Original subtitles

Welcome to Creature Features.

Right now, I'm exploring a flooded meadow.

What's great about this is it provides

the perfect environment for a number of reptiles

and amphibians species.

It's right up against a wooded area and near that wooded area

we can find some of the most common reptiles

here in West Virginia, possibly hog nosed snakes

and maybe even some black rat snakes.

So with any luck, all we need to do is a little bit of searching

and hopefully, we'll come across one of these reptiles.

OK, we're headed into this wooded area here.

A little easier to walk than out in those grasses.

Wow.

Pretty open expanse in here.

Lots of cool trees and vines too.

Black rat snake right there.

Look at this.

Right there, moving up the--

How about that?

There's a black rat snake going right up those vines.

You probably can't see it on the GoPro.

OK, to catch that snake, I'll have to get up into that tree.

Hold on a second.

I'm coming up there.

You stay put.

Where is he going?

Oh, boy.

This is going to be a challenge.

Real quick.

Oh, there goes my GoPro.

Got him.

Here we go.

Here we go.

OK, I'm jumping down.

Hold on.

And just like that, we've got a creature.

OK, and here we go.

The five things that you probably didn't

know about the black rat snake.

Number one, the black rat snake is non-venomous.

While some people are afraid of the snake species,

it is completely harmless.

Number two, the black rat snake, like all snakes,

does have teeth.

However, their teeth are rather small.

While a bite won't necessarily hurt you,

they do use those teeth to grapple onto their prey.

To kill their prey, because they don't have venom,

they actually constrict around them,

so very similar to a python.

This snake will tangle up its victim, eventually cutting off

the circulation, which leads to death,

and then the snake has the opportunity to finish its meal.

Number three, speaking of meals, like their name suggests,

the black rat snake specializes in catching and eating

rats, mice, and small mammals.

However, like you saw there, they are also arboreal,

which means they'll head up into the trees

to rob bird nests of baby birds or unhatched eggs.

These snakes are excellent climbers.

Number four, the black rat snake is one of the largest snake

species in the United States, and they can

reach nearly 8 feet in length.

That is a pretty big slithering serpent.

Number five, while they may be called

the black rat snake, as you can see,

they're not completely black.

While they can be a very dark shade,

they oftentimes have a very light underbelly

and have a bit of speckling that runs

down the length of their body.

You've got some reds, some yellows, and some creams,

making this snake perfectly camouflaged

between the light and the shadows

in the environments which it's hunting.

And when they're babies, also known as neonates,

they're gray with a little bit of patterning,

so rather hard to identify.

There you have it, five things that you probably didn't

know about the black rat snake.

I'm Coyote Petersen.

Be brave.

Stay wild.

We'll see you on the next creature feature.

All right, there he goes.

Right back into the tree where he came from.

Good luck hunting.

Welcome to Creature Features.

Today I'm exploring Middle Bass Island.

While this location is famous for its unique population

of Lake Erie water snakes, today I'm

actually searching for another one of its slithering serpents,

the fox snake.

It's early morning, and the sun is just beginning to peek

through the trees, which means that these snakes are

going to come out to start basking

and then hunting for the day.

So I have a good feeling that with just

a little bit of searching, there's a good chance

we're going to find one.

So if you guys are ready, let's see if we

can track down a fox snake.

One of the best places to search for fox snakes

is actually the base of trees, and the reason for that

is these predators are opportunistic

and this time of year, a lot of baby birds are learning to fly.

Those that can't quite get up into the air

end up on the ground, which presents

the perfect opportunity for a snake to get a simple meal.

By searching the base of the trees,

I'm hoping to come across one of these snakes

that's waiting in ambush.

All right, let's check a few more trees.

I think we're getting close.

OK, guys, we have got a fox snake

moving right here from the shadows and into the light

just as I predicted.

This is perfect.

Check this out.

This is one of my favorite snake species in the world.

Totally safe to interact with.

All I need to do is gently pick it up like that.

And there you have it.

That is our Middle Bass Island fox snake.

Morning, buddy.

How are you?

That is one good looking fox snake,

and it may be the largest fox snake I have ever caught

here on the Erie islands.

This guy is close to 3 and 1/2 maybe even 4 feet in length.

All right, so if you guys are ready, here we go.

The five things that you probably didn't

know about the fox snake.

Number one, the fox snake is a classic case of vilification

based on misidentification.

What that means is this species is often confused

for venomous pit vipers, like the Copperhead

or the timber rattlesnake.

The truth is this is a completely

non-venomous constrictor species in the colubridae family.

They're very closely related to rat snakes

in the genus pantherophis.

Number two, as constrictors, these snakes

will wait in ambush for their prey to get close.

They primarily feast on small mammals, birds, and amphibians.

When they strikeout, they grapple on

with a mouthful of teeth and anchor onto their prey.

Once they have that prey in place,

they quickly wrap their coils around and begin to constrict.

Once that prey item dies, they're capable of swallowing

it down whole.

Number three, the fox snake gets its namesake

from Reverend Charles Fox.

This is the guy that discovered and collected

the original holotype of the species.

The name also comes from the fact

that when they're threatened by predators,

they will release a really pungent

musk that supposedly smells like a fox, hence

the name fox snake.

Number four, if the smell of a fox

doesn't drive off an attacker, this

is one of many non-venomous snake species that

is capable of striking out repeatedly and also

rattling its tail against leaf litter to mimic a rattlesnake.

That combined with the banded and checkered patterning,

plus a striped tail, you can see why

this species is often confused for a venomous rattler.

Number five, fox snakes are completely harmless to humans

and are actually doing us quite a bit of good

by helping to balance out the vermin population.

Yet these snakes are on the decline,

and throughout many parts of the range

are considered threatened.

That's due to habitat loss from human encroachment

and also eradication based on an unnecessary fear

of this species.

So there you have it, five things

that you probably didn't know about the fantastic fox snake.

I'm Coyote Petersen.

Be brave.

Stay wild.

We'll see you on the next Creature Feature.

Hello, everybody, I'm Mark Vins

and today, I'm taking you on an adventure with me

to look for horned lizards.

Let's go.

All right, so it's pretty windy out here

today, which could pose some problems

for finding horned lizards.

Horned lizards, as we know, are very small species of reptile,

and they're going to want to be taking

shelter today out of this wind.

Not to mention the sun is behind a lot of clouds

so those exothermic reptiles are definitely going to be hunkered

down trying to keep warm.

Now we're also hopefully going to find out later, if we

find one, are they dangerous?

Are they dangerous to hold?

Are they sharp to touch?

That's something that I'm going to reveal later in this video.

All right, cool, here.

Here's a cool plant.

You can see this creosote bush has already blossomed.

This is my favorite desert plant because it's what

gives the desert its smell.

That beautiful aroma that you get after a rainstorm

is because of this plant.

And you can actually experience that without rain.

All you have to do take a little sprig,

you rub it in your hands.

I do this every time I'm in the Southwest.

These are all over the Southwest, and then drop.

Oh, man, I love that smell.

But another cool thing about the creosote bush

is it makes a great hiding spot for smaller animals,

including the horned lizard, today's target species.

So you can bet every creosote bush we pass,

I'm going to be looking underneath.

All right, Cory, time to move on.

Here's a cool barrel cactus.

Look at that.

Its spines are super sharp.

No need to worry about ankle breakers out here,

got to worry about ankle shredders.

Look at that.

So we couldn't come on an adventure

out here without addressing one of these.

The Joshua Tree is a very unique species.

It's the tallest and largest of the yucca

and they are extremely sharp.

Come on in here real quick, Cory.

Look at this.

Should I show everybody just how sharp these really are?

OK, you guys ready for this?

You've seen the cholla.

It's time to take a step up to the Joshua Tree.

Ready?

1, 2, 3.

No way, guys.

That would literally go straight through my hand.

Cory, reach out and feel how strong.

That is.

And they are razor sharp.

What's really cool about this plant

is that they are actually ancient.

These trees can live up to 500 years old,

and they take about 60 years to grow into a mature plant.

So this one is at least 60 years old.

Now they can grow quite a bit taller than this.

They can actually extend up to heights of 40 feet.

OK, time to find those lizards.

Horned lizards are some of the coolest reptiles

in the Southwest.

There's many species.

Certainly we've found them before on "Brave Wilderness"

but we're looking for a special one today.

One we have not seen yet on video.

So far, no luck.

As we know, washes are a great place to find reptiles,

specifically snakes.

So I just wanted to come up here real quick

and see if anything's moving.

We found the desert horned lizard, a baby, a juvenile.

I'm going to grab him.

Ready, Cory?

1, 2, 3.

Got him.

Hello.

Look how beautiful he is.

OK, here, let's get down out of the wind.

This is good spot.

Oh, yeah, definitely much more out of the wind.

This is a juvenile desert horned lizard.

Look at how cute this little reptile is.

Let's tell everybody at home all about you.

Now although their appearance is quite spiky and ominous,

I can tell you that all of those are nothing

more than modified scales.

The only real sharp part is that crown around their head,

and even those are very dull.

Now the crown of horns on the desert horned lizard

is actually a lot shorter than that

of the regal horned lizard.

You may have seen our past videos in Arizona where we

found the regal horned lizard.

This is a different species, but it

is one of three horned lizard species that

has that defense mechanism where they can project

blood out of their eyes.

Notice, this horned lizard did not do that.

They really have to be agitated to display

that defense mechanism.

And what that is it's actually pretty bizarre.

These lizards have two veins that connect to their ocular

sinuses, and they have the ability

to constrict those veins to stop the blood flow from the heart.

Now when that pressure builds up,

they can release it in such a force

that it breaks through the membrane

and shoots out up to 4 feet.

Wow.

Oh, look at that cute little tail.

Cool pattern on that tail.

Very flat for a horned lizard.

But I just love the coloration of the desert horned lizard.

Those beautiful whitish grays and browns,

almost a green hue and an outer line of orange and tan

on the cheeks.

Man, you are so cool looking.

And I can't believe you found you underneath a creosote bush,

that we were talking about just earlier,

is a great place for smaller animals

to take refuge in wind and sun.

And like I mentioned earlier, this is just a hatchling,

a tiny desert horned lizard.

But if it's lucky enough, it'll grow up

to be 3 to 5 inches in length, which

is about three times your size.

So you've got a long way to go, buddy.

But we're going to put you right back

where we found you, so you can get well on your way, right?

Right.

What a special way to end our adventure

here in the deserts of Nevada, finding the desert

horned lizard.

I'm Mark Vins.

Be brave.

Stay wild.

We'll see you on the next adventure.

All right, let's put you back.

There's the creosote bush and you're home.

Here we go.

Have a good day.

Thanks for hanging.

The Australian Outback can truly

be hailed as one of the most iconic landscapes

on the planet, and visiting this location

had long been a dream for the Brave Wilderness team.

This vast expanse of open grasslands and arid terrain

is home to a plethora of reptilian

species, many of which we hope to get

up close for the cameras.

So to have the best chance of finding them,

we travel far beyond the city limits of bustling civilization

and headed westward toward the tiny rural town of Meandarra.

Exploring the outback requires a bit of experience,

so we teamed up with animal specialists Lockie Gilding

and Max Jackson, who own and operate

Australian Wildlife Encounters.

Working under their special permits,

we would be spending peak daylight hours

driving the countryside in search of ideal habitats

to explore.

Once a viable location was established,

the goal was to break trail into the great unknown

and begin our search for any species

that could be safely presented in front of the cameras.

Guys, so right now we are out exploring in some back country.

This is officially the Australian bush,

and it's very disorienting.

I spin in a circle like this, and I bet it looks

the same in every direction.

All right, I'm disorienting myself.

I know that I came though from that direction,

so I'm going to head back and meet up with the crew.

The bush, as it is so iconically known in Australia,

refers to any sparsely inhabited region

regardless of vegetation type.

And given the fact that we were well over 300 miles away

from any major city, this wilderness

could definitely be considered true Australian bush.

Look at that.

That's a wild pig skull right there.

These hogs are feral here in Australia.

I'll tell you what, you do not want to run into one of these

out there in the bush.

Those tusks will do a number on you.

Wow.

Pretty cool find.

Wish we could keep it, but it's going to stay

here in the environment.

All right, let's keep going that direction.

Deep within the brambles it would

be nearly impossible to find, let alone pursue,

any fast moving reptile.

So we made our way toward a clearing, when all of a sudden,

we came upon one of Australia's most common yet iconic lizard

species. Lizard.

Lizard. Lizard.

Right there.

Right there.

Right there.

I don't see it.

It's right there on that log.

I got it.

I got it.

I think it's a bearded dragon, but it's really dark in color.

OK, come up slow.

Mario, see if you can zoom in and get a shot on it.

Got it. Is a bearded.

Wow, it's a lot darker than I thought they'd be.

OK.

Come on, slow, slow, slow.

It sees us.

OK, if it darts, I'm just going after it so follow after me.

Watch out for these logs here.

Get it?

Got it.

Nice.

Barely even moved.

It was like perfectly camouflaged,

and it just said, OK, you can't see me.

I'll tell you what, I did see you.

That is a bearded dragon right there.

Whoa, whoa.

Calm down there, buddy. Wow.

It's spiky.

It is super spiky.

OK, very stark lighting right here.

Let's kind of duck down into the shade.

I think that'll be better for your cameras,

and let's get this lizard up close for the cameras.

Oh, man.

First lizard of the trip.

This is awesome.

Whoa.

Watch your footing through here, guys.

All right, here's a really shady spot up here.

Let's hunker down and film this scene.

There it is, guys, the Eastern bearded dragon.

Now let's talk about where this lizard

gets its name, the bearded dragon.

And let me see.

All right, buddy, can you kind of flare up your beard for us?

He's actually staying really calm.

As you'll notice, the temperature-- well,

you guys can't notice, but what we're noticing

is that the sun is very hot, but the temperatures

are still very cool in the air.

And like all reptiles, this one is ectothermic,

which means they're using the sun

to heat up their bodies so they can head out

and hunt for the day.

And the bearded dragon is a diurnal species.

There is the central variety and the Eastern variety,

and the big difference there is that the Eastern variety is

much darker in coloration, and the interior of their mouth

is yellow as compared to pink.

All right, buddy, can we see that beard?

You guys want to see that beard, right?

Oh, yeah.

All right, let's see if I can kind of tickle his chin.

He's starting to pump up his body a little bit there.

How about that beard for us?

I'm staying actually really calm.

Look at that.

I'm not even applying any pressure

holding on to the body.

It's just chilling out on my hand right now.

OK, you can kind of see the beard there.

Look right underneath the chin.

Now when they're really aggravated,

they will puff up their bodies and puff up that beard,

open up their mouth, and display that yellow interior color.

Now in a sense, that's aposematic coloration.

They are not venomous, but that bright color and that

sort of display oftentimes will ward

off any potential predators.

Now when I do touch the beard, it's

a bit softer than the very rough, spiny scales

on the back of this lizard.

Wow, I cannot believe how calm--

now it's trying to take off. There we go.

There you go.

Now you got the beard puffed out.

Wow.

That is one impressive beard, sir.

I think you could probably win a beard growing contest.

You'll notice the very triangular

shape of this lizard's head.

That's one feature that distinguishes

it from many of the lizard species here in Australia.

And oftentimes, you'll see them like that just perched

on the side of a tree facing downward

with that head protruding out absorbing the sunlight.

Man, I can't believe you got one.

I know and on my first attempt as well.

I'll tell you what's impressive about this reptile is

its claws.

Let me kind of just see if I get one of its feet out here.

Oh, he's actually missing a claw on one side,

and they're excellent climbers.

And oftentimes, early in the morning like this, what they

will do is climb up on the side of a tree or perch out on a log

where they're absorbing sunlight.

And like I said, it's an exotherm,

so they rely on the sunlight to heat up before they head out

and hunt for the day.

Actually, I think at this point he is

just using my hand as a perch.

I've got him sort of propped up in the sun there.

I think he's saying to himself, ah, this is perfect.

Is this normal behavior?

I mean, that lizard is so calm.

I honestly expected it to jump off that log and take off,

and I'd be chasing it across the bush.

But I think it was relying more on its camouflage

than anything to keep it hidden.

Now this is an opportunistic predator,

and they're primarily feasting on small insects and arachnids.

However, they're omnivorous, which means that if they find

the chance to eat some plants, some berries,

something like that, they will scarf up that as a meal,

as well.

Look at the length of this lizard's tail.

Beautiful, right?

Now unlike some lizard species, they're

not able to detach that tail to help them escape from I

can actually balance the lizard by the end of its tail

and keep it on my hand like that.

And that tail is incredibly spiky.

Go ahead, Mark, reach out there and feel

how rough those scales are.

And if you run your hand in the opposite direction,

that's where you really get ripped up.

I'm getting little lacerations all over my hands

just from handling it.

I don't even think there's

sandpaper that's that gritty.

Right?

Wow.

Let's look at the underside of the lizard,

and the belly is much softer than its back.

Almost like the belly of a horned lizard.

Go ahead and zoom in there.

You see those large ear sockets?

They have excellent hearing and wonderful eyesight

during the day.

This is without question one of the most iconic species here

in Australia, and I know for you guys out there watching,

Coyote Pack, that you have been requesting a bearded dragon

episode for quite some time.

And I think it's really fitting that our first lizard

of this Australian trip just so happens to be that reptile.

Well, this was pretty cool, getting the bearded dragon

up close for the cameras.

I'm Coyote Peterson.

Be brave.

Stay wild.

We'll see you on the next adventure.

All right, guys, what lizard are we going to catch next?