Original subtitles

Hi, guys.

I'm climbing.

Be careful.

Whoa, whoa, whoa,

boy, he's coming right at me.

Hold on.

Oh, this is a bad situation to be in.

As you travel across the rugged landscape

of the Australian Outback, it's pretty

obvious that this environment is the perfect place for reptiles.

Today is our last adventure into the 350 square mile wilderness

that exists just outside of Meandarra.

During the several days we have spent here,

working under the special permits of Lockie Gilding

and Max Jackson from Australian Wildlife Encounters,

we managed to accomplish several successes,

including a safe capture, presentation,

and release, a species, such as the bearded dragon,

the blue tongued skink, and the sand monitor.

Yet, it wasn't until this last day of exploration

that we came across one of the outback's most elusive

lizards, the lace monitor,

OK, it's starting to move to start with.

Can you hunker down in the grass and go for this?

Into the burrow.

Another good attempt at it there.

Got some good b-roll shots of it, but wow, they are fast.

And they always stay close to their burrows,

which is oftentimes why they can be so difficult to catch.

Yeah, check this out.

Right down in there, that would be a monitor burrow.

All right, guys, now, let's keep at it.

It's a really great look almost at the golden opportunity.

Is something up the road right there?

We've got another monitor.

Hear it?

It's a lace monitor.

It's going just toward this tree.

It's going up the tree on the backside of the tree.

This might be catchable.

It's going straight up the tree.

I'm going to go after it.

All right, guys, I'm climbing.

Be careful.

The tree's not dead.

Oh, and it's hissing at me.

This is going to be a wicked grab.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, boy, he's coming right at me.

Hold on.

This is a bad situation to be in.

There's literally nothing between me and the lizard,

but I've got a hold on to its tail.

It's facing right toward me.

Oh, this is bad.

I can't get a good angle on it.

Got him.

Nice.

Woo, I'm getting caught up.

Oh boy, that's really high up to have caught a monitor.

Now, the challenge is going to be getting back down.

I've got my hands full.

This is the lace monitor.

I'm getting ripped to shreds here.

OK, I'm going to try to slowly maneuver myself down.

OK, that's a long drive from there.

Isn't it?

I'm not jumping that one.

I'm running out of reach.

Just hold on.

Woo, that is a good looking lizard right there.

It's actually missing the tip of its tail.

The acrobatics necessary to catch monitor lizards

have been one of the greatest challenges so far of my career,

and what you're looking at right there is the lace monitor.

I have it, and it has me.

What a beautiful reptile, and I really

had to work for that one.

I'm going to have some scars from that one.

Blood on the thumb, blood on the hand, blood on the arm,

claws going into my tricep.

But there it is, one of the most pristine reptile species here

in Australia, the lace monitor.

Now, when we caught the sand monitor,

we were extremely excited.

That was also a very difficult catch.

Look at that.

It is absolutely locked on to me,

and you may be noticing that they're about similar in size.

But actually, the lace monitor can grow quite a bit bigger.

I would consider this just a juvenile.

They can reach lengths of up to six feet,

and like the sand monitor, this is

a voracious predator, looking for anything

it can get its jaws on.

Whether it's alive or dead, it is fair game.

Now, one thing that's really interesting about the lace

monitor is its more arboreal than any of the other monitor

species out here.

Its first line of retreat was to head up into the tree, which

actually is an advantage for me, because it isolates

the reptile, if it goes down into a burrow,

there's no chance of catching it.

Now, while it's not an easy catch,

it is easier than chasing it across the grasslands

and hoping that it eventually turns around and gives

me a defensive display.

They do have epic, long, beautiful tails,

but you'll actually see this one is missing the tip of its tail.

That could have happened from a predator grabbing onto it.

It could have also happened in a battle with another larger

monitor, but even without the tip of its tail,

this lizard is incredible.

Now, you'll notice a very distinct yellowish banding

on the underside of the chin there,

and here, let me just tip it up a bit more, so you can zoom in

and get that shot.

And while the body structure is similar to the sand monitor,

the color difference is quite noticeable,

all of that golden speckling that runs along the legs

and on the lower jaw.

And I'll tell you what, the claws are no less

sharp than the sand monitor or any reptile

I have ever worked with.

They're about as sharp as the talons of an eagle,

and as soon as I had the monitor isolated up there in the tree,

it immediately went into a defensive maneuver, where

it said, OK, I can't climb any further.

So what I'm going to do is hiss and try to bite you.

And as soon as I grabbed a hold of its backside,

I had control in a sense.

But still, if I let go, it would have lunged

forward and latched on me.

Let me tell you, you don't want to be bitten by a monitor

that high up in the tree.

Now, the bite from this reptile is very painful.

They have razor sharp teeth, and there's a lot

of bacteria in their saliva.

And oftentimes, monitor bites result in an infection.

There's a lot of debate out there

in the scientific community as to

whether or not these reptiles are actually venomous.

We know the Komodo dragons, when they bite their prey,

that victim eventually falls to the toxicity of the saliva.

I'm not sure how that necessarily

works with the lace monitor, but I can tell you this much,

I do not want to be bitten by this creature.

So incredible, and actually, Mario,

could you help me for just a second?

I want to kind of show you guys the strength

and musculature of its body, but it's latched onto my arm.

And one cool thing about the lace monitor

is that they become larger and stockier than many

of the other monitor species here in Australia,

and it is just--

ah, that's like a fish hook in the backside of my arm.

Here?

Yeah, you got it.

OK, get it off.

Almost, almost, almost.

There we go.

OK, now, I've got a better hold.

For the entire first part of this scene,

I had a fish hook of a claw in the underside of my arm.

All monitor species are incredibly intelligent.

In fact, almost problem solving intelligent,

and the lace monitor specifically tops the charts.

The females will actually lay their eggs in termite mounds

and use the heat that's generated

in there to incubate the eggs.

The termites then come and rebuild their nest,

and it's a very solid structure.

The babies wouldn't be able to get back out,

so what the female does is remembers

where she laid those eggs.

She goes and digs them up as they're beginning to hatch,

and then the babies are released out into the wild.

Whoever thought that a reptile could be such a good mother?

I cannot tell at this age whether or not we are

looking at a male or a female.

It's rather tough to distinguish when they're juveniles,

but I'll tell you this much.

It is one impressive reptile and certainly a creature

that we absolutely respect.

Well, how cool is that?

The lace monitor is officially our second monitor

catch of the trip.

I'll tell you this much, the catch was no less

challenging than the first one.

I'm Coyote Peterson.

Be brave, stay wild.

We'll see you on the next adventure.

Man, that was awesome.

Chasing a lace monitor up to the highest heights of a tree

made for an incredibly daring and dangerous catch.

Yet, nothing excites me more than the moments

I got to spend in the presence of this beautiful reptile.

The Australian Outback provided the Brave Wilderness team and I

with some of the greatest adventures of our careers,

and I speak for us all when I say that we

cannot wait to one day return.

We've got a snake right here.

Whoa, it's a fer-de-lance.

All right, hold on.

Make sure it doesn't just take off.

100%, look at that.

It's about four feet long.

I'm going to catch it.

This is a really bad position for us

to be in for actually handling this snake.

Over the course of releasing Brave Wilderness content,

there is a phrase you have often times heard

me use, biological landmine.

Simply defined as any plant or animal

that you can stumble upon in the wild

and that has the ability to cause

potential harm if you are unfortunate enough

to make contact with it.

Oww.

Wow, guys, that was seriously intense.

In Costa Rica, the bio landmines are plentiful,

and while the crew and I were on the Caribbean coast,

we happened upon what is arguably the most

dangerous in Central America, a pit

viper known as the fer-de-lance.

We've got a snake right here.

Whoa, it's a fer-de-lance.

All right, hold on.

Make sure it sure doesn't just take off.

100%, look at that.

It's about four feet long.

All right, it knows it's been spotted now.

Mark, can you see it?

Yeah, here, let me get down here.

Here, I'll light it up for you.

Look at that. Where's the tail?

The head is all the way up there in the leaves.

Can you see it?

Oh wow.

Let's do this.

I'm going to turn off my light.

Have you guys got a decent shot? Yeah.

All right, I'm going

to use the snake tongs to just get a gentle hold on the back

of the snake's head.

Oh man, this is nerve racking.

This is the most dangerous reptile

we could have come across.

Ready?

Real gentle.

Oh, it's starting to move.

Hold on.

Oh, it's biting at the snake hook.

Biting at the tongs.

OK, I've got it.

Back up, back up, back up.

OK, where do we want to go?

Mark, you move.

I'm going to come straight towards you.

Let's get this snake up into a controlled situation.

You ready? Yep.

All right, slow, slow, slow.

Watch your footing.

All right, I'm going to walk right past you.

Mario, you follow me.

Everybody, back, back, back, back.

Come on.

All right, everybody, move back slowly.

There is a flat, dry area right back up here.

Wow, all right, we can move very slowly here.

We have to give this situation all

of the respect in the world.

Look at that.

That is about a four foot fer-de-lance,

the most dangerous snake that you

can possibly come across here in the rainforests of Costa Rica.

Look at that creature.

Wow, can you believe that we came across one?

I can, but I'm kind of thinking

this is pretty dangerous. Isn't it?

Yeah, it's pretty dangerous.

Now, I know you guys are probably thinking,

Coyote, are you going to head that snake

and show us its fangs?

Honestly, guys, it really is not worth it.

A bite from this snake is extremely dangerous,

and this adventure would be over.

And we would be on our way to the hospital.

Now, they are considered the most dangerous

snake in Costa Rica because of their close proximity

to humans.

They're often found in agricultural areas,

and even in rural and residential areas.

Because they're hunting for rodents and amphibians.

Now, the way workers often stumble upon them,

let's say, you're out in the field.

There's so well camouflaged.

I'm going to do something for you real quick here.

Just be careful.

I'm going to set it down in the leaves.

Look at how that snake almost completely disappears.

That cryptic patterning just blends perfectly into all

the shadows within the leaves.

I mean, if this snake was not moving,

you would never know that it's there.

It's so cool.

I love to watch him just slink over the terrain, like that.

It's so effortlessly the way that they

just glide over the leaves.

That is awesome.

Now, look at how the tail is moving.

Do you see that? Yes.

It's moving the tail,

and it's rattling it in the leaves.

That's called biomimicry, so it's replicating

what a rattlesnake does.

Listen, you barely hear that, but it's

just a warning sign that, if you get close, I am venomous.

Yes, you are.

Look at the pits on the front of that snake face.

Let me see if I can fold down this blade of grass.

We have great light right there.

Check that out, and it's about as

close as I want to get to it.

Remember, this snake can strike 2/3 the length of its body.

I'm going to go ahead and just place these tongs here.

In case it does strike, I can deflect that.

Now, don't strike.

Don't strike.

Don't strike.

Look at the pits right on the side of the nose there.

You see that just behind the nostril

and just in front of the eye, and that's how

these snakes detect their prey.

So it is an ambush predator.

Look at that.

It's curling up into a ball there.

They will lie in wait for a rodent

to come along, and then just, whoosh, like a rattlesnake.

They strike out, inject that with toxic venom,

and then they've got a meal.

My heart is racing being that close to the snake.

OK, it seems really calm, but you cannot let your guard

down with a snake like this.

It may seem as if it's not going to strike.

But at any second, if it decides that I've

made the wrong movement, it can launch from about there

to here with very little effort.

I'm going to bring the snake gently back into the--

whoa, did you see that?

That was a massive bite that it just gave to the snake tongs.

Wow, that is a big snake.

Isn't it?

Yeah.

And they can get significantly bigger,

and the females are much more robust than this.

So I'm guessing that it is a male.

Either that or a female that hasn't

eaten in quite some time, but there

is definitely a healthy supply of tree frogs in this area.

So this snake is out and on the hunt.

Wow, well, that definitely gets your adrenaline flowing.

It's actually pretty tough to present

when you're in the vicinity of a snake that is this dangerous.

I'm glad that we have the snake tongs, because a lot of times,

you guys see me just handling rattlesnakes

with the snake hook.

I've also done that with copperheads and water

moccasins, but a snake like this is extremely powerful

and extremely dangerous.

So we want to make sure we take safety

first into consideration.

I just could not resist getting the most dangerous pit

viper in the Western hemisphere up close for the cameras.

I'm Coyote Peterson.

Be brave, stay wild.

We'll see on the next adventure.

All right, let's get the snake back by the pond,

so it can hunt for frogs.

All right, we'll see you.

Well, I'm glad that scene's over.

Nothing like getting up close with a dangerous pit viper.

When exploring in the rainforest at night,

if there is one thing that I can guarantee,

it's that you will come across all kinds

of reptiles and amphibians.

How awesome is that lizard?

Look at how long that tail is?

There are literally hundreds of species,

and for someone, like me, the best part

is that you never know which one you're

going to come across next.

Check that out.

That is a cat-eyed snake right there.

It's probably venomous, but rear fanged.

Wow, and they're called cat-eyed snakes.

Let's look at the eyes.

It looks just like the eye of a cat.

Very big, large eyes.

I mean, this snake has great vision at night.

This is a nocturnal reptile out here right now probably

hunting for small frogs.

Absolutely gorgeous.

Look how slender it is, and this camouflage pattern

on this snake looks just like the leaf litter that's out here

on the base of the creek bed.

And look at that.

Look at how the neck is curved and kicked in.

These snakes will just wait in line ambush for their prey.

Look at that.

Look at how powerful it is to just

hold up the weight of its body.

Wow, so cool.

This is a venomous snake?

It is mildly venomous.

If I took a bite from this snake,

I probably wouldn't be in any real trouble,

because this is a rear facing snake.

It would probably have to strikeout, bite my nose,

and hold on.

I'm pretty confident that, if it did strike me,

even if it caught me, I could pull

away fast enough to the point where

no venom would go into me.

But these snakes are rather docile,

as you can see, not real prone to striking,

and the fact that it doesn't have front fangs,

I'm not that nervous.

I still do want to be careful though.

As long as I just don't apply too much pressure

to the snake's body, it should stay comfortable,

and I don't risk being bitten.

That is one cool nocturnal creature right there.

Absolutely beautiful.

Wow, so many cool reptiles to come across

out here on the creek bed.

All right, let's let this guy go.

Let's see what else we can find.

Welcome to Creature Features.

Today, I'm exploring one of my favorite places

in Central Ohio, Prairie Oaks Metro Park,

and I'm on the lookout for one of its most common,

believe it or not, one of its most friendly

reptiles, the garter snake.

Now to find one, I'm going to be exploring

in this open remote field, the perfect expanse

to search for these reptiles as it's nestled right up

against a wooded environment.

With any luck, we'll find one of these snakes

and introduce you to five facts that you probably didn't know.

All right, if you guys are ready, let's start the search.

Now, there are many environments, where you can

come across a garter snake, but an open field like this

is perfect.

I have the advantage, because the grass isn't too tall.

However, the garter snake needs to worry

about predators, like hawks.

All right, let's keep searching.

I have a good feeling we're getting close.

Look at that right there.

There's a garter snake right next to me.

This is perfect.

Check it out, Mario.

I see him.

Wow, this is perfect, exactly

what we were searching for.

I told you they'd be out in these fields.

It's not super warm today, but that's OK.

There you have it.

That is our garter snake, and here

are five facts you probably didn't know about this species.

Number one, garter snakes are the most common snake species

in all of North America.

Number two, is it a garden snake or a garter snake?

The proper name is garter snake, though, they're oftentimes

called garden snakes.

Because people find them in their gardens,

where they're searching for prey items,

like toads, frogs, insects, and arachnids.

The name garter is because the stripes that run down

the length of its body that look like a garter, which

is a piece of clothing, like suspenders, that

holds up stockings or pants.

This guy, though, is definitely not wearing any pants.

Number three, the garter snake is

non-venomous, which means it's completely

safe to interact with.

The way the snake defends itself against a potential predator

is to actually do something known

as musking, which is essentially the same as pooping.

Trust me.

It stinks.

This snake definitely musked on my hand,

which means this is not something that I

would want to likely eat.

Number four, garter snakes communicate

using something known as pheromonal communication.

Both males and females release pheromones

during breeding season, which attracts them to each other.

You'll often see garter snakes in what's known as a breeding

ball, and that is a bunch of snakes

doing exactly that, breeding.

Now, when the females give birth,

this is fact number five.

They're ovoviviparous, which means that they give birth

to live young, and that's it, five

facts that you probably didn't know about the garter snake.

I'm Coyote Peterson.

Be brave, and stay wild.

We'll see you on the next Creature Feature.