Reticulated Python Deadly 60 Bites

'On Deadly 60, I've had loads of incredible animal encounters.

'Here's just one of my many favourites.'

This is Deadly 60...Bites!

Today we're in Borneo, on the trail of the longest snake in the world,

but that doesn't mean it's any easier to find.

In fact, its whole hunting strategy revolves around it staying hidden.

We could be in for quite a tough time.

The reticulated python is an ambush predator,

so it lies in wait for its prey to get too close

and...bang!

Like a flying lasso, it ensnares its victim in enough coils

to constrict it, stopping it breathing

before it smothers them with its huge jaws

and devours it whole.

Grisly!

'We've spotted our first snake. It's not a reticulated python,

'but it's an absolute beauty.

'So I'll try and give you a closer look.

'But that might not be as easy as it sounds.'

And... Yeah, good catch, James(!)

THEY LAUGH

Look at the speed of that!

'If at first you don't succeed, try...'

I'm going to get this.

'..try again.'

Yes! Well done.

That is what I call a team effort.

Good job, James.

This is the mangrove cat snake and it gets its name from the eyes.

There's a slit which runs right down the middle of the eye,

just exactly like you'd see on a cat.

Look at the tongue going absolutely berserk.

It's cos in this situation there's so much going on

this snake wants to find out about.

And its primary method of doing that is its tongue.

It's tasting, smelling everything that's going on around us.

Probably smelling Johnny, smelling my sweat.

The snake's tongue is definitely its primary method of finding out

what's going on in the world around it.

And I think it should go back in its tree.

The mangrove cat snake is a truly beautiful snake,

but not in the same league as the reticulated python.

So it's back to the search and back in the boat.

'So we head off again

'and we look and we look, but we start to run out of time

'and realise that maybe we're not going to see

'one of these incredible snakes in the wild.

'But we do have a trick up our sleeve.'

Right, well, I know Deadly 60 is about wild animals,

but you cannot say we didn't TRY and find our big snake in the wild.

It just didn't happen. Luckily though, Eric, our guide,

knows someone who does have exactly the snake we've been looking for.

And I've heard that it's quite a big one. So let's have a look.

-Hi, Steve.

-Hi, hi, how you doing?

Hello, hello. Hey, Eric.

Can I, can I take it out?

OK, let's have a look.

Ah, yeah, that is a big snake.

That is a very big snake.

Is it OK for me to take out?

So, this is a big reticulated python

and he really is big.

Crumbs, that's heavy!

That's really heavy.

OK, right.

Reticulated python is the longest snake in the world.

Believe it or not, the anaconda

from South America can get larger and heavier...

A heavier body than this.

But in terms of pure length, the reticulated python has it.

I have to say,

this is the thickest heaviest-bodied retic' I've ever seen.

'So what does "reticulated" actually mean?

'Well, reticulated means netted

'and it refers to the snake's blocky diamond-shaped pattern,

'which is part of its camouflage.'

Crikey!

I tell you what, it's a good job it's quite tame, isn't it?

If this was snappy, I wouldn't be quite so keen

to be handling it like this. Do I need to worry

-when its head starts heading towards me like that.

-No.

-No?

-He's getting used to you.

-Yeah.

So this snake's been held in captivity for about 15 years.

So it's not very aggressive.

Believe me, I would not be handling a wild snake like this.

This is a reticulated python

I found a few years ago, living under a bridge in a village.

The locals asked me to take it back to the forest,

as it had been eating their chickens.

This one was only about eight feet long, but was incredibly aggressive.

Normally they eat wild boar, pigs and birds.

But they are confirmed people killers. So, naturally,

the locals were worried that it could eat their children.

This one was killed several years ago by villagers

who thought it had done exactly that.

But when they looked inside it was fortunately a wild boar.

The reticulated python can get to be actually much bigger than this.

The longest recorded specimen was about 28 feet. This one's about 20.

So it would be an extra me plus a bit more.

And I have to say this isn't even constricting me.

But just the pure weight and power of it. Look at that on my leg.

This is how the reticulated python kills its prey,

by wrapping some coils around the animal

and as it breathes out the retic' just clenches a little bit more.

And every time the animal breathes out it clenches more and more

until eventually there is just no lung space left

and the animal suffocates.

Looking at this wondrous, monstrous snake,

the longest snake in the world, there is absolutely no doubt

that the reticulated python has got to go on the Deadly 60.

Awesome!

Huge they may be, but it's the super-fast lasso attack

and its lethal squeeze that gets it on the Deadly 60.

Now, that's a big snake.

Deadly 60!

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