All language subtitles for B.W.S08E06.Swimming.with.Gators.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DD2.0.H.264-playWEB_track3_[eng]

The endless
expanse of swampy sawgrass

fields stretch on for
miles, making the South

Florida Everglades
one of the most

unique habitats on our planet.

If you choose to
set out on foot,

it is likely that in
very little time at all,

you will become lost in this
maze of chaos that is home

to one of the most feared
reptilian predators,

the American alligator.

These prehistoric
looking creatures

have been on our planet since
the days when dinosaurs ruled

the Earth, yet they
managed to survive

beyond the mass extinction
of their ancient relatives.

I have worked with
alligators in the past.

From catching a 10
foot 300-pound specimen

with my bare hands to
intentionally placing my arm

inside of one's mouth,
it's safe to say that I

have had my close encounters.

However, one style of
encounter is yet to be had.

I'm going to submerge into a
pool filled with alligators

and swim alongside them.

Today we are working at the
Everglades Outpost, a wildlife

sanctuary that is
home to a number

of intimidating alligators.

In order to capture
this episode on camera,

we will be working under
the guidance and expertise

of Chris Gillette.

For well over a decade,
Chris has been working

with animals of all
shapes and sizes,

yet he specializes
in crocodilians.

He also happens to be close
friends with "Brave Wilderness"

wildlife biologist
Mario Aldecoa,

and together they have
spent years working

to educate the public
about these oftentimes

misunderstood reptiles.

OK, now for me and, of
course, for you, Mark, this

is the first time we will
ever swim with alligators,

but Mario and Chris have
an incredible amount

of experience.

They've been swimming with
alligators and crocodiles

for several years.

Now, Mario and Chris
go way back together.

They've been working
together since, what,

pretty much childhood, right.
Yep.

Best buddies.
Yep.

Best buddies in reptiles.

And you guys are just surveying
the pond or swimming pool

I guess as you would
call it at the moment,

and what do we know?

Is it safe to get in the water.

Safe enough.

Safe enough says
Chris who swims

with alligators all the time.

I'm going to admit, guys,
I'm a little nervous.

Being on land and
catching an alligator,

I feel like I'm in control.

But actually getting into
their realm beneath the surface

is definitely new.

So I'm going to trade
in the cowboy hat

today for a dive mask
and some flippers.

We're going to see if we can
get some epic up close shots.

I am always the first to
admit when filming an episode

makes me nervous.

And in my mind, all I
could see were flashes

of the alligator feeding
frenzy that we also

recently captured on camera.

So I'm sure that
you can understand

why I felt that swimming
in a pool of them

was borderline crazy.

Yet despite my hesitation, I
fully trust Chris and Mario.

So we geared up in our wet
suits, powered on our GoPros,

and prepared to enter
into the realm of gators.

All right, here we go.

How you guys doing?

We're good.

Good so far, right.

Yes.

So now the play is to get
some more of the alligators

into the water, right.

That's right.

So once the alligators
disperse throughout the pond--

You now have to be

aware of where you're stepping.

You might be focused
on an alligator that's

in front of you but accidentally
back into an alligator

that's right next to you.

Just be aware of
your surrounding,

slow, calm movements.

Yeah.

You don't want to be looking
at Casper on the surface

and accidentally put your
foot in the mouth of one

on the bottom.

You guys ready?

Let's do it.

Let's get the
gators in the water.

The American alligator
is widely considered

to be the most dangerous
non-venomous reptile

in the United States.

And while attacks do
occasionally happen on humans,

they are rarely
fatal and are often

a result of mistaken identity.

Their primary and
preferred prey includes

fish, other
reptiles, amphibians,

birds, and small mammals.

So this is Casper.

He is very nice, very calm.

But like we were saying before,
even a little bit of a splash

can get him to pop up and bite.

And then if I'm nice
and calm and gentle--

We're
hanging out right.

Give my leg
a little bit but I can still

hold him up, hang out
with him, and he's

looking for food right now.

That's not defensively
trying to bite.

He's hoping to bump
into something edible.

You see if I hold him up, he's
actually nice calm, relaxed,

but, again, if
you make a splash,

he goes right for the splash.

That's why it's so
important-- see we

got this one's attention, too.

Yeah.

Gotta be
nice and calm in here.

So now
am I able to touch him?

Like, what would happen
if I come in and sort of--

Yeah, yeah, you could
totally touch him.

You just don't want
to be splashing,

and when you look at
the side of the face

those little black dots, the
integumentary sensory organs,

that's what's super sensitive
to movement, to sensation.

So if you touch those
little black dots--

You better
watch it, Coyote.

You
got that big snout

swinging around at you.
Yeah.

Yeah,
he said all right.

You made contact.

Back off a little bit.

Wow.

So cool being able to
just touch an alligator

in a calm setting like this.

You can just see how laid back
this creature's demeanor is.

Now obviously in
the wild, nobody

would ever want to get
into, like, a pond or a lake

with an alligator
and get this close.

I've known Casper
here for over 10 years.

Him and I have worked
personally together.

So I understand his
behavior really well,

but he's still a wild animal.

That time spent does
not mean he's tame.

He's not my friend.

And, I mean, as
you can see, if I

accidentally swing
my arm the wrong way,

he's going to try to bite me.

Yeah.

Just like any other
wild alligator would.

Let me get some
cool shots right

under his mouth like that.

That's cool.

Now, Chris, do you think if
you do that slapping motion,

we can get them to sort of
bite towards the camera?

Oh, absolutely.

All right, let's see if
we can get that to happen.

- You ready?
- Yep.

Alligators
rely on their ability

to feel vibrations
in the water and also

their keen sense of hearing
to detect that a possible food

source is nearby.

So as we move
through the water, it

was important to glide
quietly so as to not

mimic their typical prey.

In clear water, alligators
can see rather well,

allowing them to distinguish
that we were humans

and not prey.

So as a result, their
behavior was rather skittish.

All right, so we're
going to try something

pretty interesting here.

Chris, you said you can
actually call in one

of these alligators, right.
Yeah.

So I've done some name
training with them

and having them associate
their name with getting fed.

And so there's a smaller
one-- you met Caspar.

He's the big guy.
- Yeah.

There's
a smaller one named

Saw I'm going to call over.
OK.

We named
this one Saw because the face

kind of looks like a saw blade.

The teeth kind of stick out.

So that's fitting.

OK, here we go guys we're going
to actually bring an alligator

right up to the cameras.

Saw.

Whenever you're ready.

Saw.

Here she comes.

Look at that.

Right through us.

Speeding
straight toward us.

It's a good girl.

Watch out, Mario.

It's coming straight for you.

Wow, look at that, Chris.

That is cool.

So is that her
expecting to be fed?

Yes.

And then
coming into the situation,

obviously you didn't
feed her, so she said,

oh, nothing for me.

Yeah.

I'm
going to move on.

She's still curious.

You see, she's still
coming back into the shot,

diving beneath the surface.

Now do they ever
get agitated if you

called them in to eat
something and there's

nothing there to be had?

I don't like to do that.

Umm, watch your back, Mark.

You're going to get bit.

He was coming over to give
you a little nibble there.

Hey, well, that's
why I have a team, right?

That's when the
attack comes not from the front

but from the sides.

It's never
the one you're looking at.

Yeah.

By this point, I had
certainly grown comfortable

being in a pool of gators.

And while we certainly
had to stay on guard,

we all took the opportunity to
get some epic underwater shots.

The grace of a gator
is truly something

to admire as in the water
these massive reptiles

almost appear to be weightless.

With their short stout
legs pressed close

against their scaly bodies,
they propel themselves forward

with strong muscular tails.

From beneath the surface, it's
easy to see how these apex

predators are capable
of silently moving in

on any unsuspecting prey item.

All right, guys, well,
that was pretty epic.

We spent the afternoon swimming
with the American alligator,

and the good news is
none of us were eaten.

That's right.

It was actually pretty safe.

Fun.

Well, Chris, thank you so much
for leading this expedition.

Absolutely.

Mario, amazing work as always.

Mark, you get some good shots?
Sure did.

That was amazing.

Yeah, this episode's
going to definitely turn

into something pretty cool.

I'm Coyote Peterson.

Be brave, stay wild.

We'll see you on
the next adventure.

All right, guys,
time to dry off.

Getting the chance to
enter and fully submerge

in a body of water that
was teeming with alligators

is not exactly the kind
of reptilian encounter

you would ever imagine possible.

Yet under watchful eyes
and with expert guidance,

this episode helped us
prove that alligators are

not bloodthirsty man killers.

For generations, humans have
feared these massive reptiles,

but the good news is that
crocodilian experts like Chris

and Mario are constantly
working to educate the public

about these animals so that
they are viewed with respect

and understanding
as opposed to fear.

The American alligator is
truly king of the Everglades.

And unless you are
working with an expert,

never approach and certainly
never enter a body of water

with one of these
formidable predators.

The safest encounter
you can have

is to simply admire them
from a safe distance.

Tonight we are deep in the heart
of an agricultural fruit grove

located in Southern Florida,
which is an ideal ecosystem

for invasive lizards.

Thus far we have found
and safely captured a very

impressive failed chameleon.

And while we would love to
release it back into the wild,

this lizard is a
reptilian invader.

So it will be donated
to a wildlife sanctuary

where it will serve as
an educational example

of an animal that does not
belong in this ecosystem.

In addition to chameleons,
this fruit grove

is also known for having
an established breeding

population of toque geckos.

These noisy reptiles are famous
for their loud bark, which

sounds like doh-k,
doh-k, hence the name

that these lizards
have been given.

And that right there is a
perfect little crevice--

check this out-- for a gecko.

And nothing in there now
and guarantees up here

hunting in the tree somewhere.

All right, well, we are
going to continue the search

and hopefully find one.

Like most gecko
species, the toque never

wanders far from
its hiding spot,

which is often a deep
crevice or hole in a tree.

This refuge, combined with
a notable burst of speed,

provides these
nocturnal creatures

with a quick escape
route in the event

that a larger
predator approaches.

What I'm doing is actually
searching for eye shine.

These geckos' eyes will
reflect back in my flashlight.

What I want to do is just
keep the light close up

to my nose like this, and I'm
looking for those eyeballs

to spark out in the darkness.

Spotting eye shine
definitely gave me

the advantage of targeting
a lizard from the distance.

However, sneaking up
quickly and quietly

without the lizard
noticing and in turn

bolting into its escape hatch
was a much different scenario.

Follow my flashlight please.

This right here, there was a
gecko up in the little crevice

of that tree.

I cannot see it now.
It ducked back.

Let we go up and
see if I catch it.

They are quick.

I thought he went down
the side of the tree.

It's like as soon as they
hear the footsteps coming,

they are off.

All right, well, that
was just a small one.

We're definitely looking
for something bigger,

but getting any gecko up close
for the cameras is a value.

All right, let's keep searching.

Here we go, right there.

You get it?

Nope.

Oh, there's a hole right here.

He just went down into
the hole in that tree.

Several missed attempts
brought with them a heightened

sense of frustration.

Yet I refused to give up, and
my persistence finally led us

to the moment I had been waiting
for, a gecko that I could see

but who couldn't see me.

Eye shine right there
at side of the tree.

Where?

Gecko just
further on the side.

See that B-shaped tree?
Yeah.

Come
on, come on, come on.

There's his tail.
Mario, you see it?

Yeah.
I got nothing.

OK, I'm just
going to go for it.

Yeah.

Got it!
Got it?

Yeah.

Got him, got him, got him.

Check this out.
He's trying to bite me already.

Hang on, hang on.
- Come on into the shot.

Take a look at that.
Nice.

There it is.

That is a toque gecko.

All right, let me
slowly peel this guy

up and off of the tree.

That is about as good a
grab as I can possibly make.

Let me just kind of peel
his little toes off there.

Man.
- All right, buddy.

Man,
that's a big gecko.

That is a good gecko.

Oh, he is just
clinging onto the tree.

Got you.

There we go, and he
is all chomping trying

to get my fingers in his mouth.

All right, let me
crouch down right here.

There you have it.

Look at you.

Good looking.

Oh, my hand is
shaking right now.

We have had many
misses tonight, and

unlike frogs,
these geckos do not

stay still in flashlight shine.

They quickly zoom around
the side of the tree.

Wow, a perfect specimen.

Look at the coloration.

Grayish blue, light blue, and
all of that copper speckling.

Ooh, he's gonna make-- oh!

Ooh, I hear you.

You hear that bark?

That's what we've been
hearing calling all night,

and that's actually
a defensive warning

that if you get
your finger close,

I'm going to give you
one very painful chomp.

And go ahead, Mario, and
zoom in down the gullet.

That is an impressive mouth.

Look at the interior
coloration, black

with a little bit of bright red.

Almost aposematic in
design and, of course,

we know geckos are not venomous.

They are not poisonous,
but this species

specifically has very sharp
teeth and can give you one

very painful bite.

Let me go ahead and
turn its body like this

and you can get
a good look-- oh!

Woo!
Whoa.

Whoa, boy.
He's going at me.

He's going at me.

All right, trying to
get a bite going there.

No, buddy.

You can hear that little bark.

They are incredibly aggressive.

Ooh, ooh, that's too
close to my finger.

That
came out of nowhere.

Yeah, strong, right.

They will explode
into action like that.

Now the males are
larger than the females,

and they're also incredibly
aggressive, very territorial.

And there's a good chance
that this tree right here is

this little Godzilla's domain.

I'm gonna try to, like, show
you the side of its body

without taking a bite.

All right, you gonna stay calm?

I'm hoping like the
turnip tail gecko

that it will just go
into a state of yeet.

Sometimes they will play dead
then you loosen your grip

and then they try to get
away, but in this instance,

the toque is all about
the fight once it realizes

that flight is not an option.

You can see my hands
shaking a little bit there.

Let me try to get a
completely stable.

Deep breath.

Do not want to be bitten
yet by the toque gecko.

Whoa,
what do you mean yet?

I got a little bit of
history with the toque gecko

that we'll get into in
a second but first--

Is that what that
bandage is on your finger?

Is that the history?

No, no, no, no, that's
a snapping turtle bite.

The toque gecko bite is not
as bad as a snapping turtle,

but it is incredibly painful.

The toque gecko is a
voracious predator,

and they will eat pretty much
anything they can come across--

other lizards, insects,
even baby mammals.

Small mice, baby birds all make
fair game for this predator.

Now let's look at
one of the hallmark

traits of this gecko, its feet.

These toes are all covered
in these little sticky pads.

Now at the tips of the
toes, they do have claws,

and it's a combination of
the claws and the sticky pads

that allow them to climb
over virtually any surface.

Whether it's up the side of
a tree or even across glass,

this gecko can
stick to anything.

Now the toque
gecko has long been

one of my favorite
lizard species,

and when I was a kid,
when I was 10 years old,

I wanted one of these as
a pet more than anything.

And at the time, my mom
didn't know anything

about toque geckos,
and she said if you

get straight A's on
your report card,

I'll let you get one as a pet.

So what did I do?

I studied and
studied and studied,

got straight A's
on my report card,

and the day my mom took
me to the pet store

to get one of these
lizards, the guy that

owned the pet store said not
only do these lizards give

an incredibly painful
bite and hold on but they

also eat a lot of baby mice.

And my mom said no way.

We are not getting a
lizard that we're going

to have to feed baby mice to.

So lo and behold, Coyote
left the pet store that day

with no pet lizard.

But now looking back
on it in hindsight,

I could definitely see
that a lizard like this

probably did not
make the best pet.

I'm sure a lot of
you guys out there

watching this episode
thinking to yourselves

this is such a cool lizard.

I want one of these lizards.

Honestly, guys, the toque
gecko, unless you have

the means and the experience
to take care of it,

not a good pet.

That bite is powerful, and
they are voracious predators.

You have to feed
them constantly.

I know I keep focusing
on this whole,

oh, the bite is really bad.

They bite and hold on.

It's just a gecko.

Is it really that bad?

I don't know guys I've never
been bitten by a toque gecko.

I've been bitten by
many lizard species,

but I'm pretty curious.

How bad is the bite
of the toque gecko,

and if I was still 10 years
old and in fourth grade,

is this something that would
have latched onto my finger

and not let go?

I know what you guys
are all thinking.

Coyote, are we going
to enter the bite

zone with the toque gecko.

I think we better try it out.

You guys ready?

Are you
seriously gonna do this?

I'm going to do it.

I'm just very curious
at this point.

This is an intentional bite
to see how painful is the bite

and are they truly the
bulldog of the gecko kingdom

or is this a lizard going
to bite and then let go.

So if you guys are ready,
it's time to enter the bite

zone with the toque gecko.

OK, do you want me
to spoil the ending for you?

It's going to be bad.

Yeah, well, here's
what's going to happen.

The lizard's either
gonna bite and let go,

or it's going to
bite and hold on.

The contingency plan is
I'm going to set it down

on this log, let go
of the lizard's body,

and see if it will then
let go of my finger.

If not, I'm just going
to have a reptile

locked onto one of my appendages
for the rest of the scene.

All right, you guys ready?

You sure about this?

Yep.
OK.

Mario, you have a good shot?
Mmm hmm.

All right.
Yeah--

It's all you.

This is what we call
curiosity chomped the coyote.

I'm Coyote Peterson, and
I'm about to enter the bite

zone with the toque gecko.

Ready?

1, 2, 3.

Oww!

Ooh!

Ha, ha!

A bite and let go.

Go ahead and zoom in on
my finger there, Mario.

And that is the result
of a toque gecko bite.

I knew this
was going to happen.

Why did you need to do that?

Curiosity, guys.

I had to know is the bite of
the toque gecko really that bad.

Did 10-year-old Coyote
deserve to have a gecko?

He got straight A's
on his report card.

Honestly, guys, I have
to say thanks to my mom

for not letting me get one
of these lizards when I was

a little kid because I can just
imagine how bad it would have

been if this creature had
latched on to my finger

and it didn't let go.

So if you guys want suggestions
as to what lizard makes

a good pet, the leopard
gecko and the bearded dragon

are both excellent choices.

When it comes to toque
geckos, let's just go ahead

and leave these
guys in the wild.

Now unfortunately for this one--

I know, buddy-- we can't
let you back into your tree

because you are an invader
here in South Florida,

but the good news is that this
lizard is going to be donated

to an educational
research facility

where he's then going to become
an ambassador for his species.

But this certainly
was an epic evening

finding invasive lizards and
getting this awesome toque

gecko up close for the cameras.

I'm Coyote Peterson.

Be brave, stay wild.

We'll see you on
the next adventure.

Ooh, yeah, that's a bloody bite.