Original subtitles

Australia's arguably the most dangerous

continent in the world.

I'm sure that as your imagination begins to run wild,

you are likely thinking about being snatched

from a river's edge and eaten alive

by a giant saltwater crocodile.

Or perhaps you are envisioning how terrifying it would

be if you were to stumble upon and be bitten

by one of its incredibly venomous snakes,

like the eastern brown.

However, it's not only the reptiles

that you need to be weary of.

Tonight, we are exploring just outside of Sydney, the most

densely populated city in Australia, which also happens

to be home to the world's deadliest

spider, the Sydney funnel-web.

Armed with a set of massive fangs

and an incredibly toxic venom, just

a single bite from this spider has

the ability to kill a human.

Sounds terrifying.

Yet, these spiders are rather elusive

and tend to avoid humans at all cost.

In fact, they can be rather difficult to find,

as building their silk-lined funnel-shaped burrows

under rocks or in rotting logs keeps

them hidden and out of sight.

Oh, covered in ants.

Watch out for that.

Let's go on the backside of this tree.

There's some logs to flip over here.

So unless you are like me and are flipping over debris

in the environment, your odds of encountering one

are pretty unlikely.

You ready?

Lift this up.

Oh. Oh, a spider!

Huge spider.

Right there, right there, right there, right there.

Is that a tarantula?

No, no, no, no, no.

I think that's a funnel-web spider.

Right there.

It just came out from underneath that log.

Look at its abdomen right there.

Holy cow.

That's definitely a funnel-web spider.

Hold on.

I need to get it into this container.

Oh, my gosh. Did you see that?

It's a good thing I picked up the log from the other side.

It was just burrowed right underneath there.

That's a tiny container, dude.

That looks too big to be a funnel-web.

No, no, no, no, it definitely is.

Look at the front of its body. Oh, yeah.

Um, wow.

That spider's so big.

I don't think it's going to fit in this container.

Mario, you have that bigger jar?

Uh, yeah, I think I might have one in my backpack.

Hang on.

Let me see if I can peel

back some of these grasses.

It looks like a tarantula, but [inaudible]...

Ooh, it's moving!

Hurry up!

OK, a bite from this is potentially lethal.

I'm just going to set that down and see if I can coax it.

I'm going to try to coax it right into the container.

Now, they cannot jump, but they will lunge forward.

Oh, it's in!

It's in, it's in.

There we go.

Wow!

Look at that. Oh, yeah.

That is 100% a funnel-web spider.

That is a big one.

Wow!

We cannot miss getting this up close for the cameras.

OK, let me grab my bag and let's head up to those rocks.

Wow!

That is without question a funnel-web spider.

The question that remains is what species is it?

I want to find a good flat open rock.

How about that one right there?

This?

Yeah, that looks pretty-- or that one.

Is that better?

Uh, yeah, that's a little bit better.

Let's see if it'll just sit on top of the rock surface

like this. Yeah, I like this.

This is good.

Wow!

Let's have a look.

That is intimidating.

It does.

It looks like a tarantula.

I know you said, is it a tarantula?

You sure it's a funnel-web spider?

100% certain it's a funnel-web spider.

One of the ways that you can identify

this species as such is they have

a very bald cephalopod thorax.

Now, they do have hairs on their legs and on the abdomen,

but that is how you can recognize a funnel-web spider.

And that's the perfect sort of place to find them,

underneath logs where they can wait in ambush for their prey.

Now, they will also obviously be inside

of burrows with those little funnel-web systems.

And, woo, am I glad that I picked up the log from the end

that I did.

Now, my fingers didn't tuck underneath the log.

I was on the top side, and that's why you always pick up

a log from an area that you can see because if you tuck

your fingers underneath, you grapple onto that spider

and you take a bite, you are on your way to the hospital,

without question.

OK, now, I know it's probably kind of tough to see it inside

of this container, so let me see if I can take it out

and place it on the rock here and let's

get some shots with it. You ready for that?

OK, let me help the guys break out the lights real quick.

- OK. - It's getting kind of dark.

Yeah, we're losing light here.

All right, guys, we have the lights set up now.

And in the lights, the spider is even more intimidating looking.

You can see the sheen on the legs and the cephalothorax.

It's already cast a little bit of webbing inside the container

there.

And, uh, I think if you guys are ready,

let's take it out of the container

and see if it will just hold its ground here on the rock.

Now, this is an extremely aggressive spider species.

And oftentimes, they won't run, but what they will do

is rear up and show you those fangs and those front legs.

OK.

We have to be very cautious.

Yeah.

I'm going to just gently tilt this down like this.

And let's see if it will crawl out and just stop right there.

Here we go.

OK, let's see if I can get it to stay still.

Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

You, stay, you stay, you stay.

Actually, maybe I'll do this.

It seems to be more comfortable inside the container.

Yeah, that works for me.

How about you, Mario?

It's just such a dangerous spider, I mean, even more

so than a wandering spider.

Oh, OK.

Easy.

Oh.

Look at those hooked legs, allowing

it to hold on to the edge of the container.

Let me see if I do this.

Maybe if I put the container over top of it

and give it just a second to stay right there.

Now, one reason that the bite is so bad

is that because when they bite, their fangs are so long,

they actually will hook into you,

hold on, and continue to pump venom.

And it's not like a black widow or a redback spider

where they might give you a warning bite.

A bite from this spider species is full-on as much venom

as I can inject.

OK, let's try this.

Everybody got a decent shot on the spider?

There you have it.

Wow.

And just for scale, look at how big

that spider is next to my hand.

I'm not taking my eyes off of the arachnid.

That is definitely as close as I feel like I can get.

All right, Mark, let's try this.

I'm going to try to present it from just its still position

right there.

And like all spider species, you see

those very defined eight legs.

But they also have very long pedipalps up front,

and that helps them to grapple on to their prey.

And when they rear up, they show those fangs.

And their fangs are incredibly long, longer, in some cases,

than even some of the snake species here in Australia.

Now, one of the reasons that this spider is considered

so dangerous is because they can oftentimes

be found in residential areas.

The Sydney funnel-web specifically

is oftentimes found right in people's backyards.

That's why they tell you if you're

out there working in the garden, make sure you have on gloves.

You can be tilling up dirt, accidentally

grab one of these things, it bites you

on the tip of the finger, and you may be seeing symptoms

in as few as 15 minutes.

Now, the immediate bite, you're definitely going to notice.

The fangs are long enough to draw blood.

But immediately, you'll feel a throb in your finger.

And shortly after, you'll start to feel a tingling

in your mouth and lips.

Now, if you are bitten by one of these spiders,

you want to apply compression to the entire arm.

So let's say you're bitten on the tip of your finger.

Put compression straps up the length of your arm.

That will help slow the movement of the venom into your body.

Wow.

That is impressive.

Now, there are around 40 recognized species

of funnel-web spider, with one of the most dangerous

being the Sydney funnel-web.

And I can't identify exactly if this is a Sydney

or not, but what we do want to do

is actually take this spider back with us into civilization.

Where we want to go is the Australian Reptile Park.

They are-- oh, it's moving.

The Australian Reptile Park is the one place in Australia

where they actually extract venom from these spiders,

and then in turn build an antivenom

for people that are bitten.

So this spider that we found right here

might actually be used to save some lives.

How cool is that?

Awesome.

I think the best thing to do now is put a cap on this,

place it in my pack, and call it a night.

I'm Coyote Peterson.

Be brave.

Stay wild.

We'll see on the next adventure.

All right, we are taking this spider

to the Australian Reptile Park.

Wow!

What a fun--

Established in 1948, the Australian Reptile Park

and Wildlife Sanctuary is regarded

as one of the country's premiere animal attractions.

Considered a hands-on learning facility,

they are home to a countless number of animal species,

including Tasmanian devils, and even one incredibly

friendly Komodo dragon.

And while their animal attractions

have made them a world-renowned place to visit,

it is actually their commitment to saving

human lives that brings the crew and I knocking

at their laboratory door.

Come in.

- Hi. - Hey.

How you doing? - You must be Kane.

- That's correct. - Hi, Kane.

I am Coyote.

I'll let you finish playing with whatever

you're playing with there. What is that?

Uh, just feeding a little redback [inaudible]...

Oh, a redback. OK, cool.

We did an episode on redbacks.

But I brought you something a little more intimidating.

I'm pretty sure we have a Sydney funnel-web spider.

Excellent. My favorite.

Let me have a look.

Yeah, take a look.

I know there are various different species,

but we've caught that one last night.

Local to this area?

Yes, about 30 minutes from here.

Excellent.

Ooh, look how big it is.

Yes, it is a very large specimen you've brought me.

I'm very happy with that. - OK.

It is a Sydney funnel-web.

That's the good news.

It is definitely a Sydney funnel-web.

Is it a male?

That's the big question.

It is not.

Oh!

Not a male.

No.

So this is not the venom gold that you

guys are searching for?

No, it is the males we usually have

venom to make the anti-venom.

This is a female.

OK, I was really hoping that we were going

to get to milk a spider today.

Now, do you guys milk the females for anything?

Yeah, we do. We definitely milk the females.

Yeah. - Can we milk this spider?

We can definitely milk this spider.

Great.

So the venom does still have a value of some sort?

It definitely does.

We send the venom away for different research laboratories

to look into the venom.

Oh, sweet!

OK, well, we're still going to get to milk a spider,

and that's exactly what we wanted.

Now, can I actually milk the spider?

I will definitely let you milk that spider.

Oh, that's cool. OK, well, why don't we do this.

Do you have another spider that you can show me how to milk it?

I don't know, a different species or something like that?

I don't really trust myself trying

to milk it for the first time.

Yeah, funnel-webs, they love to defend

themselves vigorously.

So if you do touch one, as you might find out,

they will stand up, they will defend themselves.

Is this a male?

This is a female as well.

This is a younger female. - OK, wow.

A lot smaller.

A lot smaller.

So what's the big difference for anybody

out there watching between the males and the females?

Because I'm looking at this, I'm thinking, OK, well,

with tarantulas, the females are always girthier and heavier

than the males.

I guess that's the same way with the funnel-webs.

If I were to look at that, I would

think, OK, that's definitely a male as compared to this.

Yeah.

Now, the large abdomen at the back

is definitely one way to tell.

The abdomen size compared to the head size

is one way to tell the female and the thicker legs.

OK.

So the smaller of the two would be the male.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it is the male that

has the most potent venom and the one

that is extremely dangerous.

Definitely.

But a bite from a female, this wouldn't have

actually killed me last night.

Most likely wouldn't kill you.

Unless you're unhealthy or something,

it's not going to do a whole lot of damage.

OK.

But we have to treat every bite as a potentially

life-threatening bite.

OK, so getting into milking.

Yes.

How does this process work?

Mark, you got an OK shot there?

Yep.

So what will happen, we have a little vacuum hose going down

to a little pump down there.

We don't want to have too much suction

and suck the whole spider in.

But just touching them, you can see they seem--

You can actually see the drops of venom

on the tips of the fangs.

And that's what we want.

We want to get that venom from those fangs into the pipette.

So when she stands up, you can see she's

very, very aggressive there.

Oh, yeah.

Pushing in some venom.

We just draw the pipette down the tips of the fangs.

They are hollow just like a hypodermic syringe.

Mhm.

And by drawing that down, as she's producing that venom,

we're just sucking it up into the tip of this pipette.

Now, how many of the males

do you need to milk before you get an actual vial of venom

where you can build an antivenom from?

We look at having about 250 to 400 males

in any one year that we will have to milk every single day

right through the year to keep up

with the quota we need to give to the Commonwealth

Serum Laboratories.

And in your opinion, would you say this

is the most dangerous spider in the world?

Definitely, definitely.

You really do not want to get bitten by one of these.

The good thing we have in Australia is the Reptile Park

produces the venom to make the antivenom.

Since the antivenom came out in 1981,

we've had no deaths attributed to a funnel-web spider bite.

Really?

So that's very good.

OK, so the research is working.

The antivenom is working.

But how many people would you say are bitten every year?

Because this is an extremely common species

that's found in suburban areas.

Definitely.

We have a lot of people and a lot of conflict

with the funnel-web spiders in the area.

There's about five people every year that require

a serious amount of antivenom.

There are also bites that do present to hospital that

don't have a severe envenomation and then

may not require antivenom.

It's always a last resort, the antivenom.

OK, now, the spider that we caught last night is a female.

And fortunately, I was not bitten,

but if I was, what would I have wanted to do in that instance?

First thing you want to do is a full compression bandage

on the area you've been bitten.

OK.

If that was on your hand, any bracelets, rings, watches,

jewelry has to come off straight away because it will swell.

So this would have been problematic?

Definitely take it off.

It will swell up straight away.

Let's say I was bitten on the tip of my finger.

Basically, what we're going to go

with a bite is you want to go around

the bite site, first of all.

OK.

These bandages are great.

They're going to tell us the correct tension to put it on.

When they form a square, we know that they're

going the right tension to restrict the flow of venom.

You go around the bite site.

And then what you're going to do,

because it's at the fingertip, we're

going to go the whole limb.

We don't stop at the wrist.

We don't stop at the elbow.

We go as far up as the bandage will allow us.

Now, that pressure, you can feel that's pretty tight.

Oh, yeah, I feel like a mummy.

What the idea is is it's restricting

the flow of that venom going through your lymphatic system.

We want to restrict that flow.

And hopefully, the venom will neutralize

itself down here and not right through your body.

OK.

Once you've got that on there, you're going to stay still.

If you've got a buttoned-up shirt or a sling,

you put that on.

And you want to get to the hospital as soon as possible,

calling an ambulance or getting someone to drive you.

You don't want to try and drive a vehicle yourself

you are bitten.

Yeah, I can certainly feel that it is providing quite

a bit of pressure to my arm.

Now, like I said, as we all know,

I was not bitten, but here's the million dollar question.

Have you ever been bitten?

I've never been bitten by any spiders locally.

Really?

- No, no spiders. - Wow.

So you're extra careful when you're

working with these spiders.

Definitely have to be extra careful working

with these ones.

Yeah, well, when we were filming last night,

I'll tell you what, I was nervous to be

around that spider. This is good to know.

I mean, it sounds like this is something

that everybody should have in their first-aid kit here

in Australia.

Definitely in Australia.

Venomous snakes around the world differ.

In different areas, you wouldn't.

In Australia with our elapids, we need this same bandage,

will work on any of our venomous snakes

as well as our funnel-web spiders.

All right, well, let's take this off my arm.

I've seen you milk a spider.

I think if you guys are ready, I am ready to milk

the Sydney funnel-web.

Does that sound good to you?

That sounds great.

I'll put this little one away.

Things are about to get dangerous.

Oh, boy.

Here we go.

I'm just going to gently coax her out.

Ooh, there she is.

That is one big funnel-web spider right there.

All right, I am going to reach over here to grab the pipette.

It's coming off of its clip.

Here we go.

Oh, wow.

Look at that.

Wow!

OK, you can already see the venom coming

off the tips of the fangs.

And what Kane said is that I actually want to just kind

of turn her a little bit.

So if you touch

her back leg on this side, she'll

turn to face the pipette.

Got it.

Going now with the pipette.

OK, OK.

Oh, my hand is shaking.

Just gently taking that venom [inaudible] fangs.

Wow, there we go.

OK, there's definitely venom there inside the pipette.

Let me get her to rear up a second time.

And she will just keep producing venom, right, Kane?

Yeah, that's correct.

Even once you've got her up [inaudible] the legs up,

a gentle blow right towards those fangs

will sometimes get her to push some more out for you.

There we go.

That's it.

Just draw down the fangs.

Yeah.

Oh, just bit the pipette.

You can feel the power in that strike.

OK, I think, uh, that's all the venom she has to give.

It's not as much as I thought it was going to come out of there.

I could see why you guys have to milk so many of these spiders

to build up a vial to create that antivenom.

Yeah, exactly.

It's not as much as you're going to get from one

of our venomous snakes in Australia,

but it does show you how potent it is.

It's only a little amount that does a lot of damage.

OK, now what do I want to do with this?

Put the pipette back safely over here.

OK.

I'll hand that to you.

I'll take that for you.

I'm going to just put this little capsule back

over her for safety's sake.

Excellent.

There you go.

Whoa. Woo!

That was nerve-wrecking.

And you do this every day, don't you?

Every day. I love it.

Wow. Well, this was so cool.

Thank you so much for letting me milk--

Not a problem at all.

- the funnel-web spider.

Now, it wasn't a male.

It was only a female, but that doesn't matter.

The venom is still of value.

Now, for everybody out there watching,

if you come across one of these spiders,

try to safely catch it and bring it

here to the Australian Reptile Park

because this is the only place that--

Milks funnel-webs for the production

of antivenom in Australia.

That's right, guys.

So if you bring one here, there is the chance that you're

going to save a life.

I'm Coyote Peterson.

Be brave.

Stay wild.

We'll see on the next adventure.

The Australian Reptile Park is the only sanctuary

of its type in Australia that has a spider and snake

venom milking program.

And the good news is that their antivenom

creation has been saving thousands

of lives for over 50 years.

If you encounter a snake or a spider

while exploring in Australia and admire the animal

from a safe distance, your odds of being bitten

are very unlikely.

However, unexpected bites do occur.

And if you find yourself in this worst case scenario,

make sure to stay calm and seek medical treatment immediately.

Oh! Oh, oh, oh!

Guys, guys, guys!

Praying mantis!

Now, one thing that I love about these insects

is look at that face.

It looks just like an alien from another planet.

Pretty cool exploring the countryside

here in Japan, just scouting some location-- ooh, ooh, ooh!

Look at that.

Oh, no!

That's a dead praying mantis.

Oh, buddy.

Aw.

I hate to see them when they're dead.

That stinks.

There's a garden right over here.

Oh! Oh, oh, oh!

Guys, guys, guys!

Praying mantis!

Nice!

Yes!

I just saw a dead one.

This one is-- this one's alive.

Cool!

You want to film a scene?

Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

Definitely worth filming a little segment with this guy.

Awesome. - Look at that.

Cool.

Do you want to-- let's head right over here.

OK.

Here we go.

- All right. - Sweet!

Awesome find.

Wow.

Good timing.

Rain is moving in.

Yeah, I think you only have a few minutes to do this, but--

It's definitely worth getting a little segment.

You know your mantis facts, right?

Oh yeah.

Well, guys, we were just walking down the road

right now, scouting locations.

And right in the middle of the road

is this beautiful green praying mantis.

Now, we featured praying mantis on the channel

a couple of times, but never a species here in Japan.

Now, there are several different species

that live in Japan, so we'll have to look this up

to identify it properly.

But we just can never pass up the opportunity

to get one of these insects up close for the cameras.

And this one is being incredibly calm.

Most of the time, they're trying to pinch me

with those front arms or trying to fly away.

So we figured, why not get a quick little scene

with this insect.

Now, as you guys know, all insects

break down into three parts; the head,

the thorax, and the abdomen.

What's really cool about praying mantis

is look how long that thorax is just behind the head.

And then, of course you've got this large abdomen,

which indicates that it is likely a female.

Now, the females do grow larger than the males.

And as you may know, and if you don't know,

now you're about to know, when the males and the females

breed, afterwards, the females bite the heads off of the males

and eat the bodies.

So it's sort of a cannibalistic sort of situation,

but still pretty cool.

I mean, these insects have a very unique life process.

And after they lay their eggs, they end up dying.

So we are just at the beginning of egg laying season,

so this praying mantis doesn't have too much time left,

but certainly still something really cool to get

up close for the cameras.

Now, one thing that I love about these insects

is look at that face.

It looks just like an alien from another planet.

Those big buggy eyes.

Now, they do have incredible eyesight.

And as we know, praying mantis are ambush hunters.

Because of their color, they can stay camouflaged

in all the plants where they live,

and then they wait for something to come close, latch out

with those front arms, grab on to it,

crush it with those sharp little spikes, and then, of course,

eat their prey.

What a cool creature.

Now let me turn it like this.

You can see on the back, covering the abdomen there,

these are the wings.

And praying mantis are capable of flying, usually

only for a short distance.

They tend to want to move from spot

to spot more so just by crawling amongst all of the foliage.

But if some predatory threat comes into the environment,

they of course can then take off and quickly escape.

You may be asking yourself, well, what we eat a bug that's

as cool as a praying mantis?

Certainly birds, different reptiles, and even

mammals will take this species.

Wow.

Pretty sweet.

And one thing that I love about the praying mantis

is how inquisitive and intelligent this insect seems.

Look at those big eyes.

Always curious.

Always paying attention to its surroundings.

And what you may not know is that praying mantis

are both diurnal and nocturnal, meaning

that you'll see them active during the day

but also at night.

The praying mantis is an opportunistic feeder,

meaning it will pretty much take anything

that it can grapple on to, even things bigger than itself.

Things such as small frogs, even lizards, and small snakes

are capable of being eaten by this insect.

Wow.

I absolutely love praying mantis.

And people oftentimes ask me what my favorite animal is,

and as you guys know, it is the common snapping turtle.

But when it comes to insects, the praying mantis

has always been the one that I've been fascinated with ever

since I was a little kid.

Well, this was pretty cool.

Walking down the street, scouting locations,

and we happen upon the one and only praying mantis.

I'm Coyote Peterson.

Be brave.

Stay wild.

We'll see on the next adventure.

All right, there's actually a garden right over here.

She was headed in that direction,

so let's place her in there and hopefully she'll

find some cool food to eat.