All language subtitles for B.W.S09E01.Bitten.by.Chiggers.I.Raced.the.Worlds.Fastest.Animal.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DD2.0.H.264-playWEB_track3_[eng]

COYOTE PETERSON
OK, today

is a solo expedition
where I'm going to attempt

to be eaten alive by chiggers.

Now, we'll learn more
about chiggers as we

embark upon this expedition.

But I will be kayaking
from Middle Bass

to North Bass Island in the
hopes of finding a swarm

of these microscopic creatures.

This is going to be
an epic adventure.

It will take me
roughly an hour

and 15 minutes to
kayak from Middle Bass

to North Bass Island.

And then once we make
it to North Bass,

I will enter the island
through Manila Bay.

It gives me the entry
point to the large marsh.

Beautiful morning to be on
the water, that's for sure.

So what exactly is a chigger?

Well, to keep it simple, they
are the larva stage of something

called a harvest mite.

Technically
considered arachnids,

they belong to the same
class as ticks and spiders.

But unlike their larger cousins,
while in the larva stage,

they're so tiny, they can't
be seen with the human eye

and measure 1/50
of an inch or less.

OK, we have
made it to the Western edge

of North Bass Island.

I got to say, this
solo expedition filming

is not super simple so I
got to give a big shout

out to my main man, Les Stroud,
who filmed all those seasons

of Survivorman by himself.

Holy cow.

Actually going through
all this underbrush

might help me get chiggers.

Don't treat it
falling down right

in the middle of this place.

There we go.

Whoa.

Whoo.

Almost lost the GoPro there.

What a mess.

Geez.

OK, status update.

In the middle of the marsh.

The moving has gotten
a little bit easier

through these big lily pads.

They're taller, which allows me
to glide through the environment

just a touch better.

But when it comes to
finding any animals, I mean,

they can hear me coming
from a mile away, so.

Oh, I see an
eagle's nest and two

eagles inside the eagle's nest.

Holy cow.

All right, first animal
of the expedition

is officially a
juvenile bald eagle.

You can see there's
another one a little bit

higher up on the tree.

Very cool.

This place is just
swallowing me alive.

There's only so many
shots you can possibly

get while being stuck
in a prehistoric swamp

or prehistoric-looking, rather.

The only thing missing from
this is maybe some Brachiosaurus

grazing on all this plant life.

That'd make it a little
bit more interesting.

While there is a chance I could

encounter a species of
chigger in the marsh,

it is much more likely that
I will become a buffet line

if I venture to the
other side of the island

to explore on foot.

Interesting
little forest area here.

Look at this rock structure.

Now, I'm barefoot, which
I would never recommend

entering a forest barefoot.

But considering the fact that I
am trying to get myself bitten

by chiggers, this seems
like an interesting way

to possibly
accomplish that feat.

Old dilapidated structure here.

Every once in a while, when
you stop at a random spot

on an island and start
exploring lost areas,

you come across some
pretty cool stuff.

The harvest mite

life cycle can vary
and depends heavily

on species and environment.

But what's crazy is that
these alien looking arachnids

can live for nearly a year.

Most eggs hatch within a week.

This is known as
the prelarva stage.

And after developing
for several days,

they evolve into
hungry parasites.

This is the six
legged chigger phase.

And boy, are they ravenous.

They target a host, engorge on
skin, and eventually fall off.

Plump and happy, they are
now in the nymph stage

where they develop
another pair of legs

and mature into the adult phase.

As adults, they feed
on tiny arthropods

and their eggs,
live in the soil,

eventually breed, and
the cycle repeats.

Oh, check
out the shoe I just found.

That is a Nike Air Foamposite.

Worn by Penny Hardaway,
my favorite basketball

player of all time.

That is insane.

Any sneaker head out there
knows that this is actually

a very expensive shoe to find on
the side of an abandoned island.

This is the all black edition.

I have the blue and the
black tiger stripe ones.

I'm going to
definitely keep that.

We're docking.

OK, I have landed at
my final destination

on North Bass Island.

Now, we're going to take
to foot and see what

sort of things we can find.

Now, the goal is to find some
tall grasses that I can walk

through, eventually really sit
down and have a drink of water

and see if I collect
any chiggers.

So tall grasses like this
are an absolute perfect place

for chiggers to--

almost like ticks--
quest and get themselves

on their host species.

Pretty much any
terrestrial species

has the potential of
taking up chiggers.

Pretty much got to the end
of this run of the field.

I'm going to cut over and
go down another track.

It is unbearably hot.

It feels a lot
better on the water.

This looks like another
great place to get chiggers.

Look at that.

Let's walk in here
and see what happens.

And to the underbrush.

Whoa, this is very disorienting.

OK, I've completely been
swallowed by grasses

that are taller than.

I am covered in mayflies.

Let's go sit here
for a few minutes,

give any little bugs the
opportunity to get on me.

And trust me, the chiggers
will know that I am here

if they are present
in these grasses

because they can sense all
of the sweat and carbon

dioxide coming off of my body.

A chigger bite is painless.

But the way it happens
will make your skin crawl.

These parasites
attach to a host,

pierce the skin with
their chelicerae,

inject enzymes into the
bite wound that break down

cell content into
a digestible meal,

and then suck up
the liquefied tissue

through a tube
formed by hardened

skin cells called a stylostome.

Ugh, gross.

The aftermath arrives
in 24 to 48 hours

in the form of
unsightly red welts

that seem to itch unstoppably.

This is your body's
natural histamine reaction

to the invasive saliva.

Contrary to popular belief,
they do not suck blood.

And they do not burrow
into your skin to lay eggs.

However, chiggers can
stay with, explore,

and feast on a host for several
days before falling off.

And because of the
delay in bite reaction,

that is why welts can show
up day after day after day.

You definitely
will not be able to see

them with the naked eye.

But they're here.

Trust me, they are here.

Now, the worst
part about chiggers

is that most of the time, they
try to burrow down into areas

that are hard to get at.

So like your belt/underwear
line, around your ankles.

They like tight, compact,
warm areas that have

soft skin and good blood flow.

So right now, there's the chance
that they are getting on me.

Now, a bite you will not feel.

But if I am bitten, the
reaction will present

itself within 24 to 48 hours.

And I can guarantee you
that on North Bass Island,

there are gazillions of
chiggers, probably more

than there are stars in the
sky because I have gotten

chiggers on this island before.

And without a doubt,
I have a feeling

that right now, with my
legs down in the grasses

Just like this, I
am probably getting

them on me at the moment.

Well, I'm on my way back
from North Bass island.

I kayaked all the way around it.

I went into the marsh,
rescouted the swamp,

I found all sorts of treasures
including a Nike Air Foamposite.

With any luck, I am now
covered in chiggers.

I did my best to find the
tallest grass as possible,

went into them, sat down.

And hopefully, they are
on my body at this point.

All right, guys, stay tuned.

We'll see you in the aftermath.

OK.

Well, it has been 48
hours since I returned

from North Bass Island.

And I've got some good
news and some bad news.

The good news is that
I was successfully

eaten alive by chiggers.

The bad news is
that all the bites

are in areas I can't
really show you if we want

to keep this episode rated PG.

Now, I find that the bites
become inflamed every time

I get out of the shower.

And you want to itch
and itch and itch

them, which is actually
the worst thing you can do.

If you open up the bites, you
can get bacteria inside of them.

And ultimately, an
infection may form.

I'm Coyote Peterson.

Be brave, stay wild.

We'll see you on
the next adventure.

COYOTE PETERSON
Quick.

Do you know what the
world's fastest animal is?

OK, time's up.

It's the peregrine falcon.

And when in a predatory
dive, this bird

is capable of reaching speeds
of over 250 miles per hour.

Today, I'm going to become
a bird by jumping out

of an airplane to see
how fast my body can

drop in a 60-second freefall.

My heart's racing now.

While attempting to accurately

hit a prey target.

All right.

Are you ready to go?

I'm ready to go.

But
before we get extreme, first,

I'm teaming up with the
Ohio School of Falconry

to get a speed course in
the art of training falcons.

Well, if I am
to become a peregrine falcon,

it starts with learning
about these incredible birds.

Joe, thank you for this
incredible opportunity.

Let's talk falcons.

Sounds great.

What can I tell
you about falcons?

Well, first of all,

what I want to sort of
explain to the audience

is that this bird is so
much lighter weight than I

could have ever imagined.

It is sitting on my
hand, but I can barely

notice that it is
here except for when

it does that flapping thing.

How much do these birds weigh?

Well,
her flight weight

is right in the 800-gram range.

Correct me if I'm wrong,

but this is the fastest
animal on the planet.

It is.

They utilize certain aspects
of physics, if you will,

to be able to achieve speeds
of up to 270 miles an hour

in a stoop.

OK.

Now, weighing as
little as she does,

how is something this
lightweight capable

of moving that quickly?

That's a
great question, Coyote.

Shelly here has been
blessed by nature to have

a perfect aerodynamic shape.

So she has wings
that are perfectly

wing swept and pulled back.

Also, each of those bones inside
of her body is actually hollow.

Except for down here, the ankle
all the way down towards the end

of her metatarsals,
those are the only

solid bones in her body.

Now, when
it comes to taking down

prey species, does she actually
make contact with her talons

or does she like sort
of clip the wings off?

In
some cases, they're

snatching birds out of the air.

So if the bird is
smaller and they

are actually flying down to
catch it, they might grab it.

If it's a larger bird,
they might actually

make a fist with that foot
and actually break a wing

and then follow that
bird down to the ground

and utilize those
very, very long,

slender toes to grasp onto it.

So it's taking
the victim out in the air,

following it down to the ground.
Correct.

And
then finishing it off.

Correct.

Wow, that's amazing.

So Joe, when it comes to being
one of our planet's top birds

of prey, what makes the
peregrine falcon so lethal?

Well, Coyote, you
have to understand

that in the world
of raptors, there's

really two main pieces that go
into actually catching prey.

There's power.

So when you think of like
eagles and red tailed hawks,

those are birds that are
not particularly fast.

But they overwhelm what they're
hunting with pure power.

Whereas the falcons
themselves, much faster.

It's about speed.

It's about precision.

They're the ultimate
winged assassin.

Gotcha.

All right.

Well, now that we've learned a
little bit about these birds,

I think it's time to see them
in action if I'm hoping to learn

from their style when it comes
to myself turning into a falcon

jumping out of an airplane.

After a quick demonstration

on how to master the art of
pole luring, which is basically

a mix between fly fishing
and Donatello's bo staff

skills from the
Ninja Turtles, it was

time to see a falcon in action.

OK, I've done some testing
with the flight pole.

Now, I originally
thought that I was

going to watch Joe have the
birds dive at the lure first.

But I'm getting
thrown right into it.

So hopefully, it'll knock
the bird out of the sky.

A little nervous about that.

But they have a
lot of faith in me.

Trained falcons target the lure.

And to catch it is a big deal.

Think of it like a bird
playing a video game.

Get the lure, win the game.

And if you win, a meaty
treat is your coveted reward.

There you go.

There you go.

Good.

There you go.

Taking the wind there.

All right.

This
is what we want.

Whoa, that's cool.

Here she comes.

All right, you got it.

That was awesome.

Now, that we've seen
the amazing skill

and cunning
abilities of falcons,

it's time to become
the bird myself.

I'm going to be jumping out
of an airplane at 13,000 feet

while holding this peregrine
falcon puppet to see

not only what it feels like
to be moving at speeds of well

over 100 miles an hour, but
also whether or not I can hit

my prey target on the ground.

Time to suit up head,
up into the air,

and jump out of an airplane.

I'm ready to call in the plane.

Let's go outside.

My heart's racing now.

All right.

Are you ready to go?

I'm ready to go.

Falcon, are you ready to go?

Falcon is ready to go.

Woo.

Whoa, it's cold.

Holy mackerel.
- Grab on.

All right.

Oh, man.

My breakfast is in
my lungs right now.

Boom, target hit.

Mouse down.

All right, we did it.

Peregrine falcon hit its target.

Wow, that was so fast.

120 miles an hour was
blasting my face backwards.

I opened my mouth at one point.

And it basically
sucked my cheeks back.

That was about as
close as I think

you're ever going to get
to feeling the perspective

of a peregrine falcon.

Wow, that was intense.

Woo.

We hit 14,500 feet
and Andrew said speeds

of close to 130 miles an hour.

I. Have to say this
is one of the most

extreme experiences
I've had when it

comes to embodying an animal.

Today, I became the bird.

I'm Coyote Peterson.

Be brave, stay wild.

We'll see you on
the next adventure.