Original subtitles

All right.

Today's going to be a true adventure.

We are going fishing for spiny lobsters, an animal

I've never caught before.

And it involves a rather unique challenge

of snorkeling down to rock ledges

to tickle them out of the rocks.

Christina, you have caught spiny lobsters before, correct?

Yeah, I have, but it took me a good few tries.

I'm not going to lie.

So, for the lobsters to get caught today, they're

probably going to be like, no, I'm going to end

up in hot water and butter.

But in truth, they're going to be released back into the wild.

We're spiny lobster lovers.

What can I say?

So what is your role today in this lobster expedition?

My role today on this lobster expedition

is the underwater cinematographer.

I'm going to put on my wetsuit.

I'm going to put on my snorkel.

I'm going to get in the water.

I'm going to get you guys getting

the spiny tailed lobsters. OK.

So who do you think's going to win in this challenge?

Me or Christina?

Absolutely Christina.

She is a native here.

I think she's got the upper hand.

I think she might even be a better swimmer than you.

I think the money is on me.

So Trent's wearing his pineapple swim trunks today.

And who lives under the sea, Trent?

SpongeBob Squarepants!

We got a gal on a voice here.

Mario, is there any special voice you can do?

I'm jumping in the water right now.

Yeah.

Fly, pelican!

Fly!

Don't hit the seagull.

All right.

Opening drone shots.

Important piece of any production.

We're going to get down to work.

Fun time's over.

We're trying to catch some lobsters.

About to have the ride of your life!

Woo!

If ever there's a time to break out your lobster

trunks, this would be it.

We're out here in the Florida Keys, man.

We're going to get some spiny lobsters.

We're all about peace.

We're not going to eat them.

We're just going to showcase their beauty out here

in the Florida Keys and all.

Sometimes my hair gets in my eyes,

but that's OK because I'm at peace with myself, you know?

Whoa, whoa. Mario, what are you doing?

Oh, sheee!

Catching lobsters probably sounds

a lot easier than it really is.

Getting yourself into the water is the first trick.

And to do that, all you really need

are a couple of dive fins, a mask, and a snorkel.

When it comes to actually capturing the bugs themselves,

this is a tickle stick right here,

where you work it into the rocks, tickle the lobster out,

and you scoop it up in the net.

Most importantly are going to be your lobster gloves.

These Kevlar babies right here will

protect you against those backward-turned spines.

So hopefully today we'll manage to catch

some spiny lobsters without getting ourselves barred.

While this story just took a different turn,

we've got eyes on two different lobsters.

The problem is the giant swarm of moon jellies.

I've been living out here for seven years,

and I've never seen moon jellies like this.

It's just-- it's brutal out there right now.

A lot harder than you guys thought, huh?

Yeah, we're getting destroyed by jellyfish.

Just got nailed in the back of my neck.

Ow!

Oh, shoot!

Ah!

Straight out.

You are surrounded right now.

It is a biological landmine

swarm of jellyfish, man.

Ow!

Oh, my gosh.

My face is on fire right now.

My face went straight into a jellyfish full on.

Like I went in and I just saw the whole thing like that.

I have so many jellyfish stings on my body right now,

it feels like it's throbbing.

Andrew has spotted a spiny lobster,

but it's wedged way down under a rock

and the problem is it's like 15 feet deep here,

a lot harder to get down to, and we're surrounded by jellyfish.

So what we're going to do is switch up the story

direction a little bit.

Instead of us all being in the water at the same time,

Christina and I are going to take turns diving down

beneath the surface to see if we can get one of these lobsters

out of the rock.

So, we could keep moving, but Andrew says the jellies are

going to be everywhere, which means, if you got a lobster,

you got to go for it.

So, a couple of stings, but we're going to get our lobster.

Here we go.

Rock, paper, scissors.

One, two, three.

Boom.

You're going in first.

OK.

I'll narrate from the surface.

Good luck with the moon jellies.

Get it, Christina!

Mario and Christina just went down.

I'm actually kind of rooting for her to get one on the first try,

because all we need is one lobster to present.

Andrew was great.

He showed me where the lobster was.

And I reached my hand in there and it just

scooted back into the crevice.

And I just couldn't get it.

It's the second attempt.

Christina is going to try the net and the tickle stick method.

If you stick your hand into the crevice,

all the lobster's going to do is go lock itself in tighter.

You got to remember, those backward-turned spines

work like grappling hooks to keep them in their crevices.

So if you can get behind the lobster

and get it to tickle out, then you got the chance to net it.

Did you get it?

That was a layup.

So close.

This is a-- this is a lot of cardio,

and I haven't been doing a lot of that.

You got this.

Now? All right.

It's coming in.

Because it just keeps shooting back into these crevices.

I am up.

This is my first attempt.

I'm going to try with the net and the tickle stick.

Christina made a solid effort.

The good news is there's a lobster out in the open.

All right.

And it's pink trunks.

We got it.

We got it.

He's right here.

I got him.

He's on the move. Let's see him.

You out of breath, Coyote?

Ah!

Right there.

You got it.

Yeah!

That was awesome!

You got it, Christina!

I came in with a sneak.

So this is a female spiny lobster

and she's holding eggs right now.

So this is very important to keep her in the water

and just really get her back to her home.

This is one tough sport, I got to tell you.

And it took us multiple tries.

I'm trying to put her back.

She's beautiful.

She's very important to this reef system out here.

And what a fun day.

Here is our quick recap.

It was an amazing day today out there

trying to catch spiny lobster.

I nearly had one in the net, actually, multiple times.

And then, on my second attempt, I ran out of breath.

And in between attempt number two and attempt number three,

Christina decided to come in and steal the show

to make the hand catch.

Now, the lobster that we caught in the natural environment

was a female, which means we needed to put

her right back into the water.

But I do have a spiny lobster here in front of us.

This is a male that Andrew was kind enough

to catch for us yesterday.

And first things first, I want to give you guys a demonstration

of how the mouth works.

I read a story recently about a man

here in Florida who was lobster fishing.

And as he was going for his lobster, actually grabbing it,

it bit onto his finger, through a glove,

and removed the top of his pinky.

So, we do know that they bite.

And to demonstrate that, I'm sure you're

all thinking, Coyote, stick your finger

into this lobster's mouth.

That, I'm probably not going to do because I don't want the top

of my pinky to come off.

They have these serrated mouth parts that almost look

like the shears of a scissor.

Now I'm going to take this baby carrot here and imagine

that as my pointer finger.

You get that into the mouth like this and like this.

And all of a sudden, ooh, the top of your finger

is coming off.

The number one defense for these crustaceans

is, of course, their spines.

That's where they get the name.

And this work gets a little risky.

I'm going to attempt to pick up this crustacean.

And those backward-turned spines are like little fish hooks.

Now, I want to pick it up by its thorax.

And it's probably not going to be super happy about that,

so let's see what happens.

Yup.

Definitely super spiny.

All right, let me give that a second attempt.

I just got to go for it and own it.

Here we go.

Whoa!

That is a strong crustacean right there.

Look at that guy.

That is just an alien of the most bizarre design!

Look at the underside of that arthropod.

Now, you notice it doesn't have big pinchers like its cousin,

the American lobster up in Maine, which would be growing

off the front here and, of course,

we've seen has pinched me in the past.

The mouth part is actually right there in the middle.

Now, this one probably could give me a pretty good nip if I

shove my finger into the mouth.

But when these things get bigger, remember,

they can grow to be nearly 15 pounds in weight.

This one's less than a pound.

That's a pretty big crustacean.

So you can see why it was capable of taking off the tip

of somebody's pinky finger.

I'm not going to stick my finger into this lobster's mouth,

but you can see the real protection on this guy

is these spines, backward-turned spikes.

So that when they lodge themselves underneath the rocks,

they're like a grappling hook locked in place,

and they're really difficult to pull

out for any potential predator.

Now, all of the muscle in this animal is here in the tail.

And for those who eat lobsters, this is

exactly what you're going for.

But believe it or not, when these things get big enough,

there's actually edible meat inside of the-- ah!

Inside of the antenna.

And I think-- yep, he just popped a hole in my pinky finger

right there.

Thanks for that, buddy.

Apparently, there are also spines on the underside

of the tail.

Those are without question razor sharp.

All right, I'm going to set you down the water for a second just

to keep you hydrated.

It's important to note that these lobsters

can be out of the water for a considerable amount of time.

And at this point, I have a few holes poked into my hand

just from holding on to him.

Remember, I've been underwater, so my skin's a little softer

than it normally would be.

When we want to answer the question,

Does it bite or does it sting?

they certainly do not sting, even

though it looks like something covered

in spines that may be venomous.

But no venom, no poison that comes with this crustacean.

What you need to watch out for are the spines.

However, it is capable of biting.

Remember my demonstration earlier

with cutting the baby carrot?

Those are like serrated razor blades,

and they can snip through even the shells of mollusks

and other crustaceans.

So, this thing is a formidable predator when it needs to be.

But in most instances, it ends up being a prey.

Ow.

I just keep getting whacked by that tail.

And every time I do, it's cutting

little slices into my skin.

Well, the good news for this lobster

is that it's not going to end up in a boiling pot of water.

But it was a challenge out here.

I got to say, anybody that's free-diving down

to catch one of these spiny lobsters,

it's a much more difficult task than one might think.

So at this point, we're going to get

this bizarre-looking crustacean back into the wild

and we're going to call it a very successful day.

I'm Coyote Peterson.

Be brave.

Stay wild.

We'll see you on the next adventure.

All right, time to get you back into the ocean.

People often ask, "Coyote, where does

the inspiration for the work that you do come from?"

There are three very key people who have influenced my career--

Steven Spielberg, Bear Grylls, and the one

and only Steve Irwin.

Tonight, I'm getting the chance to fulfill a childhood dream.

We're headed out into a top-secret location in Darwin,

with the proper permits, to catch

saltwater crocodiles by hand.

For as far back as I can remember,

watching Steve hanging off the front of a boat,

leaning into the water, grabbing a salty and pulling it

up on deck is something that I've always wanted to get

the chance to try and do.

Will I be able to pull off the ultimate Steve

Irwin catch tonight?

I guess we'll see.

I'm dedicating this episode to you, Steve.

Thank you for all the inspiration

that you have provided for myself

and everybody out there who loves animals.

Rest in peace, my mate, and we're going to do you proper.

Let's catch some crocs.

Crikey!

Hey there.

Hey.

They said nothing's, you know, not a drop of rain.

Well, when you're in the Northern Territory,

anything goes, rain or shine.

And we've been struggling with rain lately.

And we're about to launch out the boat to go look for salties.

I've got a little bit of a storm coming in, but who cares?

Let's go out there and find some crocs.

We are officially out on the river.

The object tonight is to catch something

under two meters in length.

And the challenge is to hang off the front of the boat

to do this with my bare hands, classic Steve Irwin style.

At the moment, the focus is all about eyeshine.

Getting the crocodile's eyes to reflect in flashlight beams

is going to be our first indicator

that we'll have the opportunity to make a catch.

Now, if we spot a crocodile, they're

super susceptible to noise and the variations in light.

So, Max will have to keep the light spotted right

on the animal as we stay silent and slowly drift in.

With any luck we'll find one that's the right size,

we'll get it up close for the cameras.

Yeah.

Yeah, see it?

So we've got a really small crocodile.

It's right up against the embankment.

We're going to try to get it.

Dang it.

We hit the roots and it went down.

I could see it just going.

I just nicked the edge of its tail.

I actually had a lot of trouble seeing

it till we got right up on it.

Ugh! That was so close.

It was a tiny one.

It was about this long.

Little hatchling.

Got a crocodile right up on the embankment.

We'll get close.

I don't think we're going to be able to catch that one,

but we'll see how long it stays there.

I'll jump right up on land if I have to.

Got it.

I got him.

I can't see behind me.

There's like a tunnel here.

Let me see if I can just get control for a second here.

Proper Steve Irwin style for sure!

Woo!

Look at that salty.

Oh, buddy!

My arms are shaking.

I'm so excited.

The good news is I have control in exactly the right spot,

but it's just at that angle where it would be very, very

difficult for me to hold on to this animal with just one hand.

And as you-- yeah, you see?

It's requiring a lot of strength.

If he spins around the wrong way, gets my arm or my hand

in his mouth and spins around, there goes my hand or my arm.

But that's it right there, ladies and gentlemen,

the saltwater crocodile.

The absolute perfect size we could have hoped

to come across and up on land.

Yeah, it's a very, very, very strong animal.

Oh.

My arms are shaking.

This is the moment, childhood dream come true right here.

The chance to interact with a saltwater crocodile.

Growing up, countless times I watched Steve Irwin catch

crocodiles eight times this.

But for me getting hands on with a reptile

of this power and this ferocity is a life-changing experience.

Now, you see those teeth up front there,

perfect for catching fish really at this age.

Although as an opportunistic predator, if something comes

close to the embankment, the speed

at which these reptiles can launch up and out to grab

their prey is staggering.

And this reptile is absolutely gorgeous.

See its eyes?

Oh!

And that distress call right there, even at this size,

is basically saying, "I'm a big boy.

Do not get too close.

I will give you a bite that you'll never forget.

And as a matter of fact, I may take a piece of you with me."

Wow!

Absolutely beautiful.

And I'm going to hold on tight and just kind of

lift his tail up a little bit.

Look at all the muscular structure.

That is the propeller that powers these animals forward.

So fast.

As I snuck up behind it, I was immediately

thinking it was going to launch off and be out of range.

And that moment when you're going

to jump on the back of a crocodilian,

you just have to commit.

And in my mind, I had zero doubt when

it came to where I was going to grab a hold of the animal.

This area here is completely armor plated.

You see the osteoderms up on the back of its neck.

I have a firm grip but I'm not choking the animal in any way,

whatsoever.

That distress call just basically says,

"Hey, something caught me."

But it can tell at this point that I'm not biting it.

I'm not clawing it.

It's going to be released right back into the wild.

I just want you to be able to see the coloration in the body.

Look at that speckled patterning.

And when we're talking about the animal's camouflage

from up above, this helps it keep hidden

within sunlight and shadows.

But from the underside, I'm just going to turn him like this ever

so slightly for a second. There you go, buddy.

I got you.

See how smooth and light-colored the underbelly is?

That means that when it's up near the surface

from underneath, nothing's able to see

it through the rays of sun.

Now, a crocodile like this, you would

say, well, it probably doesn't have any predators, right?

Honestly, a bigger saltwater crocodile could easily take out

a reptile of this size.

But, buddy, you are getting to the point

where you are going to become one

of the most dominant predators in this river.

But I just have to take a moment to absorb getting hands

on with an animal that I think infatuated and inspired so

many people out there watching.

Steve Irwin was the biggest influence, bar none,

on anyone who loves animals.

It was an absolute tragedy when he passed away.

And I've always said to myself, man, if there was ever

the chance to get into Australia,

have the right permits, and catch one of these reptiles,

I would dedicate that moment to Steve.

To Steve, I say thank you for inspiring all of us.

We would not be where we are today

if it wasn't for the work that you did and all of the drive

that you put behind us who love animals.

So to you, Steve Irwin, crikey, mate!

We caught ourselves a saltwater crocodile.

I'm Coyote Peterson.

Be brave.

Stay wild.

We'll see you on the next adventure.

All right, salty, time for you to get back out into the waters

and do a night of hunting.

OK, buddy.

I'm going to let you like this.

One, two, three.

Woo!

Woo!

What a launch.

That was strategic.

I didn't want him to swing back around to give me a little love

bite before he took off.

Woo!

Crikey!

Australia, we love you!

That right there, where that croc is.

Are you going to go for a catch, dawg?

I've got to catch a salty.

As Coyote said, you know, we grew up watching Steve Irwin

and it was a great influence to the career path I chose.

And I'm in Australia.

I got to catch a salty.

So, that salty that Coyote caught, perfect size.

It was gorgeous.

"A little beauteous," Steve Irwin would say.

And what do we got up ahead of us?

I think we got another croc.

Go for it.

That's going to collapse. Be careful.

Jump way up.

You got him? - I got him.

Oh, you got him.

He's a lot bigger than we thought.

Jeez, and I fell into the mangroves.

Hold on to him. I'm stuck.

I got him, I got him. Ah!

Watch my face. Oh, shoot.

Ah!

Woo!

Oh, man!

I saw him underwater.

Oh, jeez!

He was underwater.

He was coming right up.

Yeah.

And I was able just to sneak and grab him.

That was the most chaotic

crocodile catch of all time.

Yeah.

I went down.

I totally would have slipped as well.

We both slipped?

You went down.

I went down.

But we got another salty.

Yeah.

That was chaos.

That was just chaos.

This croc was underneath the water and I was scanning.

And then I saw it starting to pop its head up.

Right before it popped his head up and its eyes

above the surface, I just reached and grab it

and then I kind of fell forward myself and lost my balance.

Oh, man.

What a little beauty.

All right.

Well, let's switch spots here and we'll take a good look.

All right.

Second catch, bonus edition.

Another salty.

Not as big as Coyote's, but it doesn't matter.

It's a salty nonetheless and it's another little beauty.

Very dark in coloration.

Look at that.

Coyote's was a lot more yellow.

This is about a three-footer, juvenile,

making that distress call just like Coyote's was doing.

And I've loved crocodilians all my life.

I've worked with many species as well,

primarily the American crocodiles in South Florida.

So, getting my hands on a salty.

As Coyote mentioned, they are like the ultimate

of crocodilians, the apex of crocodilians,

notorious worldwide for their reputation

but also their beauty.

They're one of my favorite croc species

because of just their iconic look and coloration and pattern.

And the fact that I had the opportunity

to catch one tonight as well, that means a lot to me, too.

So, there you go.

That's for you, Steve Irwin.