Original subtitles

CHARLIE: Hey guys! Today we're hanging out in Florida!

KIRBY: In the Everglades!

CHARLIE: Playing the role of Wildlife sheriffs, snatching up invasive species crooks

that are destroying the environment.

KIRBY: Like this guy.

CHARLIE: The worst of the bunch, the Burmese Python.

This is Weird but True!

KIRBY: Hey guys! Sheriff Kirby here!

CHARLIE: We all clear here sheriff? KIRBY: All clear!

CHARLIE: That's a 9-42 boys, we're all clear.

KIRBY: You guys know my brother Charlie.

CHARLIE: That's sheriff Charlie to you, just doing my job cleaning up the streets in

this here town.

KIRBY: Or at least our house anyway.

CHARLIE: We've spent the morning basically arresting crooks in the house not

playing by the rules and wreaking havoc.

We arrested our sister Casey for finishing up the cereal before we had breakfast.

We've got a 2-35 on our hands.

We arrested our dog Winnie for peeing inside.

Move along folks. Nothing to see here.

We even arrested the milk for being expired.

Are you aware you expired on the 11th, and today is the 12th?

KIRBY: So we cleaned up everything inside our house pretty well.

CHARLIE: But from what I understand there's some actual real plant and animal

criminals hanging out right outside.

KIRBY: And we have a duty to learn about those crooks in our own backyard.

CHARLIE: So that's what we're doing today, unraveling the world of.

-Invasive Species!

CHARLIE: Alright guys, let's cover the basics.

We got native species, non-native species, and invasive species.

Native species, like our little snake friend here, are species that have been in an

ecosystem for a bazillion years.

However, if we move our little snake guy to a different ecosystem he's called a

non-native species, and he might fit right in!

Or he might not.

Sometimes non-native species entering ecosystems, go rogue, multiply like crazy,

and end up causing a lot of damage.

That's when our little snake man is officially called an invasive species,

because they start to invade and take over.

KIRBY: So what sort of damage are we talking about here?

CHARLIE: Well, you're just in time because I have a few criminals awaiting judgment,

all charged with the same crime, but accused for different reasons.

All rise for the honorable judge Kirby.

KIRBY: Thank you everyone, you may be seated.

CHARLIE: This is case number 2-45, Beavers vs the South American group of islands,

Tierra del Fuego.

KIRBY: So we have South America accusing beavers of invasiveness on account of

habitat destruction, is that correct?

CHARLIE: That is correct your honor.

According to my client about 20 beavers from Canada were introduced to Tierra Del Fuego

in 1946.

Since then, the 20 beavers have increased to 100,000 beavers.

With a major appetite for trees.

Their lavish diet has destroyed acres of natural habitat,

leaving previously lush forestland looking like it's been bulldozed.

KIRBY: This is one of the worst cases of habitat destruction I have ever seen.

I find the defendant, guilty of invasiveness.

CHARLIE: Case number 6-3-6 Brown Tree Snakes vs the Native Birds of Guam.

KIRBY: We have native birds accusing brown tree snakes of invasiveness on account of

destroying native wildlife.

CHARLIE: Correct your honor.

Brown Tree Snakes from the South Pacific were introduced to Guam during World War II.

There, they found a bunch of birds who didn't know how to avoid them.

A.K.A., an all you can eat snake buffet.

So naturally since then, the snakes have snatched them right up.

Nearly every native bird in Guam is now extinct in the wild because they were eaten

by brown tree snakes.

KIRBY: This is terrible destruction of native wildlife.

I find the defendant guilty of invasiveness.

CHARLIE: Case number 8-4-7 Feral pigs vs Spinach Eaters of the United States.

KIRBY: We have spinach eaters accusing feral pigs of invasiveness on account of

spreading human disease.

Is that correct?

CHARLIE: That's correct, your honor.

A long time ago pigs were brought over from Eurasia to North America,

where they promptly escaped and went feral.

In 2006, like in any other year, people across the U.S.

were happily eating baby spinach.

That spinach had a bunch of E. coli in it.

There were 205 confirmed illnesses and three deaths during this E. coli outbreak.

The Center For Disease Control and California Food Emergency Response tracked the outbreak

to, among other things, the feces of feral pigs that lived next to a spinach field.

KIRBY: The pig spreads human disease?

I find the defendant guilty of invasiveness.

CHARLIE: So invasive plants and animals can cause damage

in a whole bunch of different ways.

KIRBY: They can cause complete habitat destruction like the beavers in Tierra del Fuego.

CHARLIE: They can devastate native species like the brown tree snakes in Guam.

KIRBY: And they can even cause the spread of disease like the feral pigs in the US!

CHARLIE: But here's my question, how does a beaver from Canada

get to Tierra del Fuego?

KIRBY: Or how do snakes get to Guam?

CHARLIE: How do these invasive species travel around?

KIRBY: I think we have a bit more investigating to do.

Weird but True timeout, a seed can float across the ocean and sprout on another continent!

So these plants and animals cause insane amounts of damage on habitats, other species,

human health, and even our bank accounts.

CHARLIE: In total, invasive species cost the US about $120 billion annually!

Billion!

KIRBY: With a B! That's a 12 with ten zeroes at the end.

A ton of cash. But here's the big question. Why?

Why do invasive species wreck environments and native species don't?

CHARLIE: It's really simple.

There's nothing to keep them in check.

There are different things that help maintain the natural balance of an ecosystem.

Like predators and prey.

Add more prey to an ecosystem, you'll get more predators.

If there isn't enough prey to go around some predators will die off.

But what happens if we bring a new species into the environment,

without a predator or a limited food source?

The natural balance is disturbed!

That species will multiply like crazy!

Eventually taking over because nothing is stopping them!

KIRBY: So what's the solution? Stop spreading them around!

CHARLIE: Well, it's a little more difficult than that.

Because we live in a world where things are so connected.

KIRBY: Yeah, basically there are endless amounts of ways we can move around

invasive species.

And intentionally or unintentionally, people do it all the time.

CHARLIE: Here's a case where it was a total accident.

The invasive tropical fire ant.

These guys lived exclusively in Mexico until the 16th century when they hitched a

ride across the globe on some Spanish trade ships.

KIRBY: Our trade ships from Mexico, they're too wobbly!

What are we gonna do?

CHARLIE: Hmm, oh!

We'll a bunch of dirt. We'll put it in the boats.

Heavier on the bottom. It'll wobble but it won't fall down.

KIRBY: Genius!

CHARLIE: What could go wrong?

Little did the Spanish know that in that dirt was a bunch of fire ants.

And when the ships needed room for goods in a foreign country,

they ditched some of that soil.

So fast forward to today.

This just in, from Guam to Australia, fire ants are taking over all tropical

ecosystems of the entire world.

KIRBY: So invasive species can be accidentally brought into new areas as hitchhikers.

CHARLIE: But other times, it's no accident at all.

KIRBY: For example, Kudzu, a vine sold in the US to farmers.

What's that?

CHARLIE: Kudzu! Straight from China!

KIRBY: I'll take 100! I'll plant you everywhere!

CHARLIE: What could possibly go wrong?

Breaking news, Kudzu has escaped the control of local farmers and is now taking over

the American south.

KIRBY: Kudzu, that time we knew we brought it into the US, but we didn't mean for

it to get out into the wild!

CHARLIE: Other times, we knowingly placed invasive species

right into the environment.

KIRBY: Like pet Burmese pythons in the Florida Everglades.

CHARLIE: Do we have to mom?

KIRBY: You know we can't have pets in the new apartment.

CHARLIE: Goodbye, Mister Slithers.

I'll always remember you!

KIRBY: Look he's already eating a feral pig.

What could possibly go wrong?

CHARLIE: This just in, Mister Slithers found a Misses Slithers and now Burmese

Pythons wreak havoc on native species in the Everglades.

KIRBY: So sometimes it's an accident, sometimes they escape,

and sometimes we just straight up release them into the wild.

CHARLIE: So next time you think about releasing your pet python into the Everglades.

KIRBY: Or buying an invasive plant from China.

CHARLIE: Or stabilizing your trade ships with soil from Mexico.

KIRBY: Think again.

Just take a walk until the urge passes.

CHARLIE: You know what, Kirb? I'm think we're ready to go! Go out and learn in the field.

Hit the streets.

KIRBY: Well luckily, I've been in contact with one of the best.

Mike Rochford.

He's an invasive species coordinator down in Florida.

Let's change real quick and then we'll head out!

CHARLIE: Sounds good to me!

We'll see you guys in a bit.

Then it's off to the Everglades to catch some invasives with Mike!

We'll see you soon.

KIRBY: Weird but True, more than two million animals fly in airplanes every year!

CHARLIE: Hey guys! KIRBY: Welcome back!

CHARLIE: Kirby and I are just packing up a few things and then it's off to Florida to

check out some invasive species.

KIRBY: You ready to go? CHARLIE: Ready to go! Let's roll!

We're heading to the Florida Everglades, the largest subtropical wetland ecosystem

in North America.

It's often described as a swamp or a forested wetland, but the Everglades is actually

a very slow-moving river.

We're here to check out invasive species.

KIRBY: We've been here for like ten minutes and they're everywhere.

CHARLIE: Here are three of the worst invasive plant species that we've already found in

the Everglades.

The trouble trinity forming the triangle of treachery.

The first.

KIRBY: Brazilian pepper. CHARLIE: Invasive originally from Brazil and Paraguay.

Now covering 700,000 acres in Florida alone.

Wanted for, shading out all other plants.

And it can cause skin reactions like fellow criminal poison ivy.

The second.

Australian Pine.

This invasive is from Australia and Southeast Asia.

Wanted for, devastating native beach communities.

They're resistant to salt spray, so these trees can grow right up to the water.

Endangered American crocodiles and sea turtles can get tangled in their super shallow

root systems and have trouble building their nests, so it's hurting their population.

And these trees can also cause beach erosion.

The final.

KIRBY: Melaleuca. CHARLIE: Native to Australia and New Guinea,

invasive throughout 400,000 acres, mostly in southern Florida.

Melaleuca was sold as a timber, and an ornamental tree before people realized the

damage it could do.

Wanted for crowding out other native trees and plant life.

The super power of melaleuca, it's seeds remain viable for up to ten years,

and a single tree stores up to 20 million seeds.

Possession of Melaleuca, Australian Pine, or Brazilian Pepper with the intent to sell

or plant is illegal in the state of Florida without a permit.

KIRBY: So invasive plants, they're taking over the Everglades!

CHARLIE: I think it's time to find some animals.

KIRBY: We should go find someone to talk to.

CHARLIE: That's a good idea.

Let's go, guys!

Guys, check it out, that's Mike!

KIRBY: He's a Wildlife Biologist.

CHARLIE: And the invasive Species Coordinator at the University of Florida.

KIRBY: Mike Rochford, watch dog over native wildlife and not afraid to hunt down

invasive creatures.

His favorite Weird but True fact is, Burmese Pythons stalk prey using chemical receptors

in their tongues and heat sensors along their jaws!

CHARLIE: Guys, Mike. Mike, guys, and your enormous snake.

So what do you do as an invasive species coordinator?

MIKE: Well we have a whole team of biologists and we go and study what is the best way

to remove all of these invasive species from the ecosystem so they don't harm

our native wildlife.

CHARLIE: What kind of things are you removing from the wildlife here in Florida?

MIKE: We try to remove a lot of burmese pythons, argentine black and white tegus, caiman,

and any number of other reptile and amphibian species.

CHARLIE: Is the Everglades and this area of Florida particularly bad when it comes

to invasive species?

MIKE: Yeah. CHARLIE: More so than other areas around the country?

MIKE: This is a real hot spot.

We've got a really good climate, we have a lot of ports where animals are

brought in and we have a lot of dealers who work with these animals so it's kind of the

perfect storm of conditions for invasive species.

CHARLIE: They either escaped or people release them and that's just enough for them to

kind of take over around here?

MIKE: Yeah. It only takes a few snakes and then they can start reproducing.

And they can have clutches close to 100 eggs.

CHARLIE: Holy cow!

So what are we looking at right here? This guy.

MIKE: So this is a burmese python, it was caught as a hatchling in the Everglades

and we've raised him since then.

So that's why he's pretty friendly.

CHARLIE: I hear a hissing. KIRBY: Yeah. CHARLIE: Is that okay?

MIKE: He's just breathing. KIRBY: He's just breathing.

CHARLIE: That's okay, that's okay.

KIRBY: So how many of these guys do you catch each year?

MIKE: Our team probably catches about 25 a year.

In total there's probably about 200 or so that are brought in each year.

KIRBY: So why are the Burmese pythons so bad?

MIKE: Well, they're habitat generalists so they live in every type of habitat in the

Everglades and they eat basically every kind of mammal that's out there as well as

small alligators.

CHARLIE: This guy can eat an alligator?

MIKE: Yeah, up to six feet.

KIRBY: That's huge. MIKE: Yeah.

KIRBY: Once you catch them, what do you do?

MIKE: We'll bring them back to our research center and we'll look to see what they've been

eating and how many eggs they make and that'll tell us more about them and the impacts

they're having.

I think that these are now well-established to the point that getting them out of

Florida completely, that's probably not possible.

CHARLIE: Holy cow! So is that, they're kind of here to stay at this point.

MIKE: Yeah.

CHARLIE: Weird but True, Burmese pythons can get up to 23 feet in length and weigh up

to 200 pounds.

That's more than me!

Managing invasive species is a pretty tricky job, so government and environmental

organizations sometimes come up with weird ways to try and get rid of them.

On many islands, like Hawaii, someone had the bright idea of introducing mongooses to eat

invasive rats.

Sounds like a good idea.

Except rats are generally nocturnal, and mongooses are awake during the day.

So, it didn't work out.

On Guam, to deal with the brown tree snakes, they parachuted a bunch of dead

mice injected with toxins from planes.

The bait gets caught in the trees where the snakes live.

Researchers say this has shown some success in killing the snakes.

Back to the Everglades.

MIKE: This is an Argentine black and white tegu from South America.

These guys were kept in the pet trade and escaped from a facility

and then just started breeding.

They'll eat small mammals and reptiles and they'll clean out turtle and alligator nests.

Alligators are actually really beneficial.

They create habitat for a lot of different animals in the Everglades.

And we don't fully understand how much they're gonna impact the alligators,

but so far it doesn't look good.

CHARLIE: So do you have high hopes for the management of these tegus or is it kind of

like Burmese pythons, where there's not really much a chance to control them?

MIKE: It's a pretty big problem and we might have a chance if we act really

quickly.

CHARLIE: There is a shred of hope? MIKE: It's a definite maybe.

CHARLIE: Weird but True, tegus have highly acidic stomachs that allows them to break down

egg shells and animal bones.

That's pretty weird.

Is it true?

Alright, so how do you capture these guys?

MIKE: We just throw a chicken egg into a raccoon trap and these guys will

come and eat the egg.

CHARLIE: Simple formula.

Just a chicken egg in a raccoon trap and you're good to go.

MIKE: Yep. CHARLIE: That sounds really cool.

MIKE: You guys want to go check it out?

KIRBY: Absolutely. CHARLIE: Alright.

Guys, we're gonna go check out some traps, but when we get back we're going to see if we

caught any Tegus!

You're not going to want to miss this.

It's time to help save the Everglades!

KIRBY: Weird but True, mosquitoes play a vital link in the Everglades food chain!

CHARLIE: Hey guys, welcome back.

Right now we're on a mission to help save the Florida Everglades by dealing with

some invasive species.

Our target right now: the Argentine, black and white tegu.

According to Mike about four or five years ago they first started spotting tegus around

here.

Now they remove 400 every single year.

So they're all over the place.

We're gonna check some traps that Mike and his team set up to see if we captured any.

Sounds awesome, let's go!

No tegus, not yet.

KIRBY: Noooooo. CHARLIE: Nothing in this one. Where are all the Tegus?

KIRBY: We'll find 'em. CHARLIE: No Tegus. Oh man.

KIRBY: What do we got? CHARLIE: Oh! This thing's huge!

KIRBY: He's a big guy! MIKE: Yeah. CHARLIE: Holy cow!

MIKE: This is an adult Tegu, so this is what we're after here.

CHARLIE: He's massive. KIRBY: He's got a little, little pack on him.

MIKE: Yeah, this is a radio transmitter, and this allows us to follow it through the

ecosystem, to learn about how they move through the habitat.

CHARLIE: The beads, is that just to make him feel a little fancy,

or what do we got going on here?

MIKE: We've got cameras hidden in the bushes out here, and when a tegu walks by,

it'll take a picture of it, and then we can identify it just from those colored beads.

CHARLIE: So you guys release 'em back?

MIKE: Yeah, this one will have to go back out, because it's one of our research animals.

CHARLIE: It seems kind of counter-intuitive, though, because they're destroying the

environment, so why are you throwing them back in there?

MIKE: The reason is, there's a greater good to it.

We can learn how to better place our traps to more effectively capture them.

CHARLIE: So it's time to toss this guy back out there?

MIKE: That's right.

CHARLIE: All right, let's do it.

Get out of here Tegu! Go, go, go, go, go!

Ahhhhh!

KIRBY: Whoa! Look at him run!

CHARLIE: Awww, yeah! MIKE: Yeah. KIRBY: We got two!

CHARLIE: Check it out! MIKE: That's awesome.

CHARLIE: Oh look at these little guys.

MIKE: Yeah. KIRBY: Two Tegus!

CHARLIE: There's a big one and a little one.

So Mike and his team trap these tegus so that they can remove them from the

environment.

They also take them back to their lab where they learn more about them.

Mike says the tegus in the study don't get neutered, but they remove their eggs when

they find them.

We need to transfer them so we can leave this trap behind.

Yeah!

KIRBY: Ya! MIKE: Good job. Here's your prize.

CHARLIE: Alright, guys, we gotta secure these tegus in the truck and then wait until

night time.

When Mike says we're gonna go search for some caimans,

apparently they're like little crocodiles.

Caiman is another invasive species that impacts the Native American Alligator and

was most likely introduced through the exotic pet trade.

So I'm heading out with Mike into the night.

With room for only one of us, Kirby sits this one out.

We're going down this canal right here.

Mike's shining his headlight at the bank to see if we can see any glowing eyes.

That's the light reflecting off the eyes of the caimans.

If he sees anything we're beelining right to that spot and he's gonna use his pole to

snatch them right out and bring them into the boat.

That's the plan.

You wanna sneak up on 'em, so it's important that we keep quite.

It's not easy to spot caimans with an untrained eye, but Mike knows exactly what he's

looking for.

MIKE: I got it! CHARLIE: He got it with his bare hands.

You didn't even use a snatcher.

MIKE: This is a young caiman, probably a year or two old, calling for its mom right now.

Got a little bit of a stubby tail here, probably from some other caiman

taking it off a little bit.

This is great, exactly what we're looking for, an invasive species from South America,

here competing with our native alligators and crocodiles.

CHARLIE: Weird but True, guys, the gender of caimans depends on the temperature when

they're in the egg.

If it's cold, they turn into females and if it's warm, they turn into males.

One down but the invasive hunt never ends, it's time to search for more caimans.

So we set back out into the total darkness of the swamp and just when we thought our

luck had run out.

Mike spots something in the water.

Oh man!

This guy's huge!

MIKE: So this is a slightly larger one, probably a sub adult,

it's probably a few years old.

CHARLIE: So when you see 'em in the water, how do you know it's a caiman and not an

alligator or crocodile?

MIKE: So a caiman's got a bony ridge between its eyes, and that's why it's often referred

to as a spectacled caiman, because it kind of looks like it has glasses on.

And it's also got little horns above the eyes.

They just poke up a little bit more than what a crocodile or an alligator would.

Once you're able to close their jaws, they don't have very strong muscles

to open them back up.

So you can just close 'em with your hands gently and then get the tape around it and then

you're good to go, you're safe.

CHARLIE: How about that guys, another caiman captured out of the Everglades.

Thanks so much, Mike!

MIKE: Yeah good times.

CHARLIE: Alright good luck with all your research. MIKE: Thank you.

CHARLIE: Alright guys, I'm gonna find Kirby and then we're going to head back to

HQ, sounds good?

Awesome!

KIRBY: Weird but True timeout, Everglades sawgrass has serrated,

razor-edged blades of grass that can cut through clothing!

Hey, guys! We just got back from Florida!

CHARLIE: Where we caught a bunch of invasive species with our man, Mike.

KIRBY: We caught so many tegus!

CHARLIE: I was holding a burmese python in my bare hands!

KIRBY: It was a bit too close for comfort, but I think it's the best kind of training we

could have possibly hoped for.

What else did we learn today?

There were so many Weird but True things!

Burmese pythons can eat alligators up to six feet long!

CHARLIE: Parachuting dead mice filled with toxin is one method tried to help control

invasive brown tree snake populations.

KIRBY: Caimans are often called spectacled caiman because the bony bridge

between their eyes looks like they're wearing glasses!

Invasive species cost the US about $120 billion annually.

CHARLIE: Billion! KIRBY: With a B!

CHARLIE: Here's a tip to help you spot invasive species where you live.

If you take a peek outside your front door and a certain plant or animal is all over

the place.

Like it's everywhere!

Look it up, it's probably an invasive species.

This stuff is all over our backyard.

It's called buckthorn.

KIRBY: It's listed by the US Forest Service as one of the most invasive plants in

Illinois.

CHARLIE: Talked to some experts and they said.

KIRBY: It's gotta go.

CHARLIE: Thanks for stopping by guys!

Come by again when we discover more things that are weird.

KIRBY: But true! CHARLIE: We'll see you soon!

Captioned by Cotter Captioning Services.