0:00:02 > 0:00:07On Deadly 60 I've had loads of incredible animal encounters.
0:00:07 > 0:00:10SHARK! Here's just one of my many favourites.
0:00:11 > 0:00:13This is...
0:00:16 > 0:00:19We're in Australia's Northern Territories.
0:00:19 > 0:00:20About here.
0:00:20 > 0:00:23There's so many possible animals here
0:00:23 > 0:00:26for the Deadly 60, I don't know where to start!
0:00:29 > 0:00:32This freshwater pool is one of the few places around here
0:00:32 > 0:00:36where I won't run into our first contender for the Deadly 60.
0:00:36 > 0:00:40And it's a good job too, because have a look at this!
0:00:44 > 0:00:47The saltwater crocodile.
0:00:47 > 0:00:50The locals call them "salties".
0:00:52 > 0:00:55Now, I'm going to hold my hand up here
0:00:55 > 0:00:58and say that these things genuinely scare me.
0:00:58 > 0:01:00GROWLS
0:01:01 > 0:01:04They're the world's largest crocodilian,
0:01:04 > 0:01:08growing to more than six metres and weighing over a ton.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13They live in rivers, lakes, and even the sea.
0:01:13 > 0:01:17It's one of the few animals in the world that can, on occasion,
0:01:17 > 0:01:20hunt, kill and eat a human being.
0:01:20 > 0:01:25And if they attack people, they rarely leave survivors.
0:01:27 > 0:01:33To get close to one, I've come to visit croc guru Dr Adam Britton.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37He loves them so much that he's got one in his back garden.
0:01:37 > 0:01:41He's been studying them for years and has a specially constructed pool
0:01:41 > 0:01:44so you can study and film their behaviour underwater
0:01:44 > 0:01:46safely, inside a cage.
0:01:46 > 0:01:50And night-time is the time to do it.
0:01:53 > 0:01:57Saltwater crocodiles do the majority of their hunting at night
0:01:57 > 0:02:01so it should be the absolute worst time
0:02:01 > 0:02:04to be going anywhere near them.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07Unless, of course, you want to see them feeding.
0:02:07 > 0:02:09In which case, it's the perfect time.
0:02:11 > 0:02:15'I have to say, I'd rather get in the water with a great white shark
0:02:15 > 0:02:17'than a saltwater crocodile,
0:02:17 > 0:02:19'so I'm very glad that this wire
0:02:19 > 0:02:22'is going to be between me and the croc.'
0:02:49 > 0:02:54Oh! That was... That was unbelievable!
0:02:54 > 0:02:58That was one of the most awe-inspiring,
0:02:58 > 0:03:00terrifying things I've ever seen.
0:03:00 > 0:03:02Just out of nowhere,
0:03:02 > 0:03:05kind of green murky water,
0:03:05 > 0:03:08and then just BAM!
0:03:08 > 0:03:11It hit the chicken just like a dinosaur coming out of the dark.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14It was like something out of Jaws.
0:03:14 > 0:03:16Oof.
0:03:17 > 0:03:21Did you all hear me scream underwater? From up here?
0:03:21 > 0:03:23I was just going "Aaaah!"
0:03:23 > 0:03:26Just the size and the power
0:03:26 > 0:03:29and the strength and the speed that that animal moved,
0:03:29 > 0:03:32for a creature that size...
0:03:32 > 0:03:35That is quite something.
0:03:35 > 0:03:39I think we'd better go and try and find one in the wild, boys. Ha!
0:03:39 > 0:03:43So, can wild salties really be deadly?
0:03:43 > 0:03:45This isn't a good sign.
0:03:45 > 0:03:47Crocodiles today, is it?
0:03:49 > 0:03:53In the Northern Territories the rivers are full of big crocodiles.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57The people have learned how to deal with it so it's rarely a problem.
0:03:57 > 0:03:58Every once in a while, though,
0:03:58 > 0:04:01a crocodile starts to associate people with food
0:04:01 > 0:04:04and then that is a problem and it needs to be moved.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07I'm here with local rangers to help them out and also
0:04:07 > 0:04:11to get as close as you can in the wild to a saltwater crocodile.
0:04:11 > 0:04:13'Tonight, we're hunting a particular croc
0:04:13 > 0:04:17'that the rangers know has been taking a bit too much of an interest
0:04:17 > 0:04:19'in some fishermen on the riverbank.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22Jonathan's going to be in charge of getting hold of the croc
0:04:22 > 0:04:25once we get close, using these prongs,
0:04:25 > 0:04:29which are going to go into the really hard scales
0:04:29 > 0:04:31at the back of the neck of the crocodile.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34That might seem a little bit cruel, but to be honest,
0:04:34 > 0:04:37these creatures are so strong, so hardy,
0:04:37 > 0:04:40that's going to be little more than a pinprick would be to us.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43But it should be enough to draw the croc in close to the boat
0:04:43 > 0:04:45where we can get control over it.
0:04:45 > 0:04:47'After several hours of searching,
0:04:47 > 0:04:50'one of the rangers thinks he's spotted our croc.'
0:04:51 > 0:04:53OK, up here, look. Just go to your right.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56- He's mid-stream there.- Yeah.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12'Now, at this point, I have to be honest,
0:05:12 > 0:05:16'I didn't really think this was a very big crocodile.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19'The eyes that I'd seen seemed to be quite close together.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22'But as we brought it in closer,
0:05:22 > 0:05:24'we found out we'd caught our monster.'
0:05:26 > 0:05:28Whoa, he's a good size!
0:05:30 > 0:05:32Bigger than I thought.
0:05:34 > 0:05:36OK, you got a snout rope there?
0:05:36 > 0:05:38Starting to roll...here he comes!
0:05:38 > 0:05:41The croc's rolling.
0:05:41 > 0:05:45This is, er... part of the way it feeds.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48Using...clamping down those massive jaws
0:05:48 > 0:05:51and using its bulk to tear its prey apart,
0:05:51 > 0:05:54but it's also using that now to try and escape the noose.
0:05:54 > 0:05:58You can feel the power of it, it's lifting the boat up and down.
0:05:58 > 0:06:02As if to prove a point, he tries to eat the boat!
0:06:03 > 0:06:06Watch what you're doing with the camera.
0:06:06 > 0:06:08Do you want to get the snout rope on?
0:06:11 > 0:06:14OK, Charlie. Yep.
0:06:14 > 0:06:16- Good job.- That's it.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21- He's got two on him. - OK, pull him up.
0:06:23 > 0:06:25GROWLS
0:06:29 > 0:06:32'Trust me, the croc will be absolutely fine tied up here,
0:06:32 > 0:06:34'although he is a bit cross.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37'The important thing is that with his mouth taped up,
0:06:37 > 0:06:39'he can't bite anyone.'
0:06:39 > 0:06:42This croc's probably too big to get on to the boat,
0:06:42 > 0:06:46so I think they'll drag him back to the ramp and get him on to dry land,
0:06:46 > 0:06:49and suss out his condition, then work out a plan
0:06:49 > 0:06:51about what we're going to do with this monster.
0:06:55 > 0:06:59'A crocodile that's playing dead takes quite some shifting.'
0:07:02 > 0:07:06Right. So now that he's out of the water,
0:07:06 > 0:07:09even though he has had his major weapon, his jaws,
0:07:09 > 0:07:12taken out of the equation with that hard sticky tape,
0:07:12 > 0:07:14you can really appreciate what it is
0:07:14 > 0:07:17that makes this such an incredibly powerful animal.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20Look at the size of the tail down there!
0:07:20 > 0:07:22Next to Mark the cameraman.
0:07:22 > 0:07:26I mean, that is just packed with muscle,
0:07:26 > 0:07:28and all the way up here there's nothing spare,
0:07:28 > 0:07:32even though this animal really isn't in the best of condition.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35It really is a terrifying-looking creature.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39He's absolutely magnificent.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42As close to a living dragon as you'll ever get.
0:07:44 > 0:07:46When you've got the animal here you can see why it is
0:07:46 > 0:07:49that this croc could become a potential danger.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52I mean, he's been in a fair few fights
0:07:52 > 0:07:54with some other, larger crocs.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57Some of his feet are a bit mangled, he's got some nasty scarring,
0:07:57 > 0:07:59and he's looking a bit thin.
0:07:59 > 0:08:03Obviously not a croc in absolute peak condition,
0:08:03 > 0:08:05and that's why he's turned from his usual prey,
0:08:05 > 0:08:08fish which swim quite fast,
0:08:08 > 0:08:11to picking up scraps and getting too close to people.
0:08:11 > 0:08:15And it's not that much of a leap from where he is now
0:08:15 > 0:08:16to actually taking a person.
0:08:16 > 0:08:18So he's going to be taken now
0:08:18 > 0:08:22and probably live out the rest of his days very happy in captivity.
0:08:22 > 0:08:26But...the size, the strength of this animal here
0:08:26 > 0:08:28is just the tip of the iceberg
0:08:28 > 0:08:33and that's why the saltwater croc has to go on the Deadly 60.
0:08:33 > 0:08:35You might debate some of my choices for the list
0:08:35 > 0:08:39but NOT this one - the salty!
0:08:39 > 0:08:41It has power, speed
0:08:41 > 0:08:43and a bite like a dinosaur.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46An awesome predator and one that can hunt humans.
0:08:46 > 0:08:48Say no more.
0:08:59 > 0:09:03Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd