Original subtitles

COYOTE PETERSON Deep

in the heart of the Caribbean Sea,

on one of its many craggy islands,

lives a lizard that has been brought back

from the brink of extinction and now

roams this tropical landscape by the hundreds.

That island is Grand Cayman.

And that lizard is none other than the blue iguana.

And while an iguana might not immediately strike you

as being unique or noteworthy, I assure you this one absolutely

is, because it's blue.

Very blue.

Making it one of the most beautiful and rarest

iguanas on the planet.

Now, to put things in perspective,

these lizards dwindled all the way down to an estimated 15

total individuals in the wild, making

them functionally extinct.

Which is where our friend, Fred Burton, steps in.

Directly responsible for creating the blue iguana

recovery program, Fred has offered us

the unique opportunity to get up close

with these endangered reptiles and tour the facility

he started 15 years ago.

With such a rare chance to see one of these creatures

in person, the crew and I loaded up our cameras

and made our way to the most remote part of the island.

Right now what we're doing is we're

trying to find one of the resident blue iguanas

that's habituated to humans.

His name is Peter, and apparently

he's big and friendly and a great ambassador

for his species.

So we're trying to get close to Peter.

Try to get the GoPro close.

Try to get the cameras up close, so you can see why this is

such a unique lizard species.

So, Fred, you want to lead the way?

So Peter's on his favorite rock.

Oh, is this Peter here?

Look at him.

Yes.

Now that is an impressive iguana.

All right, guys.

Let's come in Peter's enclosure here.

Wow, look at that.

Let's get a shot of Peter before we approach, just

in case he wants to hop off that rock,

because that is a great display of a blue iguana right there.

Yeah, this is a unique species that's

only found in Grand Cayman.

OK, so the blue iguana

is endemic to the Cayman Islands,

and it is a species of rock iguana.

We've seen rock iguanas in the past,

but I have never seen one this color, I mean.

And you're telling me that these blue iguanas

get even more blue than this.

When they are in the breeding season, yeah.

He's kind of dull right now.

Really?

When he gets hot and excited--

I think you look great.

- and in March and April when he's courting

the girls, he will blaze blue.

Really, really, really bright.

Hi, Peter.

Are we buddies?

Are we going to be pals?

I think so.

So, Fred, tell us a little bit about Peter.

How did he come to the program and why is he so friendly?

He's an interesting case,

because we were just walking around out in the open there,

a good many years ago.

And we saw a young two-year-old just on the gravel,

and we thought, where did he come from?

I figured it must have been one of the free roaming iguanas had

laid and hatched and whatnot.

But we start thinking, OK, we better

catch it so we can get a blood sample

and do the genetics and all these things.

And so we're creeping up to this thing, which was looking at us.

It's not afraid, you know, and we just walk up to this iguana

and pick him up, and he doesn't run away.

And he's been like that ever since.

It's just like he was born without the fear gene,

you know.

He just-- he doesn't.

He has no natural reaction to humans.

Friendly since day one.

I like it.

So Peter's turning more blue, because he's warming up to us.

Is that what this is?

He likes the attention, yeah.

All right.

Well, who doesn't like a good head scratch?

So, quick little disclaimer to everybody at home,

don't go up to a wild iguana and pet it.

This is not a normal iguana.

This is an iguana that has been habituated to humans

and is used to this kind of interaction, and is

why we are able to get so close to Peter today.

If you try to do this to a wild rock iguana,

you're going to get bit.

And if you look here at Peter's mandibles,

they have quite the powerful bite,

and they also have a couple rows of razor sharp teeth.

So, you definitely do not want to get

your finger or your hand caught in the jaws

of a wild rock iguana.

So best to leave them alone and give them their safe distance.

But, man, are they cool.

So these beads, we put on every iguana we release,

and we also put them on the captive iguanas

in case they get out.

And the idea is the combination of bead sizes

and bead colors is unique to each animal.

So that, you know, if we're walking around the park

and we see an iguana we want to know who that is, all we need

to do is train binoculars on the beads,

look them up in the database, and we'll know

exactly who we're dealing with.

But the other thing we do--

the other thing we do is we photograph the sides

and the top of his head, and these big and large scales.

You look at the scales on the snout here.

They're all a little bit irregular.

They're not perfectly symmetrical.

OK, yeah.

Every iguana has a slightly different scale

pattern.

It's like a fingerprint.

So we got pictures of this guy.

And if this guy turned up somewhere it didn't want to be,

and the PIT tag was gone and the bead tag was gone,

we'd still be able to match the photograph

and say that is that iguana.

That is Peter.

That is Peter.

But, just judging on how we're able to approach

Peter, I don't think it would take very

long to figure out who it was.

So, one of the other cool things

about rock iguanas, generally, are the toes.

OK.

So, this is like a hook.

Looks like a talon to me.

So, they can-- they're

quite good at climbing trees.

You know they spend most of the time on the ground,

but they're quite good at climbing trees.

And these claws hang onto things really effectively.

And for females digging nests, of course.

They're great for digging, too.

But the weird thing is, you know how our hands bend like this.

These guys bend like this.

Oh, they bend right to left.

They don't bend this way.

They don't bend this way.

But they bend backwards.

That is very interesting, Peter.

And think about why, because right there.

They're constantly pulling these things through vegetation.

And now, Fred, is there

any other distinct characteristic

about the blue iguana that's worth noting today?

I like to mention this little thing here.

OK.

You see that little scale there.

It looks translucent.

I do.

So, that's the pineal eye.

That's a very primitive feature in reptiles,

but these aren't primitive animals.

Right.

Light can get through there,

and we think that there's a brain receptor in there.

And they probably, we don't know this for sure,

but we suspect that they use this for tracking day length.

And that's how they subconsciously know what time

of year it is and the triggers for when they need

to start thinking about breeding season

and all that sort of thing.

A very unique sensory mechanism.

Very cool, Peter.

A lot of the stuff that I've described to you is

useful, because what we need, always, is for people

to relate to these animals.

If we want to conserve an animal like this,

people need to be engaged in it, right.

And the thing about an animal like this

is it responds to us in a way we can understand it,

we can empathize.

So knowing about iguanas helps us tell stories about them.

And we tell stories about these iguanas and people

start to love them.

And if people start to love them,

they want us to preserve them.

And that's, that's the way it all works.

Well, I think Peter has done a phenomenal job today

hanging out with us so we can learn more about his species.

And as far as love ability, I mean,

I think the proof is right here, guys.

This is about the coolest customer I've ever witnessed

when it comes to an iguana.

What's going on, Coyote Pack?

Well, spring is officially here, and today I'm

going to head out on the kayak and see if I can

catch the first turtle of year.

Look at this.

There's the drone right there.

The drone is actually going to follow me

and, hopefully, get up close when I jump off the kayak

and catch a turtle.

Today is our first day of testing this out,

and we'll see if it actually works.

All right guys, stay tuned.

We're about get to the kayak here and get

it unchained and out the water.

Water test rocky.

OK. Whew!

That water's cold!

All right, guys.

Well, a lot of you have written in asking- Coyote,

when are we going to see new episodes of Dragon Tails?

Today is officially the first day

of a new Dragon Tails shoot.

It's cold today.

It's only about 63 degrees, but it's sunny.

So there's a good chance we might see some turtles.

Now if you look this way, over my shoulder,

way down on the far end of the lake,

there's no movement in the water.

That means there's no ripples, which

means the turtles may be down there in the shallows, fighting

for territory.

So what I'm going to do is head out on a kayak,

see if we can catch a turtle, and then

I'll bring it back here.

Follow me with the drone.

We've also got these nifty walkie talkies.

Mark, I see a turtle.

Can you hear me?

Check, Coyote.

Sending you the drone now.

See, so now I can let him know if I see a turtle,

and then, hopefully, I catch it.

You guys ready to get muddy?

All right.

Let's do this.

We're going to find a turtle before Coyote does.

Let's go fire up the drone.

All right.

Looks like we are ready to fly.

The scouting potential of using this drone

is going to be incredible.

It's so much fun.

It's like all I want to do now.

Chris, you're hired as the new cameraman for the show.

I'm just going to fly the drone.

Saw that coming.

I have not seen Cornelius in two years.

So I'm really hoping that we see him

this season on Dragon Tails.

He is my favorite turtle.

He's my big boy who lives out here on Thoreau Lake.

All right, guys.

Let's mosey on down into the shallows here

and see if we can find something.

I think a sea turtle.

Nope, that's a log.

False alarm, false alarm.

Ooh.

Tough to keep you balanced while looking through binoculars.

OK, let me radio into Mark.

Hey, Mark.

I've got no sightings on any turtles yet,

but I'm going to move in a little closer.

Copy.

Go for it if you see it.

But we are just about into Cornelius' zone.

So, I'm going to actually stand up here and see

if we can get a cool shot.

Oh, I just bumped something.

Might have been a turtle.

Shoot.

I think it's OK.

I think it scared a heron.

But as long as you keep it high enough--

hold on a second. I got a turtle.

I see a turtle.

Want me to dive in?

Come in straight towards me, I got a turtle.

100%, a turtle.

100%.

All right, guys, this is here.

We got the first turtle of the year right

here off the edge of the boat.

He doesn't sense me coming in.

I'm coming right from the backside.

He's big.

He's big.

Actually, this might be Cornelius.

All right, I'm making a go for it here.

He doesn't sense me yet.

I'm going.

Oh, there it is.

That's Corny.

That's Cornelius, right there.

Yes.

Hey, buddy.

You're big and cold.

Wow.

OK.

There it is, first turtle of the year.

He's very cold.

He's just woken up.

Guarantee he just came out today for the first time.

He's looking right at me.

There he is.

That's Cornelius right there.

All right.

There we go.

It's Cornelius.

I got him.

Definitely Cornelius, really cold.

He definitely just woke up for the year.

I'm bringing him in.

Follow me back.

Got him.

That's awesome.

And that's the most famous turtle, too.

This is Cornelius.

This is the infamous, huge snapping turtle

that lives here in Blendon Woods in Columbus, Ohio.

And it's awesome that he made it through the winter.

I'm sure Coyote's going to be very happy when

he gets back to shore here.

Stay, buddy.

Oh boy, he's making a go at me.

Hold on, I got to turn him back a little bit.

First turtle of the year.

Hi, buddy.

Good to see you.

Yes.

My big boy, Cornelius.

Talk about calling your shot.

Literally, the first turtle that I came up on,

and it is the big one that we were hoping

to come across this spring.

Oh, this is great news because Cornelius has not

been caught in two years now.

And sure enough, we have him up close for the cameras.

Whoa!

How'd I look on the drone?

I did get a shot.

You can definitely see the turtle before you jumped in.

Could you?

Oh, yeah.

Wow, neat.

Got it.

It's called a catch landing. It's for the pros.

Whoa!

Come here, buddy.

Oh, that is a monster snapping turtle right there.

He is about 50 pounds.

Little light because he's just woken

up for his summer hunting.

We're going to bring him up here and give him a good look over.

This turtle is absolutely enormous.

It's not often that you see snapping

turtles grow to this size.

He is, in my opinion, the most famous snapping turtle

in the world at this point.

And the thing that's most impressive about Cornelius,

look at the claws on his front feet.

Go ahead, buddy, put a paw out here for us.

Look at that paw.

Those claws are absolutely massive.

His paws are about the size of my hand.

Isn't that crazy?

I mean, I'm not even kidding you.

I said to the camera, all right, right now

I'm moving through Oscar's territory,

just getting into Cornelius' realm.

And, sure enough, I could see a carapace just kind of bubble

at the surface.

And I wasn't certain it was Cornelius

until I jumped in and grabbed hold of the back of his shell

and saw that tail end.

I can't wait to go back

and look at the drone shot.

Yeah, you think it's going to be cool?

Yeah, I got in there like you

could definitely see the turtle before you jumped in the water.

So that was really interesting.

That tells me that we really can use this drone

to actually scout locations--

That's cool.

- for wildlife, which is something

we've never been able to do before.

You can literally

walk for miles across the desert and never come

across a single drop of water.

So, it's safe to say that the last place you would think

to look for aquatic turtles is in the middle

of this parched ecosystem.

I can smell water.

Can you guys smell that?

Oh, yeah.

It's like the air just cooled off.

Wow, it feels great down here.

All right, let's move up slow just in case

there's any animal right here.

Sometimes it happens.

We approach a body of water and all of a sudden, boom,

an animal jumps in.

Wow.

It is crystal clear.

Not going to be hard to find animals in this.

All right, let's get into it.

COYOTE PETERSON Today

I will be exploring the flowing waters of the Santa Cruz

River, which runs like a life-giving vein

through Arizona's Sonoran desert.

This water system is home to many different animals,

but the one creature I am specifically

searching for today is a reptile known

as the spiny softshell turtle.

Wow, this is a pretty cool environment.

I've never been in the water before in the desert.

Look at this.

It is just globs of algae and sand.

It's like this magical mix of desert and swamp land.

This is super cool.

All right, well, let's head this way upriver.

You can see the water is fairly shallow.

It's also crystal clear, which means if we see any animals,

we should be able to catch them.

Now when I'm looking for turtles in Ohio,

I'm used to looking at a mound in the mud and saying,

oh that's a carapace buried down.

Same tactic is going to be used here,

because at this time of day spiny

soft shells are burrowing in the shallow sand

and just sticking their noses up out of the water so

that they can breathe.

Many different creatures that we can come across out here.

You guys ready?

All right, let's do it.

Mario, you good?

All right, let's keep moving.

We have tried for many years to get the spiny softshell

turtle in front of the cameras with, unfortunately,

no success.

However, I have a good feeling that today

might be our lucky day.

Whoa.

These trees are like covered in cotton.

It's like I'm walking through the entire world of spiders

right now.

All these webs.

Wow.

There's spiders all over the trees.

Let me see if you guys can see this.

Look at that, covered in spiders.

I know this would probably be somebody's worst nightmare.

If you had arachnophobia, this is

not where you would want to be.

Turtle!

What kind?

Soft shell.

Oh man, it was booking, though Ouch!

You OK?

He nailed my knee.

Wow, it was fast.

Just caught it out of the corner of my eye.

Missed it, though.

Not big, only about that big.

So, they are in the water.

Man, he was just jetting

right down the middle of that.

OK, that's a good sign, though.

This is the sort of area where he

would be laying out in the

So keep your eyes peeled.

COYOTE PETERSON These turtles

are hard to catch, but at least having seen one

proves that they live in this river.

So we headed further into the wild,

searching for slower moving water.

A lot of times they'll bury up underneath an embankment

like this.

That's what I'm looking for.

A turtle right here!

Oh, burying down. Hold on.

Hold on.

Got it!

Oh!

They're so unbelievably slippery.

Whew!

I went to the net for a second.

I was like maybe we should better get her with the net.

Feel how slippery this turtle is.

He started burying down underneath the sand.

Yes!

There is.

That is a spiny softshell.

That's our turtle. - Woo!

That is exactly what we were hoping to find.

What about that timing?

I mean, literally, as I'm saying- yeah,

right up underneath these embankments sometimes

I'll see them burying down.

I just kind of slightly looked up and saw movement out

of the corner of my eye and it shows, literally

burying down into the sand.

Great grab. - Oh.

All right.

Well, let's get it.

Let's go over here where I can get my big camera out.

OK. Yes!

Ha!

I cannot believe we got one.

There it is.

That is the spiny softshell turtle.

You guys have no idea how long I've

been trying to get one of these turtles

up close for the cameras.

We've tried to do this episode before in Ohio,

and they have eluded me on every single expedition.

And then, of course, the episode doesn't

end up getting released.

And sure enough, it's here in a river

system in the Sonoran Desert that we

finally managed to catch one.

Now, let's take a good look at the structure

of this turtle's body.

I'm going to very carefully tilt it up like this, Mark,

and take a look at that carapace.

That is something else.

Right, it's very streamlined, extremely smooth.

You'll notice that it doesn't have typical scutes

like most turtle species.

Go ahead and put your hand out there and touch

the shell of that turtle.

Tell me what it feels like.

Oh, wow.

That feels just like leather.

Exactly, right.

And it's very pliable.

That's what allows these turtles to quickly

bury down in the sand and hide up underneath embankments.

On top of that, this streamlined body

structure allows them to move very, very quickly underwater.

I love the feet.

Look at those feet.

It's like a mix between a foot and a fin.

These turtles are perfectly aquatic,

and very rarely do you see them on land.

Only out ever to bask in warm up.

As we know, they are ectotherms, which means that they need

the sun to heat up their body.

Oh, I see you looking at my hat there.

Don't you bite my nose.

Now I do not want to take a bite from one of these turtles.

They have extremely sharp beaks.

Razor sharp, in fact, and they use that beak

to catch and kill their food.

And what they're looking for out here

are small fish, frogs, crayfish, anything

that this turtle comes across and can turn into a meal.

It's fair game.

They are opportunistic predators.

Ow! Ow!

Ow! I am getting clawed up here.

Here, let me put him down to the water for a second.

Watch this.

I'm going to hold onto this shell really tight.

Let's see if you can see those feet in action.

Here we go. Look at that.

Oh, yeah.

Can you see that?

So this is a very aquatic turtle?

Yes.

They are very, very slippery.

Look at that.

You see its feet going?

And look at that.

You see the head sticking up above the water there?

They have extremely long necks and that's

what allows them to stay buried down in the sand.

And all they have to do is extend that little piggy

looking nose up through the water, through the sand,

just like that and they can breathe

without even being noticed.

That's another reason why they are so incredibly hard to find.

Oh, this is kind of cool.

Can you see these little spines on the back of the shell there?

Yeah, I cant.

They're like little nodules.

That is where they get the name

spiny softshell turtle from.

OK.

Let's look at the underside of the turtle.

The plastron.

Extremely white.

Very white.

Very, very smooth.

Also helps in allowing these turtles

to move quickly across the sandy basin of this river.

Oh, he's so cool.

All right, let's do this.

I'm going to set him down gently here,

and look at the camouflage of this turtle against the sand.

You see that?

Now, notice the coloration of the turtle's skin.

It's very light, just like the sand,

and all these little dark markings help it blend--

Ow, he tried to bite me-- blend in perfectly

to the granules of sand that are on the basin of the river.

Look at that.

Look at his head just up above the water there.

Boop.

Just like that, it goes down.

And then the turtle can quickly make a run for it.

I got you, come here.

We're going to hang out just a little bit longer.

Wow!

This has got to be the coolest feeling

turtle I have ever held.

It is so slimy.

Oh, he's so cool.

I can't believe we caught one.

He's clawing up my hand pretty good, too.

Well, how cool was this?

Finally catching a spiny softshell turtle and, of all

places, here in the Sonoran Desert.

I'm Coyote Petersen.

Be brave, stay wild.

We'll see you on the next adventure.

All right, let's get him back into the river.

Watch how fast it takes off.