that.

Got the leech to pop up and then I can just

pop the posterior sucker off.

And plop!

Back into the water with that leech.

There we go.

That one hurts.

Look at that.

You could see blood just seeping out.

There's 4 of them right there.

This is going to be the bloodiest spot.

You guys ready?

1, 2, there you have it.

Final leech.

You guys ready?

Dinner is over buddy.

The blood.

It's like there's a lot of water in my blood.

That's the anticoagulant just breaking down

all the platelets.

And you can just see my blood almost

looks really, really thin.

And it's all about the amount of anticoagulant

that actually went into my hand.

I may be bleeding for hours at this point.

My hand is actually numb and that's how these leeches.

Look at how big and fat and heavy

they all are at the bottom of the tank there.

And the water is all red.

You can see the drips blood falling down into the water.

It's like a shark attack happened

right here in this container.

That's crazy.

Well I think ultimately at this point

we've proven that while there are some species of leeches

that will not give you a bloody bite on the other hand,

there are definitely some that will.

Only thing left to do now is clean up this mess.

Stick around and I'll show you exactly how

to dress a leech bite if you're ever

unfortunate enough to get one.

I'm Coyote Peterson, be brave.

Stay wild.

We'll see you on the next adventure.

Man, that's a lot of blood.

There are nearly 700 species of leeches found on our planet.

And the good news is that only a very

small percentage would even consider consuming human blood.

This is not an animal you ever need to be afraid of.

They do not transmit diseases and have never been

responsible for human death.

As for me, I took on a massive amount of anticoagulant

and blood for nearly 24 hours.

In the end, was it worth it?

Well if you no longer fear going into a lake

or pond because we have proven that most

North American freshwater leeches have

no interest in drinking human blood,

then I would definitely say that the answer is Yes.