All language subtitles for B.W.S08E15.Surviving.a.Cage.of.Death.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DD2.0.H.264-playWEB_track3_[eng]

The most feared
animal in all of Australia

is without question the
saltwater crocodile.

Yet fear often comes
as a result of that

which we don't understand.

Since 2008, Crocosaurus
Cove has been on a mission

to educate the public by
easing the bad reputation

these prehistoric
reptiles carry.

It seems extreme, but sometimes
the best way to face your fears

is to get face to
face with them.

And while they proudly
display a large collection

of Australian reptiles, they
are famous for their main

attraction, the Cage of Death.

All right, so the guys
are getting ready to be

the first ones into the tube.

It's, uh-- it's
a little different.

Haven't done this before.

I'm going to actually be
filming from outside behind

the glass to get shots
of them underwater,

then I will get inside of
the tube and get my own shot

at getting some epic b-roll.

What is
this called again?

Cage of Death.

Oh, Mario,
we're about to get

in the Cage of Death.
Nice.

You're
already in actually.

All right, here we go.

It's going to be a
tight squeeze, huh?

It's not too--

that's not bad actually.

Oh,
we're being lowered.

Oh, we're getting lifted up.

We're actually not lowering.

Wasn't expecting that.

I hope this is sturdy.

I see a croc.

All right, we're officially
being lowered into the water.

Here goes nothing in
the Cage of Death.

Come on in.

This is a little--

a little intimidating
I will say.

Yeah.

All that's separating us and
the croc is the Cage of Death.

The Cage of Death

is an impenetrable
plexiglass tube.

At nearly three inches thick,
it gives those who are brave

enough the chance to enter the
water for an unforgettable 360

degree view of the crocodiles.

The saltwater crocodile
dominates its environment

packing one of the most powerful
bite forces on the planet.

Yet it's their stealth and speed
that make them so dangerous.

Oh, man.

Did you feel that?

Just totally thumped
the death cage.

That's a powerful animal.

You can tell right there.

That was crazy.

In their
natural environment,

they are often concealed
in murky brackish waters.

So seeing them in this
fashion, crystal clear water,

is pretty unheard of, and it's
an experience you can't have

anywhere else in the world.

He's still
behind you, Mario.

Oh, man.

Oh, man.

That was a good one.

A little scary.

OK, guys.

We're gonna raise you up.

All right, cool.

Thanks.

That was super cool.

Yeah,
that's pretty cool.

Man, Coyote's gonna love this.

All right,
we're going to walk up

and see how the guys' dive was.

Tough to get shots
from underneath

there, but, man, I bet they got
some good stuff on that GoPro.

I'd be that again.

Would you come back to this?

Yeah, that was neat.

Yeah.

You got right up close to
these prehistoric predators.

I mean, they're huge.

You really don't
know how big they

are until you're, like, right
in your face and your grill.

Yeah.
Big teeth.

And then
you can feel the--

- boom.

Like, I can't even come
close to the pounding they--

Oh, man, this is at
least three inches thick.

Yeah.

How do you guys--
what do you reckon?

Was it good?
It was awesome.

Awesome.
Loved it.

I'll just get yous out.

We're going to pop that ladder
straight through the middle.

OK.
OK.

Line it up.

Hey.

How was it?

It's cool, man.

That's a big crocodile.

Well, we survived the Cage of
Death, and now it's your turn.

How
were your shots?

That's the real question.

Believe it or not, once you
go underwater, it's clear.

Yeah, there's
definitely spots where there

aren't as many teeth marks.

Yeah.

You got to
try to find those spots,

but there's a really cool,
like, reflection that happens.

Like, when you're
underwater, it almost

looks like there's two crocs.
Yeah.

It's pretty neat.
Yeah.

All right, guys,

I'm about to get in the water
with a massive saltwater

crocodile.

This is going to be epic.

All right, so Mario and I
survived the Cage of Death.

Now we have bigger cameras,
and it's Coyote's turn.

You ready, dude?

Going into the Cage of Death.

Now in most instances,
I would probably

tried to get into this
water without a cage,

but that would
turn into the bite

episode that would be
the last bite episode

we ever did on the channel.

So it's actually a little
nerve wracking once you start

getting into the cage itself.

OK.

I'm inside the cage.

Now what's happening right now
is they're slowly lowering me

into the water, and you
can see the huge saltwater

crocodile right there.

Getting into the water
with one in the wild,

absolutely impossible so this
is the best way to do it.

Crocosaurus Cove,
one of the coolest

experiences you can
have with any animal,

let alone one of the most
dominant reptilian predators

the world, arguably the most
dangerous non-venomous reptile

that exists on our planet.

I guess this is the moment
where they just like

you hang above the crocodile.

I am literally
hovering just over it.

All right, we're going down.

Here we go.

The crocs who call the cove
home were removed from the wild

because they were
considered nuisance animals.

That means they were
in an area where they

could interact with humans.

As an alternative to these
crocodiles being destroyed,

they were brought
here where they

now serve as educational
ambassadors for their species.

All right,
we're out of time.

Say goodbye to Blooming Kate.

Bye.

All right, well there you have
it, underwater b-roll shots

of the saltwater crocodile.

That was awesome.

I'm here to, like, basically
gecko myself to the bottom

of this thing the entire
time because the saltwater

keeps you slightly buoyant.

I think I got some pretty
sweet shots, though.

Between myself,
Mark, and Mario, this

was the only way to get the
best saltwater crocodile shots.

If you guys get the
chance to visit Darwin,

definitely come and check
out Crocosaurus Cove.

You can enter into these
enclosures in the Cage of Death

with the most dominant
reptilian predator of Australia,

the saltwater crocodile.

I'm Coyote Peterson.

Be brave, stay wild.

We'll see on the next location.

The hills of West Virginia
hide within their peaks

and valleys a plethora
of animal species.

In fact, this wild
and wonderful state

is one of the most biodiverse
regions in the Eastern US.

On this adventure,
I will be teaming

up with my longtime friend and
field herpetologist Tim Brust.

Tim is a backwoods bloodhound
when it comes to tracking

down reptiles and amphibians.

The last time we
worked together,

he helped us find the
elusive hellbender,

one of the nation's most
cherished salamander species.

We got him!

There it is.

It is an absolute giant.

That was a hardest
hellbender catch I ever had.

Wow!
Oh, man.

Today we are
hot on the trail of the timber

rattlesnake, hailing is
one of the largest venomous

snakes in North America,
these pit vipers

are masters of camouflage.

So finding one hidden amongst
the rocky crevices and outcrops

will be an arduous challenge.

There's a tree down in
the middle of the road

that I'm going to help Tim move.

The task required
us to travel deep

into West Virginia's wilderness
as we pushed our vehicle

to its safest limits.

Oh, no.

All right, we may not be
going any further than this.

Literally just got
done talking about how

we got past the toughest
area of rocky terrain,

and we have now
turned the corner--

are you kidding me.

I think we're going to
be able to get past this,

but it's the next bend that
looks even more difficult.

Look at that, total rock slide
that came down off the mountain

and to this.

So the Jeep should be able
to get over this, no problem.

It's just a matter of what
is up and around the corner.

How far off are we
from the coordinates?

A couple
of hours at least.

OK, so we have
made a decision at this point.

We were thinking about going
over the mountain and up

that rock slide right there.

Way too treacherous
with cameras.

So what we're going to do now
is go on foot down the roadway,

and it is roughly two
miles as the crow flies

to get to these spots that
Tim has GPS coordinated

where snakes have been seen.

For us, it's going to
be more than two miles.

It's going to be probably close
to four- or five-hour hike

to get to the spot.

So it is going on 11:00 now.

With any luck, what's
going to happen is we

are going to reach the
snake spot when they're

doing their second
basking for the day, which

will be somewhere
between 4:00 and 6:00 PM.

It's going to be a commitment,
but this is what it takes

to find the timber rattlesnake.

All right,
well, we found potentially

the location based
on Tim's phone,

and he thinks maybe 300 yards
down this little kind of valley

is the spot.

We're going to scout it.

With any luck, we're going
to actually see the location.

We just need
to really an entry point.

The foliage is all so dense.

Whether it's trees or these
scrub lands and grasses,

unless you can see exactly
where to go down it,

you could just be
descending into a ravine.

So scouting with a drone
is definitely giving us

a bird's eye perspective of the
terrain before we even embark

upon heading down into it.

Think this is it.

This is all on that slope.

What are you seeing?

Ooh!

You see that?

That
is a rock right there.

Open, rocky--

Yes.

Outcrop.

Can you get lower to see the
size of those rocks, though?

Yeah.

I'm just going to--

just gonna try to--

Oh, yeah,
man, that's got to be it.

Look at that.

That's all rocky terrain.

I think we found it.

We found a spot, and I
think Tim found a spot.

He's been yelling at us, so
I don't know what that means.

I can't really hear him.

Maybe has a snake?

Maybe he's got a snake.

OK, well, let's
pack up the drone.

This is great.

We have spent hours
searching out rocky outcrops,

and now we possibly
have two potentials,

one we saw on the
drone and one that Tim

is calling us to come towards.

Tim, did you get one?

Wow.

This is it right here, perfect
timber rattlesnake habitat.

Now it's just a matter
of searching and finding.

What do you think, Mario?

Do you see
how unique this habitat is?

It's overgrown with
some vegetation,

but it also still allows
for some exposed rocks

so they can come out and bath.

It's kind of the
best of both worlds.

OK.

So basically we need to
spend some time searching

these rocks for snakes.

It's a nice down here.

Any one of these big rocks
that has almost a miniaturized

cave underneath it is
exactly the kind of spot

that we want to be looking.

Now the best spots are
going to be rocks exposed

to the sun, part
sun, part shade,

so that when the sun comes
out the snake can come in warm

itself up, and then
when it gets too hot,

it can go hunker back
down in the shade.

Oh, nice.

What you got?

Got a little fence lizard.

What's really cool about
these guys is that they also--

Don't
fall off the cliff.

Don't lose lizard.

Don't fall off the cliff.

What's cool about
this fence lizard

is that they look kind of
drab, and they're dorsal.

But on their ventrals,
look at that.

Really beautiful.

It's a nice blue.

Awesome.

These guys are
really fast moving.

I'm surprised I
actually caught him.

Beautiful little specimen.

Going to put him down
and watch him take off.

There he goes.

All right, let's try
to catch a rattlesnake.

All right,
we are in the rattlesnake spot

now, but what's a
little more eerie

is that I think we are also in
the den of a bear or maybe fox.

There are bones, chunks
of meat, and also

some vomit, like vomited flesh.

And back within here are
a bunch of small pathways,

and it's an area
like this over here

where you're usually
the most nervous.

You don't want to just
stumble upon something that

is hiding in the underbrush.

OK, I'm going to head back
over where Tim and Mario were,

and we're going to keep
looking for rattlesnakes.

But I don't think
it gets much more

dangerous than
this, rattlesnakes

and a potential bear den.

Nothing.

OK, we are on the
side of a mountain

in the middle of nowhere
West Virginia right now.

We have descended I'd say
close to 800, maybe 1,000 feet,

and it's impossible
to tell on the GoPro.

But if you look
out through there

you can see the open
expanse of wilderness.

It is beautiful, but the
terrain is extremely difficult.

When you look up
back behind me, you

can see all this rocky terrain
that we have come down through.

We've gotten to
the point now where

we've been out here
for so many hours,

we're thinking we need to turn
back because if we don't, we

may not get to the vehicle
which then has to drive all

the way down the mountain
back to civilization

before the sun sets.

There's always the chance of
finding a snake on the way

back up, but at this
point, we may have reached

the juncture of failure.

No rattlesnakes on our
rattlesnake expedition, which

is discouraging,
but it still has

been a really fun time out
here exploring the backcountry

of West Virginia.

It's not often that a target
species manages to elude us,

yet after many
hours of searching,

we still hadn't seen
a single rattlesnake.

Then on our way
back to the Jeep,

we came upon a slithering
surprise that we didn't expect.

Tim just called out that
he found a copperhead.

No rattlesnakes yet but
this is a great opportunity.

Did he go under?

Yeah, I think
I can lift it, though.

OK.

Here he is.

Grab him quick.

All right, bag, bag, bag.

All right.

We got a copperhead.

Definitely cannot work with or
present the snake on the side

of this hill, though,
so let's take it

up here and get a closer look.

This is better.

Now we can actually stand.

OK, let's find a good open
flat spot here right behind you

with this rock.

I'm going to just gently fold
the edges down and let it

slither out a bit on its own.

There we go.

Everybody just be on high alert.

Snake is coming out.

There he is.

OK.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Copperheads do have a
tendency to be rather spastic.

Very quick snake.

Yeah, let me just
kind of balance

it up on the snake around this.

Ooh, struck at
your camera there.

Look at that defensive pose.

That is strike mode at
its finest right there.

These are very fast
striking snakes.

It's definitely
species you always

want to be cognizant of when
you're in the environment.

They are so perfectly
camouflaged.

Now to really get a
better look at the snake,

there's a method that we
can use to actually handle

it called tubing where
the front of the snake

will go inside of a
plastic tube and that

will allow me to handle the
snake without the risk of being

bitten.

Copperhead seem rather calm
right now, which is great.

It's exactly what we want.

Look at that.

Now it's really
important that I keep

one hand on the snake and the
tube at the exact same time.

What we don't want to
happen is for the copperhead

to wiggle out backwards
and inflict a bite.

That is so cool.

What a beautiful reptile.

Now while the copperhead
is a pit viper,

it is not a rattlesnake.

However, like rattlesnakes,
they will sometimes

wiggle just the tip of their
tail against leaf litter,

alerting any potential
predator or even a human

that, hey, if I've been spotted,
I'm here in the environment

and you don't want
to get any closer.

Now people oftentimes confuse
non-venomous snake species

with copperheads
or water moccasins,

and you can see that very
distinct banding that runs

down the length of the body.

It looks just like the banding
on a younger northern water

snake, and even the
underside, the underbelly,

that slight checkered
patterning and the design

on the dorsal scale
pattern almost

looks like a fox snake, another
completely harmless species.

So this snake does have a
rather negative reputation,

but as long as you
don't try to interact

with the snake in the
environment, all it wants to do

is stay completely
hidden from humans.

Now when it comes
to venom toxicity,

this is a dangerous snake.

It is not a reptile you would
ever want to be bitten by.

But when it comes to
the venomous snakes

in the United States, this is
on the lower end of potency,

right.

So a water moccasin which
is a much larger snake

is going to have a higher
venom yield when it bites you,

especially when it
comes to rattlesnakes.

An eastern diamondback,
a timber rattlesnake,

a western diamondback,
bigger snake

means a larger venom yield.

You can see the size
of the snake's head

is rather small, which means
it has smaller venom glands

but keep in mind it's all about
how your body reacts to venom.

Just recently
somebody in Alabama

was bitten by a
copperhead, and they

died from anaphylactic shock.

A bite from a snake
like a copperhead

could mean the end of your life.

Well, we didn't manage
to find our target,

the timber rattlesnake,
but that's OK.

We still came across one of
West Virginia's most iconic pit

vipers, the copperhead.

And getting it up
close, testing out

this method of tubing totally
made the adventure worthwhile.

Now before we release it
right back where we found it,

what I actually want to do is
place it in the leaf litter

to show you just how
camouflaged this snake truly is.

Most people do their best
to avoid interactions

with snakes, a
smart state of mind,

especially if the
species is venomous.

Suffice it to say, snakes
think exactly the same

and do their absolute
best to avoid humans.

If you find yourself exploring
in an area that is known

to inhabit venomous snakes,
your safest plan of action

is to wear sturdy hiking boots,
stick to well-worn trails,

and most importantly
pay attention

to where you were walking, and
you should be completely safe.

OK, we're going to let the
copperheads slither right

back out of the snake bag.

Perfect.

Look at that.

I'm Coyote Peterson.

Be brave, stay wild.

We'll see on the next adventure.