0:00:04 > 0:00:08'On Deadly 60, I've had loads of incredible animal encounters.
0:00:08 > 0:00:11'Here's just one of my many favourites.'
0:00:12 > 0:00:16This is Deadly 60...Bites!
0:00:16 > 0:00:20Today we're in Borneo, on the trail of the longest snake in the world,
0:00:20 > 0:00:23but that doesn't mean it's any easier to find.
0:00:23 > 0:00:28In fact, its whole hunting strategy revolves around it staying hidden.
0:00:28 > 0:00:30We could be in for quite a tough time.
0:00:32 > 0:00:36The reticulated python is an ambush predator,
0:00:36 > 0:00:39so it lies in wait for its prey to get too close
0:00:39 > 0:00:40and...bang!
0:00:40 > 0:00:44Like a flying lasso, it ensnares its victim in enough coils
0:00:44 > 0:00:47to constrict it, stopping it breathing
0:00:47 > 0:00:50before it smothers them with its huge jaws
0:00:50 > 0:00:52and devours it whole.
0:00:52 > 0:00:53Grisly!
0:01:00 > 0:01:05'We've spotted our first snake. It's not a reticulated python,
0:01:05 > 0:01:07'but it's an absolute beauty.
0:01:07 > 0:01:09'So I'll try and give you a closer look.
0:01:09 > 0:01:14'But that might not be as easy as it sounds.'
0:01:14 > 0:01:16And... Yeah, good catch, James(!)
0:01:16 > 0:01:18THEY LAUGH
0:01:18 > 0:01:21Look at the speed of that!
0:01:21 > 0:01:23'If at first you don't succeed, try...'
0:01:23 > 0:01:25I'm going to get this.
0:01:25 > 0:01:26'..try again.'
0:01:33 > 0:01:36Yes! Well done.
0:01:36 > 0:01:40That is what I call a team effort.
0:01:40 > 0:01:41Good job, James.
0:01:42 > 0:01:49This is the mangrove cat snake and it gets its name from the eyes.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52There's a slit which runs right down the middle of the eye,
0:01:52 > 0:01:54just exactly like you'd see on a cat.
0:01:54 > 0:01:58Look at the tongue going absolutely berserk.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01It's cos in this situation there's so much going on
0:02:01 > 0:02:02this snake wants to find out about.
0:02:02 > 0:02:05And its primary method of doing that is its tongue.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08It's tasting, smelling everything that's going on around us.
0:02:08 > 0:02:12Probably smelling Johnny, smelling my sweat.
0:02:12 > 0:02:16The snake's tongue is definitely its primary method of finding out
0:02:16 > 0:02:18what's going on in the world around it.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21And I think it should go back in its tree.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24The mangrove cat snake is a truly beautiful snake,
0:02:24 > 0:02:27but not in the same league as the reticulated python.
0:02:27 > 0:02:31So it's back to the search and back in the boat.
0:02:35 > 0:02:37'So we head off again
0:02:37 > 0:02:41'and we look and we look, but we start to run out of time
0:02:41 > 0:02:44'and realise that maybe we're not going to see
0:02:44 > 0:02:47'one of these incredible snakes in the wild.
0:02:49 > 0:02:51'But we do have a trick up our sleeve.'
0:02:51 > 0:02:54Right, well, I know Deadly 60 is about wild animals,
0:02:54 > 0:02:57but you cannot say we didn't TRY and find our big snake in the wild.
0:02:57 > 0:03:01It just didn't happen. Luckily though, Eric, our guide,
0:03:01 > 0:03:05knows someone who does have exactly the snake we've been looking for.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08And I've heard that it's quite a big one. So let's have a look.
0:03:08 > 0:03:10- Hi, Steve.- Hi, hi, how you doing?
0:03:10 > 0:03:13Hello, hello. Hey, Eric.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16Can I, can I take it out?
0:03:16 > 0:03:18OK, let's have a look.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22Ah, yeah, that is a big snake.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24That is a very big snake.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26Is it OK for me to take out?
0:03:28 > 0:03:32So, this is a big reticulated python
0:03:32 > 0:03:39and he really is big.
0:03:39 > 0:03:40Crumbs, that's heavy!
0:03:40 > 0:03:43That's really heavy.
0:03:43 > 0:03:45OK, right.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48Reticulated python is the longest snake in the world.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50Believe it or not, the anaconda
0:03:50 > 0:03:53from South America can get larger and heavier...
0:03:53 > 0:03:55A heavier body than this.
0:03:55 > 0:03:59But in terms of pure length, the reticulated python has it.
0:03:59 > 0:04:01I have to say,
0:04:01 > 0:04:04this is the thickest heaviest-bodied retic' I've ever seen.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07'So what does "reticulated" actually mean?
0:04:07 > 0:04:10'Well, reticulated means netted
0:04:10 > 0:04:13'and it refers to the snake's blocky diamond-shaped pattern,
0:04:13 > 0:04:15'which is part of its camouflage.'
0:04:15 > 0:04:16Crikey!
0:04:16 > 0:04:20I tell you what, it's a good job it's quite tame, isn't it?
0:04:20 > 0:04:22If this was snappy, I wouldn't be quite so keen
0:04:22 > 0:04:24to be handling it like this. Do I need to worry
0:04:24 > 0:04:27- when its head starts heading towards me like that.- No.- No?
0:04:27 > 0:04:29- He's getting used to you.- Yeah.
0:04:29 > 0:04:33So this snake's been held in captivity for about 15 years.
0:04:33 > 0:04:34So it's not very aggressive.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37Believe me, I would not be handling a wild snake like this.
0:04:39 > 0:04:40This is a reticulated python
0:04:40 > 0:04:44I found a few years ago, living under a bridge in a village.
0:04:44 > 0:04:46The locals asked me to take it back to the forest,
0:04:46 > 0:04:49as it had been eating their chickens.
0:04:49 > 0:04:54This one was only about eight feet long, but was incredibly aggressive.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03Normally they eat wild boar, pigs and birds.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06But they are confirmed people killers. So, naturally,
0:05:06 > 0:05:09the locals were worried that it could eat their children.
0:05:09 > 0:05:13This one was killed several years ago by villagers
0:05:13 > 0:05:15who thought it had done exactly that.
0:05:15 > 0:05:19But when they looked inside it was fortunately a wild boar.
0:05:21 > 0:05:26The reticulated python can get to be actually much bigger than this.
0:05:26 > 0:05:31The longest recorded specimen was about 28 feet. This one's about 20.
0:05:31 > 0:05:35So it would be an extra me plus a bit more.
0:05:35 > 0:05:39And I have to say this isn't even constricting me.
0:05:39 > 0:05:43But just the pure weight and power of it. Look at that on my leg.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46This is how the reticulated python kills its prey,
0:05:46 > 0:05:48by wrapping some coils around the animal
0:05:48 > 0:05:51and as it breathes out the retic' just clenches a little bit more.
0:05:51 > 0:05:56And every time the animal breathes out it clenches more and more
0:05:56 > 0:05:59until eventually there is just no lung space left
0:05:59 > 0:06:00and the animal suffocates.
0:06:02 > 0:06:06Looking at this wondrous, monstrous snake,
0:06:06 > 0:06:12the longest snake in the world, there is absolutely no doubt
0:06:12 > 0:06:16that the reticulated python has got to go on the Deadly 60.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20Awesome!
0:06:23 > 0:06:28Huge they may be, but it's the super-fast lasso attack
0:06:28 > 0:06:33and its lethal squeeze that gets it on the Deadly 60.
0:06:41 > 0:06:43Now, that's a big snake.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48Deadly 60!
0:07:00 > 0:07:03Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:07:03 > 0:07:06E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk